Namco Bandai blames Wii for arcade closures
by Scott Jon Siegel 
{ Feb 7th 2008 at 7:55PM }
Specifically, company spokesman Yuji Machida blames the Nintendo Wii, stating that strong holiday sales for the console mean a lot of kids have spent their time at home playing, and spent their money on more Wii software and hardware, such as the popular Wii Fit package.
Of course, home consoles certainly aren't the only cause. Machida also cites rising gas prices as a concern, as families become less willing to travel back and forth from shopping malls, where arcades are normally located. The 50-60 arcades closing account for one-fifth of Namco Bandai's arcades in Japan. A big loss, to be sure.
[Via Wii Fanboy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
mErty @ Feb 7th 2008 8:01PM
Wii FTW
The Artist formally known as Jesus @ Feb 7th 2008 8:02PM
the only reason I don't go to my local arcade anymore is because some kid keeps putting boogers on the joysticks
so blame boogers, not Wii
Co @ Feb 7th 2008 8:09PM
lol true on that, also, the only reason that I WOULD go to arcades back when I was a youngster was to achieve an experience that just wasn't possible technically speaking from a home console like NES, SNES, PS1. Then the consoles started matching and eventually surpassing arcade efforts.
Delgado @ Feb 7th 2008 8:16PM
I once saw a condom fit onto the controller of a Soul Calibur game. Someone must have been a little too into Ivy.
This was in New Jersey btw, just in case you didn't already infer that conclusion.
samfish @ Feb 8th 2008 12:50AM
No game will ever compare to playing TMNT in the arcade with a bunch of strangers.
I miss arcades. I wish there were some even around me, but there sadly aren't.
upz @ Feb 8th 2008 11:04AM
Don't worry just yet. Namco Bandai is one of the few companies that open "under 16" arcades, while most are "over 16," so they'd be the ones to be hit the hardest by kids staying home. The adult arcade scene seems to be alive and healthy. Now before you start jumping on how ridiculous having age restrictions on arcades are, remember that it actually makes reasonable sense, considering how many arcade games are actually rated M once they're ported to home consoles.
StuScotsLazyEye @ Feb 7th 2008 8:11PM
*Misses standing in line in the Mall of America to play Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in the arcade*
Arcade > *
alu @ Feb 8th 2008 1:38PM
yea.. i remember the day MK3 came out in the arcades here, the whole place was packed.
good times.
phil @ Feb 9th 2008 7:43PM
Wow I didn't even know that made it to arcades. The last time when the original Street Fighter 2 was getting popular. There was one that lasted as long as 2003 around here, but I don't think anybody really went into it for a long time before they closed. Oddly enough that arcade was replaced by a Gamestop.
Norm @ Feb 7th 2008 8:22PM
I really wish we still had good arcades like that in the USA... at least here where I live. I know there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that I will get to play Street Fighter 4 in a crowded arcade. I saw those Famitsu photos of the SF4 arcade cabinet, and I got really really sad. And old feeling.
And Hey, Isn't NAMCO BANDAI still making Wii games?
Big Ed @ Feb 7th 2008 8:29PM
The Wii is at fault? I'm pretty sure the decline of arcades was due to home consoles in general.
blahblahbloo @ Feb 7th 2008 8:35PM
I'd like to see arcades replaced by places where you can go and play on all the new consoles on huge TVs. I know they exist around the world, but they're very rare.
...Jan... @ Feb 7th 2008 8:35PM
- Namco's just throwing a hissy fit because Pac-Man isn't in Brawl...
- Anyways, arcades have lost their appeal on me. I don't spend my quarters on games anymore. I spend it on tickets and prizes.
phil @ Feb 9th 2008 7:44PM
Quarters? Towards the end it was 1 or 2 dollars for a credit!
NukeAssault @ Feb 7th 2008 8:38PM
Wow, i find this ridiculously hard to believe. Arcades are awesome. But the oens near me have old games... Only good thing is they have Xboxs hooked up though lan...pwn.
