The Arcade 2009 - 2010

Is the arcade dead?
I'd really like to play some KOF12. Is that in American arcades or just Japanese arcades?
Are there any games superior in the arcade than to the ports anymore?
Are arcade games the ports?


I haven’t really spent time there in years. But with Zac’s dad a pro-bowler, we practically grew up in an arcade – Frogger, Gauntlet, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Arkanoid, TMNT, SFII, MK, KI2, etc, etc, etc.

So what is out there that has the potential to play and/or look better than the home version?

Arcades are now rooms with redemption games in them. It's the only thing you can't port to the home now. Move along, nothing to see here.

I've seen new fighting games around, but fuck if I can find any big spenders willing to get a Border Break or an After Burner Climax cab. They're just too expensive these days.

And no, arcade games stopped being superior to home games the day the DC/Naomi came out.

Arcade: Nostalgia games, redemption games and many are adding booze, so drinking games I imagine are in route, if not already present at arcades.

if you live in socal or norcal you could probably find one, maybe 1 or 2 on the east coast but that's it

the only places I know for sure have kof12 cabs in america is arcade infinity and some other dump in portland

In the early '00s, arcades had the power to push online gaming with high-speed internet connections not yet affordable to the average gamer. Nowadays I don’t see what advantage they could possibly have.

I just miss the experience. And I don't want to go out and play old games while listening to Ten in my Blossom shirt either.

cka, I think we both know I live in Texas.

so it's a half-day road trip

here in tx its a 1/2 day roadtrip just to get to the next town, let alone el paso

Your best bet is Gameworks at Grapevine Mills Mall. I doubt they'd have the next KOF game, but they defineatly have Afterburner Climax.

Light gun games and driving games are hard as hell to replicate at home. I like the new Sega Rambo game personally.

Well when I visited Hawaii last February I went to Hawaii Brian's and they were like the cades I remember. They had all your bemani titles, they had SF4 and Blazblue as well as other popular fighters. They even had pool, ping pong and fooseball tables. Was a pretty good arcade one I would still hang in if I lived in HI or if they had one here in MI

american arcades, yeah.

The Japanese ones are still important even though none of us really play at them. Partially because, nah, the arcade games usually aren't the ports.

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Originally Posted by Tain

The Japanese ones are still important even though none of us really play at them. Partially because, nah, the arcade games usually aren't the ports.

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Eh, arcades are dying here as well.

There's a Nickel City near hear that still gets some good people showing up... but people tend to play on consoles these days and at each others' houses, and I kind of dislike them enough to not want to spend time with any of these people away from the arcade.

There is a Gameworks about ten minutes away from my apartment that has Tekken 6, Mario Kart, Metal Slug 5 or 6, MvC2, Mr.Driller ( ~ Yay! ~ ) among some driving and ticket games. I was impressed, although it would be awesome if they got in some newer, better fighting games.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

I just miss the experience. And I don't want to go out and play old games while listening to Ten in my Blossom shirt either.

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Put on VS instead then - stronger album IMO.

I am now in search of a Blossom shirt.

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Eh, arcades are dying here as well.

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Yeah, I don't doubt that at all. But, at least at the moment, there are still awesome games that wouldn't really turn out the way that they're turning out if they weren't developed primarily for that audience, is all I'm sayin'.

While Japanese arcades aren't as huge as maybe they once were, it's still a far, far, far cry from the way it is in the states.

I remember going into a bowling alley in Seattle and freaking out when I saw a Neo Geo 4-slot with Puzzle Bobble and Metal Slug 3.

Here in Japan, I'll walk into an arcade and see dozens of cabinets with every Cave shooter, Capcom and SNK fighter, rows of beat-em-ups, etc. and just kind of shrug my shoulders because I don't feel like playing anything. There are literally hundreds of arcades in Tokyo alone like this, compared to America that has maybe a half dozen with anything of note.

There are also lots of arcades that have gaming competitions, as well as recording equipment, and staff on-hand that are more than happy to plug in a game of your choice from their libraries.

Saying Japanese arcades are dying is like saying a 450 pound man is dying because he lost 40 pounds; he's still rather robust.

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Originally Posted by Kaneda

While Japanese arcades aren't as huge as maybe they once were, it's still a far, far, far cry from the way it is in the states.

I remember going into a bowling alley in Seattle and freaking out when I saw a Neo Geo 4-slot with Puzzle Bobble and Metal Slug 3.

