How many years does arcade gaming have left?

[HaRuMaN]

Way to necro a 4+ year old thread...

[Malenko]

and those 16 year olds are now 18

[eclipso]

Whoops, didnt notice that flash had dug up an old thread, either way my comments stand 

[flashiv]

I dug it up on purpose, just to show that the younger crowd still can and does enjoy the classics.  I hope arcade gaming outlives me by a long time.

[Dartful Dodger]

When I was 16 I was interested in muscle cars.  I was a generation to late, but ended up buying a car that was a year older than I was.

I bought a house sold the car and now I drive a 4 cylinder compact.

I know after I die(or am committed) my love ones will try and make some money off of my cabinets, but after no one responds to their classified ads they'll go in the alley where some punks will set them on fire and then all that will be left of my work/youth is the shaky 3D YouTube video of the fire captured by one of the punk’s iTricorder.

[eclipso]

When I was 16 I was interested in muscle cars.  I was a generation to late, but ended up buying a car that was a year older than I was.

I bought a house sold the car and now I drive a 4 cylinder compact.

I know after I die(or am committed) my love ones will try and make some money off of my cabinets, but after no one responds to their classified ads they'll go in the alley where some punks will set them on fire and then all that will be left of my work/youth is the shaky 3D YouTube video of the fire captured by one of the punk’s iTricorder.

[TheGameFan]

When I was 16 I was interested in muscle cars.  I was a generation to late, but ended up buying a car that was a year older than I was.

I bought a house sold the car and now I drive a 4 cylinder compact.

I know after I die(or am committed) my love ones will try and make some money off of my cabinets, but after no one responds to their classified ads they'll go in the alley where some punks will set them on fire and then all that will be left of my work/youth is the shaky 3D YouTube video of the fire captured by one of the punk’s iTricorder.

That doesn't make me feel good about all of my hard work. Then again, I'll be dead, so what do I care?

Back on the original (4 year old) topic though. I'm another ~40 year old. I think for the most part, the appreciation of these games will disappear with us. Since I plan to live to 150, I'll give them another 110 years!

[Beretta]

i think arcades as a business in America is pretty much already dead.. all the arcades have either died or incorporated other things, the arcade units are'nt business enough on their own anymore.

one arcade that opened up is more a pool hall then a arcade, another that opened up has a lot of nice units.. but they also have playstation/ xbox tournaments and such.. the arcade units still have a place but are'nt the star's anymore.

other arcades shift into a pay-to-enter sort of policy where the games are on free play but 5-10 bucks might get you in for the day or other similar business models.

of course teh lone machine at the corner store will be around for a long time because people will blow a quarter here or there while buying a 6 pack or something.. of course they're not pulling the money in with both fists but they're just a side attraction to the store's usual business anyway.

as time goes on you will see interest diminish.. most people want a arcade unit for nostalgia, however i believe....

Everything goes in cycles. You know the saying, "Everything old is new again." Generation X-ers will be looking to relive their younger days throughout their lives. Also, there will always be a link to the classics as video games get more and more advanced. Just look at the popularity of old movies, old music, etc. It can be appreciated by more than just the generation that created it.

eventually arcade popularity will surge again, i understand it's still quite strong in japan.

People paid for Pacman when they couldn't play it at home. They will still pay for a gaming experience they can't get in their house now.

to true, many games never made it to the early consoles, and if they did rarely was a good port, often radically changed from the arcade concept.

the graphics early on was unmatched by anything at home, today pc's and console games can match and exceed the arcades.. but it's not all about graphics.

the whole arcade exp starts with inserting the quarter (or token).. there was something special about the feel of a big arcade unit. the joy stick in your hand the way the slick concave buttons felt on your finger tips.

the large monitor in you face that your mother would have scolded you for at home, later games offered big booming bass that rumbled the whole cabinet, the arcade filled with the sound of chatter, yells and game music.

there was nothing like meeting a stranger at the MK's machine, beating them to a pulp and then executing them in a most brutal fashion all the while with a smirk and some trash talk for good measure.

like wise there was nothing better then getting 4 buddies.. or even complete strangers together to kick some turtle ass on TMNT.. or one of the other many beat'em up's, or playing one of the wrestling games that will have you soaking wet from the button bashing, cabinet rocking, joystick twisting marathon.


of course not all that can be captured these days.. arcades are sparsely populated even at peek hours, no strangers to vanquish or team up with, the sound may be there but there the white noise of a empty arcade filled with only attract sounds, is distinctly different from that of a busy one.

at home the quarter experience can be had.. but is ultimately diminished knowing you haven't really lost anything.. it's still your quarter, or even worse the game is set to free play and you can just mush your way though games designed to eat quarters.. this really takes the challenge out, in the arcade i rarely seen the ending of a game.. with mame it's cake usually.

there is still one thing that holds true, the one thing that can not be taken away from arcade machine..

controls. oh sure you can get a box with real arcade controls.. not the same.. it's close but not he same.

no nothing will ever match the feel of standing next to someone at a upright.. mashing the buttons and making that arcade rock with fury, you can take a lot of things away from the arcades but not the feel.

this is especially true for cockpit racer/flight games, or anyone remember Suzuki 8 hour? bike racer you got on a mock motorcycle.. or the authentic driving exp of hard driving.

