The Death of the Arcade

[Jeff-20]

I read about this on another forum:

MSNBC ran an interesting article about businesses that won't be here ten years from now. Rounding out the list were arcades:

Coin-operated arcades
With Nintendo Wii, casual gaming online and the Xbox 360, the video game arcade industry is thriving, but not the standalone brick-and-mortar arcades. For those of you who thought arcades were already dead, they still exist — at movie theaters, miniature golf courses and other touristy spots — but it seems only a matter of time before they vanish from the landscape. Ten years ago, there were 10,000 arcades in the nation, and now the number is close to 3,000, according to the American Amusement Machine Association. Revenue from arcade game units brought in $866 million last year, which sounds good until you consider that in 1994, the industry was pocketing $2.3 billion and that the profits are only still high because it costs so much to play a game.

Odds of survival in 10 years: Game over.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20873711/page/2/

My thoughts:
I think the death news is premature. I think teenagers will always need a place to hang out and "do things". They are much too hyper for coffee shops. Arcades may just adapt to meet those needs. Look at the success of dance games. DDR on paper should fail with easily embarrassed teens; however, it blossomed because hyper kids need things to do!

The trend extends to the home market with the popularity of many types of music games like Guitar Hero, Donkey Konga, Samba de Amigo. Now the Wii seems to be a profitable system based almost entirely in immersion. Arcades could cash in my making use of that trend. More physically involved games could bring a Saturday night audience back. In Japan, I noticed mostly couples in Arcades. They were doing physical things together. Dance games were far more popular than single player "screen games".

VCRs couldn't kill movie theaters because there is a HUGE social aspect. The arcade should find a new niche as a dating alternative if they stay open late and target the young adult crowd with easy to grasp, physically involved games that a friendly to both genders. Even games like Mr. Driller prove this.

What do you think?

[gklinger]

What do you think?

I'm with you. It's premature to call the arcade extinct. The arcade business was in steady decline but the dancing and guitar playing games seem to have rejuvenated things. I often go to a movie theatre complex that has an attached arcade. It is always packed and they have a sign up saying they're expanding the arcade. Personally, I miss the old arcades with all the games I grew up loving. If you do too and you find yourself in New Hampshire, you owe it to yourself to visit Fun Spot which is arguably the greatest arcade still in operation. If you can't make it out to an arcade, you could get a retro-blast by watching this.

As long as we're on the topic, there are two documentaries that will interest anyone with who (mis)spent a chunk of their youth in arcades. The are The King of Kong and Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade.

[Jeff-20]

If the had analyzed the pinball industry in the late 50s, they might have predicted the same doom. However, Pinball machines evolved to include video games and more. The same target audience is still here (and will always be).

[eslapion]

I may be wrong but...

Back in the 80s, even after the big crash of 84-85, people went to arcades because even the most expensive computer could not provide you with the graphics and sound quality of arcade machines.

The Dragon's Lair arcade machine, for example, was reputed to cost in excess of 10'000$.

Today, that's less obvious. Somebody with less than 2000$ to spend could get himself a very decent PC capable of running all older arcade machine softwares, play DVDs, blu-ray discs and get the latest Windows based 3D games with stunning quality graphics.

The difference in quality between home games for XBox, Wii or PC and arcade machines is not as obvious as it used to be.

I think in order to regain some popularity, arcade machine producers should get their machine to offer something you can't easily get at home, the ability to play in couples or in groups. Something, as Jeff pointed out, it has already begun to offer.

Its not impossible to organise LAN parties at home but its much less of a hassle to just go with your friends to your favorite joint and just put a loonie in the machines and start playing than having to carry around half a dozen PCs or video game consoles and TVs or monitors.

[zhx]

When I flew out to Portland a couple weeks back to check it out, I totally fell in love with a retro arcade there called Ground Kontrol. It's basically all 80's - early 90's games. Spent lots of quarters on Gorf and Robotron. I think there will always be an market for the arcade, however small.

They also serve alcohol, so it makes it a fun alternative to your average bar.

[Bacon]

I must say that I really don't care what happens to the arcades. I stopped going to them in the late eighties when all the imaginative space shoot-em-ups, platformers, and racing games were replaced by boring side scrolling fighting games. OK, the racing games got better and better, but my favorites were always the space shooters and they seem to be gone forever.

After playing loads of games in MAME, I've realized that almost all my favorite games were made in the period 1978-1984: Galaga, Galaxians, Gorf, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Defender, Spy Hunter, Pole Position, Time Pilot, Scramble, Asteroids, 1942...

