According to a Tweet by Arturo Sanchez, through Henry Cen, Chinatown Fair, the famed arcade in New York, will be closing on February 23, 2011.Noticed by ChuckBartowski and WildfireZer0.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktuhax...
This video pretty much sums up how i feel.
why is this so random! its like saying "the president was shot but we'll have more on that story at 10 o'clock"
Holy crap this is sad. It was pretty much the last big arcade on the east coast.
R.I.P arcades ??? - 2011
Seriously though, I thought the resurgence of fighting games like SF4, MvC3, and Mortal Kombat was suppose to bring about a new age of arcades, but instead we see the opposite effect.
I have a feeling the CapCops had something to with this, as Chinatown Fair and Arcade Infinity were 2 of the first arcades to release footage of SSF4 AE Oni and E. Ryu.
Conspiracy? I think not!
god the econ is still terrible im gonna be losing my jobs soon too
MvC3 Jill live gameplay footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VFeT5...
I already sent in a tip for this Jill vid, too.
I used to go to CTF a few years ago(until a little after SF4 came out).
It was a pretty cool place with some great people, but a pretty outdated arcade compared to the ones in Cali and I'm not surprised it's going under, because most people would rather stay home and play the game on console than come to CTF from a borough away to play for a dollar a play. Plus a lot of the older games were kinda ill-maintained(3S on the small machine had a horrible right stick, and the placement of the machines was also pretty annoying, like Super Turbo and GG between two DDR machines). For the majority of people it is just more convenient to stay home because CTF was pretty cramped, badly ventilated, and dark too.
I feel awful knowing that a place I had some great memories at is dying. CTF was pure 90s arcade, but this is not the 90s anymore.
I go to ctf and i think that if they survive in another form, they have to fuse with something else, like a bowling alley, bar, bubbletea etc.
movie theatres make like 75% of their money off of food and they need to make money elsewhere bc 2 may kids just hang out its sad.
i saw someone on fb said they may move the machines somewhere in E NY Brooklyn. Its better than nothing but prob not a good idea considering the neighborhood
That sucks, but everyone knows the American arcade scene can't last forever. Only places that have a continuous influx of users can be maintained.
Keep in mind, no fighting game had online in the 90's. All fighting games now have online modes, going to the arcades is nice, not a necessity.
OgamiRei, Blueberry... you guys are the problem. I'm not taking a swing at you two specifically, there're tons of people like you on every article like this, so it's nothing personal, but the "Aw man I've only been there once or thrice" thing is killing arcades. You live near 'em, you could've gone there more times, put more of your money into the machines, and given them a fighting chance. You don't get to be bummed out that you've only been there a few times, you had your chance to go. There are people without arcades anywhere near them. Hell, I don't think most states have a single good arcade like Infinity and Chinatown. And you know what? Because you New Yorkers and Californians couldn't keep open those amazing arcades you had, nobody else is going to get a new arcade. These big two dying... nobody is going to start a new arcade, certainly not a decent one. The end of these two is the end of hope for arcades, so.... **** you for only going a few times. At least you had that.
How are the New York guys going to get their AE fix? Guess they'll be joining the 95% of us who don't have it either.
A sad story. An era is ending. I'm not as hostile to online as a lot of people seem to be...it's always been clear that it was the future, and the survival of fighting games as a whole is, to me, more important. But sometimes I miss the days when I played mostly in arcades, too. Progress is change, and something will always be lost along the way.
lol fighting games as big as eva, and all the sh*t closing down
@badmandan
Your seriously trying to put the blame on me and/or ppl like me? I had a very busy schedule for the past couple of years. I heard about chinatown fair maybe 2 years ago. Yes, its pretty sad that i heard about it only 2 years ago but your acting like I had a chance to go. Don't assume that I had the chance to go. I recently got laid off and now i have more time on my hands. I was going to start going to CTF but to bad it's closing down.
I've been to that arcade when I was 13 years old while I was visiting New York City. It's sad to see arcades suffering like this.
This might be the end of arcades as we know it, since Online Gaming is the biggest thing in gaming now.
No.... no no no no no!!
Not another one. This isn't fair.
dang, even the great fighting game resurgence generated by sf4 wasn't enough to save the arcades...now they probably have little chance before total extinction... to JAPAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN
for me... arcade scene has been dead since the console era arrived! i mean cmon' who would pay a $1 per 1 play for a game while u can enjoy a free unlimited play and comfort in your own place!?!
ur already paying $60 for the whole year for xbox live, $40-60 for the game, $250-300 for the console, and why bother to go to the arcades? u can play online or bring ur friends over to play if u want that comfort competitive playing!
i know there are other great arcade machine games out there that are not available in game consoles, but do u think is it worth it to come back there everytime to spend and play while u have ur own game machine in ur house?
like the others says... arcade scene is so 90's, this is not the 90's anymore! and btw define 'aracde scene', hype? competition? socializing? hobby? what?
the human factor of the game is what we are losing with the end of CTF... Its time to open up a new place where the competition resembles the one in the arcade era. Think about it... what kind of society are we becoming? We dont care about the faces or the names, we just play to achieve experience or levels.
Im mexican, and in Mexico I really lived the arcade era at its max, and I wasnt even in serious sh1t like tourneys, just a casual gamer in a great community. The thing is... I really remember this day walking in the streets and passing near a big arcade center, and watching a very big crowd chanting these cool names and having fun, playin MVC1... that was my top reason to try to learn the game and go back to that place THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION IN THE COMMUNITY.
So in resume... we need to recreate this community centers, but obviously changing the format used to the arcade, its not reliable to charge for playin, but maybe its possible to charge for tournaments in a very very cool environment.
P.D. I dont even play anymore... I just like to watch videos of tourney and to follow the community (SF4 and now MVC3), LOL im just a normal citizen tryin to get by
This is terrible...
I've never been to Chinatown Fair, but from all the stories I've heard, this is pretty much a tragic loss for east coast arcades.
@10, I agree with you that this resurgence should have reinvigorated the scene, and it has. The problem is, those games you had mentioned were all ported to home console; MVC3 doesn't really have an arcade cabinet that isn't custom made, and MK will not have that as well either. They are all straight to console games. SF4 was the only game to be on that list, and that got toppled when it hit home consoles and had more characters.
The scene is pretty much bare bones in the Midwest. I've gone around Chicago recording areas that had arcades and showing what they ended up being right now. It's pretty sad.
Word going around that Henry Cen was trolling and that they might relocate to Brooklyn if they can't work something out with the landlord.
Chinatown fair was a tiny place that smelled disgusting but if you were looking for that old school arcade vibe and was a fighting game fanatic you had to check it out. I played the arcade version of sfiv there before it came out in consoles. I hope they relocate. It's def a NYC spot to remember. I'm sure it will since i haven't seen anyone post up info on dude selling his machienes.
WTFF!!! i only went there like 3 times.... dammmm man. :/