Didnt they get some kind of last minute extension? I watched the other video on them....
It was some crap about the county wanting them to get a new license and it would take about 8 months and it seemed like the county wasn't going to grant them a license, so it was gonna seem like a waste of time....if I'm not mistaken...
hopefully they relocate!
Wow that was really good. It makes you realize how much you take an arcade for granted until it's gone and you're filled with regret at how you kept procrastinating.
That said, I live in Edmonton and we have no arcades since the last one shut down before I got into the fighting game scene
You can thank the internet for the fall of the arcades. For a consumer, it's just cheaper and more efficient to spend $300-400 for a console to hop online to play a game that could be in an arcade with or against people. And these days, I'd say almost everyone has some kind of broadband connection.
I grew up in the arcade era and I've been around since Street Fighter 2 and it was mad fun back in those days, but honestly, I wouldn't wanna keep spending at least 50 cents per game if I kept losing. And with energy and rent prices rising, it's harder for an arcade to stay profitable.
It's sad, but that's evolution for ya.
(Another Arcade shuts down....I'm working on a solution guys...just trust me. It won't be the same...but damnit, if I have anything to say about it, there's gonna be places to publically play video games in the US!)
How I wish this will not go away... It seems now a days... The passion is being ripped away from things that people take great joy in... True the videogame scene is not dead... But it seems that the joy and passion that arcade casuals have when they are doing what they love in a play they have grown up with... Is being taken away from them.. I personally do not think it is right.... But I am only one person... My opinion and actions alone would not be enough... But together... We could keep the scene going. But that is only if there is any true desire to want to keep it alive on our part...
Arcades didn't go anywhere. They just morphed into LAN centers. The business model changed because technology changed. If Capcom ever learns how to write proper internet code, then they can take advantage of this thing called the internet that lets us do what we used to do in the arcade: play other people.
I think the way arcades are run in the US needs to change in order for them to survive.
Dedicated arcades aren't going to make it, that much is pretty certain, but places like that Arcade/Dance Club/Bar that opened in Vegas a few months back will probably have the most chance.
It's like near me there's this small place that is a car wash/mini-golf/driving range/pizza place/pizza delivery/ice cream shop/arcade. I think they added laser tag recently, too, but I'm not sure. But they're constantly raking in the dough and they've been around for some-odd twenty years.
Another approach I think would help arcades in addition to not making them the only focus of the establishment is to change the way the money is made. Instead of having arcade machines set at a quarter a game, charge a door fee and have all the machines set to free play. Charge separate fees for the arcade/dance floor, and have a dining room/bar available to both. People will pay for the night and they'll keep dancing, playing games, and buying your food/drinks all night, and I'd be willing to bet over time you'd earn more than if you had charged for the dance floor and had the games set for quarters. Plus, you charge people a single one time fee for unlimited access to something for the night, and they think they're getting a bargain no matter how much you charge'em.
I know some of you like to talk about these arcades like they are a cherished childhood memory, and for some of you they are. But in all reality its a very small amount. The reason most arcades are dying is because they are disgusting expensive places that only draw people in the wee hours of the night. So the people who actually have money and can help a business thrive are not the aim at all. I mean have you been to chinatown fair? Its disgusting. If all these people had so much passion maybe they would have made it more inviting to others. How hard could it have been to replace that sign or put a fresh coat of paint on it. If you care so much then take care of these places. I know you can make the argument about infinity being nice and the town closing it early, but lets be honest, that place is the exception to the rule. Very few arcades actually look like that. So for all of this saddness and nostalgia i say bull. Arcades should go away and i'm glad they are.
^ I'm gonna have to disagree. I know arcades are not out to please everyone, but for those who enjoy going to them truly cherish these places. I for one grew up when arcades were everywhere from local spots, when 7-11 & even pharmacies had them. And its not like online can replace that, especially socially.
Plus I know that arcades alone can't survive on it own, there are places like Round One in Puente Hills Mall in SoCal that just started. But places like Round One can last a good long while, because it has not just arcades. It has bowling, karaoke, a bar and other things. But it places like CTF & AI that really shines because it focuses on the more hardcore gamers, which is what some of us really like. You meet people, learn how to get better at your game and learn how to play under pressure especially when you have a crowd behind you.
It can't be helped that places like these won't survive nowadays with consoles surpassing arcades graphic wise and a bad economy. But it's not like all the arcades have died. One day that may happen, but until then people will find another spot. But places like AI will truly be missed.
RIP Arcade Infinity
Aww that sux but they are going to re-open right?