Here in Japan, I'll walk into an arcade and see dozens of cabinets with every Cave shooter, Capcom and SNK fighter, rows of beat-em-ups, etc. and just kind of shrug my shoulders because I don't feel like playing anything. There are literally hundreds of arcades in Tokyo alone like this, compared to America that has maybe a half dozen with anything of note.

There are also lots of arcades that have gaming competitions, as well as recording equipment, and staff on-hand that are more than happy to plug in a game of your choice from their libraries.

Saying Japanese arcades are dying is like saying a 450 pound man is dying because he lost 40 pounds; he's still rather robust.

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Get outside of the big cities though and you'll see that they are dying. Down in my area we've had the two best arcades close down in the last year, and the other arcades have been stacking up on more redemption/purikura/horse racing/other retarded shit like that games.

It's still much better then the way it is in the states, that's true, but it's starting to hurt.

True that it isn't the golden ages anymore, but I do think there should still be some decent arcades close to you no matter where you are.

I don't know where you are in Kyushuu but maybe this arcade locator can point you to something: http://www19.atwiki.jp/karishooterwiki/. Hundreds of arcades listed and that's just for ones with shooters.

I think it would be funny/interesting/sad to see a site like that for the States.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

In the early '00s, arcades had the power to push online gaming with high-speed internet connections not yet affordable to the average gamer. Nowadays I don’t see what advantage they could possibly have.

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If that were true net cafes wouldn't exist - I think that's what arcades have really become to an extent. Oddly enough, in Japan they have linked deluxe cabs for stuff like Half Life, RTSes and rogulikes, but for whatever reason they never made it over here to their home territory.

Arcades are still going strong in Japan, but that scene is slowly fading too; new games come out very infrequently, and you get the sense they're kept afloat by UFO Catchers, and cheesy pachinko & digital slot machines. The lack of a similar phenomenon may explain why arcades couldn't hang on here to the same extent.

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Originally Posted by Kaneda

I don't know where you are in Kyushuu but maybe this arcade locator can point you to something: http://www19.atwiki.jp/karishooterwiki/. Hundreds of arcades listed and that's just for ones with shooters.
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I'm in Hyuga City in Miyazaki, fairly rural area (well comparitively, it isn't US levels of rural, but it's a very very small city for japan. Looks like the only arcade they have listed for me is the one that is my regular (not that I was expecting any surprises). It's an ok arcade I'll admit, but the only regular crowd it has is the Tekken 6 dipshits. Can almost never get any competition in SFIV and they still haven't gotten Blazblue nor KoFXII.

Also I'm still pissed that they haven't gotten Jubeat yet. That game is soooo fucking good.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

Light gun games and driving games are hard as hell to replicate at home. I like the new Sega Rambo game personally.

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When the time comes for Razing Storm on PS3, I don't think arcade owners will lose much to the home version. Using the GC3 is a far cry from the heavy recoil MG on the arcade which does kick the experience up a tad, but the GC3 will do for playing at home. Best of both worlds.

Arcade guns are easier to do rapid semi-auto fire with than a GC3. (i.e. handgun in TC4, which is important when you're taking out Wild Dog's 3 wall trap).

My GW needs to dump their old Guitar Freaks 1st Mix and get the new GFXG when that's out. I don't even touch the redemption games except for Super Shot basketball. GW is usually packed on Thursday nights when they have the $10 Play Your Way from 8pm-12. If you do this, I recommend getting there a tad early (maybe 7:50) to try to be among the first few in line and avoid waiting 15-30 mins. to purchase your timed play.

In SoCal, you had Arcade Infinity, SHGL (closed a few years back :( ) and there's a Nickel City in Carmel Mountain somewhere.

Out here in Southern Illinois, I have yet to see an "arcade" thats isnt more than 5-10 misc games thrown in a room at the mall. Granted the one the next town over has a Raiden II machine, is busted half the time I go in, so its not a real arcade.

Actually, the restaurant I'm helping open has an "arcade" in it, which consists of 4 different BIG BUCK HUNTER cabs, a Guitar Hero Arcade, FaF:TD Bikes and some Tank game I've never seen before along with tons of redemption games like Deal or No Deal, Stacker and numerous outher coin sucking machines. I tried to tell the guy to get a IIDX or DDR machine in there thinking it might actually do decent business, but he took that as "oh, I'll get this Guitar Hero Cabinet, it sounds about the same!"

