Decline of the arcade

[ark_ader]

+1.  If the big names really want to guard their ROMs, they should offer a pay service to distribute/support ROMs on a one on one basis.  All of the major copyright (is that what's used in software anymore?) could combine and create/pay a central, third party vendor to monitor and distribute/support these ROMs!  It could work just like the app stores on our phones.

I'd gladly pay a quarter for a "home only" copy of Donkey Kong or even 2 bux for a "commercial" version of ANY popular ROM.  It would be an entirely new revenue stream for these corporations and would allow us to come out of the shadows and truly participate in their business model. 

Just make it viable for the home hobbiest!  Afterall, *MOST OF US* were the source of their original revenue back in the 80s anyway.  We were customers then, they should treat us as customers now.  Just showing people our arcades in our game rooms creates interest/re-interest in 80s gaming.  I know I have several people who have asked me to build them an arcade (for personal use only).  Instead of building the case, loading the entire kit up, then telling them their on their own for ROMS, I would be happy to load an app that would allow downloads on a subscription/per piece basis.

AJ

AJ

Unfortunately the big names like Nintendoh would not give the roms away for $2.  That would set a precedent which would interrupt their revenue stream.  Besides that $2 rom is worth more every year.  We see home console spin offs, anniversary editions, and the XBLive reboots are just a drop in the ocean.  Sega is another entity that would suffer from a $2 rom sale.  Folks like Atari who have been sold off to every tom, dick and harry might lend a trademark or two for licensing but even their game roms are owned by Hasbro.  Something along the lines of "only over my cold twitching corpse before I sell my IP for $2 a pop" which seems to be a very smart move. 

Wait until we migrate to the new Orwellian system where M$ and Apple start cataloging our HDD contents and reporting IP violations to the owners.  It will make patent trolling a game of the past and turn it into IP trolling.  It will happen, so I would be keeping your cabinet off line from now on if I was you.

The decline of the arcades?

I do not think so.  Arcades are not dead.  Just because you do not see a cabinet in every liquor store, laundromat or Pizza Hutt.

You just need to whip out your Galaxy Note and fire up a few games.  You just have to buy the $2 apps from Namco....     

[mgb]

Man, my cabint is off the grid!!

[yotsuya]

console games are so boring anymore.  Walking around blowing up the same crap for hours.  I get the quest, but the puzzles remain the same. 

Look at what it costs to play a console game.  A 1-time purchase of the console that you keep, then games that you keep.  A $60 game that you play for 80 hours is FAR cheaper than 80 hours of arcade play, assuming $0.25 gets you an average of 10 minutes of game play with an arcade machine, which is a stretch.  Also, you don't have to drive anywhere, get in line, fight the change machine or deal with operating hours.

Arcade machine vendors really, really need to work on their pricing, and open up licensing avenues for those who cannot afford or do not want to buy a full machine or a legitimate JAMMA board.  Why the hell doesn't Namco license games for emulation at home for $10 or commercially for $100?  This would be a HUGE boon to them, and it would allow operators to legitimately expand their inventory for peanuts and get new people playing. 

Arcade gaming could quickly move into popularity again if demand rose, and game makers would see that and develop new games.  The key to increased adoption is increased accessibility, and the key to increased accessibility is low prices and new product. 

Valve has hard proof that decreased pricing increases sales to a level beyond what normal pricing provides (your gross & net income is higher when you put things on sale, long term or short term or both) but it is a hard sell to folks with degrees in business who were taught the whole time that the opposite is true.

Why can't Namco offer an anniversary Pacman machine for less than $2500?  They are stuck in 1983 with those prices; they're insane.

