I went, and it was awesome. I was like a kid in a sweet shop - "look, there's Galaxian!"; "Wow, a working Ms Pacman machine!". Most games you love will be there, I think. And they're all on original machines, if that means more than emulators to you. Eg Tempest 2000 on the Atari Jaguar was a bit like waking up on Christmas morning and finding Santa's brought you that Lego set you always wanted when you were 6.

Pictures of my 2 hours there can be found here, if you want to get a feel for it. But sod that, just go, it's brilliant.

I went, and it was awesome. I was like a kid in a sweet shop - "look, there's Galaxian!"; "Wow, a working Ms Pacman machine!". Most games you love will be there, I think. And they're all on original machines, if that means more than emulators to you. Eg Tempest 2000 on the Atari Jaguar was a bit like waking up on Christmas morning and finding Santa's brought you that Lego set you always wanted when you were 6.

Pictures of my 2 hours there can be found here, if you want to get a feel for it. But sod that, just go, it's brilliant.

Oh yes and there is a working Star Wars arcade cabinet that is worth the admission price alone. Wire frame Tie Fighters and the Death Star run re-enacted...

And they're all on original machines, if that means more than emulators to you.

That's what I was hoping to hear. Fantastico!

I saw it when it was on at the South Bank. It was great to see all the old games and have a go at them (although I wished I'd gone on a week day as it was hard to get a try on everything I wanted to). As well as the old games there were some other interesting things like a four way game of Pong that makes music as well as some technology demos.

Wow, the sight of a centipede's cabinet instantly brings me back.
Tempest, though, looks all wrong.
i have no doubt i would completely suck at any of those games now but probably swear much less.
i learned how to really, truly swear in front of those things.
i scared full grown sailors.

Oh wow, that looks like something well worth spending some time at.

I went with five other mates and it was amazing, playing six player Bomberman on the Saturn all together was hilariously thrilling.

The actual exhibit itself is mildly orgasmic - there's everything from original versions of the first consoles to the PS3 and Wii, all available to play, touch, caress etc.

The only trouble I had was my frequent loud cursing (those old controllers are wacked, man!) did raise the eyebrows of a few parents. They should know better than to think gaming is for kids though.

We finally quit after three and a half hours, but that was due to human weakness, not a desire to leave. I'll probably try and go back at some point.

playing six player Bomberman on the Saturn all together was hilariously thrilling.

That was definitely one of the highlights. As was beating 14 year olds comprehensively at Halo 2. (Particularly after one of them told me to fuck off when I politely asked when his 25 minute go on Burnout 3 was going to end. That's karma for you).

Heh, I'll be the one getting beaten comprehensively at Halo 2. I really enjoy playing games, but I'm hilariously crap at most of them -- it's an obsession pathétique.

Interesting that Amazon.com is selling old-school video games.

Huh. And only a couple of thousand dollars each. We should get a couple of those for the MeFi club room.

Wait a minute. There is no MeFi club room! Scandalous.