We all know about the console crash of 1982, but when did coin-op "die" ?

[wiseguyusa]

Just like pinball, there are still some vending type games still being made (no coins anymore I don't think)

When did the "coin-op" game make it's death rattle?

Was CA Rush the last "generation" ?

[Nebulon]

Totally subjective here, but I think coin-ops first stopped being perceived as viable around 1990. I recall games like Smash TV, Street Fighter II, and a few others appearing to be the last stand.

 

Then Virtua Fighter came out in 1993 and revitalized things.

 

Coin-ops seemed to hang in there for a while, then took a steep nose-dive in the 2000s and around 2005 I kind of gave up hope.

 

Yes, you do see some multi-node racing games, a few waning music games, and the odd retro multi-game appearing here and there. Overall though, it's looking pretty bleak.

 

I did see a 4-player Pac-Man Battle Royale recently that was pretty interesting. The only issue I could see was the cost per game was much too high.

 

And that's one of the key things that's hurting coin-ops today. It's just too expensive to play them. The price curve is wrong and few people will drop enough coins into them to get good at them. The other issue is that if a modern coin-op doesn't have a control system that's different enough from what a home console has, then people are more likely to just play the same kind of game at home.

 

So I'd say the death rattle is happening right about now (unless something new and amazing happens in the world of coin-ops). The only thing counter-balancing it is the trendy coolness of restored early 80s arcade machines. I see these popping up here and there (nightclubs, restaurants, hipster cafes, music stores, etc...).

[Flojomojo]

It seems to me that the old game arcades have been replaced by redemption machines. I know that kids looooooove trading in tickets at Chuck E Cheese and Dave & Busters. There are still a few traditional arcade games in these locations (and wow the older games like Daytona USA are looking burned-in and tired), but they're definitely in the minority.

 

It amuses me greatly to see big 30" versions of pocket games like Candy Crush, Temple Run, and Doodle Jump. I made a special trip to play Star Wars Battle Pod, which in reality isn't all that special, just expensive and loud.

 

You can tell how old someone is by seeing what their reaction is when you call something "arcade style" or "arcade perfect." For me, I think it was around the late 1990s. San Francisco Rush on the Nintendo 64 had a lot more tracks than its arcade counterpart. Soul Caliber on the Dreamcast was a lot deeper and looked way better than the arcade version. Tekken 3 had lots of extra modes. You'd start to see reviews in game magazines dumping on Playstation versions of arcade games as "just" the arcade game.

 

My lizard brain still jumps at that. Arcade games at home? Bring it on!!!

[Shaggy the Atarian]

I wrote a book about this (in my sig) but to sorta sum it up as someone who works as a professional in the industry right now (my arcade turns 8 this June, we've been breaking records lately on earnings):

 

The arcade never "died" in the sense of put a fork in it and it's 100% done. The bubble burst of 1982/83 was a market correction that helped weed out the crap just like on the home side.

 

The thing that usually doesn't get press is that there was another arcade market downturn around 2000-2004. This is generally what is thought of as the 'death' of the arcade industry because names like Atari Games, Midway and Capcom all pulled out of the US arcade market or arcades all together at a time when you had the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube dominating the news cycle for gaming.

 

The problem with this being billed as a death is that other companies stuck around and continued to release new games through those years and beyond. Sega Amusements, Bandai Namco, Incredible Technologies, GlobalVR (they picked up some ex-Atari staff like John Ray who produced SF Rush) and Raw Thrills. Raw Thrills is currently the top dog in the industry, founded by ex-Midway guys including Eugene Jarvis. Between them and their subsidiary Play Mechanix, they still employ a number of ex-Midway guys. There are some other companies too but you still get about 25-30 new games a year.

