If you're at all familiar with some of my other articles, it's fairly apparent that I do love me some arcades. There was something great about scampering around from cabinet to cabinet with a pocket full of quarters, that smell of electricity in the air. You didn't have to play, just hanging back and watching someone reach a level that you never had the skill or cash to get to was joyous.
With gamers now able to stream any number of arcade classics via PSN and Xbox Live, scant few actual arcades are left. Wander into what passes for an arcade these days...it's just not the same. They're now made up of larger than life versions of popular apps like Temple Run and Fruit Ninja, or games that spit out the same amount of tickets (no matter the score) to be redeemed for some miserable overpriced piece of plastic at the counter.
Arcades resembling the ones I recall visiting still remain here and there, but they're few and far between. Since those days of youth, I always wanted to get a cabinet of my own, but haven't yet managed to scrape together the cash just yet to grab one. But I was fortuitous enough to stumble onto something that could keep my desire for the real thing at bay for the time being.
There's a guy out there by the name of Justin Whitlock, or Big J.W. Ironically, what Big J.W. creates needs a magnifying glass to be truly appreciated, which also goes to show the insane amount of dedication he has to making something so small. Whitlock's talent is re-creating miniature versions of popular arcade cabinets with such an obscene amount of detail and accuracy that anyone who calls themselves a gamer needs to stop and look appreciate the kind of skill this takes. His eensy weensy stand up Spy Hunter cab even has the friggin' gas pedal for chrissakes...
Making just one tiny, perfect cabinet would be a feat worthy of mention, but a solitary cabinet was just a bit too lonely. Whitlock makes them in waves, and to date, he's created over 60 (including a number of pinball machines):
Wave 1 - Galaga, Robotron, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Gauntlet, Dragon's Lair, Ms. Pac-Man, Defender, Gravatar
Wave 2 - Asteroids, Millipede, Sinistar, Spy Hunter, Dig Dug, Burger Time, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Asteroids Deluxe, Galaxian
Wave 3 - Star Wars, Mortal Kombat II, Street Fighter II, Donkey Kong Jr.
Wave 4 - Missile Command, Lunar Lander, Aliens, Mario Bros., Star Wars (upright)
Wave 5 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Crystal Castles, Cloak and Dagger, Killer Instinct
Wave 6 - Mortal Kombat, Pac Mania, Marble Madness, Food Fight, Satan's Hollow
Wave 7 - Warlords, Captain America and the Avengers, Gauntlet II, G.I. Joe, Space Ace
Wave 8 - Black Tiger, Donkey Kong 3, Popeye, Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong 2
Wave 9 - Q-Bert, Rally-X, Rolling Thunder, Xevious, Zoo Keeper
Wave 10 - Rush 'N Attack, Frogger, Space Invaders, Tron
Wave 11 - Street Fighter II: Championship Edition, Moon Patrol, The Simpsons, Attack from Mars pinball, Spy Hunter
Wave 12 - Operation Wolf, Stargate, X-Men, Space Paranoids
Check 'em all out on his Flickr page, and feel free to drop him a line via email or Facebook to figure out how you can get your hands on 'em. Fair warning, I already called dibs on Die Hard Arcade...if he ever makes one that is.