[delta88]

Right on!!

I got the little ones in the family started on the pacman cocktail and the goal was to hit the ghosts...

Then when the oldest was able to make sense of what was going on I sent him home with a NES and a stack of the old games. I thik he has a DSi but he was started out the right way.

Ive been saying that my little ones cant have the new stuff until they beat a game on all the systems leading up to said newest system out...

Im still stuck @ Sega Saturn 

[Malenko]

Im still stuck @ Sega Saturn 

---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow---, I know for a fact you have a dreamcast. Ask me how I know....

[WhereEaglesDare]

Im still stuck @ Sega Saturn 

---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow---, I know for a fact you have a dreamcast. Ask me how I know....

<(--- Needs to dig up a DreamCast

[Unit504]

im still fairly new to building your own arcade cab, but its a great joy that i can now have all the arcade game i used to play all in one place!
its like recapturing my childhood! i remember playing from about 9 and im now 33! so i doubt that the experience will ever die for me!

[solidteezme]

and those 16 year olds are now 18

What were you smoking.   

[ShoLouie]

Im 25 now and grew up in a village of 200 people.  I remember growing up driving 450km and playing at an arcade in the mall in st. john's; it blew my 10 year old mind.  I consider myself to have missed the arcade scene during the days of SF2 and MK but now in university my friends and i are nearly failing out because of my half build cab at my apartment, haha. 

The classic arcade gaming won't die off anytime soon in my honest opinion.

[Malenko]

and those 16 year olds are now 18

What were you smoking.   

2 years ago, an 18 yr old would have been 16.  This thread is actually over 4 years old.

[solidteezme]

but like you say if they were 16 four years ago its more likey their 20.

[Malenko]

I meant the 14 yr olds 

[shateredsoul]

I think not too long.. the last arcade games that would have drawn me to an arcade were blaz blue, kof XII, and street fighter IV... but those came out to console rather quickly (less than a year?).  I don't even know if all of those were in cabs or even around me. 

About 3 weeks ago I was visiting my alma mater and they still have an arcade but they added another room just as big housing pc game, xbox 360 and ps3, it's a pay by time deal. The arcade still had more people.. all guys.  They had a street fighter IV cab. They used to have a bunch of older games too.. but they got rid of those.

I remember that as a kid I really loved the arcade in the mall and I remember being astonished by the arcade at disneyland... it was huuuuge (at least in my eyes at that time). 

You'll still see arcades at theme parks for a while I bet.

[solidteezme]

Saw one in coventry, UK at the weekend.

saddly it was mainly grabbers and penny pushers, but a few good cabs.

[shateredsoul]

You know what though... I just remembered that in San Francisco some of the hipster bars have 2 to 3 arcades plus pinball cabs.  The one I went to had a bout 5 (ms packman, galaga, evilra pinball and about 3 other machines plus about 3 of the coctkail tables arcades. It's retro, so it's popular among them. It was nice to be able to play without having a bunch of little kids around.

I passed by another bar and you could see a table ms pacman in there.

Most other bars I just see in souther california have bartop touchscreen arcades .

this is a hipster and an article here http://4coolthings.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/the-coolsuck-spectrum/

[tykenfitz]

I'm 15 here and, unfortunately, almost no one in my generation is interested in arcade games anymore.  I asked a friend if he wanted to go the arcade once and he said "Why would I pay $.25to play an old stupid game when I can play my xbox for free?" 
Me =   

[SavannahLion]

I'm 15 here and, unfortunately, almost no one in my generation is interested in arcade games anymore.  I asked a friend if he wanted to go the arcade once and he said "Why would I pay $.25to play an old stupid game when I can play my xbox for free?" 
Me =   

Not 360 related but....

Penny Arcade 2010/6/30

[tykenfitz]

I'm 15 here and, unfortunately, almost no one in my generation is interested in arcade games anymore.  I asked a friend if he wanted to go the arcade once and he said "Why would I pay $.25to play an old stupid game when I can play my xbox for free?" 
Me =   

Not 360 related but....