 

Then there are arcade venues. Many closed since 1982 but you still have many locations out there numbering in the low thousands. Yes, some are redemption-obsessed, but not all of them are. Then you have location operators that put a few games into a restaurant/bar/theater/dental office/etc. You include those and I've seen numbers in the six digits of locations. Dave & Busters has done a lot of expansion over the past few years, opening several multi-million dollar locations around the country; Round1USA is doing the same right now and you have a huge explosion of barcades and retrocades that have popped up. None of this would be happening if it was a dead business.

 

I also lament how redemption steals the limelight - on Youtube all of the "arcade" videos that get the hits are people playing for jackpots on ticket games while video games might win a few thousand hits, if that. That's why for my blog I don't cover redemption most of the time, it doesn't need the help.

 

In my experience,when players aren't distracted by the prizes/tickets, they will play the video games just fine. I run an arcade that is 99% video and my video games earn much more than the couple of instant prize games I have (Keymaster and a crane). No one in the industry believes me when I tell them that my Star Wars Battle Pod or Jurassic Park Arcade cleans the Keymaster's clock every week but I see the numbers and video can do awesome.

 

There is a trade show in Las Vegas this coming week where manufacturers are showing off their new arcade games - going to have Ghostbusters pinball, Mario & Sonic At The Rio 2016 Olympics, Luigi Mansion Arcade, MotoGP, World's Largest Pac-Man & Friends, Point Blank X, Time Crisis 5 , Star Wars Battle Pod, Jurassic Park Arcade, & Galaga Assault there, among other games....possibly the new Cruis'n, Killer Queen Arcade and Q*Bert games as well. Could be more but the factories like to stay tight lipped about what they want to bring to "surprise" everyone. Overall, these games wouldn't be developed if there was no market for them; when I asked Eugene Jarvis about Jurassic Park he said it cost $4 million alone for the development side (not including manufacturing and sales). No one throws that kind of money around on something they don't expect will sell

 

Just to add about cost, Unfortunately no one is going to pay off a machine that costs $10,000 (or in the case of Star Wars, $30k) at 25¢ a pop. given how much inflation has affected everything else on the general market including necessities, arcades really haven't been that big of a jump when you look at it. I get that $1-$2/play isn't what people who grew up on 25¢/play like to see but it's far less inflation than movie theaters...or food...have seen since 1982. You have a lot of console video games that cost $40-$60 for a digital copy you can't resell and they maybe offer a few hours of fun while modern arcades still can be completed for about $5-$10 depending on the game.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Shaggy the Atarian

[Nebulon]

 

 

Just to add about cost, Unfortunately no one is going to pay off a machine that costs $10,000 (or in the case of Star Wars, $30k) at 25¢ a pop. given how much inflation has affected everything else on the general market including necessities, arcades really haven't been that big of a jump when you look at it. I get that $1-$2/play isn't what people who grew up on 25¢/play like to see but it's far less inflation than movie theaters...or food...have seen since 1982. You have a lot of console video games that cost $40-$60 for a digital copy you can't resell and they maybe offer a few hours of fun while modern arcades still can be completed for about $5-$10 depending on the game.

Good response.

 

It would be cool to set up an experiment (say for two periods of three months) with a fairly modern video game at 25 cents a game. I know it sounds crazy, but if people are made aware that it costs a quarter a game, what would happen? If you tracked the revenues for 3 months at a dollar a shot and then 3 months at a quarter per game, how would they compare? (I'm thinking of the economic demand curve). Ironically, charging less per unit can often result in higher revenues.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_curve

[cjameslv]

Id have to say around 2012 here in vegas arcades died, until last year. We had a huge multi level arcade called gameworks on the strip It closed and i remember being really suprised cause it was always packed. Well it reopened recently but its not the massive wonderland it used to be and its farther down the stip now. Not what it used to be.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Good response.

