Arcades are a thing of the past. They belong in the eighties with popped collars, ripped jeans, spandex, and Crocodile Dundee. With the invention of home video game consoles, arcades are now obsolete. Or are they? Arcades, unlike popped collars, spandex and Crocodile Dundee are making a come back. There is an arcade in North Grand Mall called Time Out Arcade and All Play (previously known as In Play) in Des Moines, and arcades thrive in any Chuck E. Cheese’s and Happy Joe’s. In fact, there is a new arcade being built in Ames. The new arcade, laser tag, bowling alley, and sports bar is called Perfect Games. It opens June 1st and will mark the end of the arcade monopoly in Ames held by Time Out Arcade. Some of the video game industry’s biggest names started as arcade games. Names like Mario and Donkey Kong first appeared in the 1981 arcade title Donkey Kong. Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter also made their debut as arcade games. But even bigger than that, the entire Nintendo company made their electronic start in arcade games. Modern gaming companies will not forget the influence of the arcade. There are some who say that the arcade game industry was better then the modern video game industry because the focus of the arcade game was placed on encouraging games to continue playing to increase profit. This lead to better games. However now the concentration has been placed on flashy games because once the game is bought that is the max profit that could be made from that consumer. With all of this newfound excitement in arcades, one can only think to his or herself, “Where have you been all my life, finally a use for all of my quarters.” Yes, that’s right, finally all those worthless pieces of change known as the dim-witted cousin of the penny, or “quarters” have a purpose. Arcades.