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[RJMacready73]

I was recently in a "modern" arcade as part of a wider venue and whilst everything was very showey, bright loud and full of flashing lights the actual games themselves looked to be running on what I'd consider PS3/PS4 level hardware wrapped in a gigantic expensive plastic shell.

These things where huge, space invaders, crossy road etc and some racing games that looked a bit meh but the one thing that stuck out to me, is visually they were all basic af and whilst the kids loved them it got me thinking back to the days when a trip to the Arcade meant a chance to see games and graphics simply not capable of being seen in the home, in short the games looked positively futuristic, so what happened?

I get that yeah we have incredible consoles nowadays not to mention PCs with graphics cards costing £1000+ but why don't the arcade manufacturers take for instance a 4090 and make an arcade game that just utilizes every single gigawattflops of the card in a way mainstream devs simply don't as they have to cater for all the other lower end hardware.

I checked the prices on these machines and they cost thousands, surely you could cut back on the huge LED flashing lights and massive custom cabinetry and make a futuristic racer thats straight out of the movie Speed Racer or a star wars game with visuals to rival the movies, what's stopping them? I've yet to see a PC game utilize a 4090 with visuals so far ahead of the game that I look at my PS5 and weep, so wouldn't the Arcade be the perfect place to let these cards really shine and in doing so bring back those days where Arcades are once again a place to see the future?

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Could be wrong, but isn't it still going strong in Japan?

 

[Meicyn]

The 32-bit era happened. You could get the arcade experience easily at home. Arcades in the US never recovered.

Your recent visit aside, how often do you go to the arcade? Your anticipated answer to that question kind of answers why the few arcades left standing don’t invest heavily in fancy hardware. There isn’t a demand for the arcade experience, especially when everyone is walking around with a smartphone. You literally have Apple Arcade available on every iOS device out there.

 

[RoboFu]

Those are basically gambling machines for kids.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Those are basically gambling machines for kids.

 

[Spyxos]

I wish I had experienced the real Arades. I also only know these new arcades with claw machines and 2-3 other strange games. And even the new bad ones are not available in germany. I think they are banned.

 

[Quasicat]

I visit the local arcade here (about 40 minutes away by interstate) a couple of times a year. Most look like they are running on PS3s, but the Halo one looks like it’s running on much newer hardware. In the end it’s more for the experience than anything else.

 

[Spyxos]

I visit the local arcade here (about 40 minutes away by interstate) a couple of times a year. Most look like they are running on PS3s, but the Halo one looks like it’s running on much newer hardware. In the end it’s more for the experience than anything else.

That looks really good. I definitely have to try it.

 

[nkarafo]

Sega and Namco cheapen out in the late 90's and the Arcades lost their state of the art status they had since the beginning. Since then, the only thing the arcades have going for them are the fancy, weird cabinets.

Why would anyone get their asses of their couch to spend credits on a videogame for 5 minutes, when they can play more advanced games on their own living room all day?

The 32-bit era happened. You could get the arcade experience easily at home. Arcades in the US never recovered.

During the 32bit era, the arcades were 2 generations ahead. The PS1/N64 couldn't compete with the Model 2 and Sega already had the Model 3 in 1996.

As i said above, they just stopped making state of the art, custom hardware after that. They cheapen out on the hardware when the most important thing about the arcades was their hardware superiority compared to home systems.

 

[SOME-MIST]

the good stuff is now locked to the new platforms exa-arcadia and nesicaxlive which haven't really taken off

 

[Knightime_X]

1. Too expensive now.
2. Arcades are dead
3. They'll never make back that money like they did in the past.
4. Consoles caught up in tech.
The only thing arcades can do is gpu power, but even then that's not going to be enough due to games looking pretty good as is.

I'd LOVE to wander into an arcade and accidentally stumble on Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.

That'll never happen;(

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Arcades are dead. Arcades used to be great places to hang out and have fun with games featuring superior technology compared to home consoles, but eventually they became irrelevant and home technology caught up and surpassed them.