Jhongerkong @ Feb 7th 2008 8:44PM
The closest thing to an arcade near my place is the movie theatre.
But they have SFA3 and DDR Extreme so its all good.
LaughingTarget @ Feb 7th 2008 8:46PM
I blame them trying to charge me $1 to play a 10 year old game.
BPM 6th Mix MAX @ Feb 7th 2008 8:59PM
Agreed. I think that's part of the problem with the arcade scene: Some places can be pretty pricey to play at!
At the arcade I work, games like Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 costs four tokens ($1) for one game. And if you want to buy the card to keep track of your progress, that's another $1.
There's 80 chapters in the story mode. And if you've managed to play through it all without losing a single race, you've spent $81 on it! Plus, the magcards wear out after a while (I think each card has a life of 75 games or something like that), and renewals cost 2 tokens.
Thankfully, I get to play for free since I work there... But I don't think I would've reached maximum tuning if it weren't for the free tokens... >_>
At the GameWorks in Arizona Mills, they use a confusing-ass card system. Which I think the conversion rate is $1 = 10 credits (and you have to purchase the card for $2... But you do get bonus credits for inserting larger bills, so I guess it kinda works out in the end)... A single game of DDR SuperNOVA costs 20 credits. In other words, $2!
If it were up to me, no game would cost more than a quarter or two. I think that, coupled with a varied selection of games from the classics to the new and covering every genre as well as kinds of games you can't experience at home, would help the dying arcade market.
Dio @ Feb 8th 2008 4:00AM
Agreed, although the DDR machine at my mall gives us an extra round... Still too expensive though. The minimal amount for any game is 50 cents. I tried playing House of the Dead 2 but it was like TOKENS OM NOM NOM.
Mr Khan @ Feb 7th 2008 9:09PM
You would think that gas would be less of a concern in Japan, since they actually, you know, HAVE A RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
If there's something America needs...
But social gaming has always been a bigger thing in Japan, which is why they have less emphasis on Online play. Like in Monster Hunter Freedom 2, the game that so many Westerners complained lacked online play. They would just get together to play local Wifi. Arcades also met the need, but strong local multiplayer capabilities of the handhelds and the Wii are killing the need to leave your homes
Matt B @ Feb 7th 2008 9:12PM
Sorry to break up your den for the poor of posture.
PhrawzT @ Feb 7th 2008 11:06PM
It's obviously the Wii's fault that the only arcade around me has a crappy selection of games.
bigsofty @ Feb 7th 2008 11:24PM
Am I the only actual wii owner who thinks it sucks...! Crappy graphics with a gimmicky inaccurate controller?
UltimateQ @ Feb 8th 2008 12:48AM
The controller rocks. Especially if you have blue tooth on your PC. The graphics still blow, and the game selection blows even harder. No DVD support, and no direct mp3 playback. You have to BUY a free web browser. Playing online with just about any game is a joke. But the controller is still fun.
bm @ Feb 8th 2008 3:26AM
After playing Prime 3, regular thumbstick controls on other FPS' feel wobbly and inaccurate. After playing Excite Truck, regular thumbstick controls on other racing games feel like trying to clumsily steer a car with a lightswitch.
Hey, guess what dude? Ninjabread man is not a good measure for the controller's quality. Despite some developers screwing up, the Wiimote is highly accurate. Trolls like you are full of shit.
Burnt Meatloaf @ Feb 8th 2008 5:42AM
The whole "inaccuracy" problem is rooted in ergonomics. To make games accessible to a wide audience, a wide sweeping motion of the arm and a flick of the wrist have to mean the same thing. That's a damned huge margin of error. The games are pretty much playing themselves at that point -- you're just "nudging" them in the direction, and they give you false reinforcement in return.
The controller is actually very accurate. However, I never really felt in control of the games I tried unless they used the analog stick or buttons. There's too many helpers and fudge factors at work.