Give the hobbyists like us some avenue to legally enjoy and expand our hobby, without attempting to tear us a new hole with the pricing or requiring that we source a very rare piece of hardware that may or may not work.  Please.  Demand is low because the bone-headed pricing makes supply rare.

end rant

 

[bradx]

There's an arcade just like this in Chicagoland.  $15 gets you in for a day, and all machines are set to free play.  384 games currently available for play.

http://gallopingghostarcade.com/

yeah its cool but the vast majority of the games are missing art, no custom controls, or are available to play in mame with no real difference in gameplay.  i went there with some friends and spent all night there, in and out to grab some food or drinks, then back to play some more games until i believe it was close to 2 in the morning, after midnight for sure. 

shooting games still seem to be out on route locally, multicades, and trackball games.  driving games too, pretty much nothing with a joystick tho.  some pins are still out there, theres a couple at a laundromat near here. 

you know those old electro mechanical rifle shooting gallery type games from the 60s and 70s?  i bet if someone designed something like that using new technology it would bring in some real money.  a pizza place near here has a brand new skee ball so i think its possible and would be profitable, but i suppose people figure "why bother?" when they can just put a quarter pusher instead and make ten times the cash for 1/10th the investment?

If you're near Illinois, there is a great arcade in McLean, IL that runs nothing but older stuff, with maybe 3 exceptions.  These are complete cabinets which have been restored to near perfect condition.  As with any arcade there are always a couple that are out of order at any given time but in general it is great.  It's small, but they're expanding into the neighboring storefront soon.  I want to say something like 60 machines.  By far the newest machine is a DDR machine at the front.  Everything else is early 1990 & older.  May be some new-ish pinballs but most are golden-era.

I recommend a visit if you've the time.

yeah!  i went there with some friends right when they opened.  less games but a way more authentic and satisfying experience.

i made this video when we were there:
part 1

part 2

[jennifer]

     Back then you could smoke...Indoors...and were expected to, a bottle of moms gin in your purse on Friday night, boys all in fights at the bowling alley, all trying to get the attentions and favors of us girls, Thats what has changed, A kid doing that today would be locked up, and put in a chemical strait jacket... That coupled with the devaluation of the dollar, causing the games to be 1.00  a play, and the advent of the interactive consoles with" unsucky" graphics and social media, The perfect storm was created.

[sandheaver]

Unfortunately the big names like Nintendoh would not give the roms away for $2.  That would set a precedent which would interrupt their revenue stream.  Besides that $2 rom is worth more every year.  We see home console spin offs, anniversary editions, and the XBLive reboots are just a drop in the ocean.  Sega is another entity that would suffer from a $2 rom sale.  Folks like Atari who have been sold off to every tom, dick and harry might lend a trademark or two for licensing but even their game roms are owned by Hasbro.  Something along the lines of "only over my cold twitching corpse before I sell my IP for $2 a pop" which seems to be a very smart move. 

It will not make the business leaders happy, but it will generate new revenue, because they do not sell or license the original games in their original forms, at all, anymore.  It will take some willing licensor to make the leap in order to prove that I am right or wrong.

It will all be income; there is very little infrastructure required to release ROMs, and there will likely be DRM surrounding the ROM, but if that enables me to play an arcade game, legitimately, which I do not own the board for, then I will accept that with open arms.

Wait until we migrate to the new Orwellian system where M$ and Apple start cataloging our HDD contents and reporting IP violations to the owners.  It will make patent trolling a game of the past and turn it into IP trolling.  It will happen, so I would be keeping your cabinet off line from now on if I was you.

To which new Orwellian system are you referring?  I am surrounded by them in my daily life, so you'll need to be more specific.  Also, there will always be Linux, which I recommend you gain experience with if you've not already.  That includes all readers afraid of Orwellian stuff.

The decline of the arcades?

I do not think so.  Arcades are not dead.  Just because you do not see a cabinet in every liquor store, laundromat or Pizza Hutt.

You just need to whip out your Galaxy Note and fire up a few games.  You just have to buy the $2 apps from Namco....     

There has been a most definite decline in arcades.  There is zero argument on this point.  We, as arcade hobbyists, do not see it because we surround ourselves with other people who talk arcades and play arcades and build arcades and restore arcades, continually.  Drive to a small town.  Any one, pick one.  That town used to have an arcade, if it has 2k residents or more.  Where is that arcade now?  Drive to the next town, and the next, and the next.  When I was a kid, every single town large enough to have its own school district had an arcade.  Every last one.  Now, it is hard to find a proper arcade in a town smaller than 50k residents.  I work in an urban region with 400,000 people in residency and there is 1 arcade with 67 machines, and that's it.  There were over 40 arcades of that size in this area 30 years ago.

