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State of the U.S. Arcade Industry 2004
Gamaroo writes "1up.com has posted an article on arcade game machines, the loss of the profit margin and the future of the industry. In their words: "There was a time when an arcade operator in America could buy a Ms. Pac-Man machine for less than $1,000, let it sit in an arcade, bar or storefront, and see that game make back over 30 times the initial investment. In 2004, that kind of profit margin is little more than a pipe dream.""
The fact is, players need to practice titles like Virtua Fighter to be any good at them, because games today are more complex than ever. Some titles -- specifically fighting games -- can even be overbearing for players, as these games demand a significant amount of time and money for a player to learn the gameplay intricacies.
Exactly, you can sit down at Arkanoid, Centipede, Ms. Pacman, etc (the "old-school" arcade games) and immediately grasp 90% of the necessary game play. With newer games such as just about every fighting game after Mortal Kombat and racing games you need to A) sink $1.00+ into the machine to even play, B) read instructions on how to just do the most basic of moves, and C) you get about 3 minutes of playing time almost regardless of your previous skills with similar games.
Golden Tee (which they don't seem to mention by name) has been taking off because it is absolutely addictive and it is ALL over the place. My group of friends used to play GT two or three times a day, every day. We were ok, nothing super spectacular (-20 or so), but we had fun doing it. Try sinking $12.00 into a racecar game and playing with four friends and that $12.00 is gone in less than 5 minutes, at least 18 holes of Golden Tee takes almost an hour...
The home market I suppose has something to do with it. It happens to be driving the industry into making these super flashy games that they think will compete... They don't because of the never-ending costs. A $50 console game will allow you to play forever. $50.00 will give you 10 to 20 games of some random Racecar X 2054! arcade game.
I'll stick to the old-school games and Golden Tee, at least I get my money's worth and actually enjoy the time spent playing.
Cut down the prices to 25 cents again or make the games have better game play. That's what I think will work.
Recently, hole in the wall arcades have started to be replaced by bigger entertainment centers like GameWorks and Dave & Busters.
While these two places serve their purpose they aren't exactly what I would consider something I would prefer over "hole-in-the-wall" arcades. They are basically overpriced bars with a lot of arcade games for adults. Sure they have a lot of titles and they have the old-school games (up and out of the way usually) but they are more into serving food/drinks than they are about charging reasonable prices for the games. I am sure they make plenty money w/o having to overcharge for the games, yet they do. So instead of going out and blowing $5.00 on games you blow well over $50 + food/drinks. Bring back the old-school arcades!
...why, after a long day's work, would I then want to go somewhere else to pay money (two quarters at a time) to play video games? Granted, the arcade may be more social, but if I can pay Counter-Strike online from the comfort of my own home, for an initial fee (the purchase price of the game), it's just a better deal than pumping in quarters in for limited replay value.
libertarianswag.com
There is only one reason for arcades now. Games that require special peripherals beyond keyboard/mouse/gamepad. They could be basic driving games, or they could be things such as Dancing Pads for DDR.
I may drop a quarter now and then to play a good racing game in an arcade. I'm not going to drop a hundred bucks for a steering wheel/gear shift/pedal set for my PC/console.
I'm still happy with mining all the old 8bit games, though, so I can't get too worked up about the current state of games (most bore me just looking at the box, "Oh, another FPS") and haven't bought a game box in years. Longing for the golden years of games I've been working on some game builder ideas and maybe they'll amount to something in the coming months.
There'll always be a tender spot in my heart for the hundreds of bucks I spent at Alladin's Castle, back in the day, and some of those really cool games, but most of them are available on collection CD's for $10 now. All that's missing is the atmosphere and that's unlikely to be coming back in any form, let alone a living room.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
My dad owned a small vending company, just him and my uncle, they even picked a know Italian name in the area so as not to be bothered by mob types (it worked)
:) Tempes would clear $400/ weeke gross and the pinballs were about $200 / week. Asteroids twoards the end was only clearing $100 a week or so, so it was the first to end up in the garage, by the time I was a SR in High school 88 all of the machines were in the garage, it was great for parites 10 pins 10 vids a couple of jukes, lots of fun, I still conten I am the BEST tempest player that ever lived PERIOD, I would play for hours every day, If anyone knows what the LAST level looks like, befroe it recycles, I will acquiesce that you may be as good of a tempest player I was.
