What is Digg?113 Comments
- borez, on 02/04/2008, -0/+22"entrance and quarters are completely free"
Peter Hirschberg...you sooo rule. - DarthDaddy, on 02/04/2008, -0/+19For some reason I get a feeling that morons will steal his quarters.
- jameshighmore, on 02/04/2008, -0/+19JD: Is there any admission fee or could people just get in and spend quarters on the machines?
PH: Nope, totally free. I insist that people use the quarters I provide. The change machines are set to dispense quarters for free. My rules are "don't use your own money" and "don't take my money home with you."
That's a lot of trust right there. - trixyfox, on 02/04/2008, -0/+16But we all know we'll never see Billy Mitchell play there
- Zervas, on 02/04/2008, -0/+16Looks pretty cool. In Portland we have Ground Kontrol, 80s arcade games and tall pabsts. It's a good time.
- skaldicpoet9, on 02/04/2008, -0/+10Yes, I lament the loss of arcades immensely.
Remember the good 'ol days when you had to wait in line to get your ass kicked by that one kid who was way too good at Street Fighter.
The arcade was the only reason to ever go to the mall for me. - rainierbeer, on 02/04/2008, -4/+13Ground Kontrol in Portland is way better! plus you can drink beer
- ziptnf, on 02/04/2008, -0/+8It would be even more retro if 80's attire was required.
- Mr.Gone, on 02/04/2008, -2/+10Amazing, absolutly amazing. I miss arcades so much. There's something about having the whole cabinet to deal with. It's too bad that a few idiot groups have caused so many arcades in my area to close down.
- peterhirschberg, on 02/05/2008, -0/+8Thanks for all the kind comments guys. To set the record straight, the gameroom is my private collection. Yes, attached to my house. That said, every month or so I have an invitational Game Day where anybody can come out. I just want to know who it is I'm inviting, and don't want people just showing up on my door. If you're okay with that, send me a private email and I'll add you to my Game Day announcement mailing list. I should be doing another one in a couple months. I welcome anyone who appreciates the old arcades. I'll supply the quarters and snacks.
- pigsbladder, on 02/04/2008, -3/+11Fantastic collection, it's motivated me to continue with my MAME project!
- Simply_J, on 02/04/2008, -1/+9Open to the public? I read about this guy's arcade yesterday in the Washington Post and the article was very clear.
LUNA CITY ARCADE IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! This is a guy's private collection!
WaPo Quote: "By the way, please don't show up on Hirschberg's doorstep with a hankering for some Zaxxon, as this is a private collection and not open to the public. But, if you have a similar longing for the golden age of the arcade, look him up at his Web site, http://www.peterhirschberg.com, and drop him a line."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic ...
Dugg down as inaccurate - deadnoob, on 02/04/2008, -0/+8http://www.peterhirschberg.com/arcade/gameroom.htm
credit where credit is due - hipnotyq, on 02/04/2008, -0/+6I really miss the oldschool arcades in my city :(
- themastersb, on 02/04/2008, -0/+6I love the classic carpet he has.
- PhillyMJS, on 02/04/2008, -1/+7When I die, I want my ashes scattered here.
- ironhide, on 02/04/2008, -0/+5While I love Ground Kontrol, this place has one advantage - it's free.
- Braingoo, on 02/04/2008, -0/+5This is what heaven looks like in my dreams.
- xmkatx, on 02/04/2008, -0/+5The King of Kong was a GREAT movie!
- Spamcan, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4Anybody can build a huge ass arcade with enough money, but to give people free access to it is absolute genius. It looks and sounds like how any other arcade would have in the 80's, it's an old school gamer's dream prefected.
- OpaqueMurdock, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4"JD: What's your crown jewel, your fav arcade of them all?"
"PH: It would be a tie between Discs of Tron, Tail Gunner, Space War, and Lunar Lander."
Now THERE is a man i can relate to! Those are some of my all time favorites as well. - Haohmaru, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4I miss arcades PERIOD. All I really have left is a Dave and Busters. Which is cool, but they have no fighting games (probably good idea for them). Dream Machine where are you?!
- smacksaw, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4That's pretty sweet. I give the guy props for having pinball machines, the forgotten red-headed stepchild of yesteryear.
- flydaddyophus, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4I would love to open up a place like Ground Kontrol here in NC. Tournaments, Drinks, Live Music, and Retro Games is a killer market for the 20 / 30 / 40 somethings. My fiance and I are always complaining about the lack of good arcades (especially here in Charlotte) and are tired of DDR remixes, Turkey Shooter Deluxes, and Golden Tees. I think we would all like to build a MAME arcade for the home, but nothing beats throwing a high score up in front of strangers and friends. Now I just need to figure out how my music education degree will allow me to teach and save up for the $100,000+ in arcades and retro designs, not to mention a facility in the perfect spot.
