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Raising Awareness of Japanese Parts and Button Layouts

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Vigo:

--- Quote from: paigeoliver on March 16, 2012, 01:28:17 am ---I get his idea and he is right, he just worded it poorly. America doesn't have the population density to support arcades anymore because there are very few places you can place one and have enough interested people within a reasonable distance. Japan's population density is literally ten times that of the United States. That means when you throw down a specialty shop or destination in Japan you will have ten times as many people close by.

So thus America has a problem keeping any arcades open anywhere because the 2 percent of the population interested in going just isn't enough with the low population density. Meanwhile in Japan that same 2 percent interest can literally translate to 10 times as many people because of the population density.

Japanese arcades are also on the decline. The big operators have closed several hundred locations in the past few years and all the manufacturers have sales that drop year after year. As of 2 years ago Japan had 4650 arcades (that is one arcade for every 27,408 people). To compare America had one arcade for every 9000 people in 1982. Japan's arcade industry has been in serious decline since the year 2000 and it shows no signs of any rebound.

http://stats-japan.com/t/kiji/12028
http://www.export-japan.com/jcu/sample/index.php?page=game-over-or-continue-what-will-become-of-the-japanese-video-arcade
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_of_arcade_video_games


--- Quote from: amendonz on March 15, 2012, 09:16:16 pm ---Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

"Sorry to tell you this.. but Japanese arcades are not doing very well compared to the past.  Most of them survive merely because of high population density.  Meaning..  there are soooo many people in one small area, that its nearly impossible to fail" - my god, what a moron.

--- End quote ---

--- End quote ---

The Japan arcades may be waning a bit, but they are nowhere near a real decline. The higher population = enough profit argument is not a true statement. The cost of property is so freaking high in urban downtown Japan that you have to do more than simply turn a profit from the people that wander in. Also, even though there are 10 times the population in the area, there are also 10 times as many options available for places to go, things to do, and ways to spend time and money.

There is still a much higher commercial arcade scene in Asia. It is no surprise that sales from manufacturers are on the decline because the huge following is fans of fighter games. It's a genre that doesn't exactly call for new machines every year. Per your second link, manufacturers complaining about not turning enough profit in proprietary arcades tells me is that the consumers are rejecting arcades with machines from only one manufacturer. Even Chuck E. Cheese went bankrupt when it was owned by Nolan Bushnell/Atari. Overall, it's probably  not true to say that Japanese arcades have been on the decline since 2000, In Japan, the Dance Dance games were a huge boon to the industry. The original DDR rests in the Pantheon of the highest grossing machines of all time, even with it's spin offs, sequals, and knock-offs taking a slice of that pie. 

Also, here is a line from the 3rd link you cited:

The general exception to the decline of arcades is Japan, where arcades have remained popular to the present day. As of 2009, out of Japan's $20 billion video game market, $6 billion of that amount is generated from arcades, which represent the largest sector of the Japanese video game market, followed by home console games and mobile games at $3.5 billion and $2 billion, respectively.

...hrm, arcade gaming is more profitable than console and mobile gamine combined in Japan...that's hardly a dying market.

Vigo:

--- Quote from: pinballjim on March 16, 2012, 03:38:18 pm ---
--- Quote from: Vigo on March 16, 2012, 03:17:14 pm ---...hrm, arcade gaming is more profitable than console and mobile gamine combined in Japan...that's hardly a dying market.

--- End quote ---

Yeah, but who the hell wants to go to Japan?  I kinda prefer not glowing in the dark.


--- End quote ---

Might be a perk if you are a hardcore Tron fan.  :dunno

Trip:

--- Quote from: pinballjim on March 16, 2012, 03:38:18 pm ---Yeah, but who the hell wants to go to Japan?  I kinda prefer not glowing in the dark.

--- End quote ---

I'll go if it's free, I get more dose at work than I would over there.

Howard_Casto:
Ok now that the crazed elephant has left the room I'll reply. 

Preferences are preferences, that is just subjective.  Either style is perfectly functional in it's own way.

That being said I find the original topic of this thread to be a little insulting.  Believe it or not we are all well aware of Japanese parts and layouts.  The reason many of us don't use them is because we don't like them.  ;) 

It doesn't have anything to do with advancment in tech either, it's just a cultural difference.  Even going back as far as the mid-80's, take a look at a nintendo cab and the crazy joysticks and coin doors they used.  People get used to what they get used to.... japanese stick have always been kind of small as have the buttons, american sticks and buttons are big.... that's the end of it right there.

I mean most people here enjoy either 80's classics or early 90's classics... in America those games had "old school" sticks in them.  Why in the world would we build a cab to enjoy those games and put the wrong sticks in them?

Dawgz Rule:
Well said.  Now I can go back to playing my 80's style cabinet that clearly has inferior equipment and is of poor design.

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