What killed the arcade?

[thebat]

Years ago the arcade was the place to be. You would go there to play the games, hang out with friends, meet people, or even just watch people play when you were broke. Then, in the mid 90's they started to die out. You can still find them, but they are no longer what they used to be. A lot of people will say that the increasing power of the home console made the arcade games obsolete.
But, I don't think that was the reason. I think Street Fighter 2 brought about the end of the arcade. Now, I am not bashing the game itself. It was fantastic when it first game out and the original still is. But, it spawned so many clones like Mortal Kombat, Virtua Fighter, plus many updates of itself (also good games). You could not go into an arcade and not see 20 different fighting games, which sometimes included 3 or 4 of the same game. There really wasn't anything new or original coming out after that. I believe that this was a case of "too much of a good thing". Some of you may agree and some will not. It will be interesting to read what your opinions are.

[grrza]

A lot of people will say that the increasing power of the home console made the arcade games obsolete.

That's got to be at least half of it.

Another is price. 75 cents for a single credit on a new/premium game felt a little steep when I was a teenager, but when arcades started charging $2 for a couple minutes of gameplay, it was over.

[Hiltz]

I suppose it is a considered to be a niche market.

Competitive home console and mobile gaming (cell phones and hand helds) and especially PC gaming have all overpowered the arcade. Online and downloadable games (particularly casual games) are new social gaming trend. The arcade has lost its advantage as a popular hangout place to socialize. The arcade's popularity was confined to how much local attention it received. With hand helds and home consoles, every customer had the opportunity to have their own video game system and choose to buy a wide range of games for them and more developers and publishers offered dedicated game support of these systems for years.

With the exception of popular arcade games like Dance Dance Revolution, the lack of innovation and producing games that has mass appeal have also contributed to the arcade becoming an extinct dinosaur.

One of the other major factors is player inconvenience. You had to go to where the arcade was located out. However, with cell phones and handhelds, you can play whenever and wherever you want while home console games are there for home entertainment. Back in the day, I think arcade were viewed as second-class entertainment. By that, I mean they were placed inside locations like bowling alleys to offer additional entertainment. Today, we have so much entertainment products its amazing.

[Dexter345]

A lot of people will say that the increasing power of the home console made the arcade games obsolete.

That's got to be at least half of it.

Another is price. 75 cents for a single credit on a new/premium game felt a little steep when I was a teenager, but when arcades started charging $2 for a couple minutes of gameplay, it was over.

Exactly. Some of the big arcades seriously charge $3 to play something that only lasts maybe five to ten minutes. Back in my day, no game was more than fifty cents, and the majority were just a quarter. Hoo wee...

[Ogu]

I totally agree with prices. around here games used to be from about 50 (mexican) cents to 1 peso (that's about 5 to 10 american cents). Today you can still find some for $2.50 (that's about 25 american cents XD), and it's fun to go. specially since they have from the 'new' machines to the retro ones.

[thebat]

Everything got bigger also. A lot of the more expensive games are these huge cabinets with giant screens. Some move around and blow air on your face to make it seem more real. I'm sure that plenty of games can still be made in a standard arcade cabinet. It would help lower playing costs too.

[signal]

I think they were replaced by lan centers. Lan centers are fairly cheap, offer badass gaming setups(both PC and console) and usually offer a nice variety of games to choose from, and some(maybe even most) take suggestions on what games the customers want to play. Arcade machines are just too much money for what you get out of them, what is it like a couple grand for a cabinet with one game? Compared to a console or PC that's 60 bucks a game at the most.

[galagabug]

its not cloning, as long as there has been the arcade, the most popular titles have been cloned to death.

how many space invaders type game can you name alone?

the console definately plays a large role. growing up, ports of games were never as good as their arcade counterpart, now the arcade versions are the ones with limited gameplay.

the appetite of gamers has shifted too, from competitive 2-4 player games (like rampage, street fighter, pacman, etc) to much larger games like WoW and CounterStrike. imagine how many much space you'd need for a descent 8v8 round of counterstrike.

prices didn't help either. i can justify paying .50 cents for a game of dragons lair when its right next to a .25 cent pacman machine, but $2+ for a round of police trainer or time crisis is ridiculous.