I think the selection of games is another contributing factor as well, at least in my area. Nothing but light gun games, racing games and outdated looking games in the very few arcades left near me. Had to drive an over an hour away just to play Tekken 7 when it first came out years ago because the closest thing arcades had near me still was Tekken 5.

 

[Gambit2483]

Growing up as a kid in 80s/90s meant you got to experience some of the best days of the "arcade". From four player beat'em ups like TMNT and X-men, to 2D Capcom, Midway and Namco fighters, all the way to intense shooters and racers like HOTD/Time Crisis and Hydro Thunder/Cruisin' series.

It was basically a gaming experience you just couldn't get at home at the time...but yes, once technology and graphics caught up there were just less and less reasons to go out of the house for those gaming experiences.

 

[Quasicat]

That looks really good. I definitely have to try it.

I really wish that Microsoft would just port it to the Series X. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult and advertise it as a rail shooter. I would drop $20 to $30 for a port of the arcade game on a home console. Seriously, I paid $50 in 1990 for an NES version of the TMNT arcade game.

 

[RaduN]

Arcades are dead, just like rock and roll.

 

[64bitmodels]

Sega got lazy and stopped making state of the art hardware same for konami.

Consoles only caught up because the masters of arcade were asleep at the wheel. sucks too, i'd love to see a new Daytona that blows everything out of the water

 

[Dane]

Dreamcast happened, first console that gave the most advanced hardware for the arcades (Naomi) rather than being a cheap outdated option as it was with ST-V and Namco System 11 (PS1), so porting games for the console was 70% done and the rest was just optimization for the smaller RAM, that's how games were released just a few months later in perfect conversions.

But I think the arcade death was also impacted by impressions rather than reality, many people were obviously buying the games rather than spending dollars in an arcade, but it doesn't seem that they counted vistors' who were willing to spend a dollar or two because they weren't bothering to buy the console version. To make things worse a lot of legacy stuff was no longer produced and are the best versions to play to this day, many cabinets were lost to the time.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Japan still has them. I dont think its much a lack of interest but more a culture thing. Japanese apartments are much, much smaller than a western. Not many people have the luxury to have a 60" TV in their tiny home so arcades after work/school is the way to go. PLUS they still make modern arcades there. You can bet your ass Tekken 8 and SF6 will be in the arcades day one.

As for the western culture, I can barely get a friend to come over for a game. Even if someone opened a brand new arcade, it would be hype for 2-3 months and then people would continue their hermit mode with a headset and solo experience in a multiplayer environment.

 

[Rhazkul]

There's a VR Arcade near me, a 20 min walk away. Never was inside it though as the prices are ridiculously high.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Yeah arcades lost their novelty during the turn of the millenium. They used to be ahead of consumer tech so you got a really special gaming experience that was impossible to replicate at home. This made arcades very cool.

Later on the experience was identical to home. Okay, not the fancy sit down cabs and all but tech wise your screen would deliver the same or better. And you could eventually play online.

There is no market for traditional arcades, why get out and pay to play some gimped version of a game you can easily play at home too. I grew up in the 90's so I know how it was. I would walk in an arcade, and stumble upon Soul Edge or Tekken 3, over a year before they would be released on console. It was very cool, at home I had T2, and to play T3 I had to go out.

 

[THE DUCK]

I was recently in a "modern" arcade as part of a wider venue and whilst everything was very showey, bright loud and full of flashing lights the actual games themselves looked to be running on what I'd consider PS3/PS4 level hardware wrapped in a gigantic expensive plastic shell.

These things where huge, space invaders, crossy road etc and some racing games that looked a bit meh but the one thing that stuck out to me, is visually they were all basic af and whilst the kids loved them it got me thinking back to the days when a trip to the Arcade meant a chance to see games and graphics simply not capable of being seen in the home, in short the games looked positively futuristic, so what happened?

