EDMONTON -- Walking into Mathew Russell’s garage is like warping back in time. It’s home to a myriad of machines which Russell restores to their former glory.
“It’s an addiction,” he jokes.
The Sherwood Park man estimates he has accumulated more than 200 machines over the last decade -- which means plenty of hours of cleaning.
“Lots of games have mouse poop in them and pee… chewed wires… all of them have a cigarette smell."
An electrical engineer by trade, Russell spends hours upon hours in his shop bringing arcade games back to life.
“My wife probably thinks I spend too much time,” he told CTV News Edmonton. He says the restoration process can take months, or longer, to complete.
“It can be difficult. Sometimes it takes years to find the exact part that you’re looking for.”
Fellow collector Robert Fraser said the hobby said, “It brings you back to your childhood at a time where you had fun and your friends hung out at the arcade.
"What people want is something to remind them of what they used to do in the past."
Despite his vast collection, Russell is always looking for the next arcade machine to salvage.
“We all have a hobby."
