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Freedom of style with your white Arcade Table

Ooh, my Freedom catalogue just arrived in my email inbox announcing the Freedom 'White Collection' and it's lovely!  White is so clean, so adaptable, so pristine.  And we think white lends itself beautifully to the Asobu Arcade Table as you can see in the image.  Whilst we offer a choice of over 100 custom colour choices, basic white is stunning in its simplicity. We can also provide white legs, and on Arcade Tables that do not have a coin mechanism (as does the one in the image), the legs are 'hidden' inside the cabinetry.  You can choose to retain the black tabletop or have it customised to white. Customising is just $100 extra.  Call me on 1300 653 711 or use our contact form to request a copy of the colour chart and prepare to be dazzled!

Poor Dad's Father's Day gift tragedies

According to an article in Brisbane Times, Dads are the people on whom the least is spent on gifts ... what a tragedy!  The article referenced a gifting survey by Visa Prepaid which reported that the highest amount of money is spent on gifts for female partners.  It's good to be a gal!  But hey, doesn't Dad deserve more thought, more consideration, more heartfelt thanks than come with a pair of cartoon character socks or a pair of new car seat covers ... not that there's anything wrong with that!! Dad's the guy who picks you up late at night from your job, a party or when your car breaks down.  He's the one with the soft touch when Mum puts her foot down.  Dad may hog the remote, have smelly feet and tell the most embarrassing jokes in public but he's also the master of Sunday scrambled eggs, can cook a mean steak on the barbie and is the go-to guy when a bit of muscle is needed. Father's Day gifts needn't cost the earth but it really is the thought that counts.  Ok, if your Dad's socks are in dire need of darning - and who does that these days? - then a couple of new pairs will definitely do the trick.  But for heaven's sake, try to go the extra mile.  Father's Day presents deserve to be wrapped and accompanied by a cool, funny or soppy card. According to the Visa Prepaid report, 45 per cent of Dads said they wanted to buy their own present!  Now that speaks volumes about what they're used to getting on the first Sunday in September!  And while 37 per cent are pining for a new LCD TV, we know of lots of Dads who are hoping an Arcade Table arrives at the door! Have you got your Father's Day present lined up yet?  Be original, think from the heart and give with gusto!

Family-friendly entertainment the name of the game

Hands up if you like playing video games with your family!  A recent story on news.com.au revealed that home games consumers are turning away from violent video games in droves, with one in three games sold considered to be 'family-friendly'.  And why not?  Shouldn't a game be something fun and lively?  Shoot 'em up games are a dime a dozen and have been implicated in many crimes as the influencing factor behind brain snaps that result in applied violence.  Whether or not you subscribe to that theory is beside the point.  Family games are big news! The Sun Herald reported that for every fighting game sold, seven family-oriented games are sold.  This is a dramatic rise from 2006 when family games accounted for just 13% of the market. So, why is this happening?  Psychologist Dr Janet Hall believes that in the current climate of global terrorism and street violence, parents are exercising their responsibilities and guiding their children towards more wholesome genres such as dance, puzzle and trivia games.  And the family as a whole can enjoy participating together.  Family games currently make up 28% of all titles, followed - not closely - in second place by sport and racing games a 16%. To further drive the point home, Bond University research recently showed that 70% of parents in game households  play video and computer games and that 80% of those parents share the PC or console with their children. Isn't it reassuring to know that there's a return to genuine fun for fun's sake and that games can actually bring families together rather than alienating parents from children and so on?

Colour customise your Arcade Table

Remember the old wood-grain arcade machines from the 70's and 80's?  How cool were they?  Well, you can customise your Asobu Arcade Table in a choice of over 50 colours for just $100 more!  Shown at left is 'Cherry Red, a stunning modern version that fits beautifully with the latest colour schemes. Whether you're buying to suit your home media room or the waiting room at your business premises, there are colours to suit.  We offer vivid red, blue or green, subdued browns, pastels and greys, stippled variations, several wood grains and even a gorgeous white! Colour customising takes around six weeks as your Arcade Table is built specifically for you!  At just $100 extra, it's value you'll appreciate every time you play or even walk past your Asobu!

