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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Why Arcades died in USA?

The major problem with arcades in the USA was that they were overly expensive.
Arcades were never really able to convey a price point that made sense for the average consumer. Games were made to be tough, and quarter eaters. Basically, business ate the market. Japan had cutting edge games, and were updated constantly with new cabinets and different variety of genres.

When new systems came out, I'd say right around the playstation era, maybe ps2, arcades died out because the high quality was replaceable with home consoles. Before, the major draw to an arcade was insane graphics and playing other people. Basically, an experience you couldn't get at home.

This is why arcades still are doing ok in japan, because the things they offer aren't available at home.
TBH, the arcade industry has potential for resurgence in the US, but it's unlikely that all the factors would come together to make it work. You need home developers making quality content, cheap cabinets, and a new business model. I don't even think we could get the devs on board. So we'll never pass step one.



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Bigger & better killed the arcades, I think. Cabinets got expensive, so arcade owners jacked up the price to play; one could play a very close approximation on home console for far cheaper.

I also think there's a link between arcades closing and Dreamcast dying. At that time gamers were really getting into the idea of deep long games, not arcade style at all.



arcaneguyver said:
Bigger & better killed the arcades, I think. Cabinets got expensive, so arcade owners jacked up the price to play; one could play a very close approximation on home console for far cheaper.

I also think there's a link between arcades closing and Dreamcast dying. At that time gamers were really getting into the idea of deep long games, not arcade style at all.

Arcade owners basically destroyed their own market by jacking up the price. In Japan, it's a tightly regulated market, and I don't mean regulated with laws, I mean the business model. You make a few thousand on a cabinet and you're done, you get the next one.

Here in America, the whole idea is, hey let's make 10 grand on this one machine and then never replace it. You end up with all these old machines that cost way more than they're worth because they never lowered the price over time, and no way to resell them bc nobody wants it anymore. 

It's like making a specific type of shoe that starts off trendy, and you never change the style or lower the price after the trend has worn off, and you just end up with these dated products that nobody really wants, and even if they did, are way more expensive than they should be. This is typically an american practice in business.

A great example of this is Adidas. Their track suit was very popular during the 90s and they never thought to introduce new products, they just stuck with the same old shit. Meanwhile, underarmor showed up and stole the market right out from under them because they offered things Adidas was reluctant to upgrade into.



Not too sure why they died out in the West, but Japan definitely does it right when it comes to arcades. Their UFO catcher games for starters actually have things you'd want to win, rather than the west putting in generic dolls in theirs. Also, the staff there will help you win the prizes by readjusting the them if you've spent enough money and effort trying. They have all kinds of appealing games there as well. Rhythm games are really big over there, so they have a lot of those. Mai-mai, taiku drum master, DDR, some weird... rubik's cube looking game, and many more.

Hmm, perhaps that is part of the reason the West didn't last as long as they did. To me, they didn't seem to manage their arcades very well.



 

              

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Not only in the U.S. but in the "western world" overall.

Home gaming has become more acessible, specially after the motion controls / multiplayer craze of last generation, and the visual gap between arcade and home consoles has dissapeared. Arcades also became too expensive.

In my country (Brazil) arcades are a thing of the past too. There are still a few small arcade centers in shopping malls, but those are aimed at families, they have very few games and most of them are old ones.

I really miss the days of hanging out in arcade centers.... there used to be a lot of them in my city. Today I can name only one who still survives: https://lordsdiversoes.com.br/tatuape.html It´s curious to see that many people still hang out there on weekday nights and weekends, I think most still goes there for nostalgia.



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Rogerioandrade said:
Not only in the U.S. but in the "western world" overall.

Home gaming has become more acessible, specially after the motion controls / multiplayer craze of last generation, and the visual gap between arcade and home consoles has dissapeared. Arcades also became too expensive.

In my country (Brazil) arcades are a thing of the past too. There are still a few small arcade centers in shopping malls, but those are aimed at families, they have very few games and most of them are old ones.

I really miss the days of hanging out in arcade centers.... there used to be a lot of them in my city. Today I can name only one who still survives: https://lordsdiversoes.com.br/tatuape.html It´s curious to see that many people still hang out there on weekday nights and weekends, I think most still goes there for nostalgia.

Arcade scenario in Brazil is terrible. I`m also from Brazil, Goiania especifically, and the two malls that still have arcades are terrible, they just took away any shooting arcade, they just have machines that can be played by children... 



I'd say it's more along the line of it being to expensive, rather then anything else. Yes you spend 300 on a console, but thats a one time fee. Most Americans have to pay for car insurance, health insurance, property tax, all this other bogus stuff, theres really no room in the budget I'd say. That's just my guess though, I grew without arcades so...People being more social in Japan I don't agree with either. Most people tend to be to themselves in Japan. It's pretty rude to go up to a stranger and try to become friends with them, in fact you'd be shunned for even doing something like that. In Japan another thing is if you have something to do you just do it, no questions about it. In America lots of Americans suffer from anxiety prohibiting them from going out. I mean that happens in Japan too, but the difference is in Japan its more along the lines of "Okay this is my task, I'm going to finish it" thats usually the end of the statement. I know i'm going a bit over board with this, but a lot of this stuff adds up, and ultimately effects the overall scene of the situation. to give you a full idea of everything, you would need to over see just how people interact with one another, how their culture is, and ultimately what their wallets are like. 



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The few arcades around in the US are overpriced. For example, I actually like Dave and Busters and they have some fun machines but when it costs like $5 for a minute of fun that's not worth it. I wish they were still around because I had a blast as a kid going to the arcades with friends.



kids cant walk/bike to them, unsafe.

many games are a dollar per play now.

No top of the line cabinets.

Only sustainable model now involves food and prizes.

Food damages cabinets.



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KLXVER said:
People are more social in Japan? I don't know. Its even worse in Europe.

people are more social in japan????? 

Well, you obviously don't know anything about japan ^^