15 posts tagged “arcade”

Boris Schneider war mir in den 80er Jahren als treuer PowerPlay-Leser ein Begriff, siehe für Details seiner damaligen Tätigkeit in der PowerPlay-Redaktion und als Spieleübersetzer etwa dieses Interview...

http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=specials/interviews&id=3&st=1

Bin vor kurzem auf einen deutschen XBox 360-Blog gestossen und der Name des Autors fiel mir auf. Der Mann heisst mittlerweile Boris Schneider-Johne und arbeitet bei Microsoft/XBox ((ich kenne mich beim MS-Orgchart nicht so aus, eventuell läuft die Organisation der XBox-Abteilung etwas separat vom Rest der Firma...)) als Produktmanager.

Wenn Jemand als Lieblingsspiele ((siehe Interview oben)) etwa Galaga 88 auf PC-Engine angibt, musste ich natürlich gleich nachfragen, wie es um all die tollen 2D-Shooter steht, die momentan nur in Japan auf 360 erscheinen.

Hintergrund: Als Besitzer der XBox 360 ist mir vor allem sauer aufgestossen, dass das Limit für Download-Spiele scheinbar klein gehalten wurde aber gleichzeitig viele ((x))00 MB grosse Demos kostenlos verfügbar sind. Der Mann hat sich in den Ferien ((tut mir leid, das habe ich zu spät gelesen...)) tatsächlich Zeit genommen, auf meine Mail-Anfrage zu reagieren. Daher will ich interessierten Gamern seine Antwort nicht vorenthalten...

Kurzantwort wegen Urlaub:

a)      Microsoft hat als Publisher Ikaruga auch nach Europa geholt

b)      Die anderen japanischen Shooter müssen die anderen Firmen leider selber hierher bringen – Microsoft blockiert das nicht

c)       Inzwischen ist das Limit bei Arcade Spielen weiter erhöht worden

Das tönt ja alles gut besser als auch schon aus europäischer Sicht. Noch im März 2008 beschwerte sich der japanische Publisher 5pb, das Arcade-Spiele nicht ((mehr ??)) erwünscht seien auf XBox Live Arcade...

"Out initial plan was to port lots of good arcade titles to XBLA. We talked to IP holders of these titles, and persuaded them. We secured these licenses, and finally talked with Microsoft. There they rejected all of our proposals saying, 'We are going to cut down faithful arcade ports.' We felt so frustrated. We wanted to show them that their decision was wrong. So we switched our two most promising projects into retail."

(( Mit den 2 Titeln sind die Cave-Shooter Ketsui und Dodonpachi Daioujou gemeint, die nun im Doppelpack in Japan auf DVD erscheinen sollen...und der Rest der Welt daher in die Röhre bzw. Flachbildschirm schaut im Moment. ))

Quelle: http://www.xblah.net/2008/03/5pb.html

Gerade bei Downloads sehe ich auch für "Nischenspiele" wie 2D-Shootern oder japanischen Beat' em-Ups einen genügend grossen Markt im Westen. Der Lokalisationsaufwand ist bei diesen Genres sehr gering und es entstehen offensichtlich keine physischen Distributionskosten.

Aus Antwort c) schliesse ich, dass Microsoft hier den Entwicklern entgegenkommen ist, genaue Zahlen kenne ich nicht, aber das Problem war auch europäischen Entwicklern ein Dorn im Auge. In der aktuellen Maniac ((Ausgabe 10/2008, Seite 91)) beschreibt etwa ein deutscher Entwickler ((Söldner X)) das Problem mit den ((bisher ?)) erlaubten Dateigrössen für Downloadspiele auf XBox 360:

"Wir hatten ein Problem mit dem 150 MB Download-Limit der XBox 360"

Darum erschien das Spiel "Söldner X" dann nur auf der PS3 - schade. Im Falle der japanischen Shooter ((Raiden IV, verschiedene Cave-Shooter, 2009 soll ja auch Death Smiles auf XBox 360 in Japan erscheinen !)) sehe ich wenigstens noch Hoffnung, dass die neuen Limits genügen und sich ein Publisher findet - ob als Download oder Hardcopy.

PS: Und ja, das erwähnte Ikaruga ist genial. Ich habe es ((war schon für Gamecube und Dreamcast erhältlich früher)) sofort heruntergeladen und kann es allen XBox 360-Besitzern wärmstens empfehlen...das Spiel kostet nur 800 Punkte.
Wer es mir nicht gluabt, kann etwa hier einen Testbericht nachlesen:

Without a doubt, Ikaruga has earned a spot as one of the top 2D arcade shooters of all time, right alongside such classics as Galaga, R-Type, and other well known hits. The game’s unique spin on a classic formula, coupled with a difficulty level sure to challenge even the most hardcore gamers, make the game an experience just waiting to scratch your itchy trigger finger. Ikaruga easily earns its wings as one of the truly elite “must have” titles to hit the Xbox LIVE Arcade.

