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If you live anywhere like me you’ve been to one.
If you don’t live anywhere like me you’ve been to one.
Arcades are an experience every gamer should have indulged their selves into.
The pure power an arcade packs compared to your any home console you may own is that the games are of a completely different nature in the interactivity department and graphics and sound are, in some cases, way above the average for the latest next-generation console you just bought.
The moment you walk into an arcade your heart will be pumping, you ears will be bleeding, your eyes sore and you fingers itching for a go on one of the games. Cabinets loaded with guns for you to and your mates to shoot zombie scum, replica car models for you to sit in as you drive a lap, Jet Skis, Snowboards, Guitars…the list is endless. It is a fact for me to say that the arcade market has done something unique over the years and for that I salute them.
Many would say that this would be something the console market would never be able to do…in fact now it nearly is. Interactivity has become the base of some games. One game which comes to mind is ‘Euro Stage Dance Mix’ with its dance mat. A hit in the arcades amongst children and adults the same and was certain to make a console conversion. The game has now become one of the most popular games for the Playstation at this current time, as when many other games do this, the developers have picked up on it just like they did back in the arcade.
Soon a whole host of dance games will be out, two to name are ‘The Jungle Book’ and a ‘Britney’ game. This list will only expand, no matter how much you hate the genre, it will. I see it only as the beginning of a new era of interactivity being converted to consoles from the arcades which have held their reign for so long, yet now it is slipping. I some aspects, it’s sad to see but it is slipping.
Digital Audio is now present in most games and next-generation consoles offering surround sound at its best, much like in an arcade cabinet. Multiplayer, forget that we’ve got online gaming and four player bash up’s on our consoles and PC’s. The controller is still standard but is conquered when placed into certain genres where interactivity is a must. Skateboards have now even made it onto the console market with the ‘Tony Hawk’ series being so popular and Skateboarding as a sport being as popular as ever. Even ‘Samba De Amigo’ had maracas to shake to complete the game. Mad it sounds, but so fun it was and that what makes the arcade – plain fun - the way games should be.
And this brings me to my conclusion, do arcades have a future?
The console market seems to be catching up with it at such a rapid pace I don’t think the arcade can out run it. Arcade games cost you one pound a go for hardly anything whilst I can pay thirty pounds for an unlimited time on a console game. Developers are backing out of the arcade market as it is becoming less and less popular with the home gaming boom in town. So much to the extent that they have brought almost all their console style games to consoles, no matter how short lived they are there is a profit for them to make.
Arcades - Once the social area of gaming, now the rotting legend of gaming.
It’s sad to see but its going.
Thanks for your time,
Monkey_With_Attitude
If you don’t live anywhere like me you’ve been to one.
Arcades are an experience every gamer should have indulged their selves into.
The pure power an arcade packs compared to your any home console you may own is that the games are of a completely different nature in the interactivity department and graphics and sound are, in some cases, way above the average for the latest next-generation console you just bought.
The moment you walk into an arcade your heart will be pumping, you ears will be bleeding, your eyes sore and you fingers itching for a go on one of the games. Cabinets loaded with guns for you to and your mates to shoot zombie scum, replica car models for you to sit in as you drive a lap, Jet Skis, Snowboards, Guitars…the list is endless. It is a fact for me to say that the arcade market has done something unique over the years and for that I salute them.
Many would say that this would be something the console market would never be able to do…in fact now it nearly is. Interactivity has become the base of some games. One game which comes to mind is ‘Euro Stage Dance Mix’ with its dance mat. A hit in the arcades amongst children and adults the same and was certain to make a console conversion. The game has now become one of the most popular games for the Playstation at this current time, as when many other games do this, the developers have picked up on it just like they did back in the arcade.
Soon a whole host of dance games will be out, two to name are ‘The Jungle Book’ and a ‘Britney’ game. This list will only expand, no matter how much you hate the genre, it will. I see it only as the beginning of a new era of interactivity being converted to consoles from the arcades which have held their reign for so long, yet now it is slipping. I some aspects, it’s sad to see but it is slipping.
