Travel through time to discover the secret history of arcade games: the people, the places, and the stories behind a century of gaming. How did arcades begin? How did new technologies influence gameplay? And how have these games sparked our imaginations, inspired our passions, and brought us together? 

SYNOPSIS:

Arcade Dreams reveals the 100-year history of arcades and arcade games, from the penny arcades of the early 1900s, through pinball’s glory days and the video generation, to the virtual reality worlds of today and beyond.

Arcade Dreams tells the story of the people who make arcades possible, the people who run them, and the fans who love them. It weaves a narrative of cyclical booms and busts, where enthusiasm, creativity, and passion continually create new forms of public entertainment that never existed before. After each crash, pundits declared that arcades were “dead”, yet new talent continued to emerge to drive the next cycle forward.

From the artists, to the programmers, the company founders, and the players themselves, the arcade allows people from all walks of life to express themselves and find commonality. Arcade Dreams explores how arcades and arcade games have inspired generations to find and build their own communities, based around shared activity that they all enjoy.

After years of waning relevance, new technologies like virtual reality, partnerships with console and mobile game companies, and restoration of old titles in retro arcades led to a modern arcade renaissance. Then just as things seemed to be stabilizing, the global COVID pandemic hit, and the arcade industry faced a fresh existential crisis. Will this be the end of the arcade, or will it re-emerge to thrive as it has so many times before?