Why arent arcades popular anymore

[Blatherskite]

So, I've always wondered why Arcades arent popular anymore. They seem perfect to combat the social isolation we are going through as a wider society. I wasn't around for the arcade mania, but I still hold arcades very fondly and some arcade like games still do get popular in the modern day for home consoles, so what happened?

[+swlovinist]

People socialize much differently now.   Arcades used to be the pinnacle of gaming technology and cutting edge games.   Now to you have so many different ways to play at home/mobile with different ways to communicate to friends.   It was a great time indeed, but the time has changed.   

[ABA180]

I'd still go to an arcade if there was one close by.  The one I spent the most time at in my teens/20s was 10 minutes from home and I'd get out of work at 9, be there in 10 minutes or less, and play for 2 hours.  

 

I definitely agree in general that people are different and such.  Back in the day you played against or with others in person because there was no other way.

[bigfriendly]

I'd go along with what John said. The technology at home finally caught up to what we would dump tons of tokens into at our local arcade hangouts. The arcade I spent the most time in growing up was an actual arcade chain called Aladdin's Castle. It was in our local mall that opened in 1977 when I was 7 years old and I visited that place all the way up through my high school years in the late 80's. These days I live in a small town but if somebody were to open a retro-cade type of arcade locally with all of the old cabinets etc. I would definitely drop in and support a place like that. 

Edited August 18 by bigfriendly

[Blatherskite]

Sure, but I feel like in a different outcome arcades could of been like the movies. Some bigshot arcades get games before anyone else can at home, kinda like how playstation and xbox get limited releases now-a-days. Maybe thats unrealistic, but I think that could have kept arcades popular,

[bigfriendly]

19 minutes ago, Blatherskite said:

Sure, but I feel like in a different outcome arcades could of been like the movies. Some bigshot arcades get games before anyone else can at home, kinda like how playstation and xbox get limited releases now-a-days. Maybe thats unrealistic, but I think that could have kept arcades popular,

It should also be considered that arcades weren't usually stand alone businesses. Sure their were exceptions but it seemed like they were typically in large malls and because of several factors large shopping malls have been slowly dying off for years.

[Blatherskite]

1 minute ago, bigfriendly said:

It should also be considered that arcades weren't usually stand alone businesses. Sure their were exceptions but it seemed like they were typically in large malls and because of several factors large shopping malls have been slowly dying off for years.

well this certainty complicates things. It seems like too many factors were against the arcades long term success

[jd_1138]

10 minutes ago, bigfriendly said:

It should also be considered that arcades weren't usually stand alone businesses. Sure their were exceptions but it seemed like they were typically in large malls and because of several factors large shopping malls have been slowly dying off for years.

Yep the arcade was a great place to be while your mom, aunt and sisters were out obsessing over clothing and shoe purchases.  The mall we grew up going to in the 70s and 80s had a large arcade in the basement. I remember they had like 5 Asteroids cabinets in a row, 5 Pac-Man, 5 Galaga etc plus many other cabinets and pinball too. And they had a race track with electric go karts. And also a snack bar where you could get hot dogs, nachos, pizza, candy, soda.

 

In 1985 the mall put in a food court in the basement, so the arcade disappeared. But not just with arcades, a ton of things people used to do together and in public are gone now. Local park has beautiful basketball courts and tennis courts. I never see any kids there playing basketball. Up until like 10 years ago, young people still would go there and play. Not now.

 

Also bowling alleys are mostly gone now. Arcade cabinets lived on for many years because they could be tucked inside other businesses, but those cabinets are falling into disrepair and sold off.

 

[TampaBay]

It may depend on where you live, as others have mentioned.  Where I live in Tampa Bay, we have several arcades, with at least one of every variety (I'll explain more below) and they're always packed with people having a great time.

 

By "every variety" I mean the three main kinds: we have a retro arcade dedicated to primarily 80s arcade cabinets, we have "barcades" which are more adult-oriented nightlife destinations with classic 80s arcade cabinets and newer arcade cabinets that have bars and DJ's, and we have FEC's (Family Entertainment Centers), which are Dave & Buster's type places (by me, we have an Elev8), which have primarily newer arcade cabinets, VR simulators, and redemption games, a restaurant, and other activities such as bowling, mini golf, indoor go-carts, etc.

