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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.
They blamed me personally for not upselling birthday parties when they closed the one I worked at here in the US.
They all closed here years ago. I think Playstation was blamed at the time, though many probably closed earlier and blamed the Genesis.
"A week in the lab saves an hour in the library"
"What are wii going to do?" said the Japanese arcade executive to his robot pet dog.
http://www.busyweather.com/
Dance-pads, guitars, and guns have shown that people are willing to buy alternative input devices of many stripes, which had been a niche for arcades.
Arcades want to survive? Easy, bring back pinball. A real, physical pinball game, not the emulator kind made by GlobalVR.
To be honest, I doubt its the gasoline prices. Allot of arcades over in Japan are usually within walking distance of schools and residental areas. They are just freakishly expensive.
Take the Gundum Pod Game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNSodeMJ2u0
The thing takes 500 Yen. Thats a little more than $4.50 a GAME. Oh and you can't just play it once, you have to play it multipal times to raise your skill so you can get better mechs. Sure it was networked and you could play with other people in pods, but games like this make the PS3 look like a worthy investment.
If they made the games cheaper, I think arcades can last longer there. But I doubt it as most of these "pod" like machines are pricey as it is.
PS - Missed a br:P
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.
I wish I could come up with a real number of arcades open in Japan, but my google-fu is weak today. However, given my experiences there, 50-60 does not sound like a big number of closings...
"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
According to Play Meter magazine (the magazine for the arcade/amusement industry), the arcade industry took an even bigger dive in 2007 (from its long decline starting in 1984).
Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) locations were down 60% year-over-year. OUCH!
Surprised they didn't mention on-line gaming really, maybe it's my age but I remember people queing up to play Street Fighter II. People still enjoy the challenge of another person, its just that they are doing it at home.
A thistle is a fat salad for an ass's mouth...
Arcades can evolve too. The market is there for people who want to rent out movie-theatre sized screens to play multiplayer games. How about an arcade that contains actual consoles where you just bring your memory cards or wiimotes (w/character data on) and just pay a cover charge and for drinks, or for a private room with friends (like billiards) all so you can play with a crowd on a giant screen? I'm sure parents would appreciate the break, and kids can be as loud as they want or game with their friends all night.
There is a giant rift between arcade games and their console counterparts because we cannot exchange character data between them or game on a console vs an arcade cabinet. If we allow this, then the popularity of the living room will also be interchangable with that of the public gaming outlets, and both can coexist and benefit from each other. Perhaps if you visit the arcades you can get the newest demos first, or the arcades can download them for you and burn them on disc and charge a token fee. Wii demos for full games could be distributed exclusively at arcades. There are many opportunities to increase the popularity of both at the same time.
Twinstiq, game news
And considering the high density population their urban centers are known for, one would think a nearby arcade wouldn't be to far away. I'm thinking the Wii might be playing a part in this, but if it is it's merely a blip in the grand scheme of things. As nothing really compares to a well designed arcade machine, no matter how much fun flailing your arms about is in the privacy in your own home.
I just wonder if it's become cost prohibitive to truly innovate (or differentiate yourself) in an arcade machine. Graphics are pretty good these days, I can't see any company willing to invest the money to make an arcade machine truly stand out compared to a GeForce 8xxx or PS3/Xbox. And if you can't win on the graphics front, you have to start doing novelty things like incorporating movement or force feedback, again increasing costs.
It's hard to say, as Japan is such a different beast than the U.S.
But I can say personally I quit going to the arcade when games were no longer 25 or even, 50 cents. I really don't care about paying for the newest hardware, as the newest hardware/graphics doesn't equal the greatest game play. I still play A.P.B. (that top down 2d cop game, where you pull people over and go through the donut shops), and that 2d sidescrollin' X-Men beat-em-up, when I can find them.... Simply because they are the most fun... IMHO
I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask where they're goin' and hook up with 'em later.
Yeah the gasoline argument doesn't really hold water with me either. I spent the Summer in Japan bouncing around the country, and you really don't see cars, let alone parking spots around arcades. You take a freaking train to get everywhere. Driving to an arcade in Japan is pretty superfluous in Japan. All you need to bring is a few thousand yen, and your good to go. It's more likely the best arcades are getting all the business really. Usually I stayed away from Namco's arcades since they usually have the games that are a couple years old, and their UFO catchers in my experience are substantially harder (translation: require more $$$) to win. Find it odd that Sega would be closing arcades though, probably just the under performing ones in bad locations.
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
I blame Namco for releasing the same regurgitated crap for 25 years.
People certainly won't be going to the arcades for single-player games or palette-swapped sequels to Soul Edge. There's also the ridiculous prices being charged for games - I can tolerate (begrudgingly) paying a dollar for a big game like DDR or Drummania where you actually get 5-6 minutes of play. I can't stand paying that much for a crappy low-res racing game with anime physics and "gone in 60 seconds" difficulty.
There's just no fun in the arcades anymore. It's all been done, and now it's tired. Long gone are the days where people would line up at lunch time to challenge the local Street Fighter champ, or shove two rolls of quarters into Terminator 2 to beat it with a friend. Fact is, most people would rather play those classics than the new garbage that's come out in the last ten years.
What about that coin-eating gem, Dungeons and Dragons Tower of Doom ? That was a blast to play with 3 random strangers... where are those games today ? I don't want to go to an arcade just to get my ass whooped by the inevitable asian black-wannabe kids at some obscure coin-slut game.
The Wii didn't kill Namco, it just made painfully obvious how badly Namco has sucked over the years. Namco died of natural causes.
-Billco, Fnarg.com