I apologize for not replying to this thread sooner.
First off, thanks for identifying the first game on my list. That NFL Football game is definitely the one! Awesome. I remember exactly that it was the Raiders. I believe there was an upgrade you could have another teams footage, but I might be wrong about that. I've only ever seen the game once, played a few times, and was horrible at it. The one at California Extreme looks like it was in great shape.
... I'm going to move now to a few more stories and the next time I post here we'll get to the second game I am trying to identify and you'll see the first arcades I ever bought.
As a kid, my Dad was a truck driver. My parents were divorced, so I seen him on the weekends. He used to do long trips all week, then on the weekend he'd get me. We'd either fish, or stay at his apartment with his Girlfriend and their Daughter. Those two would often go to her parents house / farm. We had an Atari 2600 when it first came out. I recall one game in a "leather case" which my Dad said I was not allowed to play. Years later I think this game was Custer's Revenge an adult game from Mystique. You can see a picture of the box here:
http://oldgameszine.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/custer-revenge.jpgYou had to do Pocohontas I believe and the Indians tried to hit you with arrows. In the same cabinet as the game was a huge stack of Easy Rider magazines. My Dad loved motorcycles (and nude women I take it). I was a good kid, though, and never really cared to look in there. Got a little side tracked from the "arcade" stories, but let's get back to that part.
My Dad would send me down to the store for subs and let me keep the change. It was about a 2 minute walk or so. Only thing is I had to bring the subs home first and eat, then I could go back to the drug store next door to where I got the subs and could play video games. They usually had 4 to 6 different games. Sometimes I'd be there awhile just watching the other people play, waiting my turn to spend my four quarters. There was a bar across the street my Dad would take me to sometimes. They had Pole Position and maybe one other game. They had this sweet Budweiser sign where the Clydesdale horses rotated around it and of course Cinema Beer Nuts. Here's a picture of what sign I think it was or close to it:
http://archive.liveauctioneers.com/archive4/homesteadauctions/15715/2077_1_lg.jpgMaybe that's why I like Budweiser and want one of those signs. Because it brings me back to a nicer time in my life and makes me have good memories. When I'd go home from my weekend, somehow my Grandmother would always find out we went to the bar. They didn't like that my Dad took me there, but nothing bad ever happened, and he never got crazy or really drunk like some people do.
Every year we'd go down to the Jersey Shore. We went to Surf City for a week and always rented the same house. It was right next to the beach. It was about 20 minutes from Seaside Heights. This is where the boardwalk was with all the rides and arcades. This is back when an arcade was an arcade. They still had those games of skill where you could win tickets or prizes, but not as many as they do now.
I remember they had one "crane" type game which had an Atari 2600 game inside you could win. It was "Space War". The game was impossible to win because it had a glass (plastic?) dome on top. How can three fingers pick up a slippery circular shaped thing? I don't know, but the kid downstairs in the house we rented won it!
I try to get down to Seaside Heights once a year, as I love the atmosphere. The smell of the deep fried goodies, salt water, and to try to win myself an iPod. It's more satisfying if I spend $200 to win an iPod Nano lol. I haven't won one yet, though, but I still have fun trying.
In the 80's I used to go to Keansburg Amusement Park. This place holds a lot of special memories for me. I used to go a lot with my Grandparents and my Uncle. I remember we always went to this one place. It wasn't right on the boardwalk, but maybe a block in. You put your quarters down and the wheel spins. You could win food. Cases of Charms Blowpops, boxes of Cereal, etc. Years later I would see stories on the internet about how they'd have a lot of expired stuff. I opted to save my tickets for a Bill Cosby cassette tape. Some of his material is okay. This was the most boring tape ever!!! I think it was this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Those_of_You_With_or_Without_Children,_You%27ll_UnderstandLooking at the track listing on the album you can tell right away you're in for one big bore fest! Zzzzzz..
In the 90's when arcades started disappearing, my friend and I would frequent Keansburg often. That place was getting dirtier and dirtier. It wasn't a really big boardwalk and no trains went there, so they didn't have as much traffic as the other boardwalks. This one place must have been going out of business. It was the creepiest place. No lights on what so ever, yet two doors were open. Inside there was maybe only 5 or 6 games. One of them was this pool game that had a little pool stick that you'd actually have to move to play. I always felt like I was being watched or going to be raped, so I never hung out there often.
Superully mentioned how he doesn't like the new game consoles as much. Me either. The latest system I can really say I owned for a long time was an NES. I did buy an Xbox, but sold it maybe 2 weeks later. I just didn't like it. I had cut off a picture from a bucket of chicken as seen here:
http://fishboneinternetmarketing.com/dotnetnuke/Portals/veneto/images/cluckulogo.jpgand glued it on the system. When I sold the system the guy didn't say anything. He just cared the system worked. I also owned an Xbox 360, PSONE, and PS2, but sold them all. The only thing I go back to is my old Atari 2600 stuff.
I'm actually set to release a game for it soon. It's a puzzle game with 40 levels.