 

We go to all three types all the time, it's one of my favorite things to do.  I took this video of my retro arcade a few weeks ago.  (It's empty because I intentionally went on a weekday as soon as it opened at 11am so there wouldn't be too many people in front of the video games making it harder to see them).

 

 

 

Edited August 18 by TampaBay

[jhd]

On 8/17/2024 at 8:58 PM, Blatherskite said:

They seem perfect to combat the social isolation we are going through as a wider society. 

 

That is not necessarily a bad thing. Not everyone enjoys the company of other people. After work, the very last thing that I want to experience is more social interaction! I am happy to enjoy my video games in the privacy of my own apartment. 

Edited August 19 by jhd

[VectorGamer]

The closest arcade for me is 90 minutes away. And they don't have any of the rare games I like to play. They have all common games that I can play on my Raspberry Pi.

[zzip]

At the time, the games on home systems were pale imitations of our favorite arcade games.   Nowadays I can walk into an arcade and see nothing technically impressive that can't be done on my home PC or PS5.   In fact modern arcade games tend to be redemption machines that hook people rather than being video games you can't play at home.

 

Even in the 80s, arcades were over-extended,   for a few years you might find an arcade in every strip mall, an arcade game room in every pizza parlor and even supermarkets, laundromats, convenience stores, pharmacies and funeral parlors had a few arcade cabinets.  That didn't last long, and before long you'd only find arcades at the larger malls, amusement parks, beaches and a few other places

 

Today, it's not that hard to find them..  Still at the beaches,  amusement parks,  bowling alleys, plus Dave & Busters.   My local mall just opened an arcade, actually.    But it's mostly oversized redemption machines.  But the arcade at my local beach does have a room full of classic arcade games and pinball machines.

On 8/18/2024 at 9:22 AM, Blatherskite said:

Sure, but I feel like in a different outcome arcades could of been like the movies. Some bigshot arcades get games before anyone else can at home, kinda like how playstation and xbox get limited releases now-a-days. Maybe thats unrealistic, but I think that could have kept arcades popular,

Problem is modern videogames aren't conducive to arcades.   They tend to have stories that last 30 hours or more.   Arcades need games where people drop cash in every few minutes

[ABA180]

On 8/19/2024 at 11:58 AM, zzip said:

At the time, the games on home systems were pale imitations of our favorite arcade games.   Nowadays I can walk into an arcade and see nothing technically impressive that can't be done on my home PC or PS5.   In fact modern arcade games tend to be redemption machines that hook people rather than being video games you can't play at home.

 

Even in the 80s, arcades were over-extended,   for a few years you might find an arcade in every strip mall, an arcade game room in every pizza parlor and even supermarkets, laundromats, convenience stores, pharmacies and funeral parlors had a few arcade cabinets.  That didn't last long, and before long you'd only find arcades at the larger malls, amusement parks, beaches and a few other places

 

Today, it's not that hard to find them..  Still at the beaches,  amusement parks,  bowling alleys, plus Dave & Busters.   My local mall just opened an arcade, actually.    But it's mostly oversized redemption machines.  But the arcade at my local beach does have a room full of classic arcade games and pinball machines.

Problem is modern videogames aren't conducive to arcades.   They tend to have stories that last 30 hours or more.   Arcades need games where people drop cash in every few minutes

 

 

That last part especially, I'm reminded of showing old video games to my 21 yr old nephew when he was about 10-11.  It blew his mind that games ever existed that were not (among other things) long grinding storyline things.  I explained the challenge back then was to beat your/the machine's high score, how many levels you cleared, etc.  

[zzip]

18 minutes ago, ABA180 said:

That last part especially, I'm reminded of showing old video games to my 21 yr old nephew when he was about 10-11.  It blew his mind that games ever existed that were not (among other things) long grinding storyline things.  I explained the challenge back then was to beat your/the machine's high score, how many levels you cleared, etc. 

