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The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

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Re: The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

#11

Post by pavel_lishin »

dblock wrote: post #7

Had a little nostalgia moment there with "Vozduwnij Boi" and the soda water dispenser. Those were 2 kopeks for a soda I think and 5 kopecs for kvas, which was so delicious.

Yeah. I've bought bottled stuff here (NYC), occasionally, and even some stuff at restaurants - but it all tastes weird and bad, and vaguely Coca-Cola-ish.

Went back last summer for my grandpa's birthday, and bought like five liters from an old woman who was selling it out of a big tank. Tasted almost exactly like I remember it, and I probably drank about two liters in one day.

Re: The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

#13

Post by whoopdedo »

GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #5
soylentcola wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It lines up though. He visited the US in 1959 and a little while after returning, the Soviets started working on their own arcade games. I guess there's no proof that he really did order Soviet games to be made but it's plausible.

Are you aware of the state of arcade games in the US in 1959.

Yes, it was called "pinball".

Re: The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

#14

Post by DerekL »

strictnein wrote: post #6
soylentcola wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It lines up though. He visited the US in 1959 and a little while after returning, the Soviets started working on their own arcade games. I guess there's no proof that he really did order Soviet games to be made but it's plausible.

Pong was released in 1972. A decent timeline of other releases: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_arcade_video_game_...

You don't seem to understand that various kinds of arcade games existed before video games. Go to the article and scroll down to the “Winter Hunt” and ”Basketball” machines.

Re: The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

#15

Post by lisivka »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #11
dblock wrote: post #7

Had a little nostalgia moment there with "Vozduwnij Boi" and the soda water dispenser. Those were 2 kopeks for a soda I think and 5 kopecs for kvas, which was so delicious.

Yeah. I've bought bottled stuff here (NYC), occasionally, and even some stuff at restaurants - but it all tastes weird and bad, and vaguely Coca-Cola-ish. Went back last summer for my grandpa's birthday, and bought like five liters from an old woman who was selling it out of a big tank. Tasted almost exactly like I remember it, and I probably drank about two liters in one day.

Quality of kvas improved a lot, so it may explain why it tasted _almost_ exactly like you remember it: it is not diluted anymore but produced by exactly same technology, so it a bit too concentrated, because soviet norms were adjusted for about 20% of additional water added at distribution. I.e. it especially made concentrated to dilute it later and steal money without need to fake documents.

Re: The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

#16

Post by slavik81 »

whoopdedo wrote: post #13
GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you aware of the state of arcade games in the US in 1959.

Yes, it was called "pinball".

Depends where you were. Pinball was illegal from the 1940s onwards in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City among others. It was only legalized in the 1970s.

Re: The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

#19

Post by chiph »

omonra wrote: post #10

The author may not realize (I only know this because my mother worked for the Soviet arcade ministry of sorts in the 80s) is that there was a whole illicit angle to the arcade business. They were all cash-based - which created huge opportunities for embezzlement for guys working there. The government had no way of knowing how many coins were actually deposited (ie the technicians could fiddle with counters or whateve…

Funny how things are similar. I was in the USAF with a fellow who had served in Vietnam. While there, he had a side job of repairing the slot machines that were in the Officers and NCO clubs. Like the Soviet arcades, this was also a cash business, and the machines were also rigged. His share of the vig supplemented his military salary fairly well, he said.

Re: The Alternate Universe of Soviet Arcade Games

#20

Post by pvg »

dblock wrote: post #7

Had a little nostalgia moment there with "Vozduwnij Boi" and the soda water dispenser. Those were 2 kopeks for a soda I think and 5 kopecs for kvas, which was so delicious.

Kopek for plain soda, 3 for soda with syrup was the longtime standard. Kvas, usually by some kvas-delivery vehicle, sold by a person. That seems to be still going strong:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass#/media/File:Kwass_kyjiw....

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