Now before you remind us that arcades are long dead, this story is about Japan. After a 38 percent cut in their profit forecast, in response to which Namco Bandai is closing between 50 and 60 of its arcades, the company's spokesperson Yuji Machida directed the blame at home video games. "A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home," said the representative of the Namco Museum publisher.Machida mentions the Wii specifically, due to its popularity and its ability to simulate the kind of specialized controls that are a strength of many arcade games. While arcade ports are nothing new, and neither are arcade ports of games requiring special controllers (such as Dance Dance Revolution), a home console whose controller can substitute for many motion-based control schemes is. Also, it's a convenient scapegoat.
There could be truth to the idea that people are saving their game money for home consoles more than usual, but we doubt that has anything to do with any similarity in game types. It's still terrible for the poor arcade industry in the short term -- until some "expanded audience" gamers decide to get into competitive Tekken or something.
[Via Gamasutra]