The arcade business has most definitely declined.  We are not as apt to see it, though, as we blanket ourselves in arcade stuff constantly.

[thefox]

Unfortunately the big names like Nintendoh would not give the roms away for $2. 

I agree on this point. But they could sell ROM's for use on mame for, say, $10, or $15. Would you buy them, for this price ? I probably would.

What if you could then build mame cabinets around those roms and legally allow them for public use in local bars/stores etc ?


 

[mcseforsale]

No.  They built their entire businesses on these games and the revenue has been dry since a long time ago.  Being my age, I was probably personally responsible for several developers' salaries from about 79-85, so I don't think that would be an adequate price for home use.  Public/Vendor use?  Maybe.  For home use, I'd say something more along the line of $.25 to $.50.  That seems more in line since this is a dry stream being re-invigorated anyway. 

I could budget for $100 for 200-400 games on the cabinet, but $2000 to $3000 for 200 games?  Not gonna happen.

AJ

I agree on this point. But they could sell ROM's for use on mame for, say, $10, or $15. Would you buy them, for this price ? I probably would.

What if you could then build mame cabinets around those roms and legally allow them for public use in local bars/stores etc ?

[sandheaver]

If you're near Illinois, there is a great arcade in McLean, IL that runs nothing but older stuff, with maybe 3 exceptions.  These are complete cabinets which have been restored to near perfect condition.  As with any arcade there are always a couple that are out of order at any given time but in general it is great.  It's small, but they're expanding into the neighboring storefront soon.  I want to say something like 60 machines.  By far the newest machine is a DDR machine at the front.  Everything else is early 1990 & older.  May be some new-ish pinballs but most are golden-era.

I recommend a visit if you've the time.

yeah!  i went there with some friends right when they opened.  less games but a way more authentic and satisfying experience.

I'm going tomorrow.  I'll take pictures if anyone wants to see what an actual arcade can be today.

edit: Here's some pictures I took the last time I went.  http://imgur.com/a/qMwA5#0

[thefox]

I'm going tomorrow.  I'll take pictures if anyone wants to see what an actual arcade can be today.

edit: Here's some pictures I took the last time I went.  http://imgur.com/a/qMwA5#0

I would love to see that place. It would almost be worth flying the 4,000 miles to see it !

sandheaver, are you able to take some video for youtube ? Would be nice to see a "video tour" of the place.

It's the distinctive sounds and atmosphere of a busy arcade that I miss. That's what you can't easily replicate at home.

[sandheaver]

I'm going tomorrow.  I'll take pictures if anyone wants to see what an actual arcade can be today.

edit: Here's some pictures I took the last time I went.  http://imgur.com/a/qMwA5#0

I would love to see that place. It would almost be worth flying the 4,000 miles to see it !

sandheaver, are you able to take some video for youtube ? Would be nice to see a "video tour" of the place.

It's the distinctive sounds and atmosphere of a busy arcade that I miss. That's what you can't easily replicate at home.

It's actually pretty quiet in there   there's no jukebox (as of my last visit) and most games don't make noises in attract mode.  But, yeah I'll try to get a video.  My husband is always wanting me to play games with him when sometimes I just want to stand there and breathe in the atmosphere for a bit.

[nexus6]

[brihyn]

     ..... That coupled with the devaluation of the dollar, causing the games to be 1.00  a play, and the advent of the interactive consoles with" unsucky" graphics and social media, The perfect storm was created.

I don't think it's necessarily the "devaluation of the dollar" that caused a game that cost .25/play in 1980 to be 1.00/play today. I think that's inflation.
Back in my day you could fill your Model T up for 3 cents, and a new home cost 8 bits.

