We recently visited Player’s Choice in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina during a recent trip while actively hunting pinball machines to play in the wild. We came across some great places along the way, but there were a few that stood out more than others, and this was one of them.
Located in the Myrtle Beach mall, it’s like a GameStop sort of – but with way more – comics, collectibles, books, and a .25 per play arcade full of great classic arcades and well over a dozen pinball machines. The owners were also decent to talk to and it was the busiest store in the whole mall.
Somehow I lucked out and showed up not long after they unboxed a Heavy Metal LE so I definitely took advantage of playing that rare beast (also only .25 a play!!!) and had to go back for a second session a day later.
All of their pinball machines were very well maintained. There was a flurry of activity in and out of there all day long, and the arcade and pinball machines seemed to be what drew the most attention and excitement.
The Data East Batman machine had people playing it nonstop both times I was there. There was also a Godzilla!!! The lineup in the store itself was Rocky & Bullwinkle, Frankenstein, WWF Royal Rumble, Heavy Metal, Demolition Man, Godzilla, and Batman.
Next to Player’s Choice, and under the same ownership and management, they have an actual arcade room, complete with blacklights, arcade carpet, and more pinball and arcade games. In that room were Nugent, Data East Simpsons, Gorger, Super Mario Brothers, and Tales from the Crypt.
While there, I overheard some kids talking about how bummed out they were that South Park left… If they only knew how difficult it was to find Heavy Metal on location, which is what replaced South Park, perhaps they would have thought differently. It was cool to hear all the chatter and see the excitement people had there.