I get that yeah we have incredible consoles nowadays not to mention PCs with graphics cards costing £1000+ but why don't the arcade manufacturers take for instance a 4090 and make an arcade game that just utilizes every single gigawattflops of the card in a way mainstream devs simply don't as they have to cater for all the other lower end hardware.

I checked the prices on these machines and they cost thousands, surely you could cut back on the huge LED flashing lights and massive custom cabinetry and make a futuristic racer thats straight out of the movie Speed Racer or a star wars game with visuals to rival the movies, what's stopping them? I've yet to see a PC game utilize a 4090 with visuals so far ahead of the game that I look at my PS5 and weep, so wouldn't the Arcade be the perfect place to let these cards really shine and in doing so bring back those days where Arcades are once again a place to see the future?

You are right in that if they ever want to bring back a real arcade, they need to offer something you can't get at home.
So for most that's special VR thing nowadays, or a driving game with motion/wheel, not so much the graphics part. It's not enough these days.

 

[SkylineRKR]

You are right in that if they ever want to bring back a real arcade, they need to offer something you can't get at home.
So for most that's special VR thing nowadays, or a driving game with motion/wheel, not so much the graphics part. It's not enough these days.

And even this, like VR headsets and playseats with FFB wheels, you can get at home.

Japan still has them. I dont think its much a lack of interest but more a culture thing. Japanese apartments are much, much smaller than a western. Not many people have the luxury to have a 60" TV in their tiny home so arcades after work/school is the way to go. PLUS they still make modern arcades there. You can bet your ass Tekken 8 and SF6 will be in the arcades day one.

As for the western culture, I can barely get a friend to come over for a game. Even if someone opened a brand new arcade, it would be hype for 2-3 months and then people would continue their hermit mode with a headset and solo experience in a multiplayer environment.

The last console I bought an extra controller for was the PS3. But since 90% of the time we were playing online, I never bought an extra controller for PS4 and PS5 and so far I never needed it. Those days are really over.

 

[March Climber]

These things where huge, space invaders, crossy road etc and some racing games that looked a bit meh but the one thing that stuck out to me, is visually they were all basic af and whilst the kids loved them it got me thinking back to the days when a trip to the Arcade meant a chance to see games and graphics simply not capable of being seen in the home, in short the games looked positively futuristic, so what happened?

It sounds like you went to a basic arcade chain or mall. You have to find a specialty arcade in your area for some of the more advanced stuff. It's out there but it's just way more niche in the west.

By the way, phones have become the final form of arcades.

 

[THE DUCK]

And even this, like VR headsets and playseats with FFB wheels, you can get at home.



The last console I bought an extra controller for was the PS3. But since 90% of the time we were playing online, I never bought an extra controller for PS4 and PS5 and so far I never needed it. Those days are really over.

You can get them at home, but a good pc plus a good vr headset plus a dedicated space starts to become harder to attain for most people. But I do admit there is more tech available and not much in the way of unattainable if you have lots of cash and want to spend it .....

Thinking back to the glory days of arcades, it wasn't just unattainable hardware, the software was often exclusive as well.

 

[Ozzie666]

Raw Thrills is keeping the North American contributions going for the most part. But everything is pretty much based on a license. Batman, Transformers, Cruisin, Jurassic Park, Turtles, Walking Dead (not all from RT). Most games are shooting or driving games meant to suck your coins and incredibly hard. Most games are multi player. Graphics aren't cutting edge, in fact maybe a generation or two. There isn't a lot of creativity anymore, no room for financial failures. It's sad really at least outside of Japan. Rise of the redemption machines.

 

[Wildebeest]

Gambling is like entropy. You can work as hard as you want to resist it, but in the end all gaming turns to gambling.

 

[nush]

I was recently in a "modern" arcade as part of a wider venue and whilst everything was very showey, bright loud and full of flashing lights the actual games themselves looked to be running on what I'd consider PS3/PS4 level hardware wrapped in a gigantic expensive plastic shell.

