PINBALL WIZARDS’ ETERNAL MAGIC
EMPIRE Alternacade owner Tim Pellegrino has likened the dozens of classic arcade machines and gaming consoles to classic cars.
He is not the only one with that impressive opinion, Lloyds Auctions CEO Lee Hames said there had been a revival in pinball and arcade machines.
“Phones are ringing off the hook with inquiries we’ve had on this auction which includes over 50 machines with many iconic games including Space Invaders, Baywatch Pinball, Pacman and my personal favourite Donkey Kong,” Mr Hames said.
Mr Pellegrino said “everyone” who walked into the gaming bar on Flinders St and saw the retro games on the floor immediately broke out in a smile.
“It takes you straight back to when you were 18,” Mr Pellegrino said.
He said the well- designed games had retained their charm and that customers at the bar aged 18 through to 70 all recognised the classic games.
Mr Pellegrino said this attraction to the classic games would likely never go away.
“I don’t think it’s a fad,” he said. “The reason you call them a classic game is because they’re classic.”
He said they had the style of a vintage Ford Mustang.
Empire Alternacade has about 30 pinball machines, some worth up to $ 10,000 each, owned by brothers Jason and Dan Lynch.
Mr Pellegrino said the bar would get even more machines when it hosts the Game and Geek Festival in April.