Why layby for Christmas when it's only July?

You know it must be July when the Target Toy Sale and the Kmart Toy Sale are announced.  The idea is to layby your toys and pay them off over the months leading up to Christmas and then pick them up on or before Christmas Eve.  Genius!  You don't have to hide the pressies and you can virtually save up for them for half a year. At Arcade Tables, we encourage Christmas labys in July too!  And there are a few very good reasons:

1. With customer laybys in place, we have a good idea how many Arcade Tables we're going to need to dispatch the week before Christmas.
2. Last-minute purchases can result in disappointment if the frantic rush we experience every year happens again.  Every November, the mad rush begins and whilst we obviously love that, there can be a risk of selling out.
3. By laybying, you can make your decision and not have to worry about what to get that hard-to-buy-for person for Christmas for the rest of the year!
4. No need to hide the Arcade Table at home ... we'll deliver to your door the week before Christmas.
5. No major outlay just when you need the cash most to pay for stocking fillers, edible goodies, liquid cheer and all those parties you get invited to.
6. We don't charge any interest or fees.  You pay just what you would if you'd purchased outright, but you get to spare your credit card.
7. Pay monthly by direct deposit or by credit card.  We accept Amex, Diners, Mastercard and Visa.

A 10% deposit is all that's required to start your layby.  But there is one problem with laybying so early in the year ... how on earth are you going to keep it a secret???

Pong circa 1978 on Kriesler TV

Cast your mind back ... waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back!  Remember when it was considered the height of technology to be able to play games on your TV?  Wow!  I remember our stunning Kriesler TV, our first colour TV, circa 1978.  We used to love sitting up really close to the screen, close enough so that we could see the red, green and blue bars that make up the images.  But what we absolutely adored was that it came with awesome games! Imagine ... a TV that would not only show programmes but that you could play as well!  We spent hours and hours trying to beat each other at Pong, that great old stalwart that was the shape of things to come.  We drove Mum crazy with the endless beeps and blurps as we sat completely mesmerised by the vision.  We were enthralled at the remote controls and the fact that we could tell the TV what to do, even from the lounge chairs!  Never mind that the remote controls were actually plugged in to the front of the set.  We didn't have to get up!

The tragic effect of violent video games

Since I’ve been Sales Manager for Arcade Tables, one of the biggest selling points I enjoy touting is the innocence of the games on the tables we produce.  There are 60 classic games on the Asobu Arcade Table and none require any kind of parental censorship.  Sure, you can shoot down alien spaceships, and you can gobble up little ghosts, but there is no car stealing (Grand Theft Auto) and certainly no graphic death and destruction (Halo). In a news item posted today on ninemsn.com.au, the headline “Teen Mum killed over video game” was pure testament to the hard core messages that are conveyed in modern games that are sold to our youths. Fox News reports that Daniel Petric, a 17 year old in the U.S., has been sentenced to 23 years behind bars for shooting dead his mother after she confiscated his favourite video game ... Halo 3. Almost as disturbing was the argument that Daniel had become so obsessed by the fictional violence in the video games he played, that he had become numb to the concept of death. Sales pitch though it may be, I truly believe that the innocence of the games on our Arcade Table is its most important feature.  When you’re buying an entertainment unit for the family to enjoy together, isn’t it wonderful to have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you can allow the children to use it without being severely influenced, even warped, by what they see? Rant over ... it’s difficult not to be moved by such a news item.

Testimonial - new LCD screens!

One of our first LCD unit owners is absolutely thrilled with her brand new Arcade Table. Hey Gina, I have got the games up and running and they are an absoulte HOOT!!!! So far every tradesman who has come through my door for my reno since the table arrived has taken your details swearing he is going to get one (if he can convince his wife to let him)! It has been a huge success. The picture quality is amazing and it is such fun, and delightfully uncomplicated. Thanks for all your help; it's greatly appreciated. I have to go....frogger is calling my name!!!!! Mind you I have killed so many frogs so far I'm surprised the RSPCA hasn't been on my doorstep!! It's the noise the frogs make when they jump that just cracks me up. I hope some of the tradesmen I gave your details to contact you. Gina, you should have seen their little dilated pupils and racing heartbeats!!! It was hilarious. All us "grownups" standing around the table saying "cool, it's got space invaders!!!" It's great to know there are some things from our youth that never lose their appeal, and even if our kids think we are strange, we know deep inside that space invaders will always be cool!!!! Cheers Ani Burchill Palmwoods, Qld

Galaxian trivia and gameplay

Galaxian is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1979.

