Arcade trivia 101
* Ottumwa, Iowa, is the self-described “Video Game Captial of the World,” and is the home of the International Video Game Hall of Fame.* In 1982, the arcade industry was worth an estimated $20.8 billion (adjusted for inflation). By 1991, the value had plummeted to $3.7 billion.* The first coin-operated game ever made was “Galaxy Game” in 1971. Its cost was estimated at $118,000, adjusted for inflation.* At its peak, the United States had an estimated 13,000 video game arcades.* According to a 1982 article in Time magazine, popular games could bring in up to $400 in quarters every week.* A single 2-megahertz processor was used to power the “Space Invaders” arcade cabinet. The processor in the Apple Watch, by comparison, is 210 times faster.* Adjusted for inflation, the most profitable arcade game of all time is “Pac-Man,” which has sold 400,000 units and generated $7.7 billion since its launch in 1980.* Sega, the makers of the Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast home consoles, was the world’s most prolific arcade cabinet manufacturer, releasing 530 games.* 1987’s “Final Lap” racing game was the first to link together, allowing players on two cabinets to compete against each other.* In 2013, George Leutz set a marathon gaming record on a “Q*Bert” cabinet by playing for 84 hours straight.* Unlike some arcade games, “Pac-Man” has an end point. A glitch in its coding causes the game to fail automatically — known as a “kill screen” — when the player reaches the 256th maze screen.* Robbie Lakeman is the current high-score holder for “Donkey Kong” with a verified run of 1,158,400 points.
Brian Hennen is the first to admit that his is a selfish dream.
For years, the 32-year-old video editor and entrepreneur has wanted to open a bar, but not just any old watering hole would do. His vision was to create the kind of place where he could happily while away his time, where the beer was cheap, the food was unassumingly tasty and the music was cool without being too obvious.
And, given his lifelong love of the arcade experience, there needed to be the right video games, too.
"It is self-indulgent," Hennen admits, his lanky frame leaning against the white-tiled counter of Coin-Op, the arcade bar he opened on East M.L. King Boulevard on Aug. 29.
"While I love many bars in this town, none of them are the bar I want to hang out in all the time," he adds. "That's what this is."
The key to his dream for Coin-Op - not to mention the reason he decided to pull the trigger four months ago and self-fund its realization - is the parade of arcade game cabinets on the bar's left-hand wall, which he shares with music venue JJ's Bohemia. The initial crop of titles includes four-player arcade classics, including "The Simpsons" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," as well as more offbeat selections such as "Rampage," a 1986 title that lets players control a trio of giant monsters bent on reducing a pixelated city to equally pixelated rubble.
And then there's "Klax," a 1989 puzzle game by Atari with colorful descending blocks in the vein of "Tetris." Some of the other games, which Hennen is renting from Rossville, Ga.-based American Amusement, will rotate out, he says, but "Klax" may as well be a permanent fixture.
"'Klax' doesn't get much attention," he laughs, "but it's in there for selfish reasons because I love it."
American Amusement owner Ken Stansell says he used to rent arcade games to Hennen's uncles, who owned Yesterday's, a bar previously located at the west end of Patten Parkway. Stansell also owned Great American Arcades, which maintained several locations around Chattanooga until the last one on Brainerd Road pulled the plug about 15 years ago.
When Hennen approached him with his idea to open Coin-Op - short for "coin-operated" - Stansell says he was nervous for him since quarter-chomping games tend not to be the moneymakers they were in the arcade golden days of the late '70s and early '80s.
"He doesn't seem bothered by that. He think it's a niche he can do," Stansell says. "I think it takes a little bit of guts to do something that nobody else is doing, so I commend him for that."
The nostalgic ambiance isn't just tied up in the game cabinets. Previously the home to Triple 7 tattoo studio, Coin-Op's shotgun-style interior is a 700-square-foot homage to Hennen's deep, abiding love for all aspects of pop culture.
The bar is sprinkled with '90s-era toys he owned as a child, including Castle Grayskull (of "He-Man" fame) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' green-and-yellow van, which doubles as a tip jar. The walls are peppered with a motley assortment of decor, from paintings of "Metroid" video game heroine Samus Aran and black-and-white photos of the Marx Brothers to posters for various underground and cult films.
"I absolutely adore that sort of stuff," says Hennen, who also serves as the technician for the Chattanooga Film Festival and the bassist in local power trio Monomath. "That's part of my childhood. The pop culture stuff is just stuff that speaks to my heart."
The ambiance also suits the hipster-chic vibe that is taking root in the neighborhood, thanks to the arrival of the Tiny Buzz recording studio, the Bitter Alibi bar and the Camp House restaurant, all of which have located on or just off M.L. King Boulevard in the last year.
"I've been [to Coin-Op] maybe too many times already," says Jason Bowers, Bitter Alibi's co-owner. "The vibe is right - dimly lit, intimate - and the sound of laughter and childlike nostalgia is refreshing. They are going to be good neighbors. I'm excited to have more foot traffic on that corner and somewhere I can get my 'Pac-Man' fix."
With Coin-Op, Hennen says he's attempting to revive an entertainment experience that has been missing in the Scenic City, as well as most other communities, for almost two decades.
"I mean, heck, what grown man doesn't want to be surrounded by arcade machines?" he laughs. "Really, that's all it is, just a construction of my own desire to recapture my youth."
Although games are Coin-Op's core feature, Hennen plans to use the space for a range of activities. At the end of the counter he leans against, there's a small flatscreen TV around which an array of game controllers lie in a tangled heap.
Hennen hopes to capitalize on the love many have for home gaming by hosting in-house tournaments on classic systems such as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64. The venue also will include occasional concerts and film screenings, he says.
Even the food is supposed to satisfy nostalgic urges, Hennen says, with a "you could make this, too" menu including Sloppy Joe sliders, tuna melts, rice-and-bean bowls and the occasional meatloaf. There's also an all-hours cereal bar.
Coin-Op serves beer - and potentially liquor down the road - but Hennen says he hopes to attract customers of all ages. At night, the bar will remain 18-and-up "so long as it doesn't give me any issues," but earlier in the day, he wants parents to feel comfortable bringing in their children.
Based on feedback from his opening on Aug. 29, he's meeting that goal.
"This place is awesome," says Chattanoogan Lindsay Bell, who attended the all-day grand opening. "It was such an eclectic group of people: young kids standing on stools to reach the games, their parents, young singles from different backgrounds. It was truly a melting pot, with the games bringing everyone together."
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.