- xmkatx, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4I was super annoyed the location wasn't in the article :/
- NuclearBunny, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4After looking at his site, I think this is his PERSONAL Arcade Room, eg. attached to his house.
- Niceguy4186, on 02/04/2008, -1/+5I'm not sure why he is being dug down. While what this guy did was extremely cool, the average person can make a MAME machine for a few hundred bucks and play the exact same games plus a 1000 more in there own basement.
- inactive, on 02/05/2008, -0/+4It's not about the fact you can play any game you want, its the experience. People can throw quarters down the sink and get nothing in return, but yet they still goto casinos and get the same thing, its all about experience.
- evonbart, on 02/04/2008, -0/+4I love that! I grew up on those games. Let's hope this guys great gesture doesn't turn into a nightmare for him with people who take advantage. I'd even make a donation towards something like that if they would have given the info.
- scalemodlgiant, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3I can't even find any location information on Hirschberg's homepage, but he mentions an interview by "Local rock radio station DC-101's 'Elliot In the Morning' ", which means he's in or around Silver Spring, Maryland.
- gllopc, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3I just watched "King of Kong: a Fistful of Quarters" last night for the first time. It's a masterpiece, IMHO. Billy Mitchel comes off as such a tool. Steve Wiebe (weeb-ee) is a great protagonist. It's such a great mixture of my love for 8-bit video games and movies. I think I'll be watching this movie over and over for a while.
- jserio, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3Road Trip!
- lordmike, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3So, ok... that's great and all... but, where is this place????? Or is it like Springfield, USA...
- StingeyB, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3I knew people would rave about Ground Kontrol. 25 cent Donkey Kong, $2 PBR/High Life Tall Boys along with some pretty decent DJ's is pretty much the most solid bar in Portland.
- daRoach, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3Ground Kontrol was exactly what came to mind when I saw this. I miss Portland.
- stan205, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3Here's the link: http://www.groundkontrol.com/
I'd have to agree, very good times. - Import98, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3Cool thing to have if your rich, although I wouldn't as it's not my cup of tea. There is also no way in hell I would have that open to the public for free. Although, I am sure if he charged people there would be a whole to-do with setting it up as a business b/c sooner then later Uncle Sam will find out he's not getting his cut.
- blah247, on 02/04/2008, -8/+11Mine is FREE too... http://blah247.googlepages.com/mame
- mercano, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3Its like Funspot, but free! (And a little smaller.) http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/
- griz, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3From a Google Groups post...
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.video.arc ...
Apparently he is in Shenandoah Valley in Virginia - SkippyDoorknob, on 02/05/2008, -0/+3You're exactly right. I practically grew up in arcades and while MAME is great, it's just not the same as being in a room full of games with all the sounds and lights around you.
- Snafu7, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3That's awesome, we really need more places like this.
- krets, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3Ummmm...
- TangentThought, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3Really?! Crap, for the whole time I was living here, I never heard of Ground Kontrol. I guess it's time to take a trip. Literally and nostalgically.
- chamblah, on 02/04/2008, -0/+3this is awesome, but i must be blind as i'm not finding anything mentioning where this place is located...
- jcusano, on 02/04/2008, -0/+2I was just thinking that... I'd say Funspot's classic arcade collection is more than just a little bigger, though. :D
- andywebb95, on 02/04/2008, -0/+2Well I Dig and Dug this article.
Private or not (I would keep it private to prevent abuse which is looks like he has) this is an awesome household addition.
Now all he needs is a working snack bar :) - BossKey, on 02/04/2008, -0/+2Watching the video...nobody's playing Defender...oh man, I so want to walk in there...
- skaldicpoet9, on 02/04/2008, -0/+2The original Washington Post article was actually done before the Gizmodo article.
In the Gizmodo article, "It's open to the public now, and the best thing: entrance and quarters are completely free."
And in the interview with Hirschberg himself:
JD: Is there any admission fee or could people just get in and spend quarters on the machines?
PH: Nope, totally free. I insist that people use the quarters I provide. The change machines are set to dispense quarters for free. My rules are "don't use your own money" and "don't take my money home with you." - sparkooo, on 02/04/2008, -0/+2as long as I can catch a Donkey Kong kill screen, I'm happy.
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