World's Coolest Private Arcade!

[Arkstrikle]

its an artform too

[TheOmi3333]

yeah woa, the physical presence as a child seeing those things, simply awesome, family out in the sun and i'm in a dingy arcade lol

[raggeragnar]

I really hope that Earl Hickey is right-"karma is a bitch". If so, she's gonna get it back......BAD ! One day she will be left or emotionally hurt by someone too. Divorce is not the worst . It is to shut him out of HIS part of it all , just in spite , just because she can. I hope she gets diarrhea , toothache , an ingrown nail , hairloss , insomnia , bad breath , that she stubbs her toes and that her kids turn against her.

[wbcisgay]

My wife wanted you to tell your ex wife that she is a whore and needs her ass beat! She said she will do it for you if need be!

[Lambonights]

3 people ran out of quarters! :D

Sorry to read that the guy got kicked out of this home and his wonderful arcade. Thats really sad :(

When I die I hope heaven has a room like that, with limitless quarters to feed the machines LOL

[Letsev9]

Such a shame that this arcade was murdered. A man had a dream and made it a reality. This place was an arcade lover's dream. I'll never understand as to why some women get this sadistic pleasure from really hurting a man. Separation is hurting enough but this woman really wanted to stick the machete in this man's heart. What better way to hurt someone than destroying that persons dreams? She might be bipolar. Bipolar women get very vindictive when something they want doesn't happen.

[alunarflowerlulluby]

TRON!

[itachiitachi1946]

moral teaching:stay single cause women destroy ur dreams consume ur money,energy,time and resources in the name of sex(not to mention stds also..)

[Sando75]

This guy sounds like the nicest guy on earth. Why would she ruin his life long dream? We should have all chipped in and paid the money hungry whore out

[awokai]

I always loved those places,with many people and you have only a few quarters..searching for the best games...and when you don´t have any quarters left,you just watch those intros for hours :)

[xXCatsLoverXx]

What a whore. His wife kicked him out of his house and his arcade and ruined this all.

[deanchristian777]

Awesome, I'm going to put an arcade in my basement.......Great Job Bro !!!!!!!

[tallguy2]

Man he got everything right.The lighting,decoration and the carpet all perfectly work together.

Hats off to you sir :)

[MadWorldDesigns]

Shame his wife ruined all of this and kicked him out of his own house and arcade! Angers me every time I see his website about how he had to give her half the money from the sell of half his games when it was him that paid for and built that arcade. Something wrong in this world.

[DUFFYISBACK]

@MadWorldDesigns

Just read that as well, it is sad that his wife of 18 years throws him out, what a bitch.

[buttsheeve]

Would rather play arcade games than any console game!

[KingMaster1992]

I don't know wat to say just bueatifull

[Zoltar900]

He obviously smokes weed

[TIGERSDFW]

cockpit star wars ? discs of tron? dragons lair? Hard drivin' ? awesome collection...

[JadeTomZ]

walking into the arcade when your a little guy is magic.

i remember it well.

[JURYJOHMZOMBIE]

i want to be a teen of the 80s

[3Dolimar]

is not private anymore

[89escalade]

Too bad this arcade is now dead and long gone. Peter went off the deep end, he and his wife seperated, the games were sold off and im unsure what happened to the property.

[winstong2000]

I'd pay $100 to hang there for a day

[ladyserenade85]

man i wanna have my own private arcade

[thunderscratch66]

from the carpeting right down to his dark side t-shirt. total coolness :D

[ZiotheZero]

Galaga owns.

[nibelung34343]

if you get a mr do's castle i will pay 100 dollars just t oplay for 1 day i LOVE htat game

[nibelung34343]

i would pay 100 dollars to play your games

[nibelung34343]

me and that phoenix wold spend some quality time together 99,999 points worth of quality town

[deejaytai1]

That really made me want soome pizza and some fries!!!

[6anatolyy4]

What a nice fella. Good on you and nice work

[TheMegaPeoplepersons]

25,000th viewer yea

[yandman26]

wowzers im soooooooooooooooooooo jealous



[indyracingnut]

I'd hate to see his electric bill every month....All those amps those things must draw...haha

[Bladerunner55217]

Awesome room man. I like your choices for the floor and the walls ! Made me want a slice of pizza :) Here is my 3 game choices. Track and Field , 720 is a must ! , and street fighter 2 . Don't invite me if you have the terminator pinball machine because Me and that machine have unfinished business because last time we played I got kicked out and that dam machine took my money lol.. I miss the 80s

[southport97]

His local power company must love him.