They started in the days of PONG and quit in the age of Tempest , They bought a COUNTERFIT pac-man when pacman was hot, not because it was cheaper (it wasnt) but because you simply couldnt GET a pacman without waiting on backorder, its patters were different , the kids loved it for that and would gamble on its outcome regularly, the gross for the machine was nearly 700 $ / week, 1/2 of that went to the "house" a roller rink. It was insane we would go every saturday moring to all the location, and collect, You know how much 2000 $ in quatrers weighs
Why go back?
Having arcade games in Bars is fun that's why. You can combine drinking and playing (i.e. winner buys the next drinks). This is the reasen why our dorm bar has a Mame Box with lots of old games set up.
But Mame just dosen't give you the same feeling as one of those old machines.
The old classic games are still a great investment for small establishments. In Seattle, at least, old pinball, Pac-Man, Tetris, etc., games are popping up all over in coffeeshops and bars. And they're doing great. In places where they sit alongside the latest 3D subwoofer-enhanced consoles, I see them occupied a lot more often. Is it because they're not $1.00 to play? Or is it because there's something intrinsically more entertaining about playing the older games in public spaces. One has to wonder, is the home console market (where complex 3d graphics reign supreme) fundamentally different from the arcade market? Or is what I'm noticing just nostalgia?
In the eighties, games were the existence proof that computer programs could be accessible, quickly learned, and usable without reading a manual. What a pity that they, too, have succumbed to bloat, complexity, and featuritis.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
I really, wish that our arcades were half as good as the arcades I saw in Japan. My (now) wife taught English in Japan through the JET program, and when I went to visit her I was blown away by the number and amount of games that they have (even in incredibly rural areas, although as you might expect Tokyo arcades were very impressive). The article mentions that one of the downsides to arcades here is that the game are targetted towards the Japanese market... but I don't know. Given the chance I'd play those games constantly. I did, and I don't speak the language at all. ^^;
Having lower prices, as others in this thread have mentioned, would be nice... but in Japan, games were 100 yen a pop. Even so, Namcoland or Sega City would be welcome... There was a Sega City in Austin for a bit, but their game selection wasn't comparable to the ones I saw in Japan.
My question -- slightly off topic -- but I'm really curious: who here actually *remembers* the old school arcade games? Pac-Man? Donkey Kong? Frogger? Tron? Pole Position? I mean, arcades back in the 80's were something pretty spectacular. I had the misfortune a few weeks ago of hitting a local place called 'Dave and Busters' (no idea if it was a chain or not) but I was *astounded* at how arcades have changed. I still have fond memories of Aladdins Castle in our piddly mall. Getting five dollars worth of tokens (around 25, I think), and spending the whole afternoon in front of Tron or Pac Man or even -- my little guilty pleasure -- "Journey": the arcade game named after the band. You controlled Steve Perry and his band mates. I don't remember it too well, but I remember we played it a lot -- and listened to 'Separate Ways' and 'Faithfully' a lot, too. Memories.
There is an arcade near me that seems to have a relatively successful business plan: Get a bunch of old video games, skeeball machines, pinball machines, etc., charge only a dime to play, but collect an entrance fee. I'm more than happy to pay the 2 dollars for continuous access to lots of great games.
Wave of the future maybe?
The only reason I play at an arcade anymore is the specialty games, things you can't get at home without actually buying a cabinet, racing seat, all that stuff.
