My thoughts on why arcades died and how they could come back

[Anayo]

Social arcade games still thrive in countries where people can't necessarily afford home consoles or where they're more expensive/harder to get than what most of us are used to (China, Phillipines, etc) . As for everyone collectively deciding to stop going... you know, I can see where you're trying to go saying arcades could come back, but I just don't see the point. I'd rather play Super Smash Brothers at my house or Left 4 Dead 2 online with other folks sometimes. Even if I were to physically go somewhere and meet up with strangers, handheld video games are so advanced today we can play the likes of Mario Kart DS and Tekken PSP on pocket-sized devices, which I've done at school before. I understand the nostalgia for arcades, and I hope measures are taken to preserve them, but I don't think it'll ever see the sort of mainstream, pioneering spirit like it did in the 80's and 90's.

[Betamax001]

What do we call dave and busters?

I think arcades can return, but they have to be more than just arcades. There has to be more incentive to go to them. I saw the post about the arcade in brookfield where you pay $15 to get in and all the games are free. It seems like a step in the right direction, but what if it was $10 to get in, and they served alcohol and pizza? What if there were lounges with couches, and live music on the weekends? I'd go somewhere like that.

I went to that Brookfield place. It was cool, but it seemed like the machines weren't kept up as nice But if they had a real good pizza in addition to charging 10 instead of 15, I would totally go back there.

[YoshiEgg25]

What do we call dave and busters?

I think arcades can return, but they have to be more than just arcades. There has to be more incentive to go to them. I saw the post about the arcade in brookfield where you pay $15 to get in and all the games are free. It seems like a step in the right direction, but what if it was $10 to get in, and they served alcohol and pizza? What if there were lounges with couches, and live music on the weekends? I'd go somewhere like that.

I went to that Brookfield place. It was cool, but it seemed like the machines weren't kept up as nice But if they had a real good pizza in addition to charging 10 instead of 15, I would totally go back there.

From what I've seen, they're trying hard to get everything working.

Like I said in the last thread, I have something for Racket on the place. And again, I need to e-mail him about it...

[D.D.D.]

Yeah I'm on the same page as Hashiriya. Once I could play at home, it was great having Super Mario Kart, SF2, and KI tourneys. I mean sure, it might have cost me $100 for SF2:Turbo but I'm sure I spent way more on bus fare & coins.

And yeah, Japanese arcades are very different for me now too. There's just nothing that I want to play or want to invest in playing (like buying card sets etc). Besides, if there is something good in the arcade, it likely will have a console port soon enough.

[Jrecee]

If I owned an arcade I would make sure to keep the cabinets in as good of condition as I could. Especially with pizza grease all over.

[jfrost]

Charge less for coins.

You guys pay 25 cents to play?

[the7k]

Not from most arcades I've been to. Hell, Dave and Busters usually charges $1.25 per play on more recent games like HotD4. Even older games at D&B cost $.75 per play.

That's the genius behind that whole D&B charge card deal - people don't realize they're spending that much money per play until they sit there and think about it, and most people won't bother to do that.