 

It would be cool to set up an experiment (say for two periods of three months) with a fairly modern video game at 25 cents a game. I know it sounds crazy, but if people are made aware that it costs a quarter a game, what would happen? If you tracked the revenues for 3 months at a dollar a shot and then 3 months at a quarter per game, how would they compare? (I'm thinking of the economic demand curve). Ironically, charging less per unit can often result in higher revenues.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_curve

 

That does work to some degree and I'm definitely sensitive to adjusting prices accordingly (particularly when a game comes out on home console). However I do not believe that an arcade with new equipment would be sustainable on a 25¢ a play model as demand isn't there or perhaps it isn't appreciated. I've experimented with that on a smaller scale with a few games as opposed to the entire arcade and I have not come across charging less bringing in more. In particular with games like Dariusburst Another Chronicle and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, and Allied Tank Attack. I am considering it for Star Wars Battle Pod this Summer.

 

On SSFIV I had to drop it to 25¢ a play from 75¢ when the 360 version came out (I only had it exclusive for 1 month and half thanks to Capcom Japan taking 4 months to ship the board to me) as that was the only way to get the fans to play but it still dropped hard, most of the 40-50 people that had been coming into my arcade daily left and the game ended up earning about the same or less than Street Fighter II or Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 does. SSFIV cost me about $10k...I never got close to making my money back on it. Unfortunately I cannot afford to have that happen with every game.

 

Now Dariusburst was more interesting. Play on it went down over time as it naturally does but I discovered that no matter what the price was set to, it ended up making the same. When it was 25¢, it makes the same on a weekly basis as it does at 50¢...so yes it gets played a little more but I don't pay it off any faster. The same thing happened with our Allied Tank Attack that we recently lowered to 75¢ instead of $1 - there is virtually no change in play, excepting a few weeks where it actually performed worse (it is a motion seat game so those usually are easy to justify at higher prices since they offer that extra feature).

 

What seems to work a little better is charging less to continue as that drives repeat play. I do charge 25¢ on most newer games to continue.

 

Overall what has worked for me is having a large number of games set at 25¢ a play which offsets the newer ones. A little over half my my arcade has games from the 80s and 90s and I charge 25¢ a play (or in a few cases, 25¢ = 2 credits) on those. That way people have that choice there to help stretch the budget, in addition to the lower continue rates.

 

Just as a note though, I often read on collector forums that classics are 'the bomb' or whatever but I have not found that to be the case. A few games do have excellent ROI like Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong or Galaga(they make about $30-40/wk). But if it isn't one of those three games, they make maybe $1-$5 a week (even Space Invaders, BattleZone, Asteroids or Centipede). To compare, something like the Jurassic Park Arcade which was released last year makes 15 times what Donkey Kong does a week. If I charged 25¢ a play on that, the ROI would be terrible...as it is right now, the game will be paid off in less than six months. As I have other bills to worry about (rent, electricity, wages, insurance, taxes, game repairs, getting something fresh, paying myself a little if there is something left, etc), I need games to make more than an ok ROI to cover all that other stuff

[wiseguyusa]

That Batman VR looks pretty impressive, wish I could find one closer to Flint, MI I'd drop a few DOLLARS in that one.

 

My 1990's arcade was a place in Columbia, MO called Gunthers which recently re-opened as a "barcade"

[Nebulon]

 

 

What seems to work a little better is charging less to continue as that drives repeat play. I do charge 25¢ on most newer games to continue.

 

Overall what has worked for me is having a large number of games set at 25¢ a play which offsets the newer ones. A little over half my my arcade has games from the 80s and 90s and I charge 25¢ a play (or in a few cases, 25¢ = 2 credits) on those. That way people have that choice there to help stretch the budget, in addition to the lower continue rates.

 

Just as a note though, I often read on collector forums that classics are 'the bomb' or whatever but I have not found that to be the case. A few games do have excellent ROI like Ms. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong or Galaga(they make about $30-40/wk). But if it isn't one of those three games, they make maybe $1-$5 a week (even Space Invaders, BattleZone, Asteroids or Centipede). To compare, something like the Jurassic Park Arcade which was released last year makes 15 times what Donkey Kong does a week. If I charged 25¢ a play on that, the ROI would be terrible...as it is right now, the game will be paid off in less than six months. As I have other bills to worry about (rent, electricity, wages, insurance, taxes, game repairs, getting something fresh, paying myself a little if there is something left, etc), I need games to make more than an ok ROI to cover all that other stuff

Very cool strategies that you're using there. It's nice to walk in to an arcade where the old classics are still 25 cents a game. And I understand where you're coming from for the newer machines. It's cool to hear feedback from someone at the front-lines of today's coin-op arcade industry.