That's why I hate the Wiimote. People think of it as an alternative to a gamepad or a new controller in its own right. In reality, it just gives the illusion of control, and that's why so many traditional games fail hard when converted to motion controls.
I find it frustrating when people say you don't have to flair your arms around like a retard, and then tell you that if you sit down and flick your wrist, you're missing the "point" of the controller. If both control methods are equally effective, what does that say about the effectiveness (not the accuracy) of the device?
In Nintendoland, Wiimote controls you, because your emotional reaction to such a "cool" device overrides your ability to rationalize that the system isn't actually doing what you're telling it to.
Personally, I think the pointing device is 50,000x more revolutionary than the motion sensor. But, that's not as effective as a motion sensor when it comes to marketing.
Anyway, at least I tried it, and made a rational decision not to buy it. I can't say the same for the millions of other people who bought it just because it is OMG LOL RAVING RABIDS SO FUNNY.
bm @ Feb 8th 2008 6:34AM
You obviously haven't tried the best games otherwise you wouldn't be saying what you're saying. You're not even responding to my point. Look at Prime 3 and Excite Truck for great examples of how to use the pointer and the motion sensors, respectively.
I'll repeat myself: the hardware is highly accurate, as you say. Just because some people and developers are idiots, and despite examples of how it should be done, you "hate" the remote? That's ridiculous.
Shagittarius @ Feb 8th 2008 11:36AM
The Wii is shit, your not the only sane one here.
copres @ Feb 8th 2008 11:57AM
major fanboy alert ^
fanboys are usually blinded by hatred and say stupid things
for example, read above
copres @ Feb 8th 2008 11:57AM
major fanboy alert ^
fanboys are usually blinded by hatred and say stupid things
for example, read above
Shagittarius @ Feb 8th 2008 1:51PM
If you copied that statement twice to indicate yourself as well...job well done +1 for you.
bm @ Feb 9th 2008 1:02PM
Shaggi spends his days in his mother's basement sniffing out perfect opportunities to roll Nintendo related posts on a gaming blog. You can almost hear the smelly fat fuck's heavy breathing, drool on his fat lip, as he clumsily types "The Wii is shit.".
"Victory is mine again," he whispers to himself. He's gotten through another day. How long will he keep it up, though?
;)
DaiMac79 @ Feb 8th 2008 12:07AM
Somebody needs to do a "mobile" arcade using a massive RV, super-thin HDTVs and a mix of arcade and console hardware, that would be nice. Make the money off of concessions, rent it out for parties, move around seasonally...
Damn Somebody loan me some money! ;)
Mr.ESC @ Feb 8th 2008 12:10AM
Remember those times when the arcades were so goddamn cool that we spend hours when we were kids playing stuff like the Simpson’s and the Xmen (6 player co-op FTW) when the xmen were still the shit?
Remember when people bought home consoles to play the arcade ports of games like TMNT and Golden axe? Some ports were awful but it was better than the atmosphere of the arcades which turned even scarier with the years, you rarely saw a normal guy there, hell some guys were total creeps.
Back then PC gamers didn’t have a lot but some games were epic but not enough to compete with the Snes or the Genesis yet some games were brilliant like Sky roads or Megarace, I loved those games.
Nowadays Home consoles have the best games, the Pc games are even better.Arcades are pretty much dead and with a good reason, the last big arcade game was Dance dance revolution.
Demaar @ Feb 8th 2008 12:12AM
What? Wouldn't bringing previously arcade-only games home be more of a reason for people going less? I'd say the 360 is a big culprit there what with its home version of idol master.
DexX @ Feb 8th 2008 12:15AM
Home consoles will only ever replace arcades entirely when drug dealers start offering a delivery service. ;)
rokerovakero @ Feb 8th 2008 12:27AM
I blame "El niño".
Mr.ESC @ Feb 8th 2008 12:47AM
For those who don't "habla español","El niño" is spanish for..."The niño"
Saffie @ Feb 8th 2008 10:02AM
... and "nino" means?