[spockmcqueen]

I heard that once thhe x,y color monitors( ie Star Wars, Star Trek ,Tempest) break down, you cannot get parts for repair. That there are only a limited number of these monitors in existence.

If this is true, these type of games will become exceedingly rare, and probably incredibly valuable.

[EMRAHsays]

i lov it wish i could be there, i was born in the 80s but stil hav fond memories of the magic atmosphere

[hobbesandcalvin1000]

You Sir are a Legend!!!!!!

[raggeragnar]

I'm feeling very EEEEENVIOOOOOUUUUS ! ! Mind you , with a big nostalic smile on my face.Ha ha ha ! This is like a wet dream for a 45 year old arcade addict. I thought i was cool with 20+ classics downloaded on my cellphone.This guy puts me to shame .Ha ha ha !

[emachines007]

why is it SO hard to find a place for just an arcade anymore? in the area i live, i have to go all the way to another town just to get to cici's and play ms pac man or galaga!

[melloprod]

i got a defender arcade..i know what you mean by presence.

[ZanePringlez]

R.I.P. Luna City; I wish I had the honor of visiting you while you were there!

[letsride84]

Holy crap... learn some fucking hygiene. 

[kjmoore88]

@letsride84 --- envious much?

[Mysteriozone]

Very impressive collection would love to have the honor and visit one day.

[whitejimrice]

I know what he means. I bought my favorite TRON 2 years ago. Now I'm always looking for more. 

[BrianPicchi]

I have one arcade machine in my home... Galaga. And it's all I need.

[joesef777]

This man has more insight and spirit then the POPE and all the leaders of our country!!! He is very insightful and expressed perfectly what I felt inside but could not express. I can completly and 100% relate to every thing he said!

he is an inspiration.. I had to part with old things due to lack of money and knowledge of things. :(

[jrnmetal]

all these classic games, and he didn't even want galaga at first??? jeez let me get the machine I would love to have a classic galaga machine at my house. haha i don't even own any arcade cabinets...

[rrrjjjmmm100]

another jew genius,i wish i was a jew so i could afford the shit i want.

[tattooedstranger]

@rrrjjjmmm100 lol

[mungrin]

lucky bastard

[stilleavy]

galaxian over galaga? what is this guy on crack? just kiddn, nice collection

[DjJohnnyM68]

sounds like a lot of us share a similar background here: growing up in the 80s during this time of awesome innovation for arcade games, cool stuff, going to arcades in the summer, hell during the school year for that matter, breaking from the games just long enough to chow down on a corndog or pizza and dropping a dime in the jukebox in the process. Gonna have my own arcade one day.

[DjJohnnyM68]

sounds like a lot of share a similar background here: growing up in the 80s during this time of awesome innovation for arcade games, cool stuff, going to arcades in the summer, hell during the school year for that matter, breaking from the games just long enough to chow down on a corndog or pizza and dropping a dime in the jukebox in the process. Gonna have my own arcade one day.

[DreamHomeArcades]

Dream Home Arcades Love your room, sweet!

[sixstringmania]

the man knows what hes talking about..!!!

[jawbraeka]

Invite Weibe and Mitchell to duke it out there... trust me this would be the ultimate battle of the era of arcade..

[MetalEliot]

dude...marry me!

[lowaces]

video games were created by alien technology to train us

[pdb1325]

@lowaces LOL, well they're doing a fantastic job of training me, and many, many other gamers. Hilarious comment though, I dig -- hey, if you really want to freak yourself out Iowaces, check out any information you can on Polybius.

[RREDDWARFF]

Defender is totally different in the arcade due to the complex controls.

[utley7fly]

i love ALL U GUYS THIS VIDEO ROKS -I DONT REMEMBER WAT IT WAS CALLED BUT IT WAS 1988 GAMES BLASTING KIDS SHOOTN POOL CIGARETTE SMOKE SO THIK U COULDNT BREATHE DEF LEPPARD GNR POISON MOTLEY CRUE QUIE RIOT OZZY ROKN THE JOINT EVERYONE HAVN FUN GETTN ALONG GOD THAT WAS THE DAYS NOW IM 30 OVERWEIGHT MARRIED 3 KIDS AND NO FUN NEMORE MAN WAT ID DO TO GO BACK I LOVE ALL U GUYS THAT POSTED ON THIS AND LETS NOT FORGET JOURNEY

[chrishooper68]

That's not an arcade. That's Heaven! LOL

[PoorBoy1979]

@chrishooper68 And I thought Heaven had brighter lights?