[mcseforsale]

Nope.  the value of gold to the barrel of oil has not changed in some time.  However, the value of the dollar to the barrel of oil has changed dramatically.  the dollar has been devalued a lot over the last 30 years.  They just print more and more with no backing from gold.  It's a card house.

Case in point:

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2012/03/measured-in-gold-price-of-oil-is-below.html

When the other countries say to the oil-rich nations "We prefer to use gold instead of the US dollar", we better be ready to drill our own and become more autonomous.  'Sall I'm sayin.

AJ

     ..... That coupled with the devaluation of the dollar, causing the games to be 1.00  a play, and the advent of the interactive consoles with" unsucky" graphics and social media, The perfect storm was created.

I don't think it's necessarily the "devaluation of the dollar" that caused a game that cost .25/play in 1980 to be 1.00/play today. I think that's inflation.
Back in my day you could fill your Model T up for 3 cents, and a new home cost 8 bits.

[jennifer]

    Ok then... Jennifer stands corrected, However, back then I could play games all night with a 5.00 bill. Today five dollars might get you a few minutes.

[mamenewb100]

     ..... That coupled with the devaluation of the dollar, causing the games to be 1.00  a play, and the advent of the interactive consoles with" unsucky" graphics and social media, The perfect storm was created.

I don't think it's necessarily the "devaluation of the dollar" that caused a game that cost .25/play in 1980 to be 1.00/play today. I think that's inflation.
Back in my day you could fill your Model T up for 3 cents, and a new home cost 8 bits.

The devaluation of the dollar IS what causes Inflation. If the dollar was still worth the same today as back then, it would still be 25¢(give or take) for the latest arcade game depending on the demand. It also matters what people are willing to pay.

[leapinlew]

The last time I was at a cool arcade was at Hershey Park in PA. I played 1 game and thought "wtf am I doing? I have all these games at home". Therefore I conclude that MAME killed the arcade! 

[mcseforsale]

Sorry.  Let me clarify.  It's artificial inflation....caused by the willy-nilly printing of the American ducket. 

AJ

     ..... That coupled with the devaluation of the dollar, causing the games to be 1.00  a play, and the advent of the interactive consoles with" unsucky" graphics and social media, The perfect storm was created.

I don't think it's necessarily the "devaluation of the dollar" that caused a game that cost .25/play in 1980 to be 1.00/play today. I think that's inflation.
Back in my day you could fill your Model T up for 3 cents, and a new home cost 8 bits.

The devaluation of the dollar IS what causes Inflation. If the dollar was still worth the same today as back then, it would still be 25¢(give or take) for the latest arcade game depending on the demand. It also matters what people are willing to pay.

[thefox]

I am just as guilty as the next man. I remember slowly falling out of love with the arcades when I became an Amiga 500 owner. The home conversions got better and better, and the price marked on the coin doors seem to go up and up. I began walking past arcade cabs (we called them "arcade machines" back then), thinking "why pay money to play for about 1 minute or so when I can get the same quality of gameplay at home, unlimited ?".

And so it was for everyone, I guess. I would never have dreamt they would disappear altogether, though.

[southpaw13]

I worked at an Arcade in the 80's.  What really happened is that the manuactures ran out of new platforms and the NES came out.  The last platform was ticket redemption and it was terrible.  My arcade owner went into video rentals with 1/3 of the business, then blockbuster opened.  Everyone was doing all the same stuff at home.  Crash, it was over.

Southpaw

[sandheaver]

If anyone cares, I didn't get to go to the arcade in McLean IL yesterday; my phone fell off the dash in my car and landed face-first on a seat rail.  I've dropped that phone (Nokia Lumia 920) many times on concrete to no effect, but this metal corner was just too much for my poor screen.  My point is that I wouldn't have been able to get more pics or a new video even if I had gone.

New phone should arrive Tuesday and I've rescheduled my visit for this coming Saturday.

[thefox]

I care ! Hope your new phone stays safe, and you get there okay on saturday. Looking forward to seeing any pics etc next week.

[Gray_Area]

I think PBJ turned tranny.

That'll learn ya ta leave yer phone on the dash, lass.