((Quelle: http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1496/Ikaruga/p1/ ))

Good article / write-up on the early Atari days here...

http://www.armchairarcade.com/aamain/content.php?article.100

I like the ASCII photo machine...

1975: Atari Releases Compugraph Foto Machine

Atari introduces the COMPUGRAPH FOTO, a coin-operated machine that printed life-sized pictures on computer paper for customers.  The machine weighed-in at an astronomical 950 pounds!  It contained a combination of impact line printer, computer and closed-circuit TV.  It was advertised as Durastress™, with apparently several patents applied for, but little else is known.

Atari Flyers for this machine can be found here:

http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumbs&db=arcadedb&id=1058

Some people may remember the huge Sega Trocadero game center in London ((RIP)) back in Sega's heydays in the early 90s. The complex featured BattleTech/Mechwarrior pods where you controlled robots in teams ((as well as Alien World, where you were escorted through movie props, funny)).

I think these battle stations in the 'Virtual World' section are closed down together with the entire Trocadero center, at least the Sega section was gone for good the last time I was in London a few years ago. At least some of the early models seem to be based on Amiga hardware...

http://www.amigau.com/aig/battletech.html

((I don't remember which pod models were used in London, this is too long ago ; ))

Arcade games key advantage with today's advanded home game consoles remain walk-in cabinets with specialized controls, one example being pods with seats where the player is completely surrounded by the game environment.

Finally, robot pods with projector screens make ((at least one)) comeback in Japanese game centers with a new Gundam adventure. Four Pods on each side...

http://www.gundam-kizuna.jp/game/index.html

and

http://www.gundam-kizuna.jp/location/index.html

This Banpresto/Namco arcade machine sounds and looks like great fun. I guess its release will remain Japan only...

You laughed, you cried, you gave up...and what about me ? Same. Here are the 10 hardest videogames ((series)) I have been confronted with on the digital frontier.

There is an emphasis ((on purpose)) on older games when there was no Internet web and easily downloadable FAQs, strategy guides were called cheats and no emulators to circumvent hard passages ((especially games which didn't work with Action Replay or similar cheat methods)). In no particular order...

1. Super Mario Bros 2 "Lost Levels" ((NES, Japan only. Thanks to the Wii Virtual Console, we may finally see this game in its original version in the West. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros.:_The_Lost_Levels ))

2. Battletoads ((NES))

3. Ghost n' Goblins ((Arcade))

4. Super Ghouls n' Ghosts ((SNES, deserves a separate mention from number 3.))

5. Almost all shooters from "Cave" ((hard to narrow it down to one title, could be DoDonpachi Dai-O-Jou or later Mushihimesama  revisions, for example))

6. Silver Surfer ((NES, only "bad" game on the list, hard for the sake of being hard...)), you could also add most R-Type series games here ((Arcade, PC-Engine)) if you don't want to spoil the list with bad games. ((Because we don't want to list E.T: ((Atari 2600)), very hard and very, very bad, do we ?))

7. Ikaruga ((Arcade, Dreamcast))

8. Shadow of the Beast ((Amiga)) - or the original Rygar ((NES)), if we stick to consoles and arcade only.

9. Ninja Gaiden ((NES, also later evolutions of this series))

10. Shinobi ((Arcade, also later evolutions up to PS2)). Some people might add Devil May Cry 3 ((I haven't played this, but a lot of people mention this)). I also haven't played and didn't even know Fester's Quest ((NES)).

That was my list. A list that overlaps quite a lot with my list : http://pc.ign.com/articles/774/774907p1.html

Yet another list from gamedaily.com. The original article seems to be gone, so I will copy-paste that list here:

1st place : Ghosts ‘N Goblins Series, Capcom - Various: Capcom’s famous adventure games give people migraines, thanks to extremely tough bad guys and seemingly impossible jumps. The heroic knight Arthur springs into battle, only to be cut down by waves of zombies, crows, man-eating plants and ghosts. Scores of gamers admit to slamming controllers and punching walls in disgust after failing to reach even the second level, and those lucky enough to reach the end of the original game must go back to the beginning and start over in order to beat it.

2nd place: Ninja Gaiden Black, Tecmo - Xbox: eam Ninja’s opus puts the hurt on anyone that dares to master it. Players control Ryu Hayabusa as he carves into all kinds of bad guys, including rogue ninjas, demons and other unspeakable terrors. However, they fight back with devastating attacks of their own. Even on the much-heralded Ninja Dog difficulty mode, the game takes a lot of skill to master, with bosses that won’t go down so easily (such as a repulsive squid-like creature). Patch the walls with rubber before getting this game, to protect them from the barrage of thrown controllers.