Penny Arcade 2010/6/30

lol makes sense

[shateredsoul]

I'm 15 here and, unfortunately, almost no one in my generation is interested in arcade games anymore.  I asked a friend if he wanted to go the arcade once and he said "Why would I pay $.25to play an old stupid game when I can play my xbox for free?" 
Me =   

This reminds me of when they had Mega Man Collection as a demo display at gamestop. Two brothers were playing it, one was about 11 and the other one about 8.  The little one was playing and frustrated (he was playing Mega Man 1), and after losing yet another life he said, "this game sucks.. the graphics are so bad." The older brother told him, "But it's a classic. It's retro!" and the young kid, "I don't care, it still sucks". 

It was sort of funny that an 11 year old called a game a classic when he is way younger than the game itself. 

It reminds me of another time my dad brough home an old atari that they gave him at work. We had a nitendo already but we were still excited because the system had about 50 games. We were bored really quick.. we didn't get what the dots represented.. and to this day, I still don't get Atari. We ended up stacking the games on the carpet and doing a sort of domino rally thing with them.  We spent more time doing that than we played those games. lol

[leapinlew]

It reminds me of another time my dad brough home an old atari that they gave him at work. We had a nitendo already but we were still excited because the system had about 50 games. We were bored really quick.. we didn't get what the dots represented.. and to this day, I still don't get Atari. We ended up stacking the games on the carpet and doing a sort of domino rally thing with them.  We spent more time doing that than we played those games. lol

BANNED!

[Osirus23]

It reminds me of another time my dad brough home an old atari that they gave him at work. We had a nitendo already but we were still excited because the system had about 50 games. We were bored really quick.. we didn't get what the dots represented.. and to this day, I still don't get Atari. We ended up stacking the games on the carpet and doing a sort of domino rally thing with them.  We spent more time doing that than we played those games. lol

I love classic games but the one thing I really have no respect for is the Atari 2600. All that POS did was demonstrate that video games technology was in no way ready for the home market. Disasters like Pac-man and ET on that thing played a big part in causing the crash.

[VespaGuy]

I love classic games but the one thing I really have no respect for is the Atari 2600. All that POS did was demonstrate that video games technology was in no way ready for the home market. Disasters like Pac-man and ET on that thing played a big part in causing the crash.

I disagree.

Sales volume, popularity and longevity showed that the technology in that "POS" was more than adequate for the home market at the time.  Sure, the notoriously bad games that you mention helped cause the crash, but the horrible gameplay wasn't caused by limitations of the technology - they were caused by greedy developers rushing an underdeveloped game to market to "cash in". For every game like PacMan and E.T. there were games like Pitfall and Yar's Revenge that proved that the technology at the time was enough to create engaging, fun games.

[leapinlew]

I love classic games but the one thing I really have no respect for is the Atari 2600. All that POS did was demonstrate that video games technology was in no way ready for the home market. Disasters like Pac-man and ET on that thing played a big part in causing the crash.

How can you love classic games but have no respect for the Atari? What were you playing when Atari was out? If your answer is "NES" we may have a different idea of what constitutes
classic.

Some of my atari favorites:
Kaboom
Air & Sea Battle
Combat
Pitfall
River Raid
Joust
Yars Revenge
Warlords
Space Invaders
Asteroids
Adventure

For a while I enjoyed going to yard sales and picking up 50 cent titles to play. One of my favorite finds was a game called Subterrania. I'll admit there was a lot of bad titles out there.

Good times

[Mikezilla]

Berettas post brought a tear to my eye.  In a good way though. Kids now adays are so introverted, its sad really. They will never know the thrill of ruining some kids night by beating the crap out of him at a good round of Marvel Super heroes, or Street Fighter 2 championship edition. The feeling of vanquishing people over and over until they run out of money. He wont know the feeling of running out of quarters when you are fighting shredder on TMNT and someone says "I got you man!!" and pops one in a quarter for you so you can beat it. All he knows, is wearing his headset, chatting with some child molester from god knows where, playing Halo or MW2 or some other FPS cause they have such bad ADD they cant do anything else.  Its sad really... My kids wont get as much enjoyment out of the arcade expierence as I have, probably any, but oh well, Im sure they will have something else.

Oh and King Kong for Atari rules your face. I love those games. Some of my best memories with my dad before my parents got divorced was firing up the 2600 and seeing how far we could get on River Raid.

[ragnar]

I think as us 35-40 year old folks enter retirement, we are going to see orignal arcade cabinets that work with original hardware going for 5-6 figures.  You have seen what happens when people retire these days.  They want the cars from their teenage years.  Alot of us will want the game cabinets from our teens.

