So Long, Productivity: Internet Archive Adds 900 Classic Arcade Video Games

Online digital library Internet Archive now allows players to enjoy up to 900 classic arcade video games directly from their browsers in its latest project, the Internet Arcade. Some of the titles include old-school games such as “Food Fight,” “Frogger” and “Ghouls N’ Ghosts.” No quarters needed.

Last year, Internet Archive, a free online library that includes books, music and images, added an additional feature called the Console Living Room, a section that backed up early titles from five video game consoles -- the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Magnavox Odyssey, ColecoVision and the Astrocade.

Now, classic game lovers can enjoy 900 games from 25-plus years ago -- thanks to a project called JavaScript MESS, which was an effort to emulate as many classic titles as possible.

“Of the roughly 900 arcade games (yes, nine hundred arcade games) up there, some are in pretty weird shape -- vector games are an issue, scaling is broken for some, and some have control mechanisms that are just not going to translate to a keyboard or even a joypad,” Jason Scott, who’s leading the online project, said in a blog post on Saturday. “Obviously, a lot of people are going to migrate to games they recognize and ones that they may not have played in years. They’ll do a few rounds, probably get their asses kicked, smile, and go back to their news sites.”

Some of the games contain bugs –- lack of sound, lag or glitches in the controls. Still, it’s always fun to take a trip down memory lane and lose yourself in some arcade games for an hour or two. Remember that some of these games are 30-plus years old, dating back before first-person shooters or eighth-generation consoles.

“A few more [people], I hope, will go towards games they’ve never heard of, with rules they have to suss out, and maybe more people will play some of these arcades in the coming months than the games ever saw in their 'real' lifetimes,” Scott added.

You can find a list of available games here.