I would have loved to have seen the Simpsons arcade game on the list as well, but its hard to think of which game to take off. For me personally, it would be virtual fighter, but I can still understand its inclusion.
a lot of this stuff is at that 5 story arcade in Downtown Disney. It was like a walk into the past, a past I never got to witness (since I was born in '92...)
Not having Virtua Fighter would obviously be insane. Dragon's Lair has a good historical call to be here, but they also say these games are all playable still.
i know this may not have been in arcades but wasn't wolfenstein the first espionege based game in history? if so, if it was never created, there might have never been a solid snake nor metal gear solid series we have today. also without him, some playstation 1, 2 and 3 players may have never got into the gaming industry.
No 4-player games, like TMNT, or X-Men, or (like someone else mentioned) the Simpsons. No shooters like Operation Wolf. No racing games. No Shinobi. No Bubble Bobble. No Tetris. this list is BULLSHIT.
(ok, it's a good list. but it clearly doesn't pander to my bias well enough!)
Man, I feel all you guys who are suggesting additional games. We actually considered The Simpsons and Centipede and TMNT, along with about a zillion others like Tempest, Defender, Berzerk, Star Castle (just because it was the first arcade game I actually kinda rocked at) and a ton of others. Ultimately though,we had to narrow it down, so we went with those that had the best gameplay and longest-lasting impact.
I would write a long, involved entry here for Double Dragon and the reason why this list needs to be bumped to 13 for it's inclusion, but I am lazy.
Just to say that the game essentially spearheaded a whole genre that people spent billions on; the side-scrolling beat-em-up. Such games as The Simpsons, TMNT, Sunset Riders, Alien vs. Predator, Final Fight and Streets of Rage owe direct lineage to the title's popularity, and even games such as God of War, Prototype, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Crackdown, Dynasty Warriors and the GTA series can be considered 3D derivations of the genre.
I love how far videogames have come, but I do miss the days of the arcade. There was something cool about the community aspect, and being able to play any of the dozens (or more) games you wanted, all in one place. I just wish that my parents hadn't always made me feel like I had wasted money every time I went. *sniff*