Games like Time Cop, I'd go to an arcade to play that because a light gun can't hook up to my computer (it can hook up to my TV but my TV is smaller than my PC monitor, in the arcades you can play it on a 50" TV, if I wanted to have the same experience at home it'd be over $1,200 ($900-$1,000 on the TV, at least $170 on a PS2 or any other next-gen console, and at least $30 on the game, with controllers, probably used.)
There are racing games too, like a Ferrari F550 game, it's very fun to play, the seat shakes when you hit something and rumbles when you're on gravel, it has a clutch (I really like driving with a MT and it really adds to the experience) and it supports up to 4 players at once. Sure if I could make one, or buy one, or had the room (I live in an apartment with a pretty crowded bedroom), I'd prefer my own racing seat, pedal kit and shifter (dunno where I'd get one though) but that'd take a lot of money.
I'm sure if there were more virtual reality type games at arcades more people would go to them too. If you've ever been to Disney World they have this one park that's just a giant arcade with a cover cost. Everything inside is free, but it's $45 or so to get it (VERY WORTH IT!) I love arcades like that because you can spend all day their, know how much you're gonna use BEFORE you get their, and play some of the greatest games out their. They have a bunch of team games, like one game where you sit inside of something that slightly resembles a tank, there's like 4 seats or so (maybe 6) and each one of those seats has a turret, then a commanders seat. The commander drives the "tank" across an alien planet to rescue some people (or something like that) and while he's driving the 4 gunners have to shoot at enemies. It's a great experience and I wish more arcades had games like that (but then again the average arcade would charge $10 for each play.)
With arcade games, the home systems initially (Atari 7800, Ninendto, up to the PS1) were simply not as good as the arcade versions. The PS2 however, produces games that are pretty much on par (and sometimes better if you read the article) than it's arcade counterparts.
Arcade games need to provide people with something they simply can't get at home - and in my opinion it has to do with the user interface. Arcades should attempt to shift the focus to virtual reality type games - ones where you're sitting in an actual vehicle or cockpit - something where the hardware to produce the experience simply could not be replicated in the home environment. I played some wacky Mech game at the local Jillians, where we all were sitting in these darkened close-door pods and seeing nothing but first person view. The game was $10 for 7 minutes of action and then we all got to watch a video reply of all the action in 3rd person view. It struck me as a step in the right direction ...
Oh and BTW if porn theatres want to get customers back, they'd also better provide a VR experience that we can't get at home ;-)
In all seriousness, what the industry needs is a company to license x number of games from companies A, B, and C and put them all in one machine, using a hardware version of MAME.
Think of it as Choice 10 done right.
There is NO reason that I shouldn't be able to walk up to any one of 10 Choice 1000 machines in an arcade, plop in a quarter and choose the game I want to play by title, year, or genre.
It should NOT be time based (huge mistake on Choice 10, and the reason I never played them).
Ultimately these machines (which shouldn't cost more than any other machine to make, since I can make one for my basement for $1,000) should be made en mass by each of the major companies. Sega would have their own machine with almost every Sega game on it.
The other change needs to be in revenue stream. The arcade should pay a flat monthly fee to rent the machine, not buy it outright, and then should pay per game, with the machine recording games played (including logging which games were played and how much).
This data would be invaluable, and the business model would reward everyone.
I'd tell you more, but I have to run patent this post...
Oh, sure, there's a market. The laundromat I do my clothes at has had the same video machines in there for 3+ years. There's about 1hr of waiting, assuming you don't go somewhere and risk someone stealing your clothes or dumping them in a basket because you didn't get back in time. Nothing fancy, just toss in a Pacman or Asteroids and you've got quarters coming in. I drew the line back when they upped the ante to 50 cents a game. Charge me a quarter and I'll play a few games. Charge me 50 cents and I won't play any. Got it?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I'm not really sure what D&B's business plan is these days.
There was a time, circa 3-5 years ago, that my friends and I would go to our local Dave and Busters about once a week to have lunch or dinner and play a bunch of games. Every time we went there there'd be at least one new arcade game to play, and the food was always excellent.
