Arcades: The Decline

When I was a kid. There was this mall. Near the food court, stuck snuggle between the pizza place, and a Chick-fil-a, sat this dark, cave like hole in the wall. Neon lights, sounds of yelling and chatter alike, enticing passersby. This was the arcade of my youth. The only time I ever ate faster than the rest of my family, was when I had a buck and change in my pocket, and we were eating out chicken clubs and waffle fries. Great expediance was needed to ensure that I would have plenty of time to enjoy the lights, the sounds, the colors, the atmosphere. It was a wonderous place. Teenage kids smoking at the back door, trying thier damndest to be cool. The suits on break from thier nine to five, releasing tension at the Pac-man, and World Heros machines.

This was the first place I experienced Life Force, still one of my top horizontal shooters to date. The first place I saw Ukyo take on Galford... and make him his bitch. There was a smell of the place. Not good or bad, but memorable. Distinctive, like a mix of some kids room, new electronics, and pot. Like some sort of arcade cologne.

I still remmebr the smells, the sights, the friends I made there, the people I took down in Samurai Shodown, and the people who showed me I wasnt as hot shit as I thought I was with TamTam.... Why reminisce over these days? They are long gone. Arcades are still here, but they are far diffrent than they once were. Perhaps in more enlightened areas of this country, there are still those holes in the wall that envoke mystical feelings of wonder deep inside, some ancient calling forth to your hands and quarters, but not here. Not many places I suspect either.

So what happened, where did the arcade go. Where was the comet that killed of the Bracheosaure(sp?) and let the monkeys do a dance in the jungles? I have many theories of my own, but my time is short. I will be back later with more of my thoughts on this. For now though, discuss arcades. Do you feel they are the same as always, or not? People from places other than America, Im intrested to hear about those areas too. It's my understanding that arcades in other countries tend to kick ass. This isnt an argument of better or worse for arcades either. I love the games in arcades nowadays, just like I did back in the day. But the types of games, the communities surrounding those games, and the places in which these games are located, feel wholly diffrent then they did when I started the journey of the arcade warrior.

Z-roe

I can at least say arcades in my area are pretty much dead. The occasional game will see a lot of play time (Marvel vs Capcom 2 was a favorite), but for the most part, after a few weeks, most people move on to the next big thing. I think a huge part of the decline was the invention of the fighting game. Once street fighter and mortal kombat hit it big, everyone and their mother began to jump on the bandwagon trying to get a piece of the pie. Fighting, racing, and gun shooting games soon started to dominate the arcades. Nice, but that kind of thing gets sickening. Also, once home systems caught up to arcade specs, something was needed that couldn't be done at home. Expensive cabinets were created, but it was only a short time gain.

I have to mayors arcades near my home, the 3S, MvC2 and Teken 4 machines are always pack specially 3S, but I don't like arcades that much I have this flaw... I always get nervous when I play against some1 I don't know why

The demise of the arcades can be blamed on two parties: the hardcore gaming "geeks" (us), and the casual mainstream folk (who came along after us).

The geeks, in their love for gaming, had more home videogaming equipment. Obviously, we were playing our home games more- which reduced our time availible to patron arcades.

The casual mainstream, though their numbers grow and grow, may go into arcades, but are not interested in games enough to spend more than a couple bucks a visit. These folks would then lose interest and go to the Gap or Abercrombie...

I remember skipping school and walking 2 miles to a video rental store with friends just to play some Street Fighter II. Those were the days.

I do believe arcades are failing more rapidly in the United States than they are in Japan, currently. Perhaps the fact that it's a bit more of a pain in the ass to use Online capabilities that keeps them going to arcades... or perhaps that they're seeing enough new games to have arcades that earn enough money to be kept clean ... or something...

The decline is has an up side to is as well. Game boards that cost a bundle back in early to mid 90s now can be picked up for $100 or less. The problem is that the amount being made today is small and they're usually custom cabinets, no JAMMA. Well, at least modest collectors like me will be able to enjoy the games and pass on their knowledge to others. Remember not all of the stuff will be emulated. Interestingly enough, five years ago I could have predicted the state of the game industry in general. I can't do that now. I truly don't know where we're going. It may be the internet, VR, or some other mainstream concept.


seen

Hmm... all intresting. Though I see arcade decline as a few major factors. Price. Price is a big problem, too many games are starting out at 0.75 or a buck. Now, if what I believe, that lower income people are the ones who will be coming to arcades more often, is true then pricing games that high isnt a good idea. The reason I see it this way, is because lower income people dont neccesserily have the money to get a new console when they first come out. Probably getting it tword the end of the consoles life. So it seems to me, that arcade games are being made with the people who can buy systems easily in mind, therefor relegating arcades to advertizing, plain and simple. Really new or even delux cabinates shouldnt be costing this much. Those franchise Clubcades like GameWorks charge even more(cause they know drunk idiots wont care how much it is, or try and work out thier encryptic credit system). Arcades are great because, A) There were games you simply couldnt experience at home, and 2) You could spend a small ammount of money, and get a night or afternoon of great gaming experience.

The money issue I've already talked about. The games you cant get at home though, it something else tht bothers me. Also, it somewhat ties in with the price issue. Arcade boards, and the games made for those boards, have become ever increasingly close to their home counterparts. Naomi, System 246, Triforce... all these boards come down to thier home counterparts with more RAM. Thats about it. Yet, they charge huge ammounts for these boards, cause arcade owners to jack up thier prices. In the end, you're paying alot for pretty much the same game you are gona play at home in a few months, with the exception of it possibly having some higher res textures. Sometimes we are lcuky enough to get an Arcade board that can handle things better than the home boards by a great deal. Naomi 2. Not terribly more powerfull than the current systems, but I would say better in most things than PS2. Do you think VF4 pushes the Naomi 2? I dont. I think it was made with the PS2 in mind. Im not so hung up on graphics that I didnt spend 20$(.75 a play BTW) a week to play the game at the arcade, Im just saying that I want a reason to goto the arcade. The gameplay should be the same, give me some amazing eye candy to enjoy while Im playing(not that VF4 isnt amazing visually =d ).

The way I see it, arcade game developers are making too many arcade games, with consoles in mind. They are too often using expensive peripherals to keep people coming to arcades, but in turn, making the games more expensive and alienating the people they should be embracing. Why couldnt a developer make a bunch of great low budget, but still really fun games on Naomi? Why cant arcade hardware makers go for a board that just simply blows away home systems on every front? Not every single arcade game has to come home. Even if it does, it doesnt have to be the same exact game. It's hard for me to convey my exact feelings without making this really long, but thats pretty much the jist of it. Theres a few more things I have issue with, but those can wait till I get off work.


Basic summary. Arcade's are to expensive for the experience they deliver. They should be aiming at lower income people. They should be focusing on giving an experience that you cant delver at home without relying on expensive cabs, or peripherals. I guess those are my main issues.


Z-roe

the arcade at the Pheasant Lane Mall in New Hampshire got turned into a damn bathroom!!! oh well...that arcade was crappy anyways...

Believe or not, the arcade scene is pretty much the same for me. When I was a kid, I had few arcades around in my area. When I moved, the situation improved and there were three arcades all within walking distance. Two of them died but the best one remained: Nickel City. Some pinpoint price as one of the contributing factors of the death of arcade, but that's never been a real deterrent for me since all my arcades never cost more than .15 to play.