 

Thanks for keeping an arcade alive in this time in history. Much appreciated! I imagine in this era, the only way to keep afloat is to offset costs with things like food and beverages. My cousin ran a pool hall for years, and he mentioned that a lot of establishments can only keep their doors open by serving alcohol.

[Cynicaster]

I freakin’ hate ticket-spitter arcades. It’s disappointing that kids don’t seem to be into the spirit of videogames at all at the arcade, and would rather have their parents spend $20 on crappy games just so they can get enough tickets to trade in for a sparkly pencil.

 

I get how it is unreasonable for players to expect to pay a quarter per game in 2016, but if modern coin-op game makers are going to charge $1-$2 per credit, then they need to make the games a bit more fair, IMO. They’re not even games anymore, really… just timed amusement rides.

[DaveD]

Agreed this is a very subjective response but for my money the writing was on the wall as early as '84 - '85. There were plenty of great games to come after that (Tetris, Smash TV, etc) but things became very formulaic. Fighting games and shooting scrollers seemed to dominate new titles. Fresh, new experiences to keep me interested were few and far between. Couple that with the rise in popularity of Nintendo and home consoles, and the arcades were clearly in a decline.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Very cool strategies that you're using there. It's nice to walk in to an arcade where the old classics are still 25 cents a game. And I understand where you're coming from for the newer machines. It's cool to hear feedback from someone at the front-lines of today's coin-op arcade industry.

 

Thanks for keeping an arcade alive in this time in history. Much appreciated! I imagine in this era, the only way to keep afloat is to offset costs with things like food and beverages. My cousin ran a pool hall for years, and he mentioned that a lot of establishments can only keep their doors open by serving alcohol.

 

Thanks! It's taken a lot of time to figure out which games work best at what prices. I've also done "sales" on games for certain holidays where we have the game half off on that day or weekend, although that doesn't seem to bring people in; it just rewards those that show up anyways.

 

I wouldn't mind trying out a food component at a second, larger location but when it comes to running a straight up classic/retrocade then it is pretty much necessary since those games simply don't make what they need to (off-the-wall note: when movies like Wreck-It Ralph and Pixels come along, the classics do improve for a short while, maybe doubling their normal intake). There is a bit of concern about the sustainability of that model though from within the industry as other sites have seen the same earnings struggles with classics that I have.

 

A few of these places have started off strong but then tank (Insert Coins LV; Nanuet Arcade in NY; I've heard The Place Retrocade is about to close although I don't know if they served drinks). I think it is harder to compete with just classics since you have those factors of these games being easily available via emulation, ports or official re-releases; the games have been around so long they aren't considered 'fresh' and in fewer cases people don't want to spoil their childhood memories so they just don't play.

 

What the industry should be doing more is developing content lines that appeal to the barcade niche. That would boost those and other mom-and-pop arcades out there like mine. Unfortunately they have been very, very slow on that - aside from the typical "bar staples" like Big Buck and Golden Tee, we've only had Pac-Man Battle Royale and now we have Killer Queen Arcade. The idea behind those two is great - multiplayer social gaming - but it is baffling we haven't seen more. And it is hard to say how KQ will do being that it is above $12k and most retrocade type places balk at paying anything above $2k for a game.

[Nebulon]

 

Thanks! It's taken a lot of time to figure out which games work best at what prices. I've also done "sales" on games for certain holidays where we have the game half off on that day or weekend, although that doesn't seem to bring people in; it just rewards those that show up anyways.

