Japanese Arcade Scene Still Going Strong

Milktoast writes "An English teacher in Japan is writing about the thriving Japanese Arcade scene at Joystick101.org. He talks about new trends in a culture that hasn't abandoned the arcade as a venue." Maybe it's just me, but I've only been in a handful of domestic arcades that impressed me. I don't know if it's a cultural diffference to blame, but Japanese arcades also seem to look like there's something cooler going on, like the prizes for redemption games. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

Comments

I blame the prices

[Man In Black]

I stopped playing pinball games once they went up to $0.50 per play, and many arcade games are $1 to play... that's just way too much, considering that you're usually killed off after a few minutes once you miss a checkpoint or get to the third character who uses every cheap tactic the AI can muster. I used to love arcades back in the day where I could play Moon Patrol for a good half hour on a quarter, but I simply can't afford to spend enough to learn all the moves in a fighting game, or where to sit to avoid the bosses bullets in the latest shoot 'em up... especially when I can play games that are just as good at home.