Budapest’s first and only interactive video-game museum hides in a cellar next to a café, and could be described as a 150-square-meter big children’s room from 1992. The place is the dream come true of co-owner József Varjú, and a portrayal of his childhood – or of many people’s childhood during the ’80 or the ’90s – decorated with toy cars, Tetris, children’s books, board games, and globes, not to mention retro armchairs.
“I came up with the idea about six years ago, although it can be traced back to my childhood. In the ’80s, there were SEGA clubs where I played a lot and where you could also rent consoles. Since then I’ve dreamed about having my own arcade,” says József, who started collecting video-game consoles as a child, and obtained rarities as an adult from various markets, the Internet, and acquaintances.
The interactive museum exhibits around 200 items from big-name brands like Atari, Nintendo, and SEGA, including a Commodore 64, Game Boys, Tetris consoles, or Pong, one of the earliest arcade video games. In the latter game, players only have to move two paddles to hit a ball back and forth, yet this could entertain us for hours and thus make us sit in front of the TV for entire afternoons.
We can play for hours at Game Over, too – a daily ticket (2,500 HUF) allows us to play all day long. There are about 50-60 games to choose from; among others, we can knock down Sub Zero with Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat, or collect coins with everyone’s favorite Italian plumber.
After just a few presses of the buttons, it becomes obvious that in the days before impressive digital graphics, the developers of retro games focused on what they could: difficulty. The more difficult a game was – with few or no save points, or bosses that could kill your character with a single hit – the more popular it became. Let’s not forget about the lack of guides and playthroughs, either – the most persistent gamers either had to uncover everything themselves or gather intel by word of mouth.
We were somewhat shocked that the most frequent visitors to the museum are fathers in their thirties or forties, and their children – it’s not clear, however, if it’s the parents or the kids that end up playing more. Most visitors attempt to tackle Super Mario, and often stay in the nostalgic basement for more than just a few hours. After all, time flies when you’re having fun.
Game Over
Address: Budapest 1061, Liszt Ferenc Square 1
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