Yeah, in modern gaming forums, I'll see users argue that if a game doesn't offer at least 1 hour of gameplay/story for every dollar spent, then it was a rip-off.    Back then we used to get 5 min of gameplay (if we were lucky) for every quarter dropped into an arcade machine.

 

So modern games get padded out with pointless side missions so that people feel like they are getting their money's worth.

[ABA180]

12 hours ago, zzip said:

Yeah, in modern gaming forums, I'll see users argue that if a game doesn't offer at least 1 hour of gameplay/story for every dollar spent, then it was a rip-off.    Back then we used to get 5 min of gameplay (if we were lucky) for every quarter dropped into an arcade machine.

 

So modern games get padded out with pointless side missions so that people feel like they are getting their money's worth.

Not to mention that I would suspect those making that argument probably have more time to play than I do.  I won't even bother with RPGs anymore as I never know when I'll get to play them again.  Perspective I suppose..

[Rendclaw]

Arcades have been on the comeback trail since at least 2014, if not earlier. The free play option offers everything the arcade has for one fee, even though some places still hold on to using quarters and tokens. The arcade I work at has been in existence for almost ten years at this point, and most people tell me how much fun the place is every week. Here in Michigan, there are a *lot* of places that offer a good to great arcade experience for a reasonable amount of money.

By the way, Dave and Buster's aren't arcades anymore and haven't been for at least ten years, but I will be the first person to say that I have a very specific view as to what an arcade actually is. I am of the opinion that the term is used very loosely nowadays.

 

Back in the day, there wasn't such a thing as oversaturation, and I say that having had nine actual arcades within a 30 minute drive of my house circa 1982-1983. The crash happened in 1983, and then began the slow and steady decline in my hometown. By 1988 all but two places were still in business when there used to be nine.

 

I was thinking about this the other day when I was recording a segment for my podcast. Nintendo whetted a lot of appetites in 1984 with the Vs. System, which was a thinly veiled advertisement for the soon-to-come NES which was released in 1985 in certain markets, and in 1986 for the rest of the country. This was a gutshot for arcades, who were still feeling the effects of the 1983 crash. Then the Master System came out in 1986, The Genesis in 1989, and the SNES in 1991. When the 16-bit systems came out, the desire to go to arcades was felt less and less, until the Playstation came out in 1995, which surpassed the arcade games in terms of graphics and gameplay. Arcades that weren't built to sustain started dropping like flies. I saw it happen when I was living in Orlando, which had at least six or seven arcades around town that were not on Disney property. By 1997, there were only two or three. Of course while this was all going on, PC gaming was on a steady rise, never mind when emulation kicked in, which literally gave you the arcade experience at home.

There was an absence of arcades for a long, long while. Excepting cities like Chicago, which I call Arcade Central, things did not start turning around until the 2010s.

[zzip]

7 hours ago, Rendclaw said:

 

Back in the day, there wasn't such a thing as oversaturation, and I say that having had nine actual arcades within a 30 minute drive of my house circa 1982-1983. The crash happened in 1983, and then began the slow and steady decline in my hometown. By 1988 all but two places were still in business when there used to be nine.

I had two arcades within walking distance as kids.   I recall they were both active in the summer of 1983,  but they both closed sometime shortly after.   There was also a ton of businesses that had an arcade machine or 3,  Defender at the convenience store,  Vanguard & Pacman at the Laundromat, a mini arcade at the pizza shop, and so on.  It all disappeared around the same time.  We teens used to gather quarters and head to one of those places on a regular basis.

 

But there was a sudden change.   The local cable company picked up the new MTV channel, and suddenly all my peers were into Michael Jackson, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Motley Crue, Madonna, and so on,  and mostly stopped caring about video games.  Instead of playing arcades after school, they were all suddenly glued to MTV.   I suspect this was repeated in towns all over the country and was a factor in the crash.

 

So in the mid-to-late 80s, the mall arcades would still be there,  Showtime/Chuck E Cheese still had a decent arcade, so did the amusement parks,  but most of the other smaller arcades closed,   and the supermarkets/laundromats/convenience stores that added arcade machines got rid of them for the most part.   A few kept them.   I think that's what the arcade insiders meant by oversaturation...  every location that could hold an arcade machine had one in 1982/1983

 

9 hours ago, ABA180 said:

Not to mention that I would suspect those making that argument probably have more time to play than I do.  I won't even bother with RPGs anymore as I never know when I'll get to play them again.  Perspective I suppose..