[Ogu]

I think they were replaced by lan centers. Lan centers are fairly cheap, offer badass gaming setups(both PC and console) and usually offer a nice variety of games to choose from, and some(maybe even most) take suggestions on what games the customers want to play. Arcade machines are just too much money for what you get out of them, what is it like a couple grand for a cabinet with one game? Compared to a console or PC that's 60 bucks a game at the most.

these days you can buy a bootlegged machine with tons of games on one cabinet :P

[Aaron Mxy Yost]

Street Fighter 2 actually kept the arcades alive a few years longer, they were already starting to stagnate before that game came out. That and the fighting games that followed actually rejuvenated arcades and got people to start going back. There was a reason so many fighters came out; they were the only things making money. What really killed them was when home consoles started getting more powerful, and arcade owners started charging ridiculous amounts per credit in order to make back the costs of the machines.

[twesterm]

I think it's 40% price and 60% games. I walked into Dave and Busters a few weeks ago (I hate that place btw) and saw their arcade and most of it was House of the Dead ripoffs, racing games, a few DDR games (with the one guy 30+ bald guy taking up 2 of them who's there all night), and a few classic games. That was it. Not even any fighting games.

It just really seems like people have stopped trying and make either a shooter with some fancy new gun or a realistic as possible racer and that's about it. Back when arcades had actual gamers, people went there to play those games, now the games are just boring repeats of each other and there are only 3 real genres found in any arcade.

Oh yeah, I forgot, there was a Golden Tee machine. woohoo

[Ogu]

I think it's 40% price and 60% games. I walked into Dave and Busters a few weeks ago (I hate that place btw) and saw their arcade and most of it was House of the Dead ripoffs, racing games, a few DDR games (with the one guy 30+ bald guy taking up 2 of them who's there all night), and a few classic games. That was it. Not even any fighting games.

It just really seems like people have stopped trying and make either a shooter with some fancy new gun or a realistic as possible racer and that's about it. Back when arcades had actual gamers, people went there to play those games, now the games are just boring repeats of each other and there are only 3 real genres found in any arcade.

Oh yeah, I forgot, there was a Golden Tee machine. woohoo

yeah ... i see this trend in american arcades and americanish (there's a place here called moy that is pretty much like any american arcade)... but some independents didn't get the chance to change their scheme that much so it's pretty much a retro arcade with pac-man, DDR, house of the dead, some racing games, arkanoid, a bunch of fighters, puzzle games, etc. ... very varied...

[MooCow]

I would it was because more home consoles were being made.

[Ogu]

not only that, arcade machines used to be significantly better than consoles .. now i guess it's the other way around (or at least, the gap is not as large)

[gameboi]

Besides what everyone else mentioned, games sort of evolved. That, and nobody can spend 30 plus hours at the arcade trying to beat some RPG.

Let's not also forget that people are all about creature comforts, and want their games to come to them. Nothing like sitting in your living room, and enjoying a great game. No going out in the cold, rain, or even heat.

[Ogu]

that's why "arcade" style games are quicker.

I think the arcade is a social experience also, you meet people there XD, that used to be a good way to meet people with the same hobbies as you... now we have the internets so who needs real socialization :P

[grrza]

Besides what everyone else mentioned, games sort of evolved. That, and nobody can spend 30 plus hours at the arcade trying to beat some RPG.

Let's not also forget that people are all about creature comforts, and want their games to come to them. Nothing like sitting in your living room, and enjoying a great game. No going out in the cold, rain, or even heat.

I think this is true, but it may be that games and comforts evolved a certain way because of the decline of arcades. Arcades are still alive and well in Japan, and they're amazing to boot. But, the games are different - they're faster, "catchier" (kinda like a video game version of a pop song), and meant to be played in a social realm. This is something like what Ogu said.

The Japanese love their RPGs, but that doesn't detract from the development for these more arcade-y type games, either. What's funny is that we now have plenty of games that fit this bill (and came from this tradition): DDR, Guitar Hero, all those mini-games for the Wii and DS. If you could reintroduce this type of game play to the arcade, I think you'd have something.

[relik]

Ridge Racer on the PlayStation 1. That was the point when most people decided to stay at home.

Arcades (Or Game Centres) in Japan are still very much alive though. Just got back from seeing the missus's parents over there and we spent a fair whack of time in arcades. Virtua Fighter 5, Mario Kart Arcade 2 and House of the Dead 4 all seemed to be pretty popular at the mo.

[OldschoolVgamer]

It was mostly the home gaming market that was responsible for that. Console and PCs became more advanced in graphical output, controllers were starting to be innovated (analog stick, rumble, what have you), you didn't have to fork over money every time you wanted to play the game, and you didn't actually have to go out every single time you wanted to play a game but could play it right there in your home. Over time I think people lost interest in the arcade as home gaming came to match over even surpass the arcades. At least these are just my predictions.

[EternalDarkWing]

What killed the arcade?