Thanks for your input, y’all! Keep on voting
Since we’re on the subject, I just wanted to add that I believe that it’s really sad that the coinops are extinct (since Sega’s statement 3 years ago, that they would not release any more Arcade machines - all the other Arcade companies had already dropped out of the coinop market).
These games had rhythm, style and substance. They featured cutting edge hardware (remember one of the last games - Daytona USA 2?) and were designed with only gameplay in mind.
I remember a few months ago, being at the basement of Virgin megastore where they have these Xbox/PS2 kiosks setup with games for the kids to try out. There was this guy playing the latest 3D dinosaur game (not giving out any names ;)) and all he could do, was to walk through this 3d landscape, trying to find something to kill. I stayed there for 10 minutes and still he couldn’t find anything. That’s something that would never have happened if the guy was playing a game at the Arcades.
My first memory of games is walking past this dark hall with tens of arcade machines, the PacMan sirens screaming and the lights flashing on the kids’ faces. Where is that now? :’(