These things where huge, space invaders, crossy road etc and some racing games that looked a bit meh

It's been like that since the 2010's at least. Seing console games back ported to the arcades was crazy, then the did it with mobile games. Flip side is that Pinball games got a resurgence, and I love those.

 

[Toots]

Gambling is like entropy. You can work as hard as you want to resist it, but in the end all gaming turns to gambling.

i ain’t gonna lie it is pretty deep.
Maybe all human interactions turn to gambling eventually.

 

[drganon]

Most arcades in America nowadays are pretty pathetic.

 

[Dane]

Japan still has them. I dont think its much a lack of interest but more a culture thing. Japanese apartments are much, much smaller than a western. Not many people have the luxury to have a 60" TV in their tiny home so arcades after work/school is the way to go. PLUS they still make modern arcades there. You can bet your ass Tekken 8 and SF6 will be in the arcades day one.

As for the western culture, I can barely get a friend to come over for a game. Even if someone opened a brand new arcade, it would be hype for 2-3 months and then people would continue their hermit mode with a headset and solo experience in a multiplayer environment.

Its always funny that japanese are regarded as cold and anti social while they value social interaction in videogames like Pokemon and MH, while westerners would be playing it alone even in multiplayer.

 

[jaysius]

Arcades are dead, just like rock and roll.

Arcades yes.

Rock and roll? NOPE!

 

[RaduN]

Arcades yes.

Rock and roll? NOPE!

As i said, rock and roll (in terms of mainstream genre) is dead.
Of course there's still great rock in the world, just as there are still great arcades, if you know where to look, but compared to the 80s and 90s ...it is just a faint memory.

 

[Mufausa The 3rd]

If you live in America. Go to Round1. It's the closest to a Japanese arcade that you'll get in the west and it's definitely a different experience for sure.

If you can go to Chicago. Go to Galloping Ghost Arcade.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Home hardware pretty much caught up.

In terms of business I guess the money isn’t there like it used to be. Arcades shut down, so who would you distribute your ultra costly new game to?

 

[jaysius]

Home hardware pretty much caught up.

In terms of business I guess the money isn’t there like it used to be. Arcades shut down, so who would you distribute your ultra costly new game to?

 

[jaysius]

I really don't understand this. I wish this team did something else instead.

Enter the Gungeon: House of the Gundead, Developed by Griffin Aerotech and Dodge Roll

Enter the Gungeon: House of the Gundead is an original two-player light gun arcade game in which players crawl alone or with a fellow Gungeoneer floor by floor blasting your way down through the army of the Gundead. Unlock new weapons, dodge roll around oncoming fire, and face down legendary...

enterthegungeon.com

 

[RJMacready73]

Home hardware pretty much caught up.

In terms of business I guess the money isn’t there like it used to be. Arcades shut down, so who would you distribute your ultra costly new game to?

But has it really? Like I said not a lot of people can afford high end gaming PC's coupled to driving simulators and mainstream Devs don't seem to take advantage of all that horsepower, and the arcade games that I seen looked crazily expensive but visually shite. If they make a racer with the visuals similar to that Nvidia kart demo I'd take the kid down to check it out

 

[existensmaximum]

I think VR experiences with full body tracking is pretty much the modern arcade games.

 

[SmokedMeat]

But has it really? Like I said not a lot of people can afford high end gaming PC's coupled to driving simulators and mainstream Devs don't seem to take advantage of all that horsepower, and the arcade games that I seen looked crazily expensive but visually shite. If they make a racer with the visuals similar to that Nvidia kart demo I'd take the kid down to check it out

I’d say so.

Decades ago, the arcade room delivered an experience well beyond what was possible on a home console or computer. We had the most bleeding edge stuff hitting from Sega, Midway, Namco, etc.

Eventually home consoles caught up to that arcade power. Arcades are dead pretty much, but the few I’ve seen have games that days aren’t cutting edge anymore. They’re like lower tech amusement machines from smaller names.

It’s nothing at all like it once was.

 

[poppabk]

Could be wrong, but isn't it still going strong in Japan?

Is that a washing machine simulator arcade?