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DoA Creator Says Online Is New Arcade
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to this interview with Dead Or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki at Gamespy. The discussion covers the forthcoming Ninja Gaiden, as well as the new Dead Or Alive Online title we've previously mentioned, but the most interesting part of the interview may be Itagaki's assertion that "When you look at arcade culture, it's pretty much dying. I feel that it needs to be replaced with something else, and that is online gaming. Online connects the homes around the nation to create an arcade-like experience without going to an arcade."
I think the big difference though, is the 'crowd'. Online gaming, it is you, and the people in the game with you, that are involved. And that's it.
The part of the arcade that was always so much fun, was the crowd. When you are standing in line with a dozen other folks at the Street Fighter machine. Everyone oohing and groaning at what happens on the machine. People talking about this player and that player, and what their strengths are. The comraderie that develops from that, etc.
You don't get that online. As why would you, there is no need to wait in line, everyone can play right now. But you lose that friendship/rivalry building.
Taking arcade machines and networking them? So when you put your quarter in... whoops sorry showing my age. Anyway when you put your dollar in, you play a game that is networked with several other arcades as well as some home users.
I better go patent this!
As Itagaki said, they're using a modified version of the DOAXBV engine to redo the DOA2 part of the game, so I'd imagine that not only will there be plenty of bounce but probably a great many outfits that will frame that bounce in the most pleasing "fashion" possible...I suspect we'll be getting some bikini fighting excitement too - after all, the textures are already sitting there just crying out to be used again.
I think there's some money to be made in opening up retro arcades. A step back in time for those of us who grew up in the video arcades of the 80's. You'd have mostly classic games, but some new ones to keep things interesting. Throw some 80's music on the speakers and set up a hot dog stand and you're in business. Anyone want to be my sponsor? I just need the funding...
Also, I think the future of arcade gaming has to do with VR. VR will start to hit the gaming scene again in the next few years. Since the equipment may be too expensive for home users, arcades will pop back up offering people the chance to play them.
And really, arcades aren't dead. Isn't an internet cafe almost like an arcade? Lots of people go there specifically to game. Especially in Asia.
arcades still rock big time. why?! for games that use "new" type of interface (DDR, Gun Games, motion sensors, etc.), there is NO WAY the online version would be better if the game needs a new interface.
true, DOA/SF2 has been standardized to hell... ever since the mid-90s... but there's still a hell lot of interfaces for games beyond keyboard/mice/PS2 controller (which is the ONE TRUE controller!) we're JUST getting interesting.
plus, trash talk rules so much more when the other guy is begging for "seconds"... (evil laugh)
IMHO, two major things have created the sorry state of arcade games these days: the tech arms race with home games, and Street Fighter 2.
Allow me to elaborate. Ever since way back, the arcade people have been threatened by the home. Why? Because they felt the experience they provided was fundamentally a technological one. When home systems began to rival the arcades in technology, the arcade companies got scared. So, they pushed the arms race, making their games bigger and more advanced, all the while pushing their prices to an outrageous limit. Some posts here already have mentioned games like DDR and Time Crisis. While, as games, those two are damn fine accomplishments, when you're an operator paying $20k for a game, it can't possibly earn its keep. Thus, arcade companies (like Midway, Sega, and Namco soon) have put themselves in the role of the Soviets, spending their way to their own extinction while missing the point completely.
Second, in the early 90's, a little game caught fire you might have heard of: Street Fighter 2. Before that point, you could hop into an arcade and it hadn't been bitten (as much) by the genre bug. Since Street Fighter 2, genres got firmly entrenched, and 95% of games are either fighting, driving, shooting, or sports. And when I say shooting, I mean games with a gun you hold.
Arcades *used* to be about the purity of play. A post here mentioned control, and that's an excellent point. Arcade games spent more time working on control because they could customize it. If you've played Robotron, Defender, Tempest, Spy Hunter, or Ridge Racer, you've seen this. Arcade games provided a better game experience by focusing on the game. Recently, the games have gotten caught in the same trap that home games have. Namely, that technology sells games, and that sequels and genres are the only way to go. The difference between home and arcade though, was that prices haven't skyrocketed (yet) for consumer prices. Arcade games did that, and everything fell away.
I personally think that there's still a viable market for games in social situations, and that there's a large crowd that remembers the days of the arcade and longs for that experience back. I myself still get goosebumps every time I see that sweeping shot of Flynn's arcade in Tron, remembering back to what the buzz in a crowded, loud arcade used to be like. I don't know if we'll ever get that experience back again, but if we do, the games won't be huge, expensive behemoths.
When I was younger, nothing was more thrilling than going to the arcade. I knew that the machines I would be playing were much more advanced than my NES/SNES, and the word "Arcade" to me was synonymous with excellence. There was also a definite rush to be had from pulling some excellent moves in front of complete strangers. Sure, the home systems had some Arcade ports (Smash TV and NARC come to mind) but these were often comparitively weak, and the mature over the top content was edited out. And there was NO way you could mimic the feeling of the Space Harrier, Afterburner and Outrun moving cabinets at home.
I used to get impatient waiting for 5 people with the quarters stacked on the SF2 machines to finish, and all the cool games always had a long lineup. I spent more time watching than playing. When SF2 was announced for SNES I remember the $100 CDN I dropped for it the day it came out. It was the most faithful arcade translation I had yet seen, and I became so much better playing it at home than the arcade. Me and my friends would stay up all night trying every single move. I was able to go back to the arcade with my new knowledge and kick some serious ass! And of course you couldn't pause the arcade machine to see Chun-Li's panties. (Hey, I was 14, give me a break)
Now I just go to the arcade every now and then to kill some time. My hometown arcade still has the old dusty machines from the 80's, with hardly any new innovative games. Half of them eat your tokens and are out of order, and a good number of them have sticky buttons and off calibrated sticks. One thing that I still enjoy though that can never be replicated at home properly (without buying one) is the Pinball machine. I still have a fun time playing Midway's Whirlwind (Tornado?) when I visit. How cool is a Pinball game that has a built in fan to cool off your sweating forehead after a long intense session!
They have a Palladium mega arcade in the city but I haven't bothered to visit, I might go back soon and see if there is anything worth playing (aside from those crappy DDR games) but right now I'm very content having everything in the comfort of my home. If I want multiplayer action I play Wolfenstein on XBC, get some friends for a Halo night, Powerstone 2 on my DC, or try and make some use of my Ti4200 PC (which I barely play anymore).
Home consoles killed the Arcade - and I feel fine.