Arcade Heroes

arcadehero November 24, 2013 at 12:35 pm

No worries, I’m just wanting to make sure that those creative and innovative ideas don’t get overlooked just because of the glut of what is standard. I concede that most of those titles I mentioned are hard to find. That it is ultimately the manufacturer’s responsibility to market their games to a wider audience than just operators. Some are doing a better job of that than they were a few years ago. But still one thing that bristles me when I do see the maybe twice in a year mentions of arcade games on other sites is they leave the impression that the release is just happening in a vacuum. Logically it would make no sense whatsoever for there to be a Mario Kart Arcade 3 game if there was no manufacturing, distribution or operator networks that could support the reason for the release. But perhaps that’s too inside baseball for most consumers to even think about. But those factors are a bit more important in the arcade sector than in the console space where I don’t think I’ve ever read about a distributor for game retail.

I also totally get your overall point. It’s one I have tried to make on the blog on occasion or in my book. There is so much more that can be done in the arcade space. One small example is that it baffles me that we don’t have some sort of mech game series in arcades at the present time, where the possibilities in that genre are far greater than at home. However there is one issue that hangs over risky and original releases, in that ultimately players need to voice that they want different games and also that they are willing to backup that voice with their consumer dollars. As I have found at my arcade though, the best earning games are usually the light-gun/racing titles. I still strive to have some different games but on occasion those will earn half or 1/3rd of what the top games do. I do need to improve my own marketing to spread the word about those titles but if the marketing push from the manufacturers and more gaming media would at least acknowledge the existence of the games, that would make my part MUCH easier to do.

arcadehero November 25, 2013 at 3:51 pm

I doubt it. One thing about PMBR is that it was made for a competitive multiplayer environment (kind of the same spin Nintendo is saying about their Super Mario World 3D, hey). I think it plays better in the arcade than CE would although there is the question of replayability. The game is lower on that end which is the problem.

Now if we got a new version of Galaga that was arcade exclusive, I think they could easily be a lot of movement on that. Galaga is one of the only classic games that still makes a decent keep every week.

arcadehero November 25, 2013 at 3:48 pm

I agree with you although the definition of what makes money is different than what the manufacturers consider. i.e. it is very difficult for a joystick game to make as much as Terminator Salvation or Fast and Furious Supercars does in a week. I’ve seen that with my PMBR and Dariusburst. The games do get played more than older joystick games, that is certain. And there have been a few times where Pac-Man has rivaled Terminator. Given that the game costs half as much, that is certainly good but Pac-Man can only be milked so far. Games also have to be consistent in those earnings. If they can’t be, interest is gone (which is why multiple and long location tests are great).

Overall it’s difficult because manufacturers have to make a game people really want to play, it has to sell for a good price so operators will buy it, and gamers need to put their money where their mouths are. That last part is real important. Gamers obviously can only put their money into something that is at the arcade. If they don’t when the opportunity arises, developers will take note of that. Essentially if we want any form of joystick gaming to make a comeback then someone has to produce a game that will hit every note laid out above. Fantastic game at a fantastic price and that gamers play more than once. Without that, game makers will keep producing games that prove themselves on the marketplace.

Also to note, fighting games are presently aberrations. They reportedly make a ton of money in a few venues but that distorts the perspective of the bigger picture for any to truly be a huge success. They are pretty much just used as props at this point. As long as arcades get zero fighting game exclusives or much more reasonable pricing and much longer periods of exclusivity, fighters in this industry will be pointless except to a very small number of arcades out there.

arcadehero November 25, 2013 at 12:54 pm

That’s why I haven’t really mentioned it. It will be there but it feels like they are just doing a prop marketing campaign and that it isn’t a serious push to sell the arcade board here. I mean there was no point to get excited about the X1 KI test (from an arcade op perspective) since we know there will not be any arcade release. Operators were screwed over by SSFIV and the 2012 update. Personally I have no interest in overpaying for a kit that they will certainly charge way too much for. I’m sure there are a few places left willing to pay their exorbitant prices when the console version will probably be made to be better. Otherwise I imagine most will just put a timer in a cabinet and run the home console version like many are already doing.