if you grew up in canada in the 90s and 2000s, you probably visited a Playdium arcade at one point or another.

if you didn’t, playdium was a canadian national mega-arcade that had over a dozen locations at its peak. it grew in the late 90s and early 2000s when arcades had already withered away in most malls. they imported a ton of interesting massive arcade units, like Dance Dance Revolution, monster truck simulators and ride-racing sims

the playdium archive is an online mini-museum of playdium history. the edmonton-based archivist has done an incredible job of digitizing old footage.

my personal favourite are these reloadable Playcards that you’d use instead of cash in the arcade cabs. i wish i had hung on to mine.

#canada #history #arcade #yeg