He found himself with the chance to pursue his long-held passion after being laid off from an IT job, and now puts in 60-hour weeks at the arcade. The Machine Shed features vintage - that is, from the 1980s and ’90s - machines. Still, he never lost his belief in the business and in the power of play. Now, at age 40, he admits he doesn’t care for it that much anymore. At the time, his game of choice was the beat-’em-up Double Dragon.
Strong’s prime playing years were in the 1980s and ’90s, when he rode his bike to the mall to play, getting 15 tokens for a dollar. Aakre, for instance, is a former Street Fighter II national champion. “It’s so cool to have a little kid come up to you and say, ‘Would you like to play?’ I say, ‘Of course. “People are really missing the social aspect of what it was like to play video games in the arcades,” Strong said. Participants can embrace the experience of being shoulder-to-shoulder, joystick-to-joystick, with others who share a similar passion. Owners Branden Strong, James Aakre, and Darek Davidson hope it provides a welcome contrast for many modern gamers who are more likely to connect with other participants on headsets through the internet. Late last year, they opened the Machine Shed arcade near Rochester’s downtown. Two years ago, three investors decided to re-create the sensory experience of going to an arcade to play classic video games such as Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Defender and Centipede. An unassuming converted garage space in Rochester is bringing back memories for people who grew up in the 1980s and ’90s, and creating new ones for kids today.
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