3d place: Ikaruga, Atari - GameCube: Ikaruga features a nice twist on the standard shooter. Players must change their ship from black to white to absorb energy and blast enemies of the opposite color. It sounds simple, but the later levels will destroy even the most dedicated gamers. Gunfire litters the screen like a fireworks display and the bosses … good luck getting past stage three’s trigger-happy boss. Some people mastered the system to perfection, but it takes truckloads of Zen-like patience.

4th place: Star Wars Trilogy, JVC - Super Nintendo: Before the more civilized age, LucasArts terrorized people with its ridiculously hard Star Wars trilogy. While these very enjoyable Super Nintendo games offer excellent graphics, audio and light saber shenanigans, actually beating them takes nerves of reinforced steel. Throughout the course of these adventures, all sorts of adversaries make life for the game’s heroes difficult, including stormtroopers, Jabba the Hut’s Gamorrean Guards and even Darth Vader. It doesn’t take much to kill Luke Skywalker and company, even with the Force on their side. Just thinking about the battle against that humongous Wampa in The Empire Strikes Back gives us chills.

5th place: Contra: Shattered Soldier, Konami - PS2: More like shattered minds. Konami’s PlayStation 2 game throttles people with numerous enemies and intimidating bosses, including a gigantic turtle creature and a creepy (and also enormous) man fish. When not re-spawning near something terrible, players must worry about a host of baddies, including foot soldiers and flying bugs. Not even cooperative play keeps this game from tenderizing people. It just provides two fools to slaughter instead of one.

6th place: Devil May Cry 3, Capcom - PS2: Devil May Cry 3 returns the series to prominence with fast-paced action, combining firepower with swordplay. On easy, players should be able to tackle it, but on the harder difficulties, this game pulverizes people with its myriad of opponents, among them, a three-headed hellhound and a scythe carrying Grim Reaper. Watch out for attacks from behind with this guy - he likes to swoop in and chip away at Dante’s energy.

7th place: God of War Series, SCEA - PS2: Players guide the murderous Kratos through epic quests, attempting to bring down the war god Aries and challenging Zeus and his cohorts at Mount Olympus for superiority. Sure, players can take the sissy way out and play both games on easy, but they’d rob themselves of a challenge. Playing both of these games on the much-heralded God mode will challenge even the strongest of gamers, what with a vicious Hydra waiting to have Kratos as a snack in the first game, and a large Roman statue with haunting eyes, ready to squash the powerful warrior like a fruit fly in the sequel.

8th place: Battletoads, Tradewest - NES: Rare’s side scrolling beat-em-up pits three muscle-bound frogs against an evil space queen. Even with the assistance of a second player, the game can be quite the monster. For example, riding the speeder bikes in the third level forces players to avoid walls and hit ramps to avoid falling into an abyss. The snow levels contain icicles and nasty snowmen, as well as slippery ice on the ground. Don’t bother using a Game Genie - the game has insurmountable odds to overcome even with a cheating device.

9th place: Viewtiful Joe, Capcom - GameCube, PS2: Players take control of a movie buff that transforms into the all-powerful Viewtiful Joe, courtesy of some well-harnessed V-Power. Joe can slow down time and speed it up while using punches and kicks to dispatch enemies. The game takes a great deal of skill to beat, particularly with the bosses (like a gun-toting dinosaur) and some brain wracking puzzles (like figuring out how to clear a large chasm - simply slow down time to charge up the boosters and fly across). The game can be beaten easily - on Kids mode. Go through it on normal and prepare for a test.

10th place: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Xbox 360: Microsoft’s best Xbox Live Arcade game starts simple enough, with players guiding a small ship around the screen, easily dodging the slow moving shapes, but within minutes, Retro Evolved turns evil. Those two or three shapes explode into swarms of pink, blue and green armies, and let’s not even discuss the snakes. Before long, players get consumed by enemies and sucked into black holes, forcing them to restart and build up their multiplier for the umpteenth time. A small minority of gamers managed to attain ridiculous scores, but most go cross-eyed and develop sharp pains in their hands. Not for the weak minded.

PS: I don't agree with their choices 5., 7. and 10. ((and to a lesser extent choice 9.)), so I crossed those out. If one does list 9., you may also list the Mega Man series from Capcom or the entire Contra series from Konami. While I agree these  two series and are hard, I wouldn't mention them in a top 10 list. Remember, your choices may vary :)

PPS: Finally, one might add more early arcade games, but I don't have enough experience with them to judge them. For example, these four games are very hard...

Defender/Stargate
Robotron
Joust
Sinistar

Especially the last one. Sinistar seems to produce a high frustration level :)

With the cinematical release of 'King of Kong', casual movie goers and gamers will probably think the guys featured are an odd exception and this was maybe just about a few games. Some of them certainly are excellent and well-known gamers ((although I would never proclaim Billy Mitchell gamer of the century just because of this Pacman achievement...)), but there are many more out there.