@Bradx: dude, that camera is ghetto. My phone takes infinitely better video than that.

[bradx]

that was a couple years ago, probably a flip phone or something similar. 

[sandheaver]

that was a couple years ago, probably a flip phone or something similar.

I'll get new vids & pics this weekend unless something else unexpected rears its ugly head.

[IG-88]

To which new Orwellian system are you referring?  I am surrounded by them in my daily life, so you'll need to be more specific.  Also, there will always be Linux, which I recommend you gain experience with if you've not already.  That includes all readers afraid of Orwellian stuff.

If you think for one second that the linux community is immune to the impending Orwellian state you may be in for a rude awakening. It's only a matter of time before it falls under "big brothers" umbrella too. If it hasn't already...

As far as the "state of the arcades" I've actually seen an increase in their popularity. There are more and more popping up all over the country.

I could also see this next generation of consoles f-ing up the whole market and driving/leading people back too retro games. DLC and TONS of poor/repeat games coupled with the fact that they cost too much to develop and therefore too expensive to buy, iOS and android games costing very little develop and flooding the market , AND the natural swing of trends, fads, styles leads me to think that we may be in for revolution of sorts. That is if we can keep big brother away....

[sandheaver]

If you think for one second that the linux community is immune to the impending Orwellian state you may be in for a rude awakening. It's only a matter of time before it falls under "big brothers" umbrella too. If it hasn't already...

You're confusing the Linux kernel with Linux OS distributions.  The kernel (to which I was referring) is very closely watched for these types of things, but the userland stuff (the stuff that is in the distros) is a giant pile of who knows what.  Not many people in the Linux community care enough or are smart enough to think to include the kind of thing that you're talking about, though there probably are a few who have.

As far as the "state of the arcades" I've actually seen an increase in their popularity. There are more and more popping up all over the country.

[citation needed]  I hope you're right, though.  There is usually resurgence in popularity of things after 30 years.  It always seems to be about 30 years, anyway.

I could also see this next generation of consoles f-ing up the whole market and driving/leading people back too retro games. DLC and TONS of poor/repeat games coupled with the fact that they cost too much to develop and therefore too expensive to buy, iOS and android games costing very little develop and flooding the market , AND the natural swing of trends, fads, styles leads me to think that we may be in for revolution of sorts. That is if we can keep big brother away....

The next generation of consoles will not f-up the whole market in any way.  If you're right about the increase in popularity, then marketing surveys will pick that up and we'll see ports of old games, but they will be few.  big budget games make LOTS of money, even if they are crap games, and no studio that currently makes them is going to stop until the sales slow way, way down.

If big brother is a thing that really exists (I'm not going to argue that one way or another, nor am I baiting you to comment on it) there is nothing that a loose association of gamers could ever do about it. 

[paigeoliver]

That is John Yates place, it isn't a functioning business so much as it is John's personal collection that he is nice enough to lose money on just so people can play them. I have been there and it is pretty incredible. Be sure to notice the prototype Defender, because it isn't labeled as such. Don't miss Space Zap either.

John has bought games from me before, and probably will again in the future, he has expressed interest in my Forgotten Worlds and 4 player Demo Derby, so those could end up there eventually.

If you're near Illinois, there is a great arcade in McLean, IL that runs nothing but older stuff, with maybe 3 exceptions.  These are complete cabinets which have been restored to near perfect condition.  As with any arcade there are always a couple that are out of order at any given time but in general it is great.  It's small, but they're expanding into the neighboring storefront soon.  I want to say something like 60 machines.  By far the newest machine is a DDR machine at the front.  Everything else is early 1990 & older.  May be some new-ish pinballs but most are golden-era.

I recommend a visit if you've the time.

[sandheaver]

That is John Yates place, it isn't a functioning business so much as it is John's personal collection that he is nice enough to lose money on just so people can play them. I have been there and it is pretty incredible. Be sure to notice the prototype Defender, because it isn't labeled as such. Don't miss Space Zap either.

