nintendo and the arcades

[unit003]

Do any of you remember super mario bros at the arcades? It seemed that 2 decades ago, this was considered the greatest game in the world and I can remember having to play it at the arcades was something special, really special.
What made me like this so much was the fact that there was always another player standing by and most people who played went the 2-player route just to see who could make it the furthest. We always had somebody cool hanging around, so we pretty much enjoyed our time there, just didn't like those damn kids that try to tell you the parts as you go along. But right now, I was trying to figure out something, when nintendo left the arcade, they did a good job of leaving a void there in their place because unless there was a 2-player game like streetfighter, you'd pretty much be on your own. I was hoping that when SMB3 came out, we would still have the chance to play it in the arcades, but they stuck us with "playchoice" (timer included) and it didn't serve too well for us trying to make progress. Also, I was hoping for more 2-player type games that would have you working together (like the case of mario bros. when the guy under you knocks some baddie away before you bite the dust). I saw one opportunnity when they made "smash bros", but that went N64 only. Seeing as this was 4-player, I could imagine people just lining up to get in a few shots..

Right now as it stands, I don't see alot in terms of gameplay, nor co-op play that has players working together rather then just against each other. If I were nintendo, I'd be working on a new mario game that uses the old style gameplay, plus allows 2 people to work together for reaching secret areas, or opening specific shortcuts. I could also imagine another form for mario like an isometric view like supermarioRPG, only this time it would be for real. I think nintendo should start making a comeback, cause these places really need them...

[johnk_]

i think they would, if arcades were still as popular as in the old days..
but for now we'll just have to see what stuff they come up with using their Triforce arcade system..

[sleeve]

The first time I played Super Mario Bros. was in an arcade. Back in those days, all the popular games like Double Dragon had quarters stacked along the marquee; it was sort of the way you stood in line. SMB always had a marquee filled with quarters. It was revolutionary back then for the arcades.

How ironic is it that SMB was the game that accelerated the death of the arcade industry?

BTW, I wouldn't hold my breath for anything significant from Nintendo in the arcades; they've been MIA on that front for over 15 years.

[NeoZeedeater]

Nintendo kicked major ass in the arcades in the few years preceding the NES.

I would go to the local (Nintendo-owned) Chuck E. Cheese's as a kid and play Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, Popeye, Punch Out! etc. for hours.

Between those and Game & Watch, I knew the Nintendo name well before they took over console gaming.

I thought the PlayChoice idea was okay. It was a good way to try out games before rentals. The SNES equivalent of it died almost instantly in the arcades.

[johnk_]

Originally posted by sleeveboy
How ironic is it that SMB was the game that accelerated the death of the arcade industry?

excuse my asking, but why do you think SMB accelerated the death of arcades??

[MrKasualUltra2000]

The new F Zero marks Nintendo's return to arcadia...with Sega's help of course.

SMB at home and the NES in general marked the SLOW death of arcades in the US. Sheet, now we have ports on a console outdoing their arcade cousins...weird.

[Shin Johnpv]

dont forget the namco Star Fox thats arcade bound too

[Johnny Undaunted]

Originally posted by sleeveboy
How ironic is it that SMB was the game that accelerated the death of the arcade industry?

I have to disagree with that statement. Why SMB did revived the home console scene in America, which meant that more people stayed at home to get their gaming fix, Arcades were still pretty popular during the late 80s with games like Contra, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Double Dragon to name a few. The Arcade scene only got more popular in the 90s with the whole fighting game craze. I think what really killed the the Arcades was the lack of diversity (almostevery Arcade game that came out during the 90s was either: a fighting game, a racing game or a shooting game).

[SearchManX]

The GBA Zelda: Link to the Past will have a co-op mode... not arcade version though.

As for the arcade industry, the fact that home console graphics were quickly outpacing the arcade visuals contributed to the death of arcades. With arcade games ending up on consoles less than half a year after appearing in the arcades, most people just stuck with a console that had just as good if not better graphics than the arcade counterpart.

[Melf]

Originally posted by Johnny Undaunted

I think what really killed the the Arcades was the lack of diversity (almost every Arcade game that came out during the 90s was either a fighting game, a racing game, or a shooting game).

That and the fact that games began to cost upwards of ¢.50. Who would honestly pay that much for 2 minutes of gameplay? I remember walking away from SMB and Ghouls & Ghosts because I'd get tired of playing. I could go for hours on a quarter. Remember the original Wonder Boy? A quarter was all you needed!

You're just not getting enough bang for your buck anymore. Back when I worked for Namco's Time-Out arcade, the DM had us up the difficulty of all the games to the hardest level, so that players would have to insert more change to continue (a 2-quarter continue, mind you). I used to change it back to normal when the boss left.

Seriously, I once popped in $1 to play House of the Dead 2 and lasted a whole 45 seconds. I was so disgusted that I bought the DC version (infinitely better) and then told the manager how I'd never touch the arcade version again.

IMO, arcades are dying not only because they've stagnated, but because they're too expensive. With today's consoles, who the hell even needs the arcade?