Real talk, I've never been to a proper arcade. It's something I've never really had a chance to properly experience. Thankfully our generous overlord decided we would take a class field trip to one...
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| whats in the cups? |
Obviously that didn't actually happen but we did go to
Strikes and Spares, which had some arcade games, I guess? It's interesting how arcades have gone from such defining aspect of our culture to a thing most people have never been to in the span of a few decades. It's just seems so odd to me to think that such places could almost completely vanish from the collective consciousness of the American public so quickly. Despite this nearly total disappearance, arcades are not without merit. Although it's a fair enough criticism that arcade games are often designed with profit more in mind than fun, there is still a unique charm to them. Before we go any further I think it would be wrong of me not to point out that America is not the only place on earth where arcades were popular.
In Japan, arcades never really died. There's a lot of different reasons for that that I won't get into, but it's important to realize that culture more than anything played a role in the death of the American arcade. With all that said, here are some of my thoughts on the very few arcade games I've played and seen.
I think the biggest value an arcade can offer is the novelty of the experience. Whether that be the game, environment, or both. Similar to last week's discussion of mobile games, if we view PC and console as the baseline, arcade games can offer drastically different experiences for players. In the past this was seen in immersive designs with full on cockpits to simulate flying planes or driving cars. And of course, who hasn't played at least one arcade shooter with their chunky, brightly colored plastic guns? DDR barely even needs to be mentioned it's so iconic. To me these games highlight the value of the arcade experience. It's a level of immersion that's far more difficult to achieve at home.
In comparison, older arcades were a product of their times, when consumer electronics were too costly for the average household to own. In this time going to the arcade was the equivalent of owning an NES, and indeed, many early home console games were ports of popular arcade classics. As costs fell so too did the demand for the arcade. In Japan, arcades adapted aggressively to retain relevance, adopting new formats and games as trends came and went. These days it's not uncommon for popular franchises to have their own arcade exclusive spin-off games as a way to drive new business. I think this strategy lays a framework for how arcades can handle change going into the future.
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There's definitely still a space for arcades, and it's obvious that they realize it too. VR arcade games are growing quickly, by offering 2 novel gameplay experiences in one. For one, VR is expensive and inefficient for many to own at home. And for another, it allows for the novel gameplay experiences of arcades to shine. It's like a match made in heaven for arcade game makers and operators alike. Going forward, I think this will be the major trend in arcades that enables them to not only survive but maybe grow.
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| Is this the future of modern arcades? |
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