Luckily, we still have places like FunSpot in NH.  I really wish it were a chain.  It would work in higher population areas.  Arcade + bowling + miniature golf.  Make it a destination and teens will go there!  What has killed arcade games though is not technology, it is cost.  I am not about to dump $1 in for 2 minutes of gaming.  Factor in rental costs and one can see why 25 cents doesn't cut it anymore.  I am fairly convinced that older games would work, but hte arcade has to be large enough to be a destination in itself or part of something big enough to make it a destination.

And to be honest, todays games other than racing games look stupid.

[CheffoJeffo]

I think as us 35-40 year old folks enter retirement, we are going to see orignal arcade cabinets that work with original hardware going for 5-6 figures.  You have seen what happens when people retire these days.  They want the cars from their teenage years.  Alot of us will want the game cabinets from our teens.

While I wish that were so (it would mean that I am typing this while surrounded by literally hundreds of thousands of dollars!), I completely disagree.

Prices are falling and have been falling for quite a while. There is a reason why places like FunSpot, which typically AREN'T successful in higher population areas, are few and far between. We've been watching a guy with a collection to rival Funspot's try to put together a similar venue here in a major metropolitan city and he has been unable to make it work.

I don't see even the opportunity to have any expectation of recouping my costs from my collection.

EDIT: I should say that I totally agree that, in order to succeed, any venture would need to be "part of something big enough to be a destination in itself". That is, to my mind, mostly correct, but should be amended to read "part of something big enough to be a self-sustaining destination in itself".

[Malenko]

How can you love classic games but have no respect for the Atari? What were you playing when Atari was out? If your answer is "NES" we may have a different idea of what constitutes
classic.

Some of my atari favorites:
Kaboom
Air & Sea Battle
Combat
Pitfall
River Raid
Joust
Yars Revenge
Warlords
Space Invaders
Asteroids
Adventure

No Barn Storming? For SHAME

[Rick]

No Barn Storming? For SHAME

(You're gonna love my comment, then...)

"Hey, what's this 'Uhhhh-tarrr-reeeeah' you boys be talkin' 'bout?"

 

[MikeDeuce]

No Barn Storming? For SHAME

I was thinking the SAME thing!

An early embroidery project from the GF:

[RayB]

While I wish that were so (it would mean that I am typing this while surrounded by literally hundreds of thousands of dollars!), I completely disagree.

While you're probably insinuating that you're retired already (I didn't know that!) I believe he meant when we're all 55- 65 years old and truly retiring. Interesting theory, and one I couldn't even begin to guess about.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Reading this thread makes me feel blue... you see, in Germany, we never had anything comparable to British or US arcades. Since German politicians never understood the difference between gambling machines and arcade machines, cabs could largely only be found in gambling halls that were forbidden for minors. Arcade games have always had that seedy reputation and consequently never were as popular here as they were in other countries.

Luckily (and strangely - weren't they restricted to over 18s?), there were two cabs standing in my local swimming hall - Donkey Kong/ Yie Ar Kung Fu (they changed the PCBs sometimes) and Track and Field. I remember we learned the attract sequences by heart so we could at least pretend we were playing the game; 50 cent (1Deutschmark at those times) was just too much money for one or two minutes of fun. Sigh.... today, there simply are no cabs around. Sometimes you stumble upon old pinball machine, mostly in bars, but most of them are damaged. Oh how I envy you Americans....

[codecrank]

good to see a great thread still kicking 

At 31, I'm probably in the 2nd generation of arcade players, spending my teenage years playing cps1, cps2, neo-geo , etc games I only wish my SNES could run. ( as a matter or fact I bought my snes when SF2 came out for it , then cursed at the controllers for weeks ).

Anymore when I stop to the lame arcade at the mall, the main quarter munchers seem to be dance dance revolution and other games I just can't get into.

Anyways, one point to be made: fighting games will always bring players back to the arcade. That's just the best way to play them, especially if you are lucky enough to live in Japan, where players from different neighborhoods challenge each other at neighborhood arcades where operators hook up 8 machines in tournament modes.

Btw, I just got my 13year old step son hooked on a arkanoid2 cocktail cab I just bought all hope is NOT lost.

[Mikezilla]

I had REALLY hoped Capcom would put Marvel Vs Capcom 3 into the arcade, I would DEFINTELY prefer that over the stupid Xbox/PS3 versions... Im still pretty bummed about that. Im not saying one game could single handedly revive the arcade market, but damn. It sure would feel good to challenge players in real life again as opposed to some punk kid online... 

[CheffoJeffo]

I recently spent an afternoon with my elder son at Playdium and there are some decent new games out there, but they require a destination type of venue to host them.

We totally loved Deadstorm pirates:

[codecrank]

Nice ! will have to go look for it, hopefully it's easier to find than SFIV ! 


That reminds me...  I need to add pistols to my stand up cab...