The arcades were the end all and be all of gaming back in the late 80s to mid 90s. Many major franchises made their debuts in the arcades, such as Street Fighter, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Bionic Commando and others. Arcade gaming was the equivalent of the Monday Night Football game with your buddies, the only difference was that the arcade was open everyday. Even when the first home consoles came out they featured games that were watered down versions of arcade games. Arcade titles were top of the line in sound, speed, and graphics, it was also a very competitive place to be. People battled for top scores around the clock, day in and day out. When it came to fighting games people plunked down quarterarcade.jpgs to not only learn the game but also to prove their mettle as a gamer.