Yeah, I always liked the idea of RPGs, but it was hard to muster the time commitment to really get into them.  I had a pile of RPGs that I started but never finished.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Back in 2019, I was talking with Eugene Jarvis (Defender, Robotron, Cruis'n, etc), and he said that the market felt like it did back in the mid'90s...which was peak Midway for him and others.

 

Arcades are more popular than people tend to think, but the issue is that because they aren't on every street corner and they don't show up in national news discourse, it seems like they are gone and dead.

 

Covid obviously hit the industry hard, but it has bounced back. It has just morphed in certain ways as mentioned. Before I get to that though, we need to establish that '80-83 was a unique period in history that is not going to repeat itself exactly and it shouldn't be used as the gauge of what is popular or successful. Also, the number of arcades all over the country in '82 was a bubble that caused a big backlash from parents. Lots of cities implemented restrictions, fees, taxes, some did outright bans (Mesquite, TX was the first to do so and that made it all the way to the Supreme Court!). So that pressure, plus some others came together to cause the market crash. 

 

If it wasn't sustainable then when no such thing as online shopping existed, then that same level of market penetration can't be expected to exist as it is today as retailers struggle to keep the doors open and people stay home to watch movies instead of going out. Inflation of course is a huge problem contributing to all of that too, and this year has been tough. But, I'm still doing well enough in my little mall arcade to keep the doors open and two employees paid.

 

One thing I see a lot of is calling arcades dead; they should not be compared to actual dead business ideas, like physical movie rentals or the exclusive computer store (as in, a store that only sells PCs). The arcade industry as it is right now is pumping out about 25-35 new video games & pinball machines a year. There has to be someone out there aside from Dave & Busters buying those up - and there is. New games cost millions of dollars to produce (around $6-8m at present for high profile stuff like Raw Thrills). No one would be investing that kind of money into them if they weren't going to sell well. Here's the latest from Raw Thrills; their new Godzilla Kaiju Wars VR game is also reportedly pulling in $1000/wk at many locations:

 

 

To Zzzip's point, yes, they are graphically not as impressive as they used to be, but I've lost track of how many times I've read how retro gamers believe that "graphics don't matter" - then in practice, they always do  Since arcades generally don't push the envelope anymore in that regard, they do find ways to do that with the hardware. Here's my #1 game, week-in, and week-out. It doesn't look any better than a PS3 game. But perhaps you can figure out why it's so popular(just note, I only have two, not four units):

 

Just a game having realistic controls makes a huge difference from what you can get at home.

 

I saw an stat a couple of years ago which said that 3/4ths of the bars in the United States could be considered "an arcade" because they had several games inside of them. There are some prominent traditional arcades out there, although many use the free play model, like Galloping Ghost Arcade. Then there has been an explosion of what we call FECs (Family Entertainment Centers). Think of Dave & Busters or Round1USA. There are also still hundreds of Chuck E. Cheeses locations out there (there was 1,500 of them before they had to declare bankruptcy in 2021, but they are bouncing back).

 

Yes, FECs are jam packed with redemption games, and that's not what any of us thought as being an arcade 40 years ago, but all of these FECs have some non-redemption video games in the mix. If more people played those than the redemption ones (say, when one of you gamers are visiting an FEC with your kids), then earnings would go up and FECs would buy more video titles.

 

Here's a big FEC that just opened in my neck of the woods. Multi-million dollar project, redemption heavy but not exclusively so. This is Fat Cats' 9th location:

 

As a note at 6:30 in that video, I was told that this Air Strike one of the most popular games that this company had seen (from performance in a different location). Again, it's not graphically impressive compared to what could be done. But it has a swivel motion seat and yoke controller, not something you can easily do at home.

