I believe that this week we have seen what is essentially the beginning of the death-throes of another technological dinosaur: the arcade game. A relic of a time when games machines were too big and complex to fit in a living room, these machines are growing to be increasingly unpopular for a number of reasons: (i) they are inconvenient - you actually have to be in an arcade or other venue to play on one, whereas consoles and PCs you can use from the comfort of your living room, (ii) the ever-decreasing price of console technology has lead to the sitting room or lounge becoming the natural arena for games-playing, make people unwilling to travel to play games and (iii) they are seen to be overly expensive and restrictive - you put in your pound coin, four quarters or ten franc piece and get in return about five minutes of fairly limited gaming, normally of a simple style due to the nature arcade machines, and then are asked, rather rudely, to "Insert coins".
This dinosaur of an industry just had its annual trade show, the JAMMA Expo in Tokyo, and it was a grim affair on all fronts. The prevailing mood was overwhelmingly downbeat, with attendees bemoaning, amongst other things, the lack of new quality product, a fall in arcade revenues and the upcoming raft of new consoles. While Sega still seemed to be up for things, showing off its fine-looking Ikaragu shooting game, a brilliantly designed and executed concept, and the racing jaunt Route 66 amongst other things. Leaving that aside, the evidence on show seemed to suggest that people had run out of ideas. Konami had its least inspiring display in recent memory, with yet more dancing / rhythm action games and the lightgun license Jurassic Park 3. And these were the highlights of the show. Perhaps it is therefore best, and most likely, that arcade machines be allowed to slip away into the darkness, worshipped by a rare few and remembered by the majority only because of the beastst that they spawned...
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