Jun 06
Totally worth your precious reading time:
“I think it’s tragic,” said Roger Sharp, director of marketing for WMS Gaming, formerly Williams, once a leader in pinball and video games, now a leader in slot machines. “This is part of our culture. And the arcade industry has always prided itself on being recession proof. But, then, this has never been an industry full of brain surgeons. For years they didn’t have to do a lot of work to get customers, then when they were faced with competition, they lost them. It’s pathetic.”
Wow, this article was very depressing. It’s a shame that arcades only serve as DDR hot-spots (oh wait, Guitar Hero is the new trend…nevermind). I guess it’s just another example of how society has shirked the idea of community and replaced it with pure individualism.
It’s a hard truth for those of us who grew up with big arcades. Now the only way you’ll see arcade games is at movie theatres, pizza places, and laundry-o-mats.
I think it’s just on the downturn of the cycle. Arcades will come back again. The marketing and attraction just needs to appeal to what adults and kids will enjoy together. Ah yes… they will return… reincarnate to something newer and shiny than anyone can ever imagine.
ok I know you guys are not going to like this.. but hear me out, I always thought space invaders there… was playable to blind people.. think of the sound in it as the story starts with… not a bad thing (maybe all the game should be this way) just something here to think about
I really miss the arcade, that was a very big part of my young life. In Tempe Az, where my wife is from they have a place called Game Works. Think Chucky Cheese for an older crowd. A real restaurant/bar, and lots of big screen games. We have nothing like that here in New Mexico. She says they have quite a few of those there. I really hope they spread so I can keep those days alive.
Arcades are eventually going to make a big come back and be totally different then before.
This is sad… It really is…
What they should do, is update the games. I recall Nintendo made an F-Zero arcade machine a few years ago.
When you can meet others and play games without actually lifting a finger or actually meeting others to play games (not to mention anonymously harass other players without fear — all the rage with the kids these days I’m told), there’s no lure of arcades anymore.
Internet killed the real world (and responsibility).
Well, you can play games at home (and have some interactions through online), but part of it may be the technology of the home consoles too. Used to be, anything in the arcade looked so much better than 8 or 16 bit consoles in the home, so it was such a different experience to be in the arcade. Not so much anymore.
Due to home consoles, and the fact that prices for arcade games kept going up, while the experience in many of them got harder, which led to shorter play times for your money, I have a difficult time seeing arcades make a comeback. They would have to do something radically different to draw people.
Then again, this is American Arcades, right? Over in South Korea and Japan, Arcades are going nowhere anytime soon. I haven’t been there, unfortunately, so I can only speak from hearsay and whatnot. Still, classic gaming stands will be sorely missed.
Build your own arcade. I’m going to have a stand-up console, a sit-down driving game game console, and a tabletop console (think Galaga) in my garage-turned-rec-room in a couple of years. Ghu knows I have plenty of PCs sitting around doing nothing to turn into MAME consoles.
Then I’ll ask the neighborhood kids “you wanna come over to my place for some popsicles and arcade games?”
http://www.instructables.com/id/Arcade-Cabinet—Play-arcade-games-old-skool/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-sit-down-driving-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
I made a stand up cabinet and it was a big project and not on the cheap either. I have a gutted Sky Shark cabinet running MAME32 on XP tower, trackball, homemade spinner and even a USB light gun. I played the death out of it when I was finished. Now not so much, it never occurred to me how much the atmosphere makes the arcade experience just that, an experience. The mash up of all the machine sounds, rationing your quarters debating what games you really “needed” to play, even the smell is what made it magical to me. I miss that.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t around at the time of ‘classic’ arcades, so I lack even the nostalgia.
Still, it’s a dern shame. Arcade classics, I salute you!
@icesnake – just make sure their parents can come look or you’ll come off like Michael Jackson.
I agree its the money grab from the later versions of games that killed them as much as anything. I won’t put a quarter in a game if I know its going to get me 30 sec of playing time. Some are even worse than that. its very unsatisfying. Give me 5 minutes the first time playing, and the ability to progress, and I’ll drop rolls of quarters to beat it.
Arcades are almost gone. I’ve seen a few at airports, laundromats, and a few putt putt golf centers. Chucky Cheese will die with them too, since that was their draw for all that time.. sure wasn’t the food!
I was at just the right age to love arcades, and my friends and I made good use of them. Girl watching, fun with friends. Always good times.
We have a Gameworks here in Seattle too, and the company I work for used to have yearly events there. Sadly they haven’t announced one this year.
I remember a Place called “Super Just Games” I think it was Palatine, IL. It was awesome. They took the oldest games and made them free in the back then newer games cost 5 cents and the newest games cost a quarter. The place makes its money with a 2 dollar cover charge. it has a small eatery, skee ball air hockey and some other kid games.
Arcades are a part of my life and it really pains me that they are dying, but it was quasi inevitable. The idea of the old school arcade is well extinct. But the spirit of the Arcade still lives on. Within various companies like Dave and busters, Games works and the like. The arcade hasn’t died yet. Its sleeping. Times change things change and if you don’t evolve with the time you’ll be forced to quit. DDR is a Glimpse of light as Its a Arcade game that can’t really be taken home. Sure you can buy it for your COnsole and get yourself a heavy step plate and get a nice surroud system. Its not the same though. The arcade industry needs to make Amazing games (not just dancing or driving or skiing) that can’t be reproduced easily at home. Also instead of making a single game for a single machine you need to think bigger it should be 1000 games for a single machine. Alot of the industry is going Online ok so you make a ton of closet system rooms charge them 5 bucks and let them have at it.
I love arcades and consoles. So don’t give up arcade industry. You just need a new team of thinkers.