Description (from Wikipedia) Galaxian expanded on the formula pioneered by Space Invaders. Like that earlier game, Galaxian featured a horde of attacking alien armies that exchanged shots with the player. In contrast to Space Invaders, however, Galaxian added an element of drama by having the aliens periodically make kamikaze-like dives at the player's ship. What's the game about? The gameplay was relatively simple. Swarm after swarm of alien armies attacked the player (who controlled a ship which could only fire sparingly at best) along the bottom of the screen. The player would defeat one swarm, only to have it replaced by another more aggressive and challenging army in the next screen. A plain and repetitive starfield scrolled lazily in the background, nicely contrasting with the action of the game.

Galaxian Trivia
Galaxian was very successful for Namco. It was the first arcade game to feature true color. Previous arcade games only emulated color by projecting black and white images onto a colored background.

• Galaxian was so successful that it spawned several follow-up games. The most popular of these was its immediate successor, Galaga, which in a large part eclipsed its ancestor in popularity.
• The highest ever score in a game of Galaxian was achieved by Gary Whelan of Manchester, England on 13 August 2004 when he managed to amass a total of 399,290 points.

Pac-Man facts and trivia

If you lived under a rock in the 1980's, or if you were born in a decade since, you wouldn't know a whole lot about Pac-Man.  So here's some info that will help you in your quest to eat fruit ... or at least to get your ghosts fruit-munching on your Arcade Table. Using the joystick, players control Pac-Mac through a maze and guide him to eat as many pac-dots as possible.  Once all the dots are eaten, Pac-Man progresses through to the next stage.  This is here four ghosts name Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde wander around the maze with the ultimate goal of catching Pac-Man.  Once a ghost touche Pac-Man, a life is lost.  When all lives are lost, the game is over.  Power pellets You'll see in the corner of the maze, four larger flashing dots and these are called power pellets.  They give Pac-Man temporary abilities to eat the ghosts which turn deep blue, reverse direction and move more slowly.   When Pac-Mac eats a ghost, the ghost's eyes return to the ghost home where it reverts to its normal colour. Keep a watch on the ghosts because they flash from blue to white before they turn dangerous and the length of time for which they flash grows shorter as you move through the stages of the game. Fruits As well as pac-dots and power pellets, Pac-Man also gets bonus items, most of which are fruits.  They appear near the centre of the maze and grant extra bonus points when eaten.  The items and bonus values are different throughout the game. Pac-Man Cheats It is possible to follow a pattern on each maze that will always clear the screen without being caught by the ghosts. It is also possible to hide indefinitely in one place on the screen.  Where Pac-Man starts on the maze, there's a "T"-like wall above him. If you guide Pac-Man up to the right-most part of the "T" from the bottom without any ghosts seeing you go in, they'll never enter that spot.  You need to stay still, facing up. The four ghosts The ghosts are Pac-Man's enemy and they want to follow him around with the goal of eating him.  Each ghost has a different personality, name, colour and nickname.

• Pinky: pink in colour, real name Speedy, very fast.
• Blinky: red in colour, real name Shadow, hard to shake, always stays behind Pac-Man.
• Inky: light blue in colur, real name Bashful, very shy and actually prefers to run away from Pac-Man.
• Clyde: orange in colour, real name Pokey, does his best to catch Pac-Man but is very slow.

Pac-Man trivia

• Did you know that Pac-Man was created when Toru Iwatani looked down at a pan of pizza with one slice missing?  The circle with the missing wedge that looked like a mouth became the character in his new video game.
• Pac-Man was originally called Puck Man but it was changed because the middle section of the 'P' could be scratched away and cause offence.
• Other stories have it that the name Pac-Man was derived from the Japanese adverb 'paku' which describes gaping, biting or snapping mouths.