At the time, their business made a lot of sense to me. You have this whole generation of kids who grew up going to the arcades that's now grown up. You get them back in and make money off them as adults with a combination of the fun and nostalgia of their arcade days and great food/drinks. By making it this upscale, adult-oriented establishment you turn what was seen as a niche quasi-geek activity into something more acceptable and mainstream.
Their restaurant/bar quality has gone way downhill in my opinion over the last few years, while the prices have gone up. Now new arcade games at the D&B are rare in the extreme (is this because they're buying less or because, as the article suggests, less are being made?). It used to be that as an adult professional I could make a case to even non-arcadeophiles to do a lunch at the D&B because the food was so good -- now that's just not the case anymore. I'm just not sure what the draw is supposed to be, now.
The Gameworks I've visited still has fairly good food, though I can't say I like their layout/setup as much as the D&B's.
Is it possible that one of the problems with the arcade industry is mismanagement of the arcades themselves?
First you claim pinball takes far more skill than any fighting game, then you claim that your friend became an expert in what... 20 or 30 games?
It takes hundreds of games for most of my friends to become "expert" at a single character in Soul Calibur 2, and we play quite a lot of that game.
Then again, we are competing against each other, not a machine, which means being an "expert" also includes knowing your opponent and predicting their next move.
If you have to ask, you just don't get it.
Seriously. I was born in '69, so I was there when all of the classic games came out. Maybe I am just being nostalgic, but it was an awesome time. Take your $5 that you saved and go to the arcade. You could play 20 games, if you didn't buy any chips or Coke. You could watch other people play. I remember when Pac Man came out. I bought the damn "Pac Man Fever" 45. I remember playing Moon Patrol and Joust at the Pizza Hut. I always went for the 5x in Lunar Lander instead of playing it safe with the 2x. Sinistar still scares the crap out of me. I spent many many hours playing Star Wars. Games like Gauntlet let you play alongside other people. I could go on and on. Check out Video Arcade Preservation Society (VAPS) or the Killer List of Video games (KLOV) if you want to go back in time a little. And there is always MAME for a more hands-on approach.
It isn't like home systems weren't fun, I broke countless Atari 2600 joysticks. But you just can't compare the classic arcade scene to home gaming or arcades of today. It just doesn't work.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Back in the late 70's when I went to grad school I used to fix PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, Tempest (a real bear to work on that French X-Y monitor) and other systems for pocket money.
The games were easy to learn quickly so people could get addicted yet the upper stages would be challenging so they would keep coming back and not get bored. Also, there was a wide varience of themes so if someone didn't like shooting or bombing something they could just roll a marble around an obstacle course or something.
Nowdays if you don't want to beat the s**t out of someones on-screen avatar or shoot someone with a realistic gun you're pretty much out of luck. I used to go to the arcades (I was addicted to the AREA 51 series, no I have nothing against shooters), but my kids didn't like any of it until a local Putt-Putt operation got Dance-Dance-Revolution (and now DDRII). I quit going because the arcades in the malls turned into gang hangouts. The punks spent the day practicing shooting and beating each other up on-screen. Another favorite activity was getting arrested by the cops in the arcade since the cops knew where to pick up the punks that beat up or shot someone the night before. Since my kids didn't like those jerks they had no desire to go there, no matter what was there.
Back in the '70s I would fill in on shifts while I worked on machines (extra bucks). We had strict policies that the punks weren't welcome and that was what security was there to insure. Families were welcome, doctors, medical students, and college students were the advertised audience, and they dropped the quarters as long as the machines were running (which was where I came in).
If they want me and my kids to show up and drop our money (and we have it to blow, thanks to many years of hard work) it needs to be a place I don't feel a need to bring a REAL gun.
Incidently, we added poll tables, arcade games, foosball tables, and some tables and chairs to a side room at our church cafe' - it stays full. The problem with arcades is the same as the problems with bars, it isn't what's in there, it's who they let in.
