citynoise.org
What is Citynoise?..... Today's posts..... This month..... Recent Comments..... Contact..... RSS Feed.... Post your own Citynoise.....
http://www.citynoise.org  

browse by city

Brooklyn, NY (1188)
New York, NY (1012)
Toronto, ON (935)
Montreal, QC (433)
London, UK (316)
Houston, TX (295)
Oakland, CA (228)
Philadelphia, PA (209)
Seattle, WA (191)
Queens, NY (188)
complete city list

popular articles

Studio Visit with Skeleton Krewe Chris
from: luna park
The Wedgeway Building
from: Franny Wentzel
Road Trip Sights
from: joey
World's Largest
from: joey
Sailing Boat
from: Michelle
what's hot this month?

recent articles

Road Trip Sights
from: joey
World's Largest
from: joey
Sailing Boat
from: Michelle
Studio Visit with Skeleton Krewe Chris
from: luna park
The Wedgeway Building
from: Franny Wentzel
Greetings to Boston...
from: Franny Wentzel
A Grumpy Cat
from: Michelle
As Seen at Todays Boston Marathon...
from: Franny Wentzel
Kensington Market Graf Truck
from: Michelle
Just Before the War of the World - American Cities a Century Ago
from: Franny Wentzel
read all today's articles

browse by author

Peter (1298)
Unknown (689)
joey (382)
jack (276)
EvilGentleman (274)
complete author list

hot topics

hot sixy girl bf photo
212
this is my first time posting
subway moscow
seattle wa
london street art
astoria ny
green point
parkdale toronto
central park
tokyo tower
vancouver, wa
brooklyn east 5th street
coney island island
tacoma bridge

Ye Olde Arcade

- EvilGentleman - Thursday, March 8th, 2007 : goo

[previous] :: [next]

Ah, the memories of my Gen-X childhood come flashing back in an instant when I step into an . , , , , , , , , , the countless pinball games like and . Those games are here no more, but their spirit lives on. No longer packed to capacity like in their 1980's heyday, some of the arcades still soldier on, with games that are much higher on the evolutionary scale than the primitive games we loved so much. Some say that arcades are now the last of a dying breed, but the full-simulator type games they have now are way too complicated and expensive to bring into the house anytime soon, so I think there will still be arcades for a long time to come.
image 18789

image 18790

image 18791

image 18792
These pictures were all taken at on Sainte-Catherine Street, between Guy and Peel metro stations. They are known for their driving games and games. Sorry for the fuzzy shots, but I felt it might be too distracting for the gamers if I used my flash.

This article has been viewed 20733 times in the last 6 years


Sirhcbre: 8th Mar 2007 - 03:40 GMT

You would enjoy the arcade on in old . It has some classic games and is a pretty popular hangout for local kids.

groovehouse: Galaga! That was one of my favs.

jack: 8th Mar 2007 - 15:14 GMT

you guys are too young for me, in my day (and i can't believe i'm saying that) we didn't have arcade games, for that much we didn't have many tv's around so our arcade game was playing knuckles on a stoop, war games with carpet guns made from old lettuce boxes and we would cut up linoleum carpets into little squares and place them into the rubber band and shoot at each other, ringaleeveo (sic), hide and go seek, stick ball 3 sewers, and i still have a spalding and bat.

jack: 8th Mar 2007 - 15:16 GMT

but then in the game years i enjoyed luner lander. old pinball machines were mostly in bars and as kids we could'nt go in there.

piuczguy: 29th May 2007 - 23:46 GMT

hey guys, do you know if there is a pump it up machine in AMUSEMENT 2000 PLUS??

please answer :(

EvilGentleman: What's a pump it up machine?

piuczguy: 30th May 2007 - 23:50 GMT

it is an arcade machine similar to Dance Dance Revolution

EvilGentleman: 31st May 2007 - 01:13 GMT

No clue. You may have to actually go there to find out. I just walk around and take pics. I am a total noob when it comes to dancing stuff and modern arcade games.

kevin: can someone tell me the address?