 

Then to belabor the point, here are several articles that myself and a fellow writer have compiled on new arcade location openings, just from this year (I'll throw in Dec. 2023 since that was just a week before the new year started):

Location Watch December 2023: New Arcades For The Holidays

Location Watch January 2024: New Arcades See Grand Openings

Location Watch March 2024: New Arcades Open Up All Around The World

Location Watch June 2024: New Arcade Venues Open Across The World

Location Watch August 2024: New Arcades Opening The World Over

 

Edited August 23 by Shaggy the Atarian
added a link

[Cynicaster]

As has been said many times here already, the early 80s had a certain combination of factors that set the stage for arcades to be what they were back then: the novelty of video games in general due to them being a relatively new technology, the fact that typical game designs of the day were very well-suited to arcade play rather than hours-long couch play, the gaping chasm in capabilities between coin-op machines and home consoles/computers, the non-existence of home internet and smart devices, etc.  The early 80s style of arcade was like a shooting star - burning hot and bright, but for only a fleeting moment in time due to the perfect storm of factors that made it possible.

 

On a forum filled mostly with aging old gamer farts like us, I think there is a fairly particular model that we tend to have in mind for what an arcade should be and it seems to be heavily skewed toward the early 80s glory days.  It's rows of cabinets, quarters dropping into machines, skill- or score-based games, competition and social interaction, etc. So, anything that represents a deviation from that ideal - such as redemption games, newer styles of games, different payment models, etc. - makes those newer arcades somehow seem less authentic, when in fact they're probably just signs of an industry that has evolved over time based on what types of things bring in the customers and provide a foundation for a sustainable business.  

 

I took my 6yo daughter to a local "family fun center" a few weeks ago, because she has been super into her Switch since getting it for Christmas.  But she wanted nothing to do with the arcade at all.  To be fair, she's a bit shy so I think a big part of it was just being intimidated by the big machines and the public environment.  I ended up spending all the pre-paid credits myself while she just followed me around.  I had an OK time but, yeah, I am comfortable admitting that I like classic/retro arcades much better.  The modern games just feel more like amusement rides than games.    

  

  

[zzip]

1 hour ago, Cynicaster said:

On a forum filled mostly with aging old gamer farts like us, I think there is a fairly particular model that we tend to have in mind for what an arcade should be and it seems to be heavily skewed toward the early 80s glory days.  It's rows of cabinets, quarters dropping into machines, skill- or score-based games, competition and social interaction, etc. So, anything that represents a deviation from that ideal - such as redemption games, newer styles of games, different payment models, etc. - makes those newer arcades somehow seem less authentic, when in fact they're probably just signs of an industry that has evolved over time based on what types of things bring in the customers and provide a foundation for a sustainable business.  

 

I took my 6yo daughter to a local "family fun center" a few weeks ago, because she has been super into her Switch since getting it for Christmas.  But she wanted nothing to do with the arcade at all.  To be fair, she's a bit shy so I think a big part of it was just being intimidated by the big machines and the public environment.  I ended up spending all the pre-paid credits myself while she just followed me around.  I had an OK time but, yeah, I am comfortable admitting that I like classic/retro arcades much better.  The modern games just feel more like amusement rides than games.    

I think it's the lack of novelty plus the fact that we aren't so easily wowed at our age.

 

Back then there was always something we had never seen before in the arcades.   Now you get giant versions of mobile games or new PacMan/Space invaders on a super large screen..  Very little you haven't seen before, just super-sized and extra effects to dazzle you.   So they have to use the redemption aspect to keep you hooked rather than the novelty.   

[4ever2600]

Simple, the games suck! Lol

[Zoyous]

On 8/26/2024 at 10:39 AM, Cynicaster said:

On a forum filled mostly with aging old gamer farts like us, I think there is a fairly particular model that we tend to have in mind for what an arcade should be and it seems to be heavily skewed toward the early 80s glory days.  It's rows of cabinets, quarters dropping into machines, skill- or score-based games, competition and social interaction, etc.

Don't forget also that they were dark and had loud hard rock music playing! 😁

 

My 12yo daughter is similarly only mildly interested in the arcade games of the early 80s. She definitely prefers games without time pressure, "lives," and, well, intensity of most kinds. Pokemon and Minecraft, games where there can be battles but they tend to be low-stakes and they occur within a larger, free-form environment. However, she does enjoy playing our 3/4 replicas (Arcade1up, Neo-Geo MVSX, and MAME cabinet) with her friends when they come over, so the social aspect of playing with friends makes the old school a lot more enjoyable to her.

