Reviving the Arcade

While reading this blog thing as recommended by my Google Desktop, I began to wonder what it would take to revive the arcade.

I was born after the glory days of the arcade. I've been to Dave & Buster's, Game Works, Discovery Zone, and Chuck E. Cheese when it was still fun... even when it was still 'Show Biz'. But I've always wondered what it was like having those darkly lit, dedicated arcades where kids would spend hours.

So what would it take to bring everyone's memories back to reality? What do we need to bring back that "pizza-stained and Mountain Dew infused" experience? How could the economy of such a facility run on quarters alone?

Arcades were replaced by Internet Cafes. Net Cafes are so much better too. Rather then be forced to play a particular game at a particular station, they allow you to play just about any popular game available on the PC platform.

Arcades can't beat the formfactor of a PC and the price is also way more flexible. For a Night Pass(10Pm to 8 AM) it costs me roughly 15 bucks. 10 hours of play for 15 bucks. Try doing that at an Arcade

[edit on 11-2-2007 by sardion2000]

Well the thing with that is people could do that from their home for free (assuming they have an internet connection). With the arcade, you get a wide variety of games that you don't own. You can pick them up and put them down as you please with nothing but quarters to take with you.

What would give people incentive to either take their computer out and game with other people or go to an arcade instead of sit in front of their TV?

There was actually a gamers' group that was hosting an event in my building from noon until a half hour ago (2 AM), and I stayed in my room playing Super Nintendo rather than drag my computer upstairs, check in, set it up, log into their system...

The reason I ask what it would take is because I can't even think of anything that would get me there, though I would love it if there were reason to go to an arcade or net cafe.

Well the thing with that is people could do that from their home for free (assuming they have an internet connection). With the arcade, you get a wide variety of games that you don't own.

That used to be the case. Not anymore. Arcades are now(at least in my area) 2-3 years behind the PC curve when it comes to Technology and Games. Anyways, I got a computer at home and so do most of my friends and we still go out to the cafe to play some CS:S, WoW, or Starcraft. Arcades are really expensive compared to Cafe's.

You can pick them up and put them down as you please with nothing but quarters to take with you.

Same thing with Internet cafe's. Except you don't even have to carry around Quarters.

What would give people incentive to either take their computer out and game with other people or go to an arcade instead of sit in front of their TV?

Excuse me? Computers are provided at Cafe's... You're thinking of a LAN party...

There was actually a gamers' group that was hosting an event in my building from noon until a half hour ago (2 AM), and I stayed in my room playing Super Nintendo rather than drag my computer upstairs, check in, set it up, log into their system...

Yes. Now I'm sure you've never even been to a 'net cafe. In places like Korea and Japan, they have completely replaced the Arcade and some of them house thousands of people. That is the future for N. America. We're just lagging behind for some odd reason.

The reason I ask what it would take is because I can't even think of anything that would get me there, though I would love it if there were reason to go to an arcade or net cafe.

Arcades suck. They suck money out of your wallet, and they suck the spirit out of your body due to ridiculously hard games.

Internet Cafe's are cheap, usually have better than average computers and a fat fibre pipe, not to mention dozens, (and sometimes hundreds!) of games that you can play at your leasure. At least the good ones do at that. They are usually much smaller than Arcades and also usually have a convenience store counter to stock up on the Mountain Dew, (or bubble tea if that's your thing but that's a chick drink IMO).

[edit on 11-2-2007 by sardion2000]