 

I wouldn't mind trying out a food component at a second, larger location but when it comes to running a straight up classic/retrocade then it is pretty much necessary since those games simply don't make what they need to (off-the-wall note: when movies like Wreck-It Ralph and Pixels come along, the classics do improve for a short while, maybe doubling their normal intake). There is a bit of concern about the sustainability of that model though from within the industry as other sites have seen the same earnings struggles with classics that I have.

 

... And it is hard to say how KQ will do being that it is above $12k and most retrocade type places balk at paying anything above $2k for a game.

Ah yes, the power of pop culture to boost interest in things. If only that lasted longer. I did Japanese fencing (Kendo) for a number of years and there'd be a boost of membership whenever a Star Wars movie or some other sword-centric film would hit the theaters.

 

I have good associations with arcade games and food (probably because of the food courts near the arcades that I frequented as a kid). However, I suppose it's a bit of a pain for the people running the arcade as some customers are bound to make a mess of the machines. Cigarettes are likely another threat to arcade games. Of course, a lot of cities no longer allow smoking at most establishments so I'm guessing that helps. My Tron arcade machine has tell-tale cigarette burns from its days in the classic arcades.

 

It's interesting that you mention the prices of newer coin-ops. I recall an arcade owner telling me what he paid for a Daytona USA machine when it was first released. Apparently it used a massive RAM buffer to increase performance; he paid through the nose for that machine.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

I used to allow food but after some kids dumped a bottle of Coke on the air hockey table, I had to call it quits. Regardless, I've still had ppl sneak stuff past the enormous NO FOOD OR DRINK sign and we've had to clean up several huge spills on the carpet and not long ago a melting ice cream cone off an OutRun 2 game. The never ending battle. But for a second location, I'd try to have a sectioned off food court area.

 

I do imagine that finding an arcade where you can smoke is next to impossible now(excepting casino arcades). But I'm not a smoker so I'm ok with fewer games carrying the smell with them

 

New coin-op prices average $7500 a game, which I believe has kept with inflation. A lot of new stuff is trying to push the $10k boundary though with Namco leading the charge ($30k for Star Wars not including tax, freight, financing fees; $35k for Dark Escape; $10-11k for Mario Kart plus monthly online fees; $18k for Sega's Dream Raiders; $12k and $22k for Jurassic Park depending on the model; then with racers manufacturers LOVE those since you are supposed to buy two to link so usually about $15-$20k for a pair). Pac-Man Battle Royale was a nice exception costing only around $4500; the new Galaga Assault is under $6000; Big Buck games usually around $5000 and Golden Tees around $4000.

 

One thing the industry lacks that I know a lot of ops want are kits. Most manufacturers simply refuse to make those for new games since they make more off you buying the full dedicated cabinet (which they openly admit). But I have done really well with the few kit games out there - my Super Cars kits (upgraded a pair Crusin' USA/Exotica cabs) were my #1 game for a few years until I got Star Wars Battle Pod and new Jurassic Park. The Friction gun game I got paid itself off in just a few months. The only kits I've had that didn't do well was Super Street Fighter IV AE (it did amazingly well for 1 1/2 months; after that dropped too hard and I didn't make back the full $10k investment. If I had four/five months of exclusive time at the numbers it did, then I couldn't complain) and the new Skycurser but I'm not writing that off yet as the game is still in development and I hope to see it improve once a more mature game is in place.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

I freakin’ hate ticket-spitter arcades. It’s disappointing that kids don’t seem to be into the spirit of videogames at all at the arcade, and would rather have their parents spend $20 on crappy games just so they can get enough tickets to trade in for a sparkly pencil.

 

I get how it is unreasonable for players to expect to pay a quarter per game in 2016, but if modern coin-op game makers are going to charge $1-$2 per credit, then they need to make the games a bit more fair, IMO. They’re not even games anymore, really… just timed amusement rides.