Digital Audio is now present in most games and next-generation consoles offering surround sound at its best, much like in an arcade cabinet. Multiplayer, forget that we’ve got online gaming and four player bash up’s on our consoles and PC’s. The controller is still standard but is conquered when placed into certain genres where interactivity is a must. Skateboards have now even made it onto the console market with the ‘Tony Hawk’ series being so popular and Skateboarding as a sport being as popular as ever. Even ‘Samba De Amigo’ had maracas to shake to complete the game. Mad it sounds, but so fun it was and that what makes the arcade – plain fun - the way games should be.
And this brings me to my conclusion, do arcades have a future?
The console market seems to be catching up with it at such a rapid pace I don’t think the arcade can out run it. Arcade games cost you one pound a go for hardly anything whilst I can pay thirty pounds for an unlimited time on a console game. Developers are backing out of the arcade market as it is becoming less and less popular with the home gaming boom in town. So much to the extent that they have brought almost all their console style games to consoles, no matter how short lived they are there is a profit for them to make.
Arcades - Once the social area of gaming, now the rotting legend of gaming.
It’s sad to see but its going.
Thanks for your time,
Monkey_With_Attitude
The Game wrote:
If you went into an SR
> shop, could you buy any combination of items that would blow you away
> more than playing Virtua Fighter 4 on a 52" Tv with flawless
> graphics and imcomparable sound?!
I must say i've got to agree with you on that one. Although you are paying a hefty price to play the games you do get to jump on a jet ski or as you said play on a 52" TV. That's something you can't do at home.
I suppose really it must of cost ALOT to make the cabinets and so thats where the price part comes in.
Four player games in arcades do it for me, a conversion of Super Monkey Ball would be great. That Bishi Bashi thing is really fun, going mental tapping those big buttons without a care in the world - excellent. And thats the game which cost's less, maybe because its old? maybe just because it doesn't require much, in terms of equipment.
The price may drag some things down in the arcade but I hope companys can put their brains together (like they are on the TRIforce board) and make some games which prove a lifetime exprience in the arcade.
If you went into an SR
> shop, could you buy any combination of items that would blow you away
> more than playing Virtua Fighter 4 on a 52" Tv with flawless
> graphics and imcomparable sound?!
I must say i've got to agree with you on that one. Although you are paying a hefty price to play the games you do get to jump on a jet ski or as you said play on a 52" TV. That's something you can't do at home.
I suppose really it must of cost ALOT to make the cabinets and so thats where the price part comes in.
Four player games in arcades do it for me, a conversion of Super Monkey Ball would be great. That Bishi Bashi thing is really fun, going mental tapping those big buttons without a care in the world - excellent. And thats the game which cost's less, maybe because its old? maybe just because it doesn't require much, in terms of equipment.
The price may drag some things down in the arcade but I hope companys can put their brains together (like they are on the TRIforce board) and make some games which prove a lifetime exprience in the arcade.
The reason arcades are so popular isn't just because of the games, because, as you said, you can get most of them for the PS2, Cube or X-Box - but it's more the whole experience. If you went into an SR shop, could you buy any combination of items that would blow you away more than playing Virtua Fighter 4 on a 52" Tv with flawless graphics and imcomparable sound?!
Thought not.
Granted, arcades are expensive, but they're cheaper than going out drinking, buying cigarettes or wasting money on an X-Box!
The fact is, you can get almost everything that you can on your PS2 in the arcade. Sure, there are a few games missing, but the fact that you can play Multi-Player Jet Skiing, Multi-PLayer Time Crisis II, and upto 4-Player Daytona USA more than makes up for it!
Home Gaming and Arcade Gaming both have pros and cons, but even with arcade gaming the pros outweight the cons by a mile.
It's about time I visited the arcade actually. Then I can review all the games before they come out and win all the Game-A-Days! :)
Good post, by the way!
Thought not.
Granted, arcades are expensive, but they're cheaper than going out drinking, buying cigarettes or wasting money on an X-Box!