John has bought games from me before, and probably will again in the future, he has expressed interest in my Forgotten Worlds and 4 player Demo Derby, so those could end up there eventually.

His shop is even cooler.

[IG-88]

I keep going back and forth on the Big Brother thing. Part of me is sick of government intrusion and loss of liberties and then part of me is saying that we are living in the greatest times in human history. Ya things could be better but they could be a hell of a lot worse. Quit bitchin' and enjoy it.   

As far as new arcades springing up. I have no statistical proof other than what I have seen with my own eyes and heard about with my own ears. It is of course nothing like it was in 1984, but there are surely more now then there were in 2004. Even take in consideration the convention scene. All of them are growing in size and number year to year. There aren't any more of us gen-xers being produced. So that would lead me to think that the following generations are "getting into it"

It will never be like it was back then. But then again we aren't the same people either. Even if we could go back today, could it live up to our own memories? 

[Gray_Area]

[citation needed] 

I have a huge bookmark list of arcades across the country, should I be in that area or decide to make an arcade trip voyage. A couple months ago maybe, all the links were active.

Even if we could go back today, could it live up to our own memories? 

It would be better for me, cos I like the games more - and I'm better at them. It might even be cooler if I went back as the same size me I was. I'd like that.

[sandheaver]

It will never be like it was back then. But then again we aren't the same people either. Even if we could go back today, could it live up to our own memories?

I think so.  The magic of exploration may be gone, but I think the appreciation and understanding that comes with adulthood is strong and equally as powerful as having the wonder only children can truly experience.

[jennifer]

     Jennifer travels considerably, across the US... And arcades do still exist, smaller and less interest but they are there, It could never be like it was however, For the fact TTL logic is commonplace now, people expect it, Its not some mythical world in a colorful cabinet. 

[paigeoliver]

Despite the big budgets the inflation adjusted purchase price of video games has been continually dropping for as long as I can remember. Super Mario 2 was like, $50 when it came out and stayed at that price for around a year. That is like $90 today. Today even most of the big budget games debut on Steam for $50 and most of them are half price within 6 months. Games actually more equivalent to those classic titles generally debut at a $5 or $10 price point.

[sandheaver]

Dropping, yes; but arcades are still FAR more expensive than a console and a $5 or $10 classic title.

There's a lesson to be learned from free-to-play games.  Valve says they're making 12 times as much money with a free-to-play model over their previous $20-per-copy licensing scheme.  SOE has seen a 300% increase in players since turning free to play.

Lower barrier to entry means more sales, more business, more money.  The end.  You are right that price points are dropping all over the place, but the only thing causing arcade pricing to drop is inflation.

The barrier to entry for a licensed arcade game is so high that it seems arcade companies simply do not want to ever pursue that market.  There's all kinds of evidence that lowered barriers to entry increases sales, but arcade machine manufacturers simply don't care.

edit: By the way, I'm not at all suggesting that arcade licensing become free-to-play, just that the barrier to entry for game ownership drop way down.  I'd like to have a way to legally license (or purchase) a game for home/commercial use without owning hardware.  I want to be able to give Namco $10 and know, in writing, that I'm legal to have one instance of arcade emulated Pacman running somewhere.  I want to give money to these companies and they won't take it.

[sandheaver]

I have a huge bookmark list of arcades across the country, should I be in that area or decide to make an arcade trip voyage. A couple months ago maybe, all the links were active.

It would be wonderful if you could share that.  I'd like to see it.

[sandheaver]

http://imgur.com/a/6fqFp#0

The current games & John Yates' place in McLean, IL.  I wasn't feeling well so I sat on the couch and I let my husband take all the pictures.  His phone camera sucks; sorry.

Apparently Ms. Pacman isn't here; it was being given lots of attention by a little girl for a good portion of the day, so there wasn't a good time to take a picture.

[thefox]

Great pictures of some great games. I enjoyed looking through those several times. Brings back some good memories of a well-spent youth !

Thank you for posting those. Hope you are feeling better.

[mgb]

Very nice pics.
Thanks

[yotsuya]

Thanks for the photos!