It doesn't matter what you wrap your emotions around, Reality is a brick wall specifically designed to scramble eggs
The article makes reference to DDR at one point and I think that's a good example. I'm an avid DDR fan, and it is quite hard to get a home setup that is of comparable quality to that of the arcade system (Arcade DDR platforms are incredibly complex beasts -- there's several independent pressure sensors per arrow and the whole thing's very heavily ruggedised to withstand an immense amount of punishment). Besides, at home it just makes a huge amount of noise.
Compare to arcades whereby one can play on decent quality equipment, nobody minds, and you even get to meet new people whilst doing so. Admittedly this isn't really true in the UK where I live, but you can see shades of this in the big London arcades. Of course there may be little we can do about it if it all does go the way of the dodo (indications are Konami are planning to axe the Japanese DDR series as well), but I wouldn't go so far as to say that arcades are doomed. There's something about arcades that you just don't get at home, even if you had the actual machine yourself.
Old arcades. Musty places, the smell of electronics mixed with the high hum of monitors all sprinkled with the 60Hz buzz from the neons lighting the place.
The first wave of games was the most interesting to me. Vector games, like Rip-Off, Crystal Castles, Asteroids, Tail Gunner, Armor Attack, and later Tempest!, all provided sharp clear visuals. Color cycling, or the intense bright spot used for bullets. These things made the games look exciting from a distance. That and the sounds... Walking in was always a good experience. The wierd sounds. You would hear the patterns and listen a bit more. It reminds me of whistling to a dog. They sense something in the sound that begs their attention. --That's how the old game sounds worked.
Some raster games were good too. Galaxian, Defender (I am going to build a cabinet for that one, I swear), PacMan, Sinistar, Cloak and Dagger, Wizard of Wor, Gorf, all were plenty of fun.
Most all of these games rewarded skill with playtime. This caused some problems, but hour limits took care of that for the most part. One arcade I played in would only enforce the limit if players were waiting; otherwise, you could play all day long. They did appreciate you buying a couple of sodas though.
Handwritten high score boards were one feature I miss today. Simple name, date, time, score. Was a chance for a geek to get a bit of attention. Being on that board was cool --that also drove lots of sales because 'there could only be one' --per game.
Thinking back about all of this makes me want to say a bit more about the experience I really miss, and that is the Trance!
Old games, with their patterns and simple play, trigger, in me at least, a sort of high that comes with experienced play. You reach a spot where thought is action, and reaction. For a while, you forget the ongoing din around you and focus on the task at hand --what ever that may be.
Early on, I remember discussions about the addictive nature of video games. Well, the old ones have it over most newer games today, in this area. (Many of the interactive games are close though. You can trance and burn calories at the same time playing DDR!)
Almost all of the great old games, allowed good players to play long enough to really enjoy the experience. Game play balance was more in favor of the player then. Today, it is calculated to the 95th percentile (my guess, but I doubt I am wrong). Only a few players ever have the skill or the money to prevail. Almost like a casino.
I remember Nintendo appearing on the scene about the same time I began to resent the Arcade a bit. They made games that actually ended. --Sometimes the ending was a long way coming, other times it happened right as you were beginning to reach mastery of the game. (Can't trance on a finished game, you know.)
Today, we know that trend has lasted. Seems the arcade has diminished in that time as well. Could they possibly be missing something here?
This dollars / per hour / experience thing is a mistake in the business model --at least at the amounts set here in the states. It simply costs too much to really enjoy the experience.
Blogging because I can...
I think last time I played is the mall's arcade (now closed) had a Rastan game stuck off in the corner.
I don't play anymore because everyplace wants a dollar to play and they all look the same. Hit anything that moves and see how fast you can hit button combinations. I think DDR is pretty dumb but at least it was original.
Just like hollywood, now games are trying to get by on flashy graphics more than content. I agree with what others have said - get something that'll play the old games and charge a quarter. At least then you have variety. Plus I'd feel better about having my 5 year old play some game where you have to shoot the alien space ship or inflate the monster than decapitate your opponent.