[braincrisp1]

I loved playing Phoenix.

[blackunderscore]

wow tail gunner

[Leetard179]

the carpet really adds to the atmosphere

[Ercade01]

Awesome arcade collection. It is like a museum

[fatalcoolfatalcool]

I want to go there! Where's Zoo Keeper?

[BitchFunky317]

Awesome man, thanks for keep the classics alive!!

[cjtalamantez]

Awesome, Peter. I am gonna try to duplicate this but a smaller version.

[benzodiazapines]

Sweet arcade but Galaga is the business!

[sonofsam717]

WOW!!!! Well...somebody had to do it. I'm so glad it was done. I just hope that when ur #'s up ur kids preserve this and pass it down to their kids & so on.

[warhammermichael]

very cool

[monkeypuncher247]

That's amazing, great that he lets people play on them. I'd be flipping out if they were mine, making sure people didn't mess my shit up and spill drinks on them.

[SuperPorknbeans]

it would have been nice to see this arcade in person, to bad luna city gone.

[sphudson]

Don't worry, all of these games are being preserved in their physical form. Great video.

[jasonrepa]

That sure brings me back. You're missing two of my favourites though.....Steel Talons and Cyber Sled. Although these are expensive hydraulic feedback games with huge cabinets, you simply cannot reproduce that experience sitting on a couch with a tiny joystick in your hands. My favs were alwys dogfight 1human vs 1 human games where psychology as well as reflexes and skill played a part. That's why I now play chess and poker.

[fredrick300]

Im 14. and I love these RETRO games that are dieing. I am a hardcore gamer who loves halo, but I wish I could go to arcades like this. Now there dead, and kids my age these days just want to play games like COD where you just kill each other a millon times. The Xbox 360 is getting a free game room like this where you create your own arcade. But you buy ever game when you walk around your arcade. hope I can make mine like this. Cant wait to play some retro games :D

[gretscher]

I remember after school while I was in high school (1981-1985) we'd go to Jim's Burger near school and there were two games at a time. Donkey Kong and Asteroids come to mind and all us kids would be playing. Those waiting in line would put their quarter down to send a message they were reserving the next game play. How one would distinguish their coin from someone else's? I can only guess by standing in line each quarter represented the respective person in line. Today I would not do that.

[gretscher]

This guy went to Computer Learning Center after high school, man I went to Institute of Computer Technology down the street after high school. I wonder how old he is? I'm 42, I went to ICT in 1985. Like him I'm a video gamer of the late '70s and early '80s.  I miss those days. I applaud him for putting together an arcade of vintage '80s and late '70s games. These vintage games have character the newer games don't have.

[sergioluna80s]

i have 42 years old soon 43 in march i growing up wiht all this arcade machines still i remember first time what i pay centaur bally pinball , flash gordon haunted house , i have a lot of pinalls in my colleciton but centaur only come 3 or 4 in this country is very hard to find here, i die for play again this machines ! so many memories ...so many good times !

[bluemonkey519]

I really love these arcade games! I'm almost 18 but my lifelong goal is to have my own home arcade. I'm going into the computer field and after college i'm sure I can have a great job making enough money to afford lots of great games :)

[zeldajunkielol2]

Me too!

[WirzTube]

The PONG game is awesome, btw. That's pretty rare. WOW!

[jimpsyd]

dude, that room is beautiful. you rule. i'm stating on mine,only one game so far, crazy climber

[abbeykroeter]

Go Peter! Cool guy doing what he wants, with a different perspective. Doesn't even want to make a business out of it (yet), and up front about his history in arcades of not feeling comfortable with the annoying people looking over his shoulder back in the day (you're not alone on that)... hilarious and honest dude. Fascinating.

[KiDe005]

only reason why I go to the arcade is to play DDR and fighting games.

[wajimya]

that was so cool.

[LostwithMichael]

where do i sign up to play

[uniteduniverse]

Wow, that was amazing; I hope to make a pilgrimage there someday.

[classicgamr]

its like time has been captured.....fantastic job!!

