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Decline of the arcade
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Toadie:
For what it's worth I feel the grief as well.  I think every generation says this but it seems like it was a more innocent time but then again I was between the ages of 12 and 17 when this age hit.  Hanging out at the roller rink more than the arcade.  The challenge we have here though isn't the fact that the old games aren't fun or addictive, it's the fact that they aren't alluring.  I can't believe Modern Warfare 3 compared to the classics... it's not even the same level.  Combine that with the kids of today, always connected, shorter attention spans, and that type of interface.... the classics can't win.

I started my MAME project for me and now it's almost like keeping history.  Armor Attack sucks.... but it's the first video game I ever saw, played, and experienced a console.  Probably why I chose to play it when I was testing out my emulator... and man it sucks.  But it's still slightly awesome... to me
mcseforsale:
I'm starting my own arcade....in the basement.  it's nice being able to play a $2.50 game of golden tee for free.  :cheers:  And the beer's cheap.

AJ
retrostark:
dhtech, i know what you mean, kids now-a-days want to get something in return for playing, and thats not how it used to be, so i also enjoy browsing the forums, because i like to see what other people are doing besides just me.
paigeoliver:

--- Quote from: mamenewb100 on April 21, 2013, 01:09:45 pm ---
--- Quote from: Fursphere on April 21, 2013, 11:07:15 am ---Ticket redemption games make countless times more money than straight coin-op video games.


--- End quote ---

That hits the nail on the head. It's not so much that people aren't interested in playing coin-up games anymore, it's that greed and simplicity has taken precedence over innovation. The game operators figure why put a Pacman in my game room that makes 100 dollars a day and gives people more play time per play, when I can put the "skill" claw games in that give players only a few seconds per play and makes 10 times more money. It's not all on the game operators though. They are almost forced to go for the highest profits possible in todays economy just to stay in business.

--- End quote ---

More like why put a Pac-Man in the game room that makes $3 a day.
sandheaver:

--- Quote from: paigeoliver on April 25, 2013, 04:44:43 pm ---More like why put a Pac-Man in the game room that makes $3 a day.

--- End quote ---

people everywhere get greedy and optimize for the short term gain all the time.  For example, I dumped a lot of money into those quarter shovers hoping for a payout... once.  I put a lot of money into a crane machine... once.  They probably each got $5 out of me, exactly one time each.  There was a line of like-minded idiots behind me waiting to do the same on each occasion.  Perfect example of a short term gain ($5/player), at the expense of long term loss (I'm NEVER playing again.) 

It is very hard to see the long term loss when the short term gain is so high, and virtually every product and service offered today is optimized for short term gain, which is much, much smaller than a long-term gain would be.  Amazon.com is actually a really good example of the opposite; they plan 5-7 years into the future, whereas most other companies measure "long-term" as 24 months.  This is why Amazon went so long without a profit, but now is extremely profitable and the bane of places like Best Buy, who only planned for the short-term and now struggle for sales.

I STILL put quarters in video games, as does everyone I take to my local arcade, but I won't even put slugs into a redemption machine; those slugs would be better used doing what they're doing now, rusting in a huge pile in my shed.

An arcade operator would need to have enough starting capital to remain open for a good decade without a single customer in order to live long enough to gain the momentum required to eventually operate at a profit.  That is a very long term requirement, and is not feasible for most operators.

These older games will never really get old.  The technology will get old, the hardware will get old, but the gameplay of arcade games as a whole will never die.  There will always be a need for people to have quick 'easy-come, easy-go' game experiences, there will always be a desire to leave the house, and there will always be a desire to beat the high score.  The few arcades that can stick it out and slowly cater to a new generation will be those who succeed, and it will be a long, hard road for them before that success will be realized.
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