The Demise of Arcades?
As difficult as it is to believe now-a-days there was an era in time when arcade games ruled over their console counterparts.
As innovative as the 8-bit NES system and the 16-bit Sega Genesis Gaming Consoles were, they could not even come close to comparing to their arcade ancestors. Feel free to look at any title that was released on both of the platforms at the same time.
From the 80’s until the early 90’s, arcade machine games consisted of the most up-to-date (in that time) technologies. Feel free to compare very popular arcade games such as Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Contra, and the like to their Nintendo counterparts. It's extremely apparent that one of them was clearly more powerful.
No matter advanced these consoles had gotten, it still couldn't compare to the experience that arcade scene offered. Even as cutting edge computer games were unveiled like Doom and Half-Life, console games still didn't possess the graphics or audio presence of Time Crisis at your area arcade.
Somewhere down the line, things changed. This became painfully apparent when the latest generation consoles (XBOX, 360, and PS3) were released. For the first time everyone can beyond any doubt say that home video game consoles could even come close to competing with arcades. The graphics and sound quality were superb.
The decrease in the arcades popularity had been obvious by this time, but this might seal the deal.
Include the fact that the era of quarter games were long over. You used to be able to walk into an arcade with a mere five dollars and your whole after noon was filled. But with the increase in costs around the nation, Arcade owners needed to make their money back more than ever. Thus driving the prices of newer games up anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar!
Now people are being able to get that arcade experience at their own homes, and for free none the less. The youth stopped spending their afternoons in the arcades, even the ones that practically lived in the arcades.. Now, the kids are perfectly fine just lying around the house playing games from their couches, or even from home arcade game tables
With the most recent introduction of next generation games arcades are quickly becoming thing of the past. Something that the older generation goes on and on about.
Now, the Nintendo Wii's has a distinct ability that allows the gamer to interact with the gaming system by hand and arm motion control, it has taken away the last original feature of the arcades. Those were the kinds of innovations you could only find in an arcade machine: The ability to get more than just a plain joystick or controller.
This is a real shame that its happened like this. I remember the times before women cars and all the adult things of life, video games were a huge player in my childhood years. Even though i very much loved my Nintendo, nothing compares to the days when dear old Dad would drive me and my brother up to the arcade. Those times were golden.
After spending all morning and most of the afternoon in that place in which we practically lived, eyes burning, and ears ringing from all the excitement... Hungry and thirsty, We left feeling a sort of Zen.
Will those days ever be brought back to life? Is it possible to relive all the memories of those years so lost in the corridors of time? Let’s hope so and never lose those memories.
I know there is still a market for these magic arcade games, and there are places that have lived on in these magic years. Don’t let the dream die, let hope live on!!
Most people don’t realize that there are arcade machines for sale still. There is actually quite a market for them as a matter of fact.
As innovative as the 8-bit NES system and the 16-bit Sega Genesis Gaming Consoles were, they could not even come close to comparing to their arcade ancestors. Feel free to look at any title that was released on both of the platforms at the same time.
From the 80’s until the early 90’s, arcade machine games consisted of the most up-to-date (in that time) technologies. Feel free to compare very popular arcade games such as Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Contra, and the like to their Nintendo counterparts. It's extremely apparent that one of them was clearly more powerful.
No matter advanced these consoles had gotten, it still couldn't compare to the experience that arcade scene offered. Even as cutting edge computer games were unveiled like Doom and Half-Life, console games still didn't possess the graphics or audio presence of Time Crisis at your area arcade.
Somewhere down the line, things changed. This became painfully apparent when the latest generation consoles (XBOX, 360, and PS3) were released. For the first time everyone can beyond any doubt say that home video game consoles could even come close to competing with arcades. The graphics and sound quality were superb.
The decrease in the arcades popularity had been obvious by this time, but this might seal the deal.
Include the fact that the era of quarter games were long over. You used to be able to walk into an arcade with a mere five dollars and your whole after noon was filled. But with the increase in costs around the nation, Arcade owners needed to make their money back more than ever. Thus driving the prices of newer games up anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar!
Now people are being able to get that arcade experience at their own homes, and for free none the less. The youth stopped spending their afternoons in the arcades, even the ones that practically lived in the arcades.. Now, the kids are perfectly fine just lying around the house playing games from their couches, or even from home arcade game tables
With the most recent introduction of next generation games arcades are quickly becoming thing of the past. Something that the older generation goes on and on about.
Now, the Nintendo Wii's has a distinct ability that allows the gamer to interact with the gaming system by hand and arm motion control, it has taken away the last original feature of the arcades. Those were the kinds of innovations you could only find in an arcade machine: The ability to get more than just a plain joystick or controller.
This is a real shame that its happened like this. I remember the times before women cars and all the adult things of life, video games were a huge player in my childhood years. Even though i very much loved my Nintendo, nothing compares to the days when dear old Dad would drive me and my brother up to the arcade. Those times were golden.
After spending all morning and most of the afternoon in that place in which we practically lived, eyes burning, and ears ringing from all the excitement... Hungry and thirsty, We left feeling a sort of Zen.
Will those days ever be brought back to life? Is it possible to relive all the memories of those years so lost in the corridors of time? Let’s hope so and never lose those memories.
I know there is still a market for these magic arcade games, and there are places that have lived on in these magic years. Don’t let the dream die, let hope live on!!
Most people don’t realize that there are arcade machines for sale still. There is actually quite a market for them as a matter of fact.
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