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The Arcade is Dead - [ videogames ]

Over the holidays I made my yearly trip to the mall. A few years ago I used to go to the mall's arcade regularly. Namco's Cyberstation was not your ordinary gaming dungeon. It was very well maintained. Old games that nobody wanted to play were rotated out; there were hardly any broken games (and if there was one, it wasn't left to rot for an eternity); the place was clean; and get this: they even had employees to make sure that disgruntled gamers wouldn't wipe their butts with directional sticks. Ah, these were great times. After it shutdown, the Starcade and another local arcade did the same. What happened you ask?

Stupid Games like Final Furlong and Beatmania happened!

Americans play videogames for one reason and for one reason only, to kick ass. It doesn't matter if you're crushing skulls in the fighting arena or on the football field. Being a virtual DJ, riding a horse (not into battle), and playing other violence-free games is not enough to draw people into arcades. Gaming isn't about having family-friendly fun it's about indulging in man's carnal desires.

And then Konami drove the nail through the heart of coin operated gaming...

The abomination of videogaming known as DDR served as an outlet for wannabe Travoltas to flail around wildly and quickly made the house of tank simulators and street fighting a haven for lamos.


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Comments

that show, the other half, is not even on the air any more because danny bonaduce is one crazy mother fucker. I used to go to the arcade and play the game where you were a giant robot mech and you fought in an arena and it was on the dreamcast it was fucking awesome I loved that game.

Posted on: Jan 03 2006 - 01:09 by travis

I do miss the arcades. We had a local one in our mall but it closed a few years ago. We have another one but its quite far from where I live and they don't get the latest new games (House of the Dead 3 and Beatmania were the lastest games they got a couple of years ago.) Thats why I'm going to buy some arcade machines myself. Check these at Target.com

http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/ref=sc_pgc_r_9_0_1042122_1/602-7641846-0919062?%5Fencoding=UTF8&node=15679701

I would love to get the $499.99 and the $479.99 cabinets. Also I would love to get a Pacman machine, a South Park pinball machine, and the Ultracade Street Fighter collection machine (it haves all the SF2 and Alpha series in one machine for $2999.99-$3999.99)

Got to start saving those pennies.

Posted on: Jan 03 2006 - 04:06 by fatface

Hey! Beatmania is a FINE import. Honestly, the American crowd doesn't care for arcades anymore; they've got their Xbox 360s and PSwhathaveyous to distract them and/or appease their violent/mankilling urgencies. I think that Japanese imports, especially simulations, are a treat. We don't get the games imported onto the consoles for the most part, so why not have the arcade machine imported so that the dumb Americans can be better exposed to the OTHER kinds of games out there?

I do not endorse DDR personally, but I think it can be fun, and I don't see myself as a casual gamer. The appeal to casual gamers is just as important as the appeal to "hardcore" gamers (aka the people who just want to kick ass). I grew up on arcades, and I think that the addition of interactive games as well as fighting games, sports games, shooters, etc etc, are just as vital and important.

Let's not concentrate on the importance of kicking ass, and let's just let people have their fun, whether or not it's by doing Travolta impressions :P

Posted on: Jan 04 2006 - 02:25 by Short Asian girl

Dude, that horse game is HAWT. Well, only because of the fond memories I have of my ex-girlfriend dry humping that interactive plastic piece of crap. How's that for carnal desires?

Posted on: Jan 04 2006 - 03:54 by Rice Burner

If I'm going to shell out three G's for the Arcade Legends Full-Size Arcade Cabinet - 9500, I think I want to know what games i'm getting. Why would Target be selling this thing that has 35 games in all and only list Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command and Tempest as games included.

I would like to own the arcade versions of Dig Dug and Rampart, a few of my favorites.

And as for the Short Asian Girl's response... You're right...but We Love Katamari es El Diablo.

Posted on: Jan 04 2006 - 04:00 by longhairedoffender

Who needs arcades when you have Guitar Hero.

Besides, nobody carries quarters anymore. Where's the ATM slot on this damn thing?!

Posted on: Jan 05 2006 - 11:25 by Tenacious Moses

The American Arcade may well be dead, the Japanese one is still very much alive and kicking. But given that the above prognosis, is from the Testosterone addled editor of game pro, who can publish 4 reviews on one page, (with pictures for each) a sum total of 40 words per review. you'll forgive me if I regard his musing as so much horse manure.

Posted on: Jan 06 2006 - 02:53 by John Doh

Don't use big words John Doh if you can't use them correctly in a sentence.

Posted on: Jan 06 2006 - 09:55 by longhairedoffender

It's true, the 80's and early 90's were the golden years for arcades. It's been downhill since then. Although, it sure is nice to live within walking distance of Dave and Buster's!

Posted on: Jan 06 2006 - 12:34 by John D

I've personally seen the death of American arcades firsthand. I, along with my brother, his brother and two other half-relations owned and operated a successful chain of Arcades, the name of which I won't be providing for some reason.

Why are they dying? Simply put, it's the inability of the American gamer to fully appreciate and embrace the free market as it relates to moving their little plastic joysticks around. A noted professor employed with a major US university (who's name I cannot reveal for political reasons) has assured me that this is part of a broad, state-funded attack on the AnarchoCapitalistic underground movement that I happen to lead from my treehouse.

Posted on: Jan 06 2006 - 03:38 by Dada22