Slashdot Mirror
Rebirth of the U.S. Arcade?
Gamasutra has an article up looking at Sega's plan to reinvigorate the arcade market through its recently purchased GameWorks chain. From the article: "I think what GameWorks has done has recognized where our opportunities are, and through our relationship with Sega — hopefully we're starting to see innovations back on the arcade side that bring a new and different environment and experience that people can't get at home. If you're familiar with House of the Dead 4 and the graphics that are a part of that, it's now starting to be back to having an appeal, starting to see some of that impact back on the arcade-side where you can't play in front of a 52-inch screen and have all of the very vibrant color and animation that's part of it — you can't just do that at home."
As the article says, and as everyone has commented, games are expensive these days. The days when arcade cabinets were relatively inexpensive and a half a generation ahead of the home systems are long gone, so that economic model can't work. You simply cannot have an arcade on every corner and have them all stay in business.
The key factor is a large, immediately accessible population. It's why the world's megalopolises like Tokyo and Hong Kong have booming arcade businesses while the rest of the world just doesn't. Even in Japan, it's only places like Tokyo and Osaka that actually have good, successful arcades that aren't attached to a bowling alley or other big draw. I live in Sakai, which was until recently a suburb of Osaka. It has roughly the population density of Seattle, and it has about a half dozen arcades that I can think of. Most of those arcades are filled primarily with slot machines and mahjongg games, with a few music games off in the corner.
Downtown Osaka, a mere thirty minutes away by train, is a wonderland of good arcades. In the entertainment districts, there's practically one on every corner. The difference is throughput. When you can expect a million people to pass in front of a location every weekend, it makes sense to put an arcade there and stock it full of a million dollars worth of arcade equipment. You can afford to hire people to make sure they work right, and you can afford to share that business with five other arcades within a one-mile radius. If you don't have that kind of population, then you can't have an arcade in this day and age. In Seattle, I can't think of a place that's nearly that crowded on a regular basis, where teenagers are likely to hang out.
And one more thing, to everyone complaining about run-down arcades full of broken machines. It's because the money is gone. There isn't enough money to keep the games upgraded, there isn't enough money to hire a tech to fix the broken buttons, or if you want to do the tech yourself, there isn't enough money to hire a cashier to man the store while you're electrocuting yourself. In the Seattle area, there's an arcade called Illusionz, which used to be a mecha for fans of music games in the Northwest. The guy who ran it was really friendly, and kept the place sparkling clean. The machines were always kept in perfect condition, and I would take pleasure at riding a bus for an hour and a half each way to get there. But the money ran out, and last I checked, the games haven't been upgraded in years, there's tons of stuff broken, and the place looks dingy. This isn't because the owner's greedy. It's because he's broke.
If you're anywhere near one, Dave & Buster's is pretty much what you're looking for if Chuck E. Cheese isn't quite your idea of great food.
GPL: Free as in will
Um, Sega has always been an arcade company. It's how they got their name (SErvice GAmes). Their home console failures have little to do with their arcade business.