The fact is, you can get almost everything that you can on your PS2 in the arcade. Sure, there are a few games missing, but the fact that you can play Multi-Player Jet Skiing, Multi-PLayer Time Crisis II, and upto 4-Player Daytona USA more than makes up for it!
Home Gaming and Arcade Gaming both have pros and cons, but even with arcade gaming the pros outweight the cons by a mile.
It's about time I visited the arcade actually. Then I can review all the games before they come out and win all the Game-A-Days! :)
Good post, by the way!
The enviroment in an arcade is something you will not find anywhere else, espically sitting at home on a console - thats a fact.
But the question is - Do people want to pay a pound a go for such a short lived time on a game?
In my eyes, arcades are a way for companys to make more and more money. For example, when you first play on an arcade game you don't do very well at all. I remember playing Crazy Taxi for the first time, such an exprience that I brought a Dreamcast, yet Sega really got some money off me. I kept throwing the one pound coins in as I got better and better.
Just like on a console game...think back to when you first bought a game like...Goldeneye. Look how rubbish you were at the start and look how good you are now. The same goes for all games, it all takes practise. And to get better in an arcade you gotta keep inserting those coins.
The time restrictions etc on arcade games are something I despise. Such a waste of money. That is what is making the arcades do bad yet still making the companys money. People may be playing less but the price is higher and so the same profit is met.
You meantioned the TRIforce board. Sure, it sounds great, the three best companys out on the arcades. But, why do I want to pay a pound to have one go? The way it works with F-Zero may sound great but things I have seen in the past like that just don't take off.
But, people will keep playing and paying and so the arcades will live on as the companys gobble your money.
Unless four player fun is met, arcades are something I don't want to visit.
But the question is - Do people want to pay a pound a go for such a short lived time on a game?
In my eyes, arcades are a way for companys to make more and more money. For example, when you first play on an arcade game you don't do very well at all. I remember playing Crazy Taxi for the first time, such an exprience that I brought a Dreamcast, yet Sega really got some money off me. I kept throwing the one pound coins in as I got better and better.
Just like on a console game...think back to when you first bought a game like...Goldeneye. Look how rubbish you were at the start and look how good you are now. The same goes for all games, it all takes practise. And to get better in an arcade you gotta keep inserting those coins.
The time restrictions etc on arcade games are something I despise. Such a waste of money. That is what is making the arcades do bad yet still making the companys money. People may be playing less but the price is higher and so the same profit is met.
You meantioned the TRIforce board. Sure, it sounds great, the three best companys out on the arcades. But, why do I want to pay a pound to have one go? The way it works with F-Zero may sound great but things I have seen in the past like that just don't take off.
But, people will keep playing and paying and so the arcades will live on as the companys gobble your money.
Unless four player fun is met, arcades are something I don't want to visit.
To even suggest that Arcades are 'dying' is sheer lunacy. The atmosphere, excitement and vast range of games found in arcades is second to none, and while a lot of games (i.e Dance Stage, Virtua Fighter) are coming to home consoles, the conversions from the Naomi 2 board are nothing compared to the real thing.
What's so good about arcades, is that although they're quite expensive (for a good session), they do offer complete interactivity,... you don't just hold a pad and gain weight,... you're put in a chair, a pretend car or on a pair of fake skis. It's much more exciting that sitting in a room holding a pad throwing decapatated heads at people with a poorly animated gangster.
Plus, while you can spend a games worth in cash at the arcade, you do get to play loads of non-console titles that aren't going to be, or haven't been released... like Tekken 4, Virtua Fighter 4 and Speed Demons. And, while more and more rhythm games are coming to consles, you can't sit in a chair and 'Play Music With Aerosmith' at home. Logitech and Interact haven't made any pretend skis yet!
