Arcade videogame buttons

Tonight I went to Ground Kontrol to shoot pictures of buttons of classic arcade video games and pinball machines. Absolute heaven. I shot 99 pictures. If I had been paying attention, I would have shot one more.

Like most people my age, the arcade floods the memories. Pocket full of quarters to push the buttons all day long. Push to jump, punch, fire, rotate, kick, thrust, pepper, flap and more. Super Zapper. Knockout. 1 Player 2 Players. Scramble at the 7-11. Tempest at the other 7-11. First seeing Space Invaders at the bowling alley. Ground Kontrol replicates this arcade memories through the sheer mass of games they have.

The button had arrived as a mass entertainment device. In the mid 70s, the button moved beyond a symbol of convenience and automation and became a symbol of fun. Entertainment could be had indoors instead of outdoors. Granted, this may not be a good thing, but there it is. From here, it’s a very short hop to handheld video games and their explosion.