I've spoken with Eugene a couple of times at the tradeshows, great guy. The company they own, Play Mechanix also has a lot of ex-Midway guys too. It's great that they are still around and have a passion for arcades. It's too bad they aren't remaking the last Midway project RIP Sqaud, that's a shooter concept I would love to see them tackle.
how much longer would arcades have lived with no consoles?
- Thread starter vintagegamer
- Start date
I've spoken with Eugene a couple of times at the tradeshows, great guy. The company they own, Play Mechanix also has a lot of ex-Midway guys too. It's great that they are still around and have a passion for arcades. It's too bad they aren't remaking the last Midway project RIP Sqaud, that's a shooter concept I would love to see them tackle.
Level42
New member
Played H2Overdrive in the UK (in this Cambridge "Leisure center: http://youtu.be/H1bL86wX6CY ) for the first time a couple of months ago and was really disappointed. It lacked all the fun and furious feeling of speed and excitement that Hydrothunder still has.
Once again better graphics didn't make a better game.
Of the "recent" games that I played I really liked Let's Go Jungle and Outrun SE.
Once again better graphics didn't make a better game.
Of the "recent" games that I played I really liked Let's Go Jungle and Outrun SE.
From my personal experience as a youngster who experienced it first hand, from beginning to "end", it wasn't the consoles, so much as it was the ability to get nearly the same experience at home. The first system to have real, licensed and popular titles, that really could stand up to the arcade versions, was the Atari 400/800 home computers. It was only after getting this system, that I felt less compelled to spend the time and quarters at the arcade I had previous to it.
I still went to the arcades, but only played games which I could not experience in some very close form to those I already had at home. What changed the arcades was their focus on trying to provide an experience which users cannot achieve with a home computer or console. The games got bigger, the control schemes wackier, etc... As the experiences delivered by home hardware approached parity with those in the arcades, the arcades became less and less relevant. Movie theaters are experiencing something similar in that industry, which is why the screen sizes went up again (after going down a number of years ago, to provide more selection), and 3D has heavy focus.
I still went to the arcades, but only played games which I could not experience in some very close form to those I already had at home. What changed the arcades was their focus on trying to provide an experience which users cannot achieve with a home computer or console. The games got bigger, the control schemes wackier, etc... As the experiences delivered by home hardware approached parity with those in the arcades, the arcades became less and less relevant. Movie theaters are experiencing something similar in that industry, which is why the screen sizes went up again (after going down a number of years ago, to provide more selection), and 3D has heavy focus.
the7k
New member
While I personally didn't care for Terminator Salvation or H2Overdrive when I played them, I don't doubt that they are pretty important for arcades to have. They draw a crowd, and that's necessary.
Personally, I preferred Namco's offerings last time I went to an arcade. Tank Tank Tank, Dead Heat and Razing Storm knocked my freakin' socks off. Too bad they were $1-2 per play.
And ya know, maybe having some games cost a buck or two to play isn't so bad. It's when ALL the games are a buck or two to play that you start having some serious problems. When I go into an arcade, I usually set my spending limit at $10. $10 at an arcade these days will last me about 15 minutes. Am I going to return to an arcade if I can't get at least an hour's worth of entertainment for $10? Hell no!
The arcade in question that I went to - the cheapest non-redemption game was $1. That was the cheapest! Sure, a lot of the redemption games were just $.25-50, but I'll be damned before I put one quarter into a ticket spitter. (Well, except for Skeeball. But who cares about the tickets when it's skeeball?)
Personally, I preferred Namco's offerings last time I went to an arcade. Tank Tank Tank, Dead Heat and Razing Storm knocked my freakin' socks off. Too bad they were $1-2 per play.
And ya know, maybe having some games cost a buck or two to play isn't so bad. It's when ALL the games are a buck or two to play that you start having some serious problems. When I go into an arcade, I usually set my spending limit at $10. $10 at an arcade these days will last me about 15 minutes. Am I going to return to an arcade if I can't get at least an hour's worth of entertainment for $10? Hell no!
The arcade in question that I went to - the cheapest non-redemption game was $1. That was the cheapest! Sure, a lot of the redemption games were just $.25-50, but I'll be damned before I put one quarter into a ticket spitter. (Well, except for Skeeball. But who cares about the tickets when it's skeeball?)
gutsman004
New member
And what does Hot Topic sell? Shirts with arcade (and NES) themes on them! Talk about irony!
HunterZero
New member
The problem with arcade games is they had to be designed to suck your money, and this constraint directly affects the game design. There's no point in an operator having a game in their arcade if it doesn't earn, let alone cover its costs. The games have to be relatively short to increase coin drops, you can't have games that take hours to finish in an arcade. Well - you could, but one credit would have to cost tens of dollars, and players would be turned off because it would be difficult to find a vacant machine. They'd have to mark their calendars to play.
Consoles and home computers not only allow the 'twitch' arcade games, but also slower, more toughtful games that can be taken at a slower pace.
For this reason, the types of games that are common on home consoles and computers would still not exist in the arcade.
In a way, pay-to-play arcades of sorts still exist, they have just evolved - internet and console gaming cafes are the arcades of today.
- J
Consoles and home computers not only allow the 'twitch' arcade games, but also slower, more toughtful games that can be taken at a slower pace.
For this reason, the types of games that are common on home consoles and computers would still not exist in the arcade.
In a way, pay-to-play arcades of sorts still exist, they have just evolved - internet and console gaming cafes are the arcades of today.
- J
SuperSprint
Well-known member
Actually I didn't cherry pick, those are 3 of my 4 machines. I left out #4 (Golden Tee) because it wasn't around then.
Your point is valid. But, a 10:1 ROI on some machines will carry a lot of duds before becoming non-profitable. Just as a quick example, only 20% "winners" with a 10:1 ROI is still 100 return on your investment. And in the heyday of the 80's, you would be hard pressed to find an arcade seeing play at only 20% of the machines.
Namco's recent offerings are quite good in quality but I think they charge way too much for so little content in each game. That's where Raw Thrills undercuts them, is on price and overall content. I would love to get Tank! Tank! Tank! one day but $18k (probably $19k-$20k after shipping and taxes) for one game that has three single player levels and two multiplayer arenas is too tall of an order at that price. Razing Storm had the same problem at first - great game with amazing graphics but was also $18k for a year and a half until they wised up on a smaller cabinet for $10k less. There is no way to pay back these expensive games at anything less than $1/play really.
Also I know most people complain about paying $1 for an arcade video game, yet I rarely hear people making the same complaint about redemption games, which can suck $1 in a third of the time that a video game does. Yeah you get the ticket payout but a lot of those games give you maybe 10 seconds of entertainment per coin. Yet no one seems to have much of a problem there and dumps tons of coins into the machines.
Also I know most people complain about paying $1 for an arcade video game, yet I rarely hear people making the same complaint about redemption games, which can suck $1 in a third of the time that a video game does. Yeah you get the ticket payout but a lot of those games give you maybe 10 seconds of entertainment per coin. Yet no one seems to have much of a problem there and dumps tons of coins into the machines.
