The Classic ArcadeArcades may not be as popular as they used to be, but they used to dominate the gaming scene. In fact, some of your favorite game franchises started in the arcade.
Updated June 15, 2019 2.4K votes 413 voters 26.4K views
Even now, when we step into an arcade, with its seizure inducing lights and carpet that looks like it’s from an alternate future where everyone wears roller skates, we’re transported to our youth. If you’re like us, you spent most of your childhood pumping quarter after quarter into giant arcade games and marveling at the kids who could beat X-Men with less than a dollar. While we loved playing the games, our favorite part of the arcade experience may have been taking in all of the glorious art that was plastered on each cabinet. We love arcade so much that we decided to make a list to share our favorites with you.
Whether or not you think arcade cabinets are works of art on par with the Sistine Chapel, you have to at least think they look cool. The art for games like Ms. Pacman and The Simpsons would fit in at any pop art retrospective, while cabinets for games like Maneater are completely insane. For the extra nerdy, take a look at these games chronologically and you’ll start to notice trends within the arcade cabinet art world. The '80s was filled with day-glow figures almost jumping off the wood, and the '90s seemed to have a fetish for a stand up cabinet with the main character hanging out on the side panel. This list of arcade cabinet art covers all the bases, well except for the ugly games, no one cares about those.
Vote on which arcade cabinet art is the best, and let us know which game you sunk the most quarters into.
