Codell Rodriguez
Daily Egyptian
Several customers wandered around the different arcade machines in Ducket's Game Station on South Illinois Avenue Monday night, but the majority of the customers were in the back rooms on the computers.
While the arcade machines are the most visible attraction, Doug Stone, owner and manager of the establishment, said the majority of the patrons come for the online gaming located in the back of the arcade.
Jason Malone, a second year graduate student in linguistics from Chicago, said he used to be an avid arcade gamer, his favorite being "Paperboy." But now, he mostly spends his time with computer games such as "Medal of Honor" and "Warcraft III," which give the player the opportunity to challenge other gamers on different computers.
But Malone said that while the online games are more fun, there are still a few features that draw him back to the arcade.
"Every once and a while, I'll throw a couple quarters in," Malone said. "There's nothing like a pinball game."
Michael and John Suarez, who are 10 and 8 years old, are regular customers at the arcade and said they still find reasons to come the arcade.
"My favorite game here is probably air hockey," Michael said.
Keith Evans, a freshman in cinema and photography from Carbondale and clerk at Ducket's Game Station, said he thinks consoles are becoming more and more prominent with video game enthusiasts.
"Overall, [arcades] are definitely losing steam," Evans said.
Evans said he remembers standing in line for games such as "Mortal Kombat" and "Street Fighter II" when he was younger, but he doesn't see quite the same kind of enthusiasm now. However, he said that there are still customers who come in wanting to relive the glory days of arcades, especially after spending time in the bars.
"At night, "Galaga" is one of the most popular arcade games," Evans said.
Nick Zazzara, manager at Times Square in University Mall, said he remembers the lines of gamers dedicated to the games such as "Mortal Kombat" and "Killer Instinct."
"Those games were played all the time," Zazzara said.
Zazzara said the most popular games now are the ones that pretty much have to be experienced at arcades, such as driving and gun games.
"Although [arcades] haven't been doing as good as they used to, there's still an attraction to them," Zazzara said.
Chris Kelly still finds the attraction to arcades. After finishing a session of "Revolution X," a shooting game starring Aerosmith, Kelly, a student at Murphysboro High School, said going to arcades is a nice alternative to other forms of entertainment.
"It's better to go to an arcade then go out and get drunk," Kelly said.
Stone said arcades are a place parents can send their children and not worry about them getting in too much trouble.
"It's better than having them out on the streets," Stone said.
Kelly said that one advantage arcades have over the home consoles is that people can go to them with a group of friends.
Stone said the direction arcades are taking now is that people will be able to come to arcades and play against people anywhere in the world. Ducket's already has a jump on this by having the opportunity to play games such as "Halo" for Microsoft X-Box in competitions that can include as many as 12 people.
Stone said that while the arcades may change and cater more to the online crowd, they will not be rubbed out by the consoles.
"Arcade games will be around forever," Stone said.
Reporter Codell Rodriguez can be reached at crodriguez@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