Now, while arcades are great, they're a bummer for one thing. Adventure games, platformers, RPG's. There are some games that just don't clique with arcades, and that's where home consoles come in. Maybe if Mario had a tacky 80's pop soundtrack with an over-driven guitar leading, it'd get in, but as it stands, it won't happen. If a game isn't cool, full of action, original or made By NAMCO, Sega or Konami - it's face might not fit. So if you want a quiet night in, with a nice game like Animal Forest, Banjo Tooie or Mario, there's no point going to the arcades. But then again, if you want an all out action night with wicked games, a great atmosphere, lots of buzz and a game that more than 4 of you can play - there's nothing better than the arcade!
Also, with the new TRIforce board (Developed by Nintendo, Sega and Namco) we might see the relationiship between home consoles and the arcades get a little closer. There's already talk of F-Zero AC and F-Zero GC being able to switch data though the GC memory card. Imagine if you could do the same for the GC version of Soil Calibur, Daytona or Wave Race?!!!
Arcades are far from dead... and with new ideas and higher budgets coming through all the time, it's not too hard to see how the whole arcade scene could be just getting started!
Arcades have a future, and a very good one at that!
What's so good about arcades, is that although they're quite expensive (for a good session), they do offer complete interactivity,... you don't just hold a pad and gain weight,... you're put in a chair, a pretend car or on a pair of fake skis. It's much more exciting that sitting in a room holding a pad throwing decapatated heads at people with a poorly animated gangster.
Plus, while you can spend a games worth in cash at the arcade, you do get to play loads of non-console titles that aren't going to be, or haven't been released... like Tekken 4, Virtua Fighter 4 and Speed Demons. And, while more and more rhythm games are coming to consles, you can't sit in a chair and 'Play Music With Aerosmith' at home. Logitech and Interact haven't made any pretend skis yet!
Now, while arcades are great, they're a bummer for one thing. Adventure games, platformers, RPG's. There are some games that just don't clique with arcades, and that's where home consoles come in. Maybe if Mario had a tacky 80's pop soundtrack with an over-driven guitar leading, it'd get in, but as it stands, it won't happen. If a game isn't cool, full of action, original or made By NAMCO, Sega or Konami - it's face might not fit. So if you want a quiet night in, with a nice game like Animal Forest, Banjo Tooie or Mario, there's no point going to the arcades. But then again, if you want an all out action night with wicked games, a great atmosphere, lots of buzz and a game that more than 4 of you can play - there's nothing better than the arcade!
Also, with the new TRIforce board (Developed by Nintendo, Sega and Namco) we might see the relationiship between home consoles and the arcades get a little closer. There's already talk of F-Zero AC and F-Zero GC being able to switch data though the GC memory card. Imagine if you could do the same for the GC version of Soil Calibur, Daytona or Wave Race?!!!
Arcades are far from dead... and with new ideas and higher budgets coming through all the time, it's not too hard to see how the whole arcade scene could be just getting started!
Arcades have a future, and a very good one at that!
If you live anywhere like me you’ve been to one.
If you don’t live anywhere like me you’ve been to one.
Arcades are an experience every gamer should have indulged their selves into.
The pure power an arcade packs compared to your any home console you may own is that the games are of a completely different nature in the interactivity department and graphics and sound are, in some cases, way above the average for the latest next-generation console you just bought.
The moment you walk into an arcade your heart will be pumping, you ears will be bleeding, your eyes sore and you fingers itching for a go on one of the games. Cabinets loaded with guns for you to and your mates to shoot zombie scum, replica car models for you to sit in as you drive a lap, Jet Skis, Snowboards, Guitars…the list is endless. It is a fact for me to say that the arcade market has done something unique over the years and for that I salute them.
Many would say that this would be something the console market would never be able to do…in fact now it nearly is. Interactivity has become the base of some games. One game which comes to mind is ‘Euro Stage Dance Mix’ with its dance mat. A hit in the arcades amongst children and adults the same and was certain to make a console conversion. The game has now become one of the most popular games for the Playstation at this current time, as when many other games do this, the developers have picked up on it just like they did back in the arcade.