 

That is accurate - the scripted design of games is the hallmark of most modern games. I've heard developers use the term "skill kills" - from their perspective, skill based games are too hard for today's players so they earn less than their dumbed down cousins. That is a difficult issue to correct as that requires a cultural change in gaming to a big degree; on the arcade side the main thing that will get a new game into the location is the weekly earnings/ROI. So if ops see a 'dumb' game raking in the cash while a skill game languishes, they'll pick the dumb game every time.

 

I've tried to resist that as best I can at my own location, which is why I got a Dariusburst Another Chronicle. that game is brutal with it's one hit kills and zero tutorial/hand holding but it currently earns about as much as a Ms. Pac-Man does. It did start off really strong though and was my number #1 for a short while.

 

I think this could be fixed by how developers approach teaching people how the games work with more creative and vocal tutorials but due to a few major flops like Sega's 2Spicy, the general feeling from their side is that a tutorial means the game is done before it started. That's also why the obsession with light-gun / racing games as everyone knows how to play the moment they see the game. I think that Gauntlet Legends was a perfect example of how to teach the player how things work by having that announcer point things out as you play. But what do I know, I'm just a gamer with an arcade

[Keatah]

Yes. That is why I don't do the arcade scene much anymore. First it was the fighting games of the late 90's, now it's these ticket dispensing machines. to me, the quintessential arcade didn't survive past the dotcom era.

 

And the vintage classics? I can get a superior experience on MAME or other emulators.

Ohh may drop a quarter here and there if I happen to pass by an arcade and have time. But if you have to buy in fixed amounts like $10 cards or something. Forget it, I'm not spending hours and hours in there.

[BigO]

Yes. That is why I don't do the arcade scene much anymore. First it was the fighting games of the late 90's, now it's these ticket dispensing machines. to me, the quintessential arcade didn't survive past the dotcom era

I can relate. For a long time, it seemed like there were nothing but fighting games. Now there are a bunch of ticket dispensing machines aimed at little kids. The only ticket dispensing game I play is Skee-Ball then I find some kid to give the tickets to or just walk away and leave them there. Unless I'm looking for pinball or run into a location that obviously has old EM machines, I don't have any compulsion to go into arcades these days. That's probably as much a product of age as anything.

[Keatah]

Me either. And it is NOT because I'm older than the teenage audience that does. I get into the games just as much as any other hardcore player. On occasion I'll have marathon all-evening-long gaming sessions. And with a well set-up emulation environment, the experience is superior on so many levels.

 

Regarding ticket redemption machines, I think I would rather have the kids playing these as opposed to standing like zombies in a corner with their face planted in some cabinet. With ticket-spitters they're running around, socializing to some extent. That sort of thing. To them, the kids, there is a clearly defined goal to collect as many tickets as possible to get the biggest prize possible - even it it's overpriced junk. To a kid it's a load of fun and you have to consider that perspective.

[Crimefighter]

I would say arcade coin-ops really fizzled out for the most part in the mid-2000s, when arcade chains like Bally's closed up their mall locations nationwide. New arcade releases were seen in places like Dave & Busters & Gameworks, but rarely in the wild. And new arcade releases either video or pinball combined are less than a dozen a year. Overseas is a different story however, as evidenced by John's Arcade taking a trip to the orient and touring arcades showing the games that aren't on American shores for some reason. The problem was made a lot worse when gambling parlors were legalized in more and more states and those displaced the arcade games. However, there are places like Galloping Ghost Arcade who are determined to keep the arcades alive and thriving.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Crimefighter

[+wongojack]

If you think coin-op is dead then you just lack the imagination to think of something new that will sell. The Battle Pod may not be the greatest game in the world, but it has everything the arcade games of yesteryear had in the "attract attention" category and it adds the SW license in a way that works to pull in the cash. There are tons of ideas with expanding technology that simply cannot be done in the home and they will be in the arcade first.

