I clearly remember the day Three Midway Space Invaders were unpacked and driven to ONE location. They joined the other Space Invaders cabinet. The reason THREE more were being added was that the coin box on the solitary Spacies was emptied every day. That's four Space Invaders cabinets in an arcade in Northcote. I was bemused at the time, and even I could not get a game. I'll ask Dad if he can remember the actual takings.
But that was only the beginning.
Dad imported well over 100 cocktail tables over time. They literally came in "waves". Woodgrain cabinet, White cabinets, black cabinets and then the color versions. Different variants as well - Space Stranger was another huge upright. Space Invaders didn't kill off pinball, but it came very close and it was the start of the demise. Pac Man was not as big, but it was part of the next generation. For every pinball machine, there was four cocktail tables. They just took over.. There was at least one table broken into a week. So many leftover games that were in storage had re enforced coin doors with padlocks.
Ironically, I found a box full of Space Invader clone boards. Around 50 of them. No documentation, just boards. Single layer and dual layer. Good for a museum perhaps ?
Many of the tables were gutted and replaced with 14 inch monitors and then a "universal" harness which pre dated Jamma. ANY board could be changed over in minutes. Back then, they were continually changed to keep up. The memories of these days (growing up) were simply amazing. As a kid, I was the most popular guy in school BECAUSE of the games. They were a huge part of culture. Lost on this generation unfortunately.