[tubiewer]

more like taken hostage

[lmr641]

right on brother! this is awesome. keep the spirit alive.

[RareAspie]

OMG, If I had the space and Money I would do this. That room looks like the dreams I have every night.

[PigeonPair]

awesome

[vietguy808]

kool

[CMPunkLiddell4LifeO9]

Geeks ARE cool!!

[bestgamer2112]

it dosent sound dorkey it sounds amazing i want an arcade

[tihoser]

This guy is a geek and a really cool guy all at once! Awesome place and awesome that you can fix them yourself. Would be a FORTUNE otherwise I'm sure. Great job!

[shoryuken248]

this guy is cool

[spinners123]

Awesome i am jealous great stuff

[Iseeme63]

Ready to get a TMNT Pin soon and hopefully one day a Warlords cocktail table.

[VonAwesome]

Peter, I'm uprooting my family and moving to Virginia just so that I can attend your game days. This. Absolutely. Rules.

[AtariRockz]

I'm into old console games Atari etc. But seeing this brings back great memories of being a kid in the late 80's and spending my summer at the beach in the little pavillion playing games like Double Dragon and Burgertime and eating corndogs!!!

[80sOGRE]

Isn't it funny how all of us old gamers remember the same aspects of that early 80s Arcade experiance. I grew up in Sydney. on George st in the CBD back then we had 6 arcades and 3 movie theatres all within a 2block spread, no where else in Australia were kids this lucky. sadly these days the same area has 1 arcade and 1 theatre.

[CruiseCntr]

right on, I feel exactly the same way. keep doing what you're doing, man.

[helrazr]

absolutely incredible. kudos man.

[itnt07]

dorky? yes...

epic? hell yes....

[xxlimpyleg]

rock on

[nunlover]

i only experienced arcade games at 7-11 or a few restaurants back in the day. it was during their brief comeback with games like street fighter and mortal kombat, which are 2 that i will own someday.

[TRANCETUTORIAL]

It was truly magical back then, but nomatter how hard you try you can never recreate that magic. I bet this guy even with all this never gets the same feeling he did when he was a kid and he went in an arcade.

[utubepunk]

Something about being in an arcade when you're a kid is hard to quantify. Darkness, movie-like glow-in-the-dark carpet, the neon lights and mash-up of sounds... I can only describe it as "magic". I spent many hours of my youth in Bally's Aladdin's Castle, which was themed to be like a cave-like tavern. Too bad arcades are dying out. So big UPS to Peter Hirschberg for preserving the legacy of the arcade. I raise a beer in your, honor, sir.

[inteLect777]

ARCADES FOREVER!!! I aM GLaD THerE aRE PEOPLE OUT THERE LiKE YOu!!! KeEP ARCADES ALIVE!!!

[ArcadeGames]

Nice, I fix them, but I'll never have enough machines...

[D00D64]

If only I was old enough to experience arcades firsthand back in the 70's 80's...

[Jonassssss6]

agreed

[KultureJamCollective]

Anyone into 80's arcade games watch Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade. A great documentary about the 80's arcade boom and game record holders.

[tedescucci]

Peter actually did the computer animations on that movie. :)

[cleitonsimao]

Perfect Perfect Perfect

Very good !

Congratulations!

Magoo

[Precipitation]

It saddens me greatly that I'll probably never have enough money to do this myself. Just watching this video made my heart race.

[tedescucci]

Precipitation, just get one game at a time. You can usually find one local for cheap... I've got 3 games now that were pretty much completely free. Crazy Kong and Tron were free, and Robotron cost me $60. 3 games, and only MAYBE a couple hundred bucks after I fixed/replaced what needed to be done. Just keep an eye on on the local classifieds or Craig's List.

Building a building like that... that'll be a little expensive... but start with filling up a spare room in the house, then go from there.

[Precipitation]

Thanks for the advice!

[SCIONIZER]

Great video.

[TheJediCharles]

"It has a presense you can feel."

I know exactly what he means.

When trying to explain this to my wife upon buying coin-op Tron (of whom claimed playing the game on my PC should be fine) I described it as "that's just the game, this is the shrine. The temple. It's where the game lives and there's no equivelant to dealing with the game in it's natural habitat."

