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Just got back from the local Arcade (playdium)
- Thread starter neptunes
- Start date
CurseoftheGods
Banned
Arcades are already dead. :/
MassiveAttack
Banned
neptunes said:
Playdium has been dying for the past couple of years now. The one downtown closed down a few years ago and the one across the street from Square One is on its way out. It's just too damn expensive, and there are no new arcade games other than things like Initial D and Tekken 5 which the arcades downtown already have.
Aruarian Reflection
Chauffeur de la gdlk
All the arcades near me are now chock full of Counter-Strike machines 
Warm Machine
Member
The Vancouver Playdium in Metrotown near the theaters is gone.
Arcades are dead as well they should be. They should have transformed themselves into something new. As far as I know Counterstrike/multiplayer game tea houses are still popular.
The only way a stand alone video game complex can exist is if they were to do something very propreitary and supplied a involving and unique experience. A modern version of the old Virtual World Battletech centers would be excellent.
Arcades are dead as well they should be. They should have transformed themselves into something new. As far as I know Counterstrike/multiplayer game tea houses are still popular.
The only way a stand alone video game complex can exist is if they were to do something very propreitary and supplied a involving and unique experience. A modern version of the old Virtual World Battletech centers would be excellent.
exactly when did arcades start dying out? when the dreamcast launched?
arcades seemed to peak around when SF2 and Mortal Kombat 2 started coming out. man those fighting games really drew in a crowd. i remember the local arcade had a gun shooting over a SF2 tournament, crazy stuff
arcades seemed to peak around when SF2 and Mortal Kombat 2 started coming out. man those fighting games really drew in a crowd. i remember the local arcade had a gun shooting over a SF2 tournament, crazy stuff
Wario64 said:
Probably closer to when the 32-bit generation really took off. Before that time, hardcore gaming systems like the Neo-Geo aside, home conversions of arcade games were almost never as good, or you had types of games that simply couldn't be replicated at home using the current technology. Then came the Saturn and PSX, and home versions of popular arcade games saw a huge jump in quality; 3D was finally at home, etc. From that point on, there was a slow decline that started to become apparent when the following generation of consoles launched.
Yeah, after 1995, there started to be a slump in the number of people going to arcades, at least where I live.
How are arcades elsewhere in the world? I know how Japan is, but what about the rest of Asia? South America? Europe? When I went to Italy in 1999, I was surprised to find an arcade in a small town with the latest games and plenty of people inside.
CurseoftheGods
Banned
Wario64 said:
Arcades were also fairly popular in the Model 3 era.
neptunes said:
friday is usually not the busiest of days... iirc it's wednesday and saturdays.
I've been there a couple times and it was PACKED. Of course the last time i went it wasn't as busy... but then again what do you expect? They have a bunch of broken games and the arcade market isn't pumping out very many new quality titles any more.
Plus getting rid of old machines (classics) is dumb. It was much better when it was the Sega playdium.
Warm Machine said:
Playdium mississauga (west toronto) is the only one left now. Burnaby, edmonton, downtown toronto locations are all gone now.
imo the best place to put a playdium location would have been central or east etobicoke (so people from the downtown core have access) but nooooo Etobicoke has laws against arcades that aren't in a mall. It's stupid.
EGM92 said:I guess I'll never return there again... unless they finally close down and throw out the arcards
Well they're selling some cabinets
Soul Calibur
Tekken 2
Raiden Fighters (shooter)
Marvel Vs Capcom 2
Marvel Vs Capcom(?)
Marvel Super Heroes vs SF
Xmen Vs Street Fighter
...all for $800 cdn ($640 US)
Arcades died when every game cost a dollar. When they started noticing that they were empty most of the time they should have gone back to being .25 and .50 cents. Maybe then it would have actually been worth playing. But I'm not gonna drop a buck to play a game where I won't get past the first level due to not knowing how the game controls etc..
Pedigree Chum
Banned
neptunes said:
You talking about the one in sauga accross Square one? Haven't been to that one in ages.
TekunoRobby
Tag of Excellence
The Miami Crowd:
Flippers, Dave and Busters, and Game Works are still open.
Flippers, Dave and Busters, and Game Works are still open.
Pedigree Chum
Banned
neptunes said:
If they were selling an old 4 cart Neo-Geo system, I'd drop $800 right this minute. But I don't think they have old games like those
midnightguy
Member
at the Regal Cinema in Round Lake, Illinois (the northern suburbs) last night, I saw:
Soul Calibur II, Time Crisis II, Tokyo Wars and SuperGT/Scud Race, among others
pretty damn good for a movie theater
Soul Calibur II, Time Crisis II, Tokyo Wars and SuperGT/Scud Race, among others
pretty damn good for a movie theater
Our movie theaters and bowling alley have better arcades than most of the dedicated arcades around here (most haevn't installed new cabinets in 4 or 5 years). Still, I think most of them still do pretty good, the arcade in our local mall is always packed, I live in the sticks though, there are some great arcades within 1hr driving distance though.
boah - man, i am living in the dead zone in germany (former eastblock), but at oour local bowling center (in dresden) we have many, many arcades (even some of the new things)
- sega rally 2 (hydraulic seat)
- manx tt
- ferrari (with 3 screens)
- outrun 2
- f-zero gx (hydraulic seat)
- daytone usa 2 (coupled with 4 seats)
- need for speed: hot pursuit (shitty framrate compared to the ps2 game, but very playable)
- some ugly shooting things and other games
- they had even scud race, harley davidson, alien and...
- sega rally 2 (hydraulic seat)
- manx tt
- ferrari (with 3 screens)
- outrun 2
- f-zero gx (hydraulic seat)
- daytone usa 2 (coupled with 4 seats)
- need for speed: hot pursuit (shitty framrate compared to the ps2 game, but very playable)
- some ugly shooting things and other games
- they had even scud race, harley davidson, alien and...
Wario64 said:
It's ironic really. The arcades were dying before SF2 hit big. 2-d brawlers ruled and space shooters. SF2, MK2, and NBA Jam only prolonged the death 10 years. Arcades have to move to a 25 cent play or unlimited play/hour mode, and even then it's not profitable. The best hope I think is arcade/bars, and even then the "cool" machines that offer something that home systems can't are so expensive that it's tough to keep up. It's been years since I've played an arcade machine that didn't have a driving chassis, a pair of skis, a harley, or a jetski. I used to dump $20 a week into NBA Jam easily too.
Another thought for arcade revival would be arcade xbox/ps2/gc systems set up like a Play 10 system. $1 for five min per player, and a huge library of games to try. That would allow the console gamer an even cheaper option than renting (at least for a very limited play), but even then you are competing against the free demo stations in the stores. Perhaps though, with a broad enough library, it could be what happens in the future. It could provide a nice contrast of "classic" arcade gaming sprinkeled with a few hybrid machines (like FZero AX).