What the death of the CRT display technology means for classic arcade machines

VentureBeat:

The arcade is dead. You already knew that, but that industry’s coffin is about to get another nail. The cathode-ray-tube technology that powered the monitors for nearly every classic arcade game in the twentieth century is defunct. Sony, Samsung, and others have left it behind for skinnier and more lucrative LCDs and plasmas, and the CRTs that are left are about to sell out.

To be clear, it’s not that games like Donkey Kong or Pac-Man will suddenly become unplayable. The games can run on newer LCD screens, but they may not look as the developers intended.

In my travels to dive bars throughout North America, I’d often see an old arcade game off in a corner. I was always happy to pop a few quarters in and play those wonderful old devices. I’d never thought about what happens when they can no longer use CRTs.