Better than nothing, but its a pretty pathetic scene here.

Agreeing with the DC/Naomi argument.

This is something I am very passionate about. Brace yourself for wall o' txt.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

Is the arcade dead?

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I wouldn't say the arcade is dead, or extinct in America. I would tag it with "endangered", however. It's shocking to think about it. Even in the late 90s there was an arcade in every mall or at least a stand alone one every 3 or 4 miles in major metropolitan areas.

While those days will never return, there are arcades. But they are reserved to very specific areas. There are a lot of locational quirks that go into keeping an arcade alive. It takes a place with good foot traffic (a college town) or an area where people are willing to drive great distances to play.

Ground Kontrol (www.groundkontrol.com) in Portland, OR is the best example in the 'States today of how to keep an arcade alive and thriving. I have been lucky enough to visit the place and it's enough to make you want to move to Portland (if you're a die hard arcade junkie).

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

I'd really like to play some KOF12. Is that in American arcades or just Japanese arcades?

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JP release only. A lot of mom n' pop arcades in the US have purchased machines anyway, however. Much like SFVI. I'm fortunate to live within 20 mins of Arcade UFO (www.arcadeufo.com) in Austin. Though it doesn't matter much anymore as the game is out on major consoles.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

Are there any games superior in the arcade than to the ports anymore?
Are arcade games the ports?

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LOL. KOF XII is superior in the arcade. It does not contain the silly infinites contained in the home versions.

In general, I think all arcade versions are superior to console ports. The only way to get the true experience is to play it on the hardware the game was originally conceived on. The only exception would be arcade hardware that is console based. Even then there are extras and tweaks that were not in the original arcade release.

And then there is the issue of online play. I LOL at anyone who bitches about fighting games or shoot em' ups with poor online play. ALL ONLINE PLAY IS POOR WHEN COMPARED TO ARCADE CABINET PLAY. I do not care how good the net code is or if the players live next door. Sitting next to someone at an arcade cab is the only way to play (or next to each other in the living/gaming room with a console if you must). There is no lag and the human connection is there. Even in Japanese arcades (or Japanese style in the case of UFO) you can still shout across the arcade at your opponent with a linked cab or stand up and give them a dirty look over the row. XBL and PSN can go fuck themselves. And I understand that not everyone can walk down to an arcade, but don't think for a second that online gaming will ever be as precise or human as sitting in an arcade.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

I haven’t really spent time there in years. But with Zac’s dad a pro-bowler, we practically grew up in an arcade – Frogger, Gauntlet, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Arkanoid, TMNT, SFII, MK, KI2, etc, etc, etc.

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I feel you. There are two options: move to a city with an excellent arcade/s or start your own.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

So what is out there that has the potential to play and/or look better than the home version?

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See my rant above.

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Originally Posted by wip3outguy7

Arcade UFO (www.arcadeufo.com) in Austin.

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Road Trip!

LMK. Any excuse to go to that place is a good one.

An arcade opened up in Miami this year.

It's small and SFIV is on consoles built into cabs

3S is there but it's on those atrocious P360 sticks.

The game selection is less than ideal.

University Pinball is closed. There was a fire or something. :(

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Originally Posted by FirstBlood

University Pinball is closed. There was a fire or something. :(

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Fuck!

They sucked for having a Raiden 2 cab with a broken joystick for more than 9 years (which they repeatedly said they'd fix), but at least I could count on being able to play one or two of the latest pinball tables there.

I hope they manage to re-open.
That place seemed to do a good bit of business.

I went to the boardwalk on Point Pleasant (on NJ shore) this summer. There is an arcade/redemption and most of the games suck there.

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Originally Posted by dementia_

An arcade opened up in Miami this year.

It's small and SFIV is on consoles built into cabs

3S is there but it's on those atrocious P360 sticks.

The game selection is less than ideal.

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What? Where?

I remember the only viable options were like, what became Boomers and Flippers (though Flippers may have closed, I moved away years ago).

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Originally Posted by Shooting Love

Fuck!

They sucked for having a Raiden 2 cab with a broken joystick for more than 9 years (which they repeatedly said they'd fix), but at least I could count on being able to play one or two of the latest pinball tables there.

I hope they manage to re-open.
That place seemed to do a good bit of business.

