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Namco Blames Wii for Arcade Closures
milsoRgen noted a story about Namco Bandai is shuttering between 50 and 60 arcades in Japan and blaming the success of the Wii for the closures. "A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home," said company spokesman Yuji Machida. To be fair they also blame the high cost of gasoline as well.
Arcades want to survive? Easy, bring back pinball. A real, physical pinball game, not the emulator kind made by GlobalVR.
I was just thinking lastnight how much I missed the old days of arcades. People gathering around "World Heroes" or "SoulEdge" or better yet "Virtua Fighter" to test our skills. I still haven't beaten "S.T.U.N. runner" (I was so close.) And yes I do blame game consoles. Online game play makes things better.... but it still doesn't compare to walking into an arcade and feeling the tension of arcade battles. =)
As in most religions, it's the followers that turn people off to the religion. And Mac users are the worst.
Living in Japan, I'd say that the arcade still has a lot of appeal for the younger crowd because of the social aspect (spending time with your friends and not having to be around your family), but the games are definitely feeling their age; Namco isn't making much effort in the innovation or updating graphics department, so it's their own fault.
Unless these are game centers out in the middle of nowhere, blaming the gas prices is total crap, since the trains are unaffected and most kids are going to their local game center by bicycle. Certain shopping malls are indeed out in the suburbs, but again, unless we're talking about the rural countryside here, all of them are within a short walk or bus ride from the station. I'd definitely go with the idea that Namco has been sitting on their coattails and not bothering to bring anything good to the table.
"Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day; set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life