Danny:
Jes:
| Culture 4/23/2006 |
I really believe that arcades are not, will not, and never can die in this era. I believe this because, without them, I'll have nowhere to pray, eat, or sleep.
And I'd totally lose my chance to finally track down a Spider-Man arcade machine.
Arcades, as they currently stand, may actually be on the out. More specifically, arcades as they stood a couple years ago are on the out. There's already been recent changes, though. And I don't think it's hard to see how they could adapt to last. Hell, if Apocalypse can stand for "Survival of the fittest", yet still have died four times, arcades can stand for anything. "Crab-bakes"... "Crotch-rot"... "Death by being trapped in a mall that turns into a huge pinball machine at night"...
I say they stand for "adaptability".
Please.
First off, arcades clearly have changed in the last ten-or-so years. DDR is now mainstream; sit-down car games are everywhere; first-person visor games are not uncommon; and sim games are everywhere. We still have the fighting games, scrolling shooters, and light-gun games. But the moving trend here is: arcades are, more and more, creating new experiences that gamers cannot have at home.
If we're being really honest, arcades, by their natural definition, stand-up game machines, really might be played out. Our consoles and PCs back at home can do everything an arcade can. The moment N64 came out, with it's four controller ports, you could feel the shiver run down arcades' collective spines. Up until that point, without ugly peripherals, you could only co-op play at a real stand-up arcade machine. X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spider-Man, and a few more. Well, a ton more.
But still. Even that, for its time, was creating something gamers couldn't do at home.
We can no longer go to arcades just for more hardcore machines. We can go, however, for more expensive and complex setups. There's still no DDR pad that's really worth using at home. Only obsessive tard-bags have two or more sit-down car setups at home. That sit-down flying game, at Disneyland, where the cockpit turned upside-down was only at that Disneyland.
I still think there's a natural draw for this sort of arcade gaming. Stuff you just can't do at home. Rigs that involve audiences and crowds and large machines.
Not to mention the premium price to play this sort of game.
Second, there's a downright different atmosphere at a decent arcade than at your house or mine. It's a giant, barren room filled with nothing but gamers and Mountain Dew. Unless you live in a murderer's fridge, you can't do this to your room. Just as much as arcades should foster their variety of games, they need to foster the community that attends them. Add some in-house food source; put in some tables that it's ok to just chill at. Hell, depending where you are, add a bar and a lounge. Like the delicious Metreon. (Ooooh.)
If card-shops and LAN centers can hold weekly tournaments, why can't arcades? Some do, I know. But every community arcade should. Routinely. It's a waste of machinery not to. Speaking of LAN centers, yes. Copy that goddamn idea. Do it with stand-up machines. Tournaments, linked play, community.
Combine the LAN center with an arcade and a sports-bar. A poolhall, if you want more kid-friendly. And somewhere a gamer might go. The very success of online gaming proves that there is demand for community gaming. I can't believe that a real-life version would be less popular.
On a whim, let's say you set it up like Magic. Local arcades hold leagues and tournaments. Regionals are held somewhere. Nationals blah blah blah blah. If you have a decent game out (and there is always one), you should be able to support something. Magic does it, and you don't pay to play every round, in that. Arcades have a quarter for every six minutes. On top of the entrance fees and snacks.
If you say arcade gaming's dead, without giving a thoughtful answer, you, sir, are an uncreative douche. That is to say: you belong squirted up the vagina of a woman who rarely showers. Showers in centipedes.
It's not like there's no answers to try.
By Danny
| Comments (3) | ||
Arcades will follow the trend of minerature golf parks. Now, what arcades need to do is start getting attached to Strip Clubs, and also a candy store.
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See, if you can really work tickets into this, I think you have something. Cuz... paying $20 for a lap dance - not good times. But playing skeeball for tickets, to get a lap dance... Genius.
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i think if the Founders of our nation had been really thinking, they would have come up with our idea.
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