Are the PS3, Xbox and especially Wii killing off need for arcades
By Dave Parrack
As Namco Bandai announces they are to close a fifth of their games arcades, the question now is: Are the PS3, Xbox and Wii killing off the need for arcades, and arcade games entirely?
The games industry as a whole has been rising for the last God knows how many years, with hardware, software and peripheral sales all at record levels. But there’s one sector of the market which has actually seen a reduction in profits, and is staring extinction in the face.
Arcades used to be the lifeblood of the games industry, where the genesis for games which would later translate to home consoles, would be conceived and born. Depending on how successful certain games were in arcades, the style, genre, or franchise would then get built upon, and extended indefinitely.
But in recent times, that has completely flipped, with the home consoles like the Xbox, and PS2 leading the way, and games being made solely for one system. This is mainly due to how many people now own one of these consoles, and have a constant gaming companion in their front room.
This generation of consoles, the PS3, Xbox 360, and especially the Wii have made that even truer, and arcade companies are now feeling the pinch.
Reuters have reported that Namco Bandai, one of the biggest arcade games manufacturers in the world is to close between 50 and 60, or one fifth, of its arcades, which has unsurprisingly seen its shares plummet.
It’s clear who the company hold responsible for the decline, with spokesman Yuji Machida saying:
“A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home.”
And that is the point, that arcades no longer hold the thrill they once did, as there is no need to venture outside of your home to play the latest game, or sample the latest add on.
Not only are steering wheels, light guns, and even guitars available for all the home consoles, the Wii has taken the interactive element on one stage further, and become a much bigger draw than any arcade machine could possibly be.
Sega Sammy Holdings has already announced the closure of 100 of its arcades, and I can only see the situation getting worse as sales of the big three home consoles carries on upward.
Who would want to go and put their money in to the never-ending pit of an arcade when they can buy a console and games bundle cheaply enough which will give them cutting edge technology for the next 5 years?
It’s official, the era of the arcade is dead, long live the Wii.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 at 10:06 am
under
Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
Stumble It!
Tips N4G
February 7th, 2008
damn straight they are killing off arcades, no need for them anymore
February 7th, 2008
This is really sad. I practically Grew up in an arcade my father was a manager, and some of my fondest memories are there.
March 13th, 2008
It’s sad but true. Arcades have a small following still, but the draw isn’t really there. Most people want to just pay one upfront fee, then buy the games separately. If you get to play the game as much as you want for one price, it looks a lot better than the alternative.
June 17th, 2008
it’s hard competing against the hi def and DD5.1 of in-home gaming. much more comfortable w/o the smell….. usually…
sad tho.