When Austin's last great arcade, Einstein's, closed its doors in January 2008, two of its most loyal customers purchased several of its machines with the hopes of one day filling the void. Seven months later, Crissy Knape, a Dance Dance Revolution fanatic, and Ryan Harvey, a nationally ranked fighting game champion, transformed a former Laundromat just a few blocks from the University of Texas campus into Arcade UFO. Putting their first-hand experience with Japanese Arcades to use, the two sought to build exactly the type of arcade they would normally have to fly across the world to experience. With new arcade cabinets and game hardware shipped directly from Japan, and an extensive selection of games including Street Fighter 4, Gundam Seed Destiny, DJ Max Technika, and In the Groove 2, these days more and more people are happy to have a seat as they rediscover the thrill of arcade gaming. Always looking towards the next improvement, Arcade UFO hopes to win so they can continue to bring the top import titles from across the pond to their loyal patrons and friends in Austin.

http://www.arcadeufo.com/

I started out as an arcade attendant at San Francisco's Cliff House in 1976. I fell in love with repairing games and watching my customers have a good time. Starbase Arcade opened in 1982 as Marin County's first video arcade, just north of San Francisco. That same year I began my game repair business and picked up the nickname "Video Bob." By 1984 I operated my own games and was Starbase's repairman. In September 1996, I bought Starbase Arcade with the ambition to provide a classic hometown arcade experience for my customers, and their growing families. Starbase was a test location for Atari's on-line Wavenet version of Rush the Rock and the Tournament Edition of Rush 2049. My competitive players held many of the world records on Atari's Rush 2049 site. More recently, we've provided feed back to Global VR on their Need for Speed Arcade series and others. Sadly, local street renovations (which took six months) and the slowing economy have threatened my survival. Thanks to Stride Gum's Save Our Arcades program you players can help us preserve the last of America's Arcades. Please play for Starbase---help save my arcade! --Video Bob

http://www.starbasearcade.com/

Star Worlds Arcade began as a place for my friends to play video games in my parent's garage in Maple Park, Illinois developing into a neighborhood arcade starting in 1985, and is now located on the famous Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, Illinois. My friends enjoyed the games so much, I enjoyed playing them and working on them, and my parents wanted my friends out of their house, starting my own arcade seemed like the natural thing to do. Star Worlds Arcade is one of the few remaining, authentic video game arcades that believes in preserving this culture by offering classic arcade video games and pinball machines in a friendly atmosphere directly from the heyday of the 1980's video game revolution. In order to maintain what has been referred to as “a living time capsule of video games,” and continue to save other games from extinction, Star Worlds Arcade needs your help to keep this piece of history alive for future generations to enjoy as well as promote a fun, social environment. We have an assortment of classics like Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, rare finds such as Domino Man and a Midway prototype video game called Judge Dredd, and well-kept pinball machines for all to play.

http://www.starworldsarcade.com/

I decided to open an arcade because I've always loved arcades, and they all seem to have disappeared in Nashville in general. It also helps that I had around 50 personal machines just to start! Consumers should play for us because we are NOT corporate! Just two individuals looking to keep the arcade and pinball scene alive in Nashville! Every cent we make goes right back into the arcade to allow people to play games they can't play anywhere else! Fun Facts: The only arcade in the Southeast with a Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion Arcade Machine. The FIRST arcade in the Southeast with a Blazblue arcade machine. The ONLY arcade in the Southeast with a 2 Player VEWLIX Street Fighter 4 Japanese Arcade machine with console characters available! We also have the most pinball machines in any one location for coin-operated play in the entire state!

http://gamegalaxyarcade.com/