[zhx]

After playing loads of games in MAME, I've realized that almost all my favorite games were made in the period 1978-1984: Galaga, Galaxians, Gorf, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Defender, Spy Hunter, Pole Position, Time Pilot, Scramble, Asteroids, 1942...

Then you would love that arcade I went to. I had a blast there. Lots of pinball, too.

[ral-clan]

I have no attraction to arcade games past about 1990. But I do think that arcades could survive if, as stated above, they use features that you couldn't easily replicate at home. I.e. elaborate prop type controllers (like the dance game and guitar player games). Also, when Virtual Reality type games first become practical, the hardware will be expensive, and will be only at the arcades. This will be like in the early 80s when no home console could come close to the technical level of Sinistar, Dragon's Lair, etc. so the only option was to play them at the arcade.

[PaulQ]

To me, an arcade isn't two or three video game machines sitting in the lobby of a theater; just as a convenience store that has a rack of videos for rent doesn't make it a video store. To me, an arcade is what Spanky's in downtown Oshawa was: A place filled with pinball and arcade machines; that the sole business of the arcade was, in fact, people shoving their quarters in a coin slot to play the latest and the greatest. They didn't actually sell anything else.

That arcade as I came to know it died around the time the Sega Genesis hit the market. See, prior to the Genesis, the quality of the video games at the arcade were always so much better...better graphics, more colours, better sound, smoother animation. You could get the same games for your Commodore 64 or Nintendo, but it really paled in comparison to the arcade version. Gauntlet is an example that really stands out. Typically, you'd play the 8 bit version to get good at it, to get more for your money at the arcade.

When the Genesis came along, what you could play at home was just as good as in the arcade. At that point, why bother going to the arcade when you could have your friends over to play on the Genesis?

Today, even low-end computers deliver better graphics, sound, and animation than what we find in the arcade.

That said, I feel that, as a "Side show," in the lobbies of theaters and tourist spots, the video game cabinet will continue to exist, even thrive. Why, Costco is currently selling a video game cabinet with all the classic video games built in (like Mame) for over $2000; clearly, the market for video games is still there. However, I doubt that we'll ever see just an arcade anymore.

[damnstraight]

arcades are still very popular out here in California. Most still have the old favorites as well. Were I work in Orange County there is a huge gaming service station, I think they must have 20 trucks hauling games back and forth to businesses. I guess that must mean they are breaking as often as ever. They buy, sell and service all games.

[Centallica]

Arcades in the home is where the growth of business is. More and more 80's kids want a part of their childhood in their home like us with our Commodore's. People waiting to get married/babies longer after their careers are established etc...

STERN (the only pinball manufacturer left) is seeing increase home sales and decreased route vender sales. When a pinball machine is $5700 Canadian here new and the locations barely make enough to pay for the machine, they look at redemption games and some current video games to haul some $$ in.

It's surprising the amount of coin these collectors drop for a desired title. $3000K to start for a 90's desired title up to $6000K and these guys have 10-20 machines in their basements

Stand-up videos within the community are not as near to these prices (unless you're a newbie starting out and pay crazy amounts for a Ms. Pacman from a dealer). With MAME you can do it cheaply with multiple titles.

It's a great hobby coin-op but get tired of the cash you need to get the games you want after years of working your way up from the cheaper titles to more complex titles.

I'm down to 1 pinball machine (Lord of the Rings and 1 MAME cabinet) from the most of 13 machines in my basement at it's peak and loving the inexpensiveness of retro computers and buying DVD's for the home theatre instead dirt cheap.

[Jeff-20]

I've also downsized. I think I only need one arcade cab. One is novel. Two or more becomes a little overwhelming.

[Centallica]

I've also downsized. I think I only need one arcade cab. One is novel. Two or more becomes a little overwhelming.

I agree...more room for Commies

Here is one guys basement that gave me a free Commodore Monitor
(I invited him to the Retro Party too)

http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a21/sw ... 367019.pbw

[Jeff-20]

What is picture #34 (gamepics005f)? It looks interesting!

[Bacon]

After playing loads of games in MAME, I've realized that almost all my favorite games were made in the period 1978-1984: Galaga, Galaxians, Gorf, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Defender, Spy Hunter, Pole Position, Time Pilot, Scramble, Asteroids, 1942...

Then you would love that arcade I went to. I had a blast there. Lots of pinball, too.

Yeah, sounds like a place to my taste