Since the media today focuses ((if at all)) on sponsored big events ((LAN parties and FPS shooters played in clans, ie. teams of mostly professional players in South Korea and the USA...)), outstanding efforts on single-player arcade titles and older games are not known and with no media coverage.

Unlike new PC games ((where a big industry of eg. graphics card suppliers or PC manufacturers has a vivid interest to sponsor events and competitions)), there's almost no money to be made on older game achievements or single-player console games. While a match in Fifa Soccer or Counter Strike takes only a new minutes, older games can take hours to complete...neither attractive for TV nor live viewing coverage at events.

Also, since this is a virtual hobby, nobody ever sees these achievements or the players in real life. Time to correct the lack of media coverage by just pointing out three excellent players and examples...

- VTF-INO
I guess he's Japanese, at least his website was located at a .jp address. This is his incredible 2-hands play at Ikaruga, a game that's already very hard to beat with one ship and two hands: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-163280885783523408&q=ikarug
((Yes, it's true. Most people will not believe this video when watching it for the first time ; ))

- Scott Kessler
He has a lot of records ((see details at TwinGalaxies.com scoreboard)). He's famous for a speed run on Super Mario Brothers: http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=46&id=1399
Yet his most incredible feat in my personal view is his perfect run on Super Ghouls n' Ghosts ((for the SNES)). You can see that news here: http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=46&id=1215

- Ben Shinobi
Great scores on many games, including Raiden and Metal Slug. You can see some of his videos stored here:
http://www.super-play.co.uk/

Bonus goes to Daniel 'Brown' Kareshi for completing Ghost n' Ghoblins on the NES in record time. As many people point out, the "randomness" makes this game so incredibly hard: http://speeddemosarchive.com/GhostsnGoblins.html
or http://www.archive.org/details/GhostsnGoblins_2256 . A copy of the run can also be found on YouTube:

For a funny take on Ghost n' Goblins high insane difficulty level, have a  look at this nice irategamer.com review...
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/89954.html

Below is my ((again totally subjective)) list of the 10 greatest arcade game developers. As you may notice, I prefer the classic arcade games from Japan ((minus most of the Beat'em Up genre)).

On with the goods list. The first 5 companies unfortunately no longer exist in their previous form:

1. TOAPLAN
 Tatsujin/Truxxon, Flying Shark and Batsugun ((and many more)). For more on TOAPLAN and classic shoot'em upm games, see my earlier two posts.

2. IREM
Hammerin' Harry, R-Type and In the Hunt (take note before saying the last one, a submarine shooter, looks like Metal Slug. In the Hunt was released 3 years before the first Metal Slug appeared)).
IREM still makes a few good games for home consoles, such as the under appreciated ((difficult title for gaijin ; )) http://www.zettai-zetsumei.com/zz2/index.html , an earthquake survival simulation.

3. DATA EAST
Robocop, Chelnov and Side Pocket ((this is a bit tricky, since Data East also published many games, but didn't develop them internally))

4. SNK
Ghost Pilots, Last Resort, Ikari Warriors/Guerilla Wars and Metal Slug series ((I'm not into Beat'em Ups, otherwise you could list a ton of these games for SNK here)). SNK was reborn as SNK Playmore later on and continues to work on some of their classic franchises.

5. 'OLD' ATARI ((till around 1984))
The only Western company to make my list, but for their old games only, which reappear in various retro collections. Later, the new arcade division Atari/Tengen dropped the ball. Similarly, I could have listed NINTENDO here for their early arcade games such as Donkey Kong, but Atari produced more arcade titles.

That's it for the bankrupt or closed companies. Luckily, the following companies 6. - 10. still exist, or in case of CAVE continue where TOAPLAN left off. Of course, times changed and - again with the exception of CAVE - these companies don't focus on arcade games so much because of the changing market. But they re-release old classics from time to time and some of them still release some arcade titles...

6. KONAMI
Gradius, Green Beret, Hyper Olympics...the list goes on and on.

7. CAVE
Trigger Fingers :)
((and all other TOAPLAN offsprings such as Gazelle and other 'newer' 2D Shooter developers such as G-REV))

8. 'OLD' SEGA ((till around 2000/2001))
Out Run, Afterburner and Sega Daytona ((1994)) - and there are so many more I can't list them all. Basically everything Sega AM2 ever produced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega-AM2 
((before Dreamcast died and the company reorganized most of its internal AM studios...))

9. CAPCOM
Especially all games designed by Mr. Okamoto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiki_Okamoto such as 1942 and the Makaimura/ Ghost n' Ghoblins series and offsprings...

10. NAMCO
Older games like Ms. Pacman, but also Pole