If you remember the days when the zenith of computer graphics capabilities were delivered in 8-bit and video game arcades were the height of cool then the news of a new classic arcade games bar in Peckham, London called The Four Quarters will probably be something to snap you out of mid-life modern-day malaise. With rare and classic old school arcade games, craft beer and a powered-up food menu it looks set to be hard to resist.
It opened on Rye Lane in Peckham, and the grand launch of the new venue took place at the end of June 2014, just as the last murmurings of E3 started to wind down, toasting the latest generation of gaming with a big fix of retro action. We reckon that even if you missed some of the games the first time around, but you’re still a computer games addict then you’ll probably still be keen on the potential of The Four Quarters to get back in touch with the origins of the modern gaming experience.
The Four Quarters, Peckham arcade games bar location map:
Games that line the walls of the new bar from day one onwards include Tron, Outrun, Street Fighter II, Star Wars Trilogy, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Defender, Space Invaders, Pac Man, Point Blank, Sega Rally and apparently plenty more. All will be set to play for 1 quarter and you’ll be able to get 4 quarters for a pound from the bar, while you’re getting yourself a beer.
They’re clearly covering a pretty wide spectrum in terms of the evolution of arcade gaming with classics from the 70s, 80s and 90s. We’re just hoping that Double Dragon, Vs. Duck Hunt and Killer Instinct all make it into the mix at some point down the line too.
They’re all games that we know and love and the possibility of getting to play them while hepped up on craft beer and a tasty burger sounds pretty good to us. Modern technology has done everything it can to reduce the visibility of the building blocks of graphics with ever greater levels of resolution and granular rendering, but there’s something intrinsically beautiful and nostalgic about the pixel-proud classic arcade games of yesteryear.
As well as having the arcade machines all in one place, there will also be an ongoing stream of gaming competitions and tournaments at the venue to inject a little of the Games Master magic into the party bag of goodies at The Four Quarters. There’s only one thing better than playing computer games and that’s getting to crush all comers at your video game of choice, so the competitions will surely be a big part of the atmosphere.
If that isn’t enough, they’re also promising to include music and movie screenings to create a full-on sensory overload that can only really be fixed with beer. Imagine if you can turn up and play a little Outrun with a pint, take the golden joystick in a SFII competition to the death, watch a screening of Wizard and then dance the night away to eighties disco music. That would be a pretty amazing night.
The Four Quarters is the brainchild of Joe Dowling and Tom Humphrey, who have already delivered London’s only dedicated retro games store, Retro Game Base in Streatham. With that firmly up and running, they’ve turned their thumbs to the exciting prospect of The Four Quarters. The venture has been in discussion for more than two years now, but with fellow owners Simon, Francois and Marc, entering the fray as new challengers the bar was ready to press up up down down left right left right A B.
