Did MMO's replace arcades?

[Sonikku]

There was a time when there was this unspoken rule between companies that game consoles were never so top of the line when they came out that one would take a loss selling it at release. There was plenty of room for Arcades to have a higher end cabinet that offered gaming a whole generation ahead of the at home experience. But the $200 Super Nintendo's that were profitable right out of the gate gave way to the $600 PS3's that were so high end, they cost even more then that to mass produce, with Sony actually taking a loss selling a machine a trice what consoles once went for.

Arcades can't one up that. Certainly not to the extent to be profitable. Even if they could, the games would look little better because the costs in designing a highly detailed 3D game today are so much higher then designing a 2D sprite game of the 90's that virtually every mondern game is built on lowest common denominator (Xbox in most cases), then ported from there. A 4 grand gaming PC could up the AA and AF a little and do other tricks, but by and large the majority of gaming engines are held back by the most common hardware and the costs in producing them. They have no where to grow.

The only Arcade games that seem worth ones while are the ones that find different ways to offer an experience you can't get at home. DDR comes to mind, unusual Japanese games that didn't make the cut for US consoles are another. Despite these few titles however, it's clear the business has been routed. There's one arcade left where I live and besides the obligatory DDR machine, the games all range from NES to Playstation 2 graphics, if not those old ball throwing/hammer beating games from the 80's that dispense tickets. How they pay the rent to stay open in a mall is anyone's guess.

 

[Mandres]

The only reason movie theaters are still in business is that they have agreements in place to get the newest movies first. Consequently, they can offer a better/unique experience that people cannot get in the comfort of their own homes. Arcades lost that advantage when the consoles began to offer comparable experience at home, at the same time. There was no longer any reason to go to the arcade.

It is interesting how much people missed the social aspect of arcade gaming though. We're seeing it reborn with Xbox live and the latest generation of online-enabled fighting games, but it's still not quite the same.

 

[AFurryReptile]

Save-games are what killed arcades.

 

[Chiropteran]

Arcades died right around when every game started costing $.50 or $.75 instead just a quarter.

They got too greedy and paid the price.

And IMO, it was the dumbest idea ever to increase cost per game. Maybe I wasn't an average kid, but whenever I went to play games at an arcade I had a specific X dollars to spend. I'd sit and play until I was out of money. If the games cost $.50 instead of $.25, I didn't spend any more money, I just ran out and left sooner. And of course I made a note to avoid that arcade in the future.

Home gaming systems might have killed the arcade sooner or later either way, but the arcades that decided to double or triple the cost to play just sped the entire process up dramatically.

 

[Wyndru]

We still have a bunch, usually located in tourist spots/vacation areas and our larger malls. They definitely aren't as packed as they used to be.

 

[Jeffg010]

Pittsburgh has a pretty good selection of arcades. Now granted some of the places have the old school stuff but it still fun to go and play.

Games N' AT is my favorite place to go. You pay a flat fee per hour. This place is loaded with old school games, air-hockey, pinball, duck pin bowling and pool tables.
http://sites.google.com/site/gamesnatsite/

Aces that is located downtown is cool but the guy who works there is a dickhead. I stopped going there when he would not pay out on his broken ticket games. He does have a nice section of fighting games and pinball.
http://www.arcadefly.com/arcades/aces-breakaway-play-downtown

Papa's is something to behold. A rich dude owns hundreds of pinball machines and the world championships are held there. His collection is massive to say the least. Only problem with that is it is only open a few times a year.
www.papa.org

We also have Dave and Busters
http://www.daveandbusters.com/

The movie theaters have some games. Me and my wife love Hydro Thunder at the movie theater we go to. We play the heck out of that game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydro_Thunder

Also the old mall I used to hang out still has a few games but it was more of the ticket type games to win prizes. It was kind of sad because my childhood was spent in that arcade and it was just not the same.

The last time that arcades were hot was when Mortal Kombat 3 came out in 1995, after that the arcades died. Computers and console starting getting hot around that time and Doom was the game that changed everything for me. Once I played that game goodby arcades. Online gaming had a big effect too. With Quake being online that pretty much sealed the deal.

 

[shortylickens]

Arcades died right around when every game started costing $.50 or $.75 instead just a quarter.

They got too greedy and paid the price.

And IMO, it was the dumbest idea ever to increase cost per game. Maybe I wasn't an average kid, but whenever I went to play games at an arcade I had a specific X dollars to spend. I'd sit and play until I was out of money. If the games cost $.50 instead of $.25, I didn't spend any more money, I just ran out and left sooner. And of course I made a note to avoid that arcade in the future.

Home gaming systems might have killed the arcade sooner or later either way, but the arcades that decided to double or triple the cost to play just sped the entire process up dramatically.

While I was growing up I slowly watched them climb from one quarter to one dollar.
Thats 400 percent inflation in less than 10 years.

 

[KeithTalent]

I still go to the arcade on occasion to play Street Fighter and pinball. There is one I walk by on the to and from work every day and the lure is too much some days.

I do miss the old days of busy arcades; used to be so much fun to sit at the arcade for hours and beat down random people in SF2. :awe:

KT