EvilGentleman: 20th Nov 2007 - 18:50 GMT

I think it's in the 800 or 900's on Sainte-Catherine west, on the north side of the street. Somewhere between Crescent and Peel streets.

steelisreal: 21st Nov 2007 - 04:01 GMT

When I was living in London, you would be amazed at how many Americans would go to an "arcade" and expect to see video games instead of the shops that line the street.

EvilGentleman: 22nd Nov 2007 - 23:50 GMT

Hmmm, I was wrong. It's at 1381 Sainte-Catherine West, between Bishop and Crescent streets.

Stephaniee: 25th Nov 2008 - 01:25 GMT

Actually, yes, those are DDR machines right there. or pump it up machines. whatever u want to call it ^_^
how much on average do people spend there at a time?

EvilGentleman: 25th Nov 2008 - 19:38 GMT

Yeah, those are DDR machines. My daughter was showing some to me when we were waiting for a movie to start. (Most theaters have mini-arcades by the lobby nowadays)

I also noticed in the pic with the dance machines on the left (2nd pic), that in the center is the token jackpot machine, or whatever they call it. It's full of tokens, with push-bars constantly nudging them so they overhang the edge of a platform. If you put a token in and it causes a mini-avalanche off the edge of the platform, then you get to keep those tokens. But usually, your token just winds up jumping on top of other ones, and nothing falls.

poooool: are there pool tables there ? and lounges ?

Peter: 18th Jan 2009 - 23:29 GMT

i always wondered why people posted here asking stuff like that when in the same amount of time, they could simply google and check the actual place's site or find their number and call and ask. lol.

EvilGentleman: 24th Jan 2009 - 18:07 GMT

Peter, when I working at a gas station as a young man in the late 1980's, I used to get all kinds of customers pulling up and asking stupid questions like:

Do you sell gas?

Does my car need gas?

I have half a tank of gas. What should I do?

and, one of the best...
this guy pulls up, and when I go out to serve him, he begins to pull ahead. He then slowly cruises past each of our 10 pumps, looking at all the prices. Then he comes back to my attendant shack and starts this mind-boggling conversation:

Customer: What's your cheapest fuel?
Me: Diesel.
Customer: Fill me up with diesel.
Me: (leans in window, looks at dash) Um, you see here on your fuel gauge, where it says "Unleaded fuel only"?
Customer: Yeah, so?
Me: Well, it might be a bad idea to put diesel in your car.
Customer: Really?
Me: Yes.
Customer: Well, what's your next cheapest fuel?
(I knew full well that the next cheapest fuel was regular leaded, but I could see where this was going)
Me: Regular unleaded.
Customer: Ok, fill me up with that, then.

At the time, that guy was about 35 to 40 years old. I always wondered how he had gassed up his car before that day. His mechanic must have cried a lot...

GamerNic: 9th Apr 2009 - 07:04 GMT

Just a thought in regards to this particular arcade (as an ex-frequenter of it): The owner has started overcharging games (rather, reducing playtime where at all possible without reducing prices), and when asked about it, he was...let's just be nice and say he was "rude". I would advise trying to find elsewhere to go in terms of arcades.

As for the question regarding "Pump It Up", it is not quite the same as DDR/ITG (Dance Dance Revolution/In The Groove). These are three different games, though the last two are similar in terms of layout (up/down/left/right arrows). The guy asking about 'Pump It Up' is referring to a dance game where there's a button in each corner as well as one in the middle of the pad, making for quite a different experience. Figured I'd leave that in case anyone who reads this is asked that again ;D. I wish there was a Pump It Up machine somewhere in Montreal...