Fernando Rocker @ Feb 8th 2008 11:26AM
Niño means kid... but I guess he is refering to the weather phenomenon.
Mr.ESC @ Feb 8th 2008 11:46AM
So I suppose you aren't big Chris Farley fans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p_d8Z2kaTU
Don't worry is not Rick roll or Bell air.
ae86takumi @ Feb 8th 2008 1:33AM
Arcades were dead long ago..since the playstation and nintendo 64. However, those days when you had to wait in line and show off your skills in front of those "ohhh" "wow" people.. damn ..I miss the good old days...
rokobungi @ Feb 8th 2008 2:10AM
nowadays we have speedrunners making all but 2 or 3 out of a million feel they have no skills
after you watch a few of them it kinda makes beating dragon's lair on one quarter look 'easy'
ThornedVenom @ Feb 8th 2008 2:38AM
Didn't know arcades were still that popular in Japan.
I'm just going to be a dick by saying "haha, Japan isn't as advanced as they pretend to be!" by pointing out that their gaming culture is still very attached to their arcade roots, and hasn't fully merged towards a home console culture.
JRM @ Feb 8th 2008 3:44AM
Namco is closing their arcades because they can't compete with the other, more profitable ones...or the pachinko parlors. The parking lots in the pachinko parlors are always packed.
I live close to Osaka, and I have not seen any arcade look empty or anything, like in America. There's a huge market for people going out and having fun, including arcades. If they can't survive in that, then some of the Namco executives don't know what they're doing.
And, about online in the home consoles. I don't know too much about that, other than it isn't difficult to set it up--especially since Internet speed in Japan is 30x faster than anything in the US. Internet isn't a problem. It's more that they'd rather do something else with their time.
Dio @ Feb 8th 2008 4:02AM
Blame the PS2, goddamn.
Follisimo @ Feb 8th 2008 5:25AM
The problem is that most arcade games were exclusive back in the day while these days games are on every single system and why waste money on gas and expensive gaming when I can just rent it or buy the game.
Burnt Meatloaf @ Feb 8th 2008 5:55AM
Everybody thinks about giant arcades, but even the small arcades are disappearing.
There used to be a mini arcade at my local movie theater. Now, people just stand around yakking on their cell phones before and after the movie. There used to be pinball at the bowling alley. No more. Hell, there aren't even any people bowling. They used to have stand-up cabinets at the bar, so people could show off their skills between beers and bites of pizza. Now they have Keno on the TV, and... the news. WTF?
Game consoles are not solely at fault for the decline in arcades. People just don't hang out like they used to. Technology, in general, just encourages people to keep in touch by staying at home (or talking on the phone all day at work, when they SHOULD be working. God, that pisses me off).
Pawsie @ Feb 8th 2008 7:37AM
I think the idea that you need to pay to play a game.. instead of owning it is the problem. In the past arcade could do a lot of things.. much better than consoles. But now you can go wifi.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Feb 8th 2008 9:32AM
Here's the problem:
An arcade cabinet costs THOUSANDS of dollars (or equivalent yen). For Thousands of dollars you get: a cabinet with an SDTV, controlers that will break in a week, and a game that LOOKS IDENTICAL TO THE HOME VERSION.
If the arcade industry is to survive, the arcade port needs to look MUCH better than the home version, not cost 1.50 for ONE PLAY, and have hardier controls that will take the punishment of some punk kid throwing a temper tantrum when he loses.
For several thousand dollars, I don't think thats too much to ask for. For that money, they could easily put in a tube or flat panel HDTV of adequate size, hardware equivalent to the power of 2 or 3 Xbox360's/PS3's, and controls even a gorilla would have problems destroying.
But no. In the push for console software superiority, the arcade has been completely neglected. The only reason to go is to play old versions of Raiden and Galaga/MS Pacman (which still cost 50 cents to play, WTF, stop price gouging people!)