I remember renting Contra (nes) from Erol’s for $3 and some change (memory is fuzzy on the price as this was the early 90s) for the weekends.

And that goofy snes game Hagane. Never beat it but it was fun.

You actually had to leave the house and be social back then. We rode bicycles to the nearby shopping center (to rent games) and also spent whatever extra quarters (25¢) at the video game arcade nearby.