OG fighter: 2nd Sep 2009 - 04:21 GMT

This arcade is ridiculous. They are updated with games that no body cares about and charges us a fortune to play for short amounts of time, (the machines are set at high difficulty). The arcades was a place where regular customers hangout and spend their extra change. Here you better be equipped with bills. I can only see tourist come in this place. It's practically AMC without the cards.
No avid arcade player actually steps foot in that place anymore.
Where the hell are the real arcades at? a.k.a Pinocchio

Michael Jackson beat it n stuff: 24th Nov 2010 - 15:34 GMT

Do you remember the arcade named: " CRYSTAL PALACE " on Ste-Catherine, between Stanley and Drummond, south side of Ste-Catherine? Or the other arcade right in front of it, called VIDEO PALACE ? Good old days of my youth time in 1982-1983...

Michael Jackson beat it n stuff: 24th Nov 2010 - 15:39 GMT

You can see the huge neon lights panel of the "VIDEO PALACE" arcade from 8 to 13 sec. of the beginning of this video:

Newswatch 1986 stanley cup parade + riot report
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQomQziOpKg

Alex tran: 26th Jan 2011 - 12:32 GMT

he want to buy machines maximum tune 3 dx plus for amusement 2000

Alex tran: this is very cool

Apple IIGS: 10th Jan 2012 - 22:19 GMT

Besides this arcade, and the one at the AMC/Pepsi Forum, are there ANY other arcades left in Montreal as of 2012? Sadly, they're pretty much extinct from what I can see...

I used to visit Amusement 2000 Plus in my youth, and all the other arcades up and down St Catherine street throughout the 80's. My favorite was Pinocchio's at Centre 2000 in Chomedey, Laval. My last arcade hangout would have been Alexis Nihon Plaza, back between 1991 to 1993 when I went to Dawson College. It's a Payless shoe store now. :(

I was disappointed when I visited the Forum and Amusement 2000 arcades back in the summer. No classic games, or anything even remotely similar to the video games I remember. Everything is VR simulators, and instead of costing a quarter, it's like $2/game! (and you don't even use change or tokens, you buy a plastic smart card now).

Andrew: 28th Jun 2012 - 19:00 GMT

Hey there, would anyone know the address to the arcade on Decarie? I can't seem to find the address. It's a real shame that there's no real arcades around anymore. I remember there used to be one in Anjou, but now it's a pet store. I only got to go there once as a kid; the place was huge! Anyways, does anyone of any other good arcades in Montreal?

SR: 7th Aug 2012 - 16:28 GMT

Andrew: That place no longer exists, now it's a cosmetics store... I remember that place, went there in 2006 it was great, smaller than Amusement 2000 Plus but chock-filled with nice games and plenty crowded. When I moved in to an apartment close by in 2010 I was totally bummed out to learn that it had closed down since my last visit... Damn, I would've spent so much quarters there...

As far as I know the Amusement 2000 Plus is really the only traditional arcade parlor left in Montréal.

anon (179.sub-174-252-30.myvzw.com): 7th Aug 2012 - 17:30 GMT

I miss old video games ..

Comment on this article..

Name:

Type your comment here: Upload photos (opens in popup window)

[previous] :: [next]

search citynoise.org

recent discussions

Old Lachine Fire Station on 45th
from: EvilGentleman
Telegraph Earth Day
from: joey
Murder at Independence Hall
from: ghost of grandin
America's Most Boring Towns: 13
from: Scott Sargent
The Freedom Tunnel
from: Peter
How Distant the Sky Looks from the Base of a Canyon
from: vz
Dew Drop Inn
from: GGP
America's Most Boring Towns: 10
from: Scott Sargent
Roof Plowing
from: EvilGentleman
Times Square in Old and Relatively New Photos...
from: Franny Wentzel

from the archives

You Are My Sunshine


You Are My Sunshine

recently viewed

Ye Olde Arcade
from: EvilGentleman
The Living Mosaic
from: serlingrod
The Bridges of Staten Island
from: champ
Currently Unavailable
from: Unknown
At the Same Moment...
from: Peter
Fog and a Streetlamp
from: ghost of grandin
Inflatables
from: ksedge
Rowboating: A Reprieve
from: Laura
Assorted Graffiti on One Box
from: Michael-Ann
More Astoria
from: GGP