Soon a whole host of dance games will be out, two to name are ‘The Jungle Book’ and a ‘Britney’ game. This list will only expand, no matter how much you hate the genre, it will. I see it only as the beginning of a new era of interactivity being converted to consoles from the arcades which have held their reign for so long, yet now it is slipping. I some aspects, it’s sad to see but it is slipping.
Digital Audio is now present in most games and next-generation consoles offering surround sound at its best, much like in an arcade cabinet. Multiplayer, forget that we’ve got online gaming and four player bash up’s on our consoles and PC’s. The controller is still standard but is conquered when placed into certain genres where interactivity is a must. Skateboards have now even made it onto the console market with the ‘Tony Hawk’ series being so popular and Skateboarding as a sport being as popular as ever. Even ‘Samba De Amigo’ had maracas to shake to complete the game. Mad it sounds, but so fun it was and that what makes the arcade – plain fun - the way games should be.
And this brings me to my conclusion, do arcades have a future?
The console market seems to be catching up with it at such a rapid pace I don’t think the arcade can out run it. Arcade games cost you one pound a go for hardly anything whilst I can pay thirty pounds for an unlimited time on a console game. Developers are backing out of the arcade market as it is becoming less and less popular with the home gaming boom in town. So much to the extent that they have brought almost all their console style games to consoles, no matter how short lived they are there is a profit for them to make.
Arcades - Once the social area of gaming, now the rotting legend of gaming.
It’s sad to see but its going.
Thanks for your time,
Monkey_With_Attitude
If you don’t live anywhere like me you’ve been to one.
Arcades are an experience every gamer should have indulged their selves into.
The pure power an arcade packs compared to your any home console you may own is that the games are of a completely different nature in the interactivity department and graphics and sound are, in some cases, way above the average for the latest next-generation console you just bought.
The moment you walk into an arcade your heart will be pumping, you ears will be bleeding, your eyes sore and you fingers itching for a go on one of the games. Cabinets loaded with guns for you to and your mates to shoot zombie scum, replica car models for you to sit in as you drive a lap, Jet Skis, Snowboards, Guitars…the list is endless. It is a fact for me to say that the arcade market has done something unique over the years and for that I salute them.
Many would say that this would be something the console market would never be able to do…in fact now it nearly is. Interactivity has become the base of some games. One game which comes to mind is ‘Euro Stage Dance Mix’ with its dance mat. A hit in the arcades amongst children and adults the same and was certain to make a console conversion. The game has now become one of the most popular games for the Playstation at this current time, as when many other games do this, the developers have picked up on it just like they did back in the arcade.
Soon a whole host of dance games will be out, two to name are ‘The Jungle Book’ and a ‘Britney’ game. This list will only expand, no matter how much you hate the genre, it will. I see it only as the beginning of a new era of interactivity being converted to consoles from the arcades which have held their reign for so long, yet now it is slipping. I some aspects, it’s sad to see but it is slipping.
Digital Audio is now present in most games and next-generation consoles offering surround sound at its best, much like in an arcade cabinet. Multiplayer, forget that we’ve got online gaming and four player bash up’s on our consoles and PC’s. The controller is still standard but is conquered when placed into certain genres where interactivity is a must. Skateboards have now even made it onto the console market with the ‘Tony Hawk’ series being so popular and Skateboarding as a sport being as popular as ever. Even ‘Samba De Amigo’ had maracas to shake to complete the game. Mad it sounds, but so fun it was and that what makes the arcade – plain fun - the way games should be.
And this brings me to my conclusion, do arcades have a future?
The console market seems to be catching up with it at such a rapid pace I don’t think the arcade can out run it. Arcade games cost you one pound a go for hardly anything whilst I can pay thirty pounds for an unlimited time on a console game. Developers are backing out of the arcade market as it is becoming less and less popular with the home gaming boom in town. So much to the extent that they have brought almost all their console style games to consoles, no matter how short lived they are there is a profit for them to make.
Arcades - Once the social area of gaming, now the rotting legend of gaming.
It’s sad to see but its going.
Thanks for your time,
Monkey_With_Attitude