 

As for me and I guess most of us of the era that rode the original wave of arcade mania in the early 80s, we acquired a taste for high intensity and getting our asses kicked by games that wanted you on and off of them in 3 minutes or less! And that is one thing that modern arcades and FECs don't really provide - an atmosphere of intensity. The hard rock music mixed with the cacophony of every machine going at the same time at high volume, the sound of the coin changer pouring out quarters or tokens, a dark environment primarily illuminated by the marquees and screens, and a sense that you were witnessing the cutting edge of a new technology rapidly evolving. To me they weren't really that social of an environment, other than a shared excitement among the players - there were other people there, and you might watch them play for a little while and ask them for tips at games they were good at, but it wasn't really about hanging out that much or even multiplayer very often until the later years.

[Cynicaster]

On 8/30/2024 at 10:33 AM, Zoyous said:

She definitely prefers games without time pressure, "lives," and, well, intensity of most kinds.

Yeah, that's my 6yo to a tee.  To her credit, she's genuinely intrigued by games of all eras; if I'm sitting around playing any number of crusty old retro games she'll happily sit down and watch and ask questions, etc.  Doubly so if it's an IP she recognizes.  Recently, when I fired up Super Mario Bros. 3 for a quick blast, she was all over it because at that moment she was fresh off a few hundred hours of Super Mario 3D World / Bowser's Fury on her Switch.  But I hand her the controller and it just doesn't go very well.  When old vs. new games are juxtaposed in this way (3D World -> SMB3) it really drives home how punishing games were back in the 80s compared to how everything is so NERF'ed out now.  She actually did a lot better when I loaded up SMB2 instead, because she could pick her character and just fart around a lot more without dying constantly.  She even beat Birdo on her first try, which somewhat impressed me. 

 

On 8/30/2024 at 10:33 AM, Zoyous said:

As for me and I guess most of us of the era that rode the original wave of arcade mania in the early 80s, we acquired a taste for high intensity and getting our asses kicked by games that wanted you on and off of them in 3 minutes or less

You're spot on by pointing to the "intensity" factor - this is a common thread of classic arcade games regardless of style.  I suppose one could argue that a lot of, for example, racing and gun games in modern arcades offer similar short bursts of intensity, but I'd go back to my previous comment where I likened these games to fixed-duration amusement rides.  I'll concede that I may be wrong about this because I just don't have enough experience with these new-fangled arcade games, but whenever I play them, I get the distinct impression that it is literally impossible to last more than 2-3 minutes, no matter how good you are.  That, to me, is a big downer because it makes the game feel like it has no real stakes.  I know people will be quick to point out how many classic games all but ensured you'd be dead in 2-3 minutes, but at least it is demonstrably possible to transcend the punishing difficulty with skill and practice.  Just put a noob in front of Defender or Super Zaxxon and get ready to laugh at the bloodbath.  But if that noob decides to dig in and fight the game, they will make progress against it.  For me, that's the carrot on the stick that keeps me coming back. When you're able to push forward in a classic arcade game, it's actually pretty gratifying... at least, as far as video game accomplishments go.  Certainly far more gratifying than "finishing" a modern AAA game that literally anybody can finish if they put in the requisite 100+ hours.    

On 8/30/2024 at 10:33 AM, Zoyous said:

a sense that you were witnessing the cutting edge of a new technology rapidly evolving

This is definitely a key point, I think, that goes a long way to explain why arcades can't get anywhere near their early 80s heights. For cutting edge stuff they were the only game in town.  Now, even the flashiest games in the arcade are just like "meh... I've got graphics like that on my phone."  

 

 

      

[Rendclaw]

Not to mention the games FORCED you to get better, from Space Invaders on. The majority of video games in the 70s before SI were timed, meaning that your game was ending in 60 or 90 seconds, unless you were actually good enough to get a time extension, but those games were really, really rare back then. Space Invaders changed all of that.