[thepoopsniff]

i know what he means too.... it's like, the arcade is itself, loaded with people, flashing lights and sounds it's just a feel that nothing else can bring you

[markprice25cavs]

Not that he couldn't afford it but this guy's eletric bill has got to be huge

[thepoopsniff]

kind of with ALL those games yes, but if he had 2 or 3, it wouls only bring it up by around 20 bucks, see the machines kinda ran on themselves

[hexRQP]

@markprice25cavs Games don't really cost alot in electricity to run.

[musicforchewfaygs]

@markprice25cavs he probably shuts down the room w hen he's not using it.

[markprice25cavs]

@musicforchewfaygs can't risk losing your high scores..like the Seinfeld frogger episode.

[ThreeSixWii]

So it this open to the public? Or just wasted with one guy, all alone in his retro dream world?

I would have it open to the public at least one night / week and share the past and maybe make a few new frineds. Save it for my private enjoyment the rest of the week.

cool video !

[topher0002]

did you not watch the whole video? He said he opens it often for free to anyone that ones to come.

[NutsandGuts]

yeah but he rapes u after.

[thepoopsniff]

what a fag he doesnt have donkey kong.i got 321,300 on the game

[mikeferr107]

That is just great. What a wonderful thing this man has done. Kudos to him.

[Atarix777]

woooow - i do not find any words for this, maybe... amazing? ;-D

[wingnut4427]

AMEN !! One of My little dreams too ! lol

[joesmoe71]

If I ever become rich, this is one of the FIRST things I'm going to do!

[bobadork]

wow!!! wizard or wor, gorf, and tailgunner in the same arcade!!

[xbox360rox]

hes missing mortal kombat 4 !

[ILLUMANOV]

good list

[djjohnmartin]

Lunar Lander, Berzerk, Robotron, Defender/Stargate, Toobin', Klax,Rush N ATtack (aka Green Beret), Gorf, Tron,DIg Dug,Crazy Climber,Qix,Scramble,Crystal Castles,SUbroc 3D,Star Castle,Paperboy,Space Fury,Zaxxon,Frogger,Journey, Bump N Jump, Moon Patrol, Moon Cresta,Gauntlet,Pong,Breakout,­quantum,Satan'sHollow,Wizard of Wor,Outrun,Bubble Bobble,Operation Wolf,Operation Thunder,Zoo Keeper,Tokio,Time Pilot,1942,PLump Pop,Thunderfox,Elevator Action,RoadBlasters,Smash TV,Root Beer Tapper,Joust,

[wajimya]

what is the name of the game that you have a shotgun and you try to shot people in a bar? it was in the 80's.

[djjohnmartin]

Asteroids, Missile Command, Space Invaders, Asteroids Deluxe, Centipede, Millipede, Star Wars, Omega Race, STuN Runner, Gravitar, Eyes, Mousetrap, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, SuperPac man, Pac Man Plus, Jr. Pac Man, Mappy, Xevious, Pole Position, Pole Position II, Mach 3, Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, After Burner, Tempest, Jungle King/Hunt, Galaxian, Galaga, Solar Fox, Rally X, Pooyan, Kangaroo, Vanguard, Phoenix, Alpine Ski,Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3, Mario Bros., Popeye,Burger Time,

[djjohnmartin]

THe games he has are truly classics that are a gold standard. The way the arcade room is set up is very much like one of my favorite local area arcades from back in the day..not in existence anymore however. I totally lived that era. The list of games i played during 1979 to 1984 is staggering. I could try if you like for me to form my own Killer List of Video Games..just off the top of my head

[djjohnmartin]

I had seen the pics of this guy's home arcade already. I saw how it went from being in the basement of his house to having a separate building for his games. Man, i would give my right arm (wait, then i couldn't play games..) okay left leg..you always want to have one foot for the driving games..:) I would give something anways to have a place and have the knowledge to repair the old games.He is absolutely right when he says that the arcade experience cannot be duplicated on a PC or MAME.

[dogwearingpants]

This guy TRULY understands the Zen of the old arcades.  If you don't agree then you didn't live it.

[Jonassssss6]

i agree totally and i would love to play one of those games! they give you a feeling that nothing other can give you. but im only 14, is something wrong with me?

[thefitzs]

@Jonassssss6 Heck no dude, I'm 13 and I'm all about old video games.

[bodygloveman]

@Jonassssss6 nothing at all man

[madsniperkill]

@Jonassssss6

if there is something wrong with you, there is a problem with me too, you see, i have the same problem, i dont play Cod or Battlefield, i play donkey kong, Defender, pac-man...