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Namco Pushes Counter-Strike LAN Centers In Japan
Thanks to GameSpot for their extended four part series discussing Namco's attempt to launch gaming-specific LAN centers as an alternative to arcades in Japan. The company has made moves to "..license Counter-Strike from Valve Software, create a localized version called Counter-Strike NEO for Japanese gamers, and install specially designed [PC setups] running the game in Namco's LEDZone LAN arcades." Although PC gaming is still weak and arcade gaming strong in Japan, Namco has put a lot of effort into these gaming-only PC LAN centers, which even have a "subwoofer mounted flush with the floor in front of each seat... so gamers feel each gunshot and explosion through the soles of their feet." Namco also mentions Counter-Strike NEO shows gradually increasing revenues, as opposed to Japanese arcade games, which "...are most profitable shortly after installation, and then suffer declining revenue until the arcade owner replaces them."
Posting anonymously... because this is what anonymous posting is for:
I used to work at a LAN center. The store-level management was superb, but the network-wide management was absolute crap. The most successful LAN center has to cater to it's individual target audience - different locations breed different types of gamers.
Our LAN center worked great holding fun, informal events and having open servers where everything went. Company policy clamped down and slowly killed the customer base. I left the company because I moved, but the profits are half what they were at the time I left. Sucks real hard.
The other big issue is obsolescence. People don't realize how fast gaming techonology dies and is reborn in the newest, $1000 form. When you *never ever ever* spend the money to upgrade, you find yourself without a reason for your customers to game with you. The biggest draw of the traditional arcade is new, inventive gameplay with technology one can't find anyplace but the store. That, and the social aspect - but the internet and voice chat are slowly killing that draw for the LAN crowd.
High bandwidth yes, high latency yes. Online gaming is usually 80ms or so, 120 becomes unplayable. less than 50 and you're pretty good, but thats hard to do, and all it takes is one opponent with 250ping to really throw your game (they shoot you and you jump back 250ms due to lag compensation).
On lan, theres a lot less general BS from stuff like that, and you have your friends right there to yell at.
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
There's also cheating to worry about over the internet. On a 3rd party LAN Gaming Centre, everyone is theoretically at the same technical advantage.
It's also more fun to frag folks when they're physically with earshot!