Travelling back in time

If you had grown up in the early '90s, it's likely that many of your favourite memories include popping countless coins into video game arcades at a local store and immersing in a fun yet highly competitive world for a while.

Back in the day, these machines truly were everywhere and happened to be a great choice for friendly hangouts.

Almost every Dhaka neighbourhood had more than one such place where one could visit after school and play to their heart's content. In addition, there was always a good competitive element while playing with or against friends or newly-made friends without any risk of injury or fatigue, which even made the occasional scolding of parents seem okay.

But, with home video game consoles gaining popularity for their convenience and affordability, the coin-operated arcade machines slowly slipped into oblivion. What once dominated the corner shops of an alley – not just in the capital, but also in other major cities – can hardly be seen these days.

So when this correspondent spotted quite a few of such stores boasting around five to 10 arcades showcasing some of the favourites of the '90s such as “Mustafa” (actual name: “Cadillacs and Dinosaurs”), “Street Fighter II”, “Mortal Kombat” and many more at Rayerbazar recently, it was like travelling back in time.

The stores were filled to the brim with children ranging from five to 12 years, surrounding the arcades and cheering for their friends busy playing. Some were also waiting for their turn.

“I come here mostly in the afternoon to play with my friends,” said Sami, 15. He was manoeuvring the control stick rigorously while talking to this correspondent. “Give me a minute,” he said.

He won the round with ease.

The store is next to Sadek Khan Road.

Not just children, there were adults too reliving their childhood memories.

This correspondent met Jakir, a long-time arcade fan. “There were at least 2/3 stores like this on each “goli” (lane). My friends and I have many fond memories of fighting over 'Street Fighter II'.”

He said personal computers were quite a rarity during the early '90s and young people would frequent these gaming arcades and unleash the gamers within.

These days, at the stores, the old style of popping coins for each game is no longer used. Children play on an hourly basis – Tk 10-20 – depending on the game's popularity, said Tanzilur Rahman, who operates the store.

He said he rented the store and bought 12 gaming machines a while back. “The place is always swarmed by kids. We stay open till late at night.” 

He said most of the machines are over 10 years old and often the devices stop working due to non-stop playing. “There are not that many places where I can fix these,” he said, adding that they usually take damaged parts of the devices, such as motherboard or RAM, to computer stores on Elephant Road.

Talking about the business, Mohammad Arif, owner of five arcade machines, said, “I earn Tk 700-800 per day.” He said he has been in the business since 2007.

He said there are 12 such stores in the area. “Once, this used to be the favourite pastime of all the children in the area. With affordability and availability of Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Playstation and Xbox, we lost many of our patrons,” he added.

“Now, only children from lower and lower-middle class families come here to play. Even that number is dwindling due to affordability of mobile phones,” Arif sighed.

Though almost extinct, there are other places like Badda and Norda where arcade machines can still be found.

“Not a day passed by when I did not play arcade games with my friends in Mohammadpur,” said a nostalgic Salgira Chizm, a private job holder.

He was surprised to learn there were still a few places that had his favourites. “We used to save up our pocket money and visit these gaming arcades often. It was a thrilling experience.”

“I wish I could gather all my friends and relive our childhood,” he said.