Topic: Arcades are not dead in the west

I don't know why people in the games industry like to keep saying this. Most major cities in the US have at least one Dave & Busters and multiple Chuck E. Cheeses. A lot of cities have other Restaurant/Arcades as well. Then you have your those "fun centers" where they offer stuff like Minigolf, Go-Karts, etc. among a large Arcade facility. Arcades have not died. They've just been incorporated into larger business models

Compared to what it was in the 1980's and up to the mid 1990's, it is dead, at least in North America.

I see your point, but again, it's such a small fraction of its former self.

i recently went to a cool arcade for the first time in a long time and it was awesome! i used to go to the nickel arcade all the time but they usually have games that are a few years old. but this last time i went to the arcade i played all brand new games and it was so fun. i loved tank!tank!tank! it had a thing that slammed u in the back when u got hit. so loud and fun. the new after-burner game was fun but too hard for me. that and the new f-zero game were sit down games and were pretty awesome. the seat and the whole game tilted side to side when u turned. so fun. but i think i like shooting games the best. time crisis 4, anything with zombies, and there was a pirate one i cant remember the name of that was so fun. and i love police trainer and played it forever, even though its old and theres lots of better newer ones. i just love that game.

I haven't seen an arcade in the last 10 years, so I'd say it is dead. It doesn't mean there aren't some left, you just really have to look for them unlike in the past where you could hardly miss them.

They're not dead, but they're certainly harder to find, and you really have to look for them rather than just stumble on them. At the same time though, I think there are more arcades than people think. For example, I can think of five arcades within an hour from where I live, three of which have some nice pinball machines, and I don't even live near any big cities or anything. Another example, my family goes to vacation at the Outer Banks, NC a lot, and there are a lot of arcades scattered around that area, not to mention there's a huge pinball arcade we stop by on the way. So, to sum up, they aren't as common as they once were, but they're still scattered around, and I think they're also starting to make a come back. (Or, at least, pinball is.)

I see what you are saying but, I think when people say Arcades are dead they are talking about full blown Arcades. Places where you could go that had nothing but Arcade Machines. Even during those days of true Arcades they had Chuck E Cheeses and places like bowling allies that had arcade games but try finding a full honest to goodness Arcade anymore, yeah good luck with that one.

But the thing is that places like Chuck E. Cheese and Dave and Busters don't just have small bowling arcades. They have arcades that are really quite large. Admittedly, I'm not old enough to have been around in the old arcade days, but I'd be willing to bet that those arcades aren't much smaller than a dedicated arcade building. I think we have consolidated a lot of entertainment facilities besides arcades too. Back when I was a kid, there were tons of places just to play Mini-golf, but nowadays I mostly see them with batting cages, go-karts, arcades, etc.

And non-dedicated arcades are still a fully functional business model for the business.

Yeah its not the size of the Arcades that made them arcades or the arcade section of say a Chuck E Cheese it was the fact that they didn't have anything else but Arcade games. Chuck E Cheese and Dave and Busters have food and drinks and other things as well. Arcades were just arcades where you go and play games.

Its kinda like saying shoe stores aren't dead they sell shoes at Walmart. Or Bakeries aren't dead they sell bread and cakes at Safeway.

In the UK they generally only care about driving games / stuff like rockband / guitar hero and really rubbish light gun games (Like hunting).

shmups / VS Fighting are basically none existent / I found Operation G.H.O.S.T once.

If you just look at what is on something like Sega Allnet or NESiCAxLive at the moment that is the good stuff.

Bakeries and Shoe Stores offer more in their respective categories than Walmart or Safeway. Also, Walmart and Safeway are general stores that sell nearly everything in a broad category. What I'm talking about are simple fusions between Arcade and Restaurant, or Go-Kart, Mini-Golf, and Aracde. If a store was just a butcher and a bakery combined into one, with nothing else, you could still say that it's a bakery

Cactus Jacks!

It doesn't really help your argument when you state you weren't even around to experience the heyday of arcades, yet you feel your opinion on the issue matters when you say they are just as popular/plentiful today as they were back then.

Arcades are dead. When I was a kid there were multiple machines in every convenience store, and several local arcades in my city. They are now all gone, and the only place I could name that has multiple games nearby are Chuck E Cheese and D&B's, and more than half the games at Chucky E Cheese are made for kids under 8.

When 9/10th of them have disappeared, how can someone honestly say they are not "dead"?

I only see arcade machines in cinemas now, and those around my area don't seem to change their machines or add new ones.

Can't talk for NA, but in europe, it's practically a wonder to find an arcade hall. The last one I was in was in a theme park in germany, and that's seriously impractical since you'd need a ticket just to go for the machines - and they charge 1€ per round, which is an insane ripoff.

Arcades are still very popular in California, and there's plenty of arcades on beach boardwalks and in amusement/theme parks, but they're otherwise scarce.

Arcades here in the Philippines are quite popular- almost every major shopping mall has one, and two of the biggest arcade chains have developed this nationwide server thing where you have a member card and it has all your tickets and credits stuff stored on it. The arcades I go to are always at least half full. It's a bit strange to think about, actually.

i hope your not referring to big buck hunter when you say rubbish lightgun games (like hunting) because i love that thing.

propper arcades in the UK really are next to non existent i mean ive got a few near me but nothing but penny machines, ride on bikes or lightgun shooters. we do have a place with TANK TANK TANK! not too far away and a space invaders machine.

As soon as home consoles began to look almost as good as arcades, UK arcades died out quick.

I am not sure if it was because we could all play good games or because arcade owners got greedy and refused to upgrade Sega Rally, Daytona and Point Blank. Maybe it was the Playstation generation who decided that story, presentation and 'achievements' were more important than gameplay and high scores......

There are a few gasping for air in the US but the game center, arcade machines only in most malls are dead. Breaks my heart too as I feel that online has not been a worthwhile replacement. The business models like dave and busters don't tend to get a regular refresh of machines and there is way less variety. I don't really consider them to be arcades, though I'm sure there are many that do.

Arcades are dead in the US. RIP.

Aw, come on. I don't think you can say arcades are dead. For the record, I was also too young to experience the hay day of arcades, but I've heard the legends if what it used to be like! The point is, you can find arcades. It's hard, and they're probably more scarce in some areas than they are in others, but there are still arcades out there. If anything, arcades are on life support, and I wouldn't even say it's quite that bad. If we're talking about huge dedicated arcades, yeah, they are really hard to find, but there are still some around. Flippers, Variety, and Arcade in Grandy, NC is a great pinball arcade with around like 50 pinball machines, new and old. Disney Quest is an amazing arcade, with everything from Pac-Man to whatever is the newest at arcade game. Once arcades (big and small) are nearly non-existent, I'll believe they're dead, but right now I really think they're not.