American arcade industry is bullpoop

What is with the American arcade industry?

OK now granted I understand each country has it's own culture and environments, much less economy (for better or for worse). Suffice it to say, I don't want to compare it to any other country but...my God. For a country that's "rich" compared to others, we're pretty arse-backwards.

If you go to an arcade show, yeah video has a small footnote, and it only gets smaller. What do they showcase instead? Redemption, ticket games, redemption, juekboxes, virtual games that cost too much money, redemption, ticket games, plushies, cranes, redemption, novelties. "No one makes video anymore," well gee. If you can't push video to the next level that makes it unique from console gaming, no wonder no one wants to spend money at an arcade for video anymore.

But why innovate when you can look at quick turnarounds? Solution? REDEMPTION!

Yes, less people go to arcades, but why? Let's look at some factors:

-80's gang stigma. Westfield is known to stave off arcades (specifically Namco) because they feel arcades attract "the wrong crowd." This is the same management that avoids fried chicken and "soul food" restaurants then again. Unfortunately, the 80's image still lives in some people's minds and no one's done a damn thing to try to clean up that image from mall arcades.

-Lazy workers. It's like Gamestop: people apply to arcades because they think they get to play games all day on the clock. I mean, it's like applying as a bartender so you can drink all day on the clock. When they find out their dreams are crushed, now they're just trying to FIND a way to play free/cheap games while exerting the least amount of effort possible. Of course this leads to broken games, crappy customer serivce, etc.

-Elitest owners/owners that live in the 90's arcade heyday. You'll notice that some arcade owners (or managers) tend to be older or stuck-up jerks. When you try to talk to them about arcades and games, you get the automatic screw-you-what-do-you-know-about-arcades and sometimes I've-been-in-this-industry-for-years-you-little-booger kind of talk from them, and they refuse to listen to you. These guys are also they same people that think that arcades can still be the same quarter munchers from the 90's when Street Fighter II, X-Men, After Burner, and all those games couldn't be replicated at home properly and technology hasn't caught up to those games yet. Problem is, not only has that been surpassed, but American arcades haven't taken many steps to go beyond that, and these poor guys still live in the 90's. They want quick turnaround and quick profits. Unfortunately, they can't adapt to the times, and as hard as they are and while this is only one small factor, "spend money to make money" isn't a principle that applies to them, and they just keep shooting straight.

-Technology. When Galaga came out on NES, I was psyched. I loved the arcade and I went to my friend's house to play the NES port. What a disappointment. Yeah it looked the same, but it didn't feel the same. Certainly didn't sound the same. Some companies knew they couldn't faithfully reproduce the game to the console (or the arcade version did so piss poor, it was remade), some games with enhancements included Trojan and Commando, while reimaginations included Bionic Commando and Strider. When Dreamcast came out, Marvel VS Capcom 2 was on of the biggest titles, mainly because it was a console game that WAS the arcade at home (same hardware) and it was getting released within months of it coming out in the arcades, as opposed to years. Now arcades NEED to find a reason for people to come and play. Japanese developers have realized that rather than making the GAME more attractive, it now has features that really can't be replicated as faithfully as the console counterparts (or it's a give-and-take). You have card games that you really can't replicate at home (see: Winning Eleven, Sangokushi Taisen, Quest of D, etc.), touch screen games (Idolm@ster, Otomedius), and of course your games with dedicated cabinets (Beatmania, DrumMania, DDR). Even the video uprights have their own appeal; card systems, online systems...heck, a good amount of games overseas are online. Yes it's pricey, but Americans SHOULD have it easier! It's CHEAPER for internet in America (last I checked anyway)!

So what is keeping from Americans going online? As an executive from Betson said (and I paraphrase), we feel that online gaming has no future. Seriously? Well unfortunately it's true, American arcade owners/developers are still stuck on the premise that you need to keep reinventing the wheel, and maybe you'll make a better one.

Again, I must stress that it's super difficult to play favorites, but technology-wise, let's think about this. Arcades are different in Japan because it's a different market, yeah? So it's not fair to say American arcades suck just because we're not Japan? Perhaps. But let's think about this. American cell phones are ages behind the rest of the world. Why? Some of our major carriers are stuck on the technology that other countries have ditched years ago. Why? BECAUSE SOMEONE'S STILL MAKING BOATLOADS OF MONEY. Never mind that the cell phone towers are killing the honeybees and people are in massive collections because of overdue cellphone bills, much less the accidents people cause because cell phones are so easily accessible to anyone. But the almighty dollar is what keeps technology so behind. Someone's making a quick buck, and there's no reason to change. Arcades? Let's TRY to keep making a quick buck without making any investments.

If I had a million dollars, yes I would open my own arcade with a part of it. What would I do? What other people don't. Focus on aspects of the business that people feel is worthless. Customer service goes a long long way. Innovation of the business can push it farther and attract people who wouldn't normally go to a conventional arcade (think Gameworks, Dave & Buster's, Lucky's). Promotionals. There's so many other aspects that can be pushed and yet it feels like people are in it for no one else but themselves.

It's sad to see arcades close, but when the owners have such a narrow-minded focus or display bad public image without any recourse, who can feel sorry for them? Next thing you wonder is how would anyone have support their business if they act like that?

Oh well. Times are changing and maybe sooner or later, someone's going to learn?

(for the record, I have worked in the arcade industry for several years and have left it, mainly disgusted from the stupidity and in some cases sleazy business that's rampant in the American arcades).