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I've been to arcades all over the the USA in the last decade. The new breed of arcades serve a role more like "video game bar" than the their more kid/family friendlier predecessors.
I've been to US arcades and there's basically no relation to a real Japanese arcade.
I remember the fun of going to a couple Sega arcades in Tokyo in ‘98 when there on business. At one of them they had people out front handing out mini packs of Sega branded tissues! They gave me several, it was a cool souvenir I shared with a few friends.
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Arcades in America and Europe have essentially been dead for a long time, which has to be a reason why Microsoft doesn't own any. But in Japan arcades were still thriving until recently. Unfortunately, times are tough.
I've been to arcades all over the the USA in the last decade. The new breed of arcades serve a role more like "video game bar" than the their more kid/family friendlier predecessors.
GameWorks seems to have been a casualty of the pandemic, sadly.
Hopefully arcades (and not just barcades) will resurge a bit as the pandemic recedes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Arcades in America and Europe have essentially been dead for a long time, which has to be a reason why Microsoft doesn't own any. But in Japan arcades were still thriving until recently. Unfortunately, times are tough.
I've been to arcades all over the the USA in the last decade. The new breed of arcades serve a role more like "video game bar" than the their more kid/family friendlier predecessors.
When I was little the arcade market was crazy. There was one in every mall, every shopping center, and even modest sized strip malls had them. Then you'd had random stand-alone ones here and there that were significantly bigger. Every mini-golf place had an attached arcade too. I think I grew up within short driving distance of several. Now there's a couple barcades, one nearby another a longer drive, and none of which anyone under 21 can visit.
Its not a healthy market and nor one that is actually buying video game cabinets. I don't think Ive seen a remotely new cabinet in any of these. Just old classic stuff being kept together with hope, elbow grease, and baling wire. The barcade exprience leaves a lot to be desired as games people like are very old and the maintenance budget and ability of those barcades isn't impressive. The few times I've gone I'd have bad joysticks, bad buttons, machines not registering quarters, hardware locking up, and CRT screens that have aged into displaying burn-in and seemingly a lot dimmer and with more "ghosting" than I remember. They're cost centers to these bars, so they just aren't able to take care of them well, assuming spare parts are accessible (or affordable) for bar economics.
Yes these things won't go away soon, but its a small and shrinking market. SEGA can't justify the rents on those spaces which is a bad sign in otherwise arcade friendly Japan. So the transformation of arcade games into bar toys is almost complete, which is not a healthy sign for this industry. Google says the arcade industry CAGR is projected to be almost 2% during 2021-2025. That's just really terrible and the sign of a stagnated industry and perhaps one entering its negative growth rate period sooner than we might assume.
Can anyone explain the appeal of arcades to me? It is expensive and games do not look really interesting.
In general, arcades are just fun. They’re a place to go outside the house. But, arcades also get to experiment with unique hardware & interfaces that a home console or PC can’t match. Sega Joyopolis in Tokyo was a next level experience. It had arcade cabinets that spin 360 degrees on X & Y axes, which makes flying games fantastic. It had racing cabinets with full sized Mazda Miatas & similar cars on full motion platf…
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hatsune-miku-colorful-stage/id...
Although I don't think as many people use Vocaloid to write songs anymore - the appeal is basically that you don't have to hire any singers, but that's not a problem once you get enough fame you can afford them. So now the games are a nostalgia play.
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You should be exceedingly worried. If Sega has no ownership of arcade locations, they lose a very big reason to make machines for the arcade. For Sega, the money was in owning the complete operation.
Does Sega own any arcades in the US? I've always seen a lot of new Sega machines - is that not an important business for them?
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So they are not operating Sega World or Arcade Centre, but still making arcade the machine? If that is the case I am fine. I was rather worry about the end of Arcade. Especially with Racing Games.
You should be exceedingly worried. If Sega has no ownership of arcade locations, they lose a very big reason to make machines for the arcade. For Sega, the money was in owning the complete operation.
GameWorks, the American-based joint venture started by Sega and Dreamworks, closed all of its remaining locations last month. RIP the downtown Seattle arcade.
On the upside, Round 1 is steadily expanding throughout the US. For those who don't know, Round 1 is a Japanese arcade company that also has US locations, and they import many only-intended-for-Japan arcade cabinets to said locations, including some that are only in Japanese. Their rhythm game sections in particular are basically unsurpassed by American standards, it's like stepping into a slice of Tokyo.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've been to arcades all over the the USA in the last decade. The new breed of arcades serve a role more like "video game bar" than the their more kid/family friendlier predecessors.
I think Chuck E. Cheese still has lots of locations. GameWorks seems to have been a casualty of the pandemic, sadly. Hopefully arcades (and not just barcades) will resurge a bit as the pandemic recedes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So they are not operating Sega World or Arcade Centre, but still making arcade the machine? If that is the case I am fine. I was rather worry about the end of Arcade. Especially with Racing Games.
You should be exceedingly worried. If Sega has no ownership of arcade locations, they lose a very big reason to make machines for the arcade. For Sega, the money was in owning the complete operation.