F-Zero AX got me thinking about the state of arcades, and I was wondering if bringing AX to the US would be profitable for Nintendo and Sega. Seeing as how many arcades are closing down, I've seen many of my favorite arcades closed down and replaced with bike shops and whatnot, really sad. I think the reason arcades are doing so poorly is because of the cost to play on the machines, I stopped playing in the arcade when they began charging 50 cents for a game. This was (and I think still is, haven't checked) the price to play ONE game, ONE game. All the older machines allowed you to play 25 cents, I would have rather played Marvel vs Capcom and House of the Dead instead of Pac-Man and Centipede. But it was just to expensive for me, I was about 11 or 12 at the time and not many kids had enough money to enjoy the machines. I couldn't ask my parents for money because they wouldn't give it to me: "Hey mom can I have some money?" "For what?" "I wanna go play at the arcade" "NO, I don't want you wasting your money playing Pac-Man and Marvel and Capco" "Uh, it's Marvel VS CAPCOM" "It doesn't matter"
Another reason for the inevitable demise of arcade gaming is the actual games, we haven't had another Pac-Man or Donkey Kong caliber game since, well, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. I don't really remember if there was advertising for arcade games back in the day, well at least not for a certain company that owns a certain italian plumber and happens to be our favorite game company.
If there wasn't, these arcade manufacturers would have had to relied on word of mouf to get the word around about their games. We need another top notch game that'll get people to go to the arcade and hopefully it'll be F-Zero AX, Nintendo and Sega would then be credited for saving the arcades.
I think a way to save the arcades would be to give players more bang for their buck. Because the amount they charge to play is way too much, and IMO, the majority of arcade players are or were kids and teens ages 7-17. Arcade manufacturers should let let their customers get more plays for their money. They should use those thingies that take dollars and give players about 5 or so "continues." I think this would attract a lot more people to the arcades.
I've noticed that PC rooms have been getting more popular nowadays, this is even more competition for arcades. Most PC rooms let you play for about an hour for $2, this is a much better price than what it costs to play at an arcade, but if you get lucky, you can find one that lets you play an hour for only $1. And a lot of people would rather play Counter Strike, Diablo, and StarCraft. The only downside to PC rooms is that you encounter lots of problems on their PCs, and that takes up valuable gaming time.
But intill a system like this appears, arcades will be slowly withering away.
This is why many people look to consoles and PCs to satisfy their gaming needs. I truely hope that arcades don't go under, but I still refuse to pay 50 cents to play a game that will mostly likely hand me my @ss on a plate ( yeah I know I suck so don't bother pointing it out).
What do you guys and gals think?
Topic: Can arcades be saved? (Read 11419 times)
