For most people, a broken arcade game means game over. But for Nathan Braden, it’s an opportunity to give a piece of history another life.
Inside his 3,200-square-foot workshop, hundreds of vintage arcade and pinball machines tell stories of a time before online gaming, downloadable content and handheld consoles.
Some are decades old. Others need a little work before they’re ready for another round.
For Braden, the man behind Dixieland Pinball, repairing these machines is about much more than getting them to work again. It’s about preserving the memories that come with them.
“I preserve the past for the future,” Braden said.
Braden never imagined his childhood fascination with arcade games would eventually become his career.
A third-generation Y-12 employee, Braden spent years working as a machinist at the Oak Ridge nuclear facility. Before that, he worked in retail for more than two decades.
But something was missing.
“I reached this age to where I just wasn’t very fulfilled with what I was doing,” Braden said.
His love for arcade games began long before he picked up a wrench.
Growing up in the 1980s, Braden remembers playing arcade games during family vacations to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Those trips left him with memories he wanted to hold on to. About 15 or 16 years ago, he started collecting a few machines and teaching himself how to repair them.
He spent nights reading technical manuals, learning how the machines worked and figuring out how to bring them back to life.
What began in a 20-by-20-foot garage quickly grew into something much bigger. Braden started buying more machines, eventually filling 10 storage units that cost him more than $2,000 a month in rent.
His family encouraged him to take the next step.
He then built a 3,200-square-foot workshop on property that has been in his family for more than a century.
Eventually, Braden made another major decision. At 58 years old, he left his six-figure job to focus on Dixieland Pinball.
“I left a really good job,” Braden said.
Today, his workshop represents years of dedication to a hobby that became his life’s work.
Braden has worked with hundreds of games over the years, from traditional upright arcade cabinets to older electromechanical pinball machines. His work has taken him across the country, including Florida, Missouri, New York and Pennsylvania. He said he has also sold replacement parts to customers in eight countries.
But keeping these machines running isn’t always easy.
Some are more than 75 years old, making replacement parts increasingly difficult to find. Braden has spent years collecting old components to help keep the machines operational.
And while the repairs can be frustrating, he said the reward makes it worthwhile.
“The biggest fulfillment is when I see a father, son, his son play a game they all three grew up on, bring it back to life,” Braden said. “And watch that three generations stand around and play it.”
He said seeing those moments reminds him why he continues doing the work.
“It just thrills me. It really does,” Braden said.
Video games have changed dramatically since the days when Pac-Man and Donkey Kong dominated arcade screens. Today’s games feature advanced graphics, online multiplayer experiences and increasingly digital platforms.
But Braden believes something gets lost when gaming moves away from physical machines.
“There’s more to gaming than just graphics. There’s more to gaming than sound,” he said.
To him, vintage arcade machines offer something modern gaming sometimes cannot: a physical connection to the past. He points to the initials carved into old cabinets and the wear left behind by generations of players.
Those imperfections are reminders that each machine has a history.
“It’s a personal thing you can touch,” Braden said.
He hopes younger generations will discover the same excitement their parents and grandparents experienced decades ago.
For some families, that means gathering around a machine they haven’t played in years. For others, it’s introducing a child to a game that helped define their own childhood.
Braden said those experiences are what make the long hours and difficult repairs worthwhile.
His workshop isn’t a traditional arcade or storefront with regular business hours. It’s a private shop dedicated to repairing, restoring and preserving vintage games.
And while the machines may be old, Braden believes the memories they create are timeless.
“When people bring me stuff that brings them joy, I want to fix it,” Braden said.
Because sometimes, all it takes to bring the past back to life is one more game.