 

I think what has really changed is the type of game that appears in the arcade, and I don't mean ticket redemption. The discussion on games in the arcade has been rich in this thread. The idea of a "skill" game vs a "dumb" game is interesting. I hardly ever feel that when I play a modern arcade game that I can improve at it. They are almost all "dumb" - just trying to take my money to see more of the flashy lights and sounds. I wish there were more "skill" games out there.

 

Also Pac-Man Battle Royale is great. I wish there were more people playing it when I'm near one.

[number six]

The arcade industry here went into rapid decline in the late 90s / early 00s. This coincides with when many of the companies called it quits.

 

At the end of the day nobody is going to pay $ to play games at an arcade that they can play at home for free. Back in the day the arcades offered an experience you couldn't replicate at home but by the late 90s that gap was in some cases completely gone depending on the game and the system. I personally knew Arcades were in deep trouble with the Dreamcast hit as it instantly made some fairly recent arcade games look very, very bad.

 

It's a shame because that arcade experience was something special.

 

Things are starting to come back somewhat. The whole 'barcade' scene, retro/classic arcades.. a friend of mine opened a 'museum' with about 70 games and its been doing really well.. they are using a flat fee model which seems to be the most popular.

 

Most of the mainstream arcades that have survived are basically 'kiddie casinos' offering nothing but redemption.. but i guess that's what makes money in that venue.

[Keatah]

At the end of the day nobody is going to pay $ to play games at an arcade that they can play at home for free. Back in the day the arcades offered an experience you couldn't replicate at home but by the late 90s that gap was in some cases completely gone depending on the game and the system. I personally knew Arcades were in deep trouble with the Dreamcast hit as it instantly made some fairly recent arcade games look very, very bad.

Arcades can offer a social and ambient experience if done right. But I can't ever imagine the games taking center stage again like they did the 1980's.

With the PC and all the home consoles and emulators out there, arcades need to offer something available nowhere else.

[bretthorror]

I'm in the boat some others are, I just think what I can have at home these days is just better than what most arcades can reasonably offer. Granted, I have more "mancave" stuff than most, unless there is a good social vibe in the place, it's kind of soulless to me. Yes, seeing 50 arcade cabs is cool, but they're not a woman, you can get all you need from looking at some pictures.

 

When you can sit at home with your consoles/emulation stuff you're going to own anyways, throw a pizza in the oven and have a 12 pack in the fridge for the price of an hour at an arcade playing the same games, or maybe even ones you like less, it's no surprise arcades are desolate. Like the drive-ins, diners and even video stores of the past, the larger, communal social aspect is unfortunately lost, but it's necessary to keep moving ahead. To make matters worse, you have to know someone who is into the arcade as much as you are to even make the trip to one much fun at all, and even then you likely can't have alcohol there, which you probably want as a person of legal age. The barcade is the best option to me because at least you can get a buzz on there. I think it's also a more appropriate avenue for the age audience they're targeted at and it doesn't mean you live and die by the cabinets financially.

 

When the arcade was popular, people were kids or young adults, mostly. Nowadays, would you guys even really want to go to an arcade filled with screaming kids and teenagers? For me, that's just another reason to throw that pizza in the oven, case of beer in the fridge and turn on the NES or MAME cab.

[enoofu]

I'm guessing the Arcades crashed around 97-98

 

Part of the reason is a lot of the arcade afterwards are basically modified game consoles or low end computers, so they ended up losing that special experience

 

Sega Naomi- is basically a memory up'ed Dreamcast

Triforce -is basically a memory up'ed Gamecube

Sega Chihiro-is basically a memory up'ed Xbox

 

Also the SNES and Genesis and Saturn also ended up producing very similar game experiences

 

I also believe their will always be some type of Arcade experience that can't be done at the home

[Keatah]

At one point all the arcade games started to resemble one another in the style of graphics and gameplay and theme. For example StreetFighter 17 is the same as Blowhard Bob's Beat'em Up..

 

Whereas Mousetrap and Tempest were worlds apart.

 

Hate to say it, I see more variety and creativity in ticket-spitters.