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They're supposed to open in a few months, from what I hear. The fire was in the upstairs apartments but it was due to an electrical problem with the whole building.

i'm always hearing about arcades in the us or japan but what about the uk and other parts of europe? last time i was in london i got to play mario kart at an arcade near china town. they also had capcom vs snk and alpha 3. this was back in 2006/'07, though.

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Originally Posted by FirstBlood

They're supposed to open in a few months, from what I hear. The fire was in the upstairs apartments but it was due to an electrical problem with the whole building.

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Cool, that place should be a historic landmark for West Philly by now.
Philly has had some interesting gaming history. That arcade on Walnut is sorely missed. So many city workers flooded that place around lunch hour it was like a time warp back to 1981 with people waiting to get on the pinball machines.

The old Atari Age magazine used to be published from an office on Walnut St too.

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Originally Posted by rama

i'm always hearing about arcades in the us or japan but what about the uk and other parts of europe? last time i was in london i got to play mario kart at an arcade near china town. they also had capcom vs snk and alpha 3. this was back in 2006/'07, though.

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shmups forum seem to talk about the scene in London from time to time.

I was in Spain a few years ago and there was still a large multi-floor arcade off of the main strip in Barcellona (Las Ramblas).
They had a freaking Ridge Racer Fulll Scale:


They also had Shock Troopers 2nd Squad, which was the one and only time I've ever seen/played that.

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Originally Posted by Shooting Love

They also had Shock Troopers 2nd Squad, which was the one and only time I've ever seen/played that.

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It sucks compared to the first one.

Yeah, it's not a bad game but it's a shitty sequel.

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Originally Posted by rama

i'm always hearing about arcades in the us or japan but what about the uk and other parts of europe? last time i was in london i got to play mario kart at an arcade near china town. they also had capcom vs snk and alpha 3. this was back in 2006/'07, though.

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I visited UK back in 2006. I went to Goodge Street Casino and Piccadilly Circus in London. The former had up-to-date fighters and shooters, and the latter had a giant selection of everything else, new and old. From what I've read and seen, the arcade scene in London is decent, but the rest of England is abysmal.

i c. on another trip back in 99/2000 sega world was still around not far from piccadilly. they had the sonic arcade game with the roller ball thing, that one sonic fighting game and the virtua on sequal. i'd never even seen those games in the states/east coast before. i think maybe a lot of the arcades there are for gambling primarily? i mean...those slot games were all along the back walls of most arcades i've visited there.

Went to Colorado Springs for a short vacation. Checked out this arcade while staying the night in Manitou Springs:

I don't know exactly where you are in TX Doc, but in houston there is Planet Zero. They seem to have a decent lineup of games (no KOF 12 though). They also have tourneys pretty regularly. I've never been to it, but it is on my radar for the next time I head that way for a show.

Here is a list of their games, taken from their myspace page.

Midnight Maximum Tune 2
Initial D Ver. 4
OUTRUN 2
CORBRA: The Arcade
Puzzle Bobble 4
F-ZERO AX
pop'n music FEVER
Dolphin Blue
ParaPara Paradise 2nd MIX
Tekken 5 Dark Resurection
Tekken 6
Super Puzzle Fighters 2
Arcana Heart FULL
Arcana Heart 2 SUGOI
Capcom VS SNK 2: Millionare Fighting 2001
Fist of the North Star
The Rumble Fish 2
Melty Blood: ACT CADENZA
Mark of Wolves
King of Fighters 98'
King of Fighters X
Street Fighter 2 Turbo
Street Fighter 4
Marvel VS Capcom 2
Guilty Gear
Dance Dance Revolution: Super Nova 2

I've been to several arcades since I was young, and as long as I live I'll never consider a place an arcade if it doesn't have some pinball machines. And by and large, the most fun I've ever had was on one called The Cyclone. It's a dream for me to own one, as much as it is a dream that I have my own home arcade (complete KI and KI2 machines or gtfo). That pinball machine has only been touched by the Lord of the Rings machine, which is, admittedly, pretty awesome. Besides that, the only working arcade I have seen in 10 years is Flipper McGees in Virginia beach where we go every year. I'm not great at MvC2, but when I go there I tend to rape the tourists and it's fun as hell. And they have Heavy Barrel. Nuff said.

Dude! I so remember The Cyclone!

If you got one, I'd so come to your house and rock your pinballs.

It's taken long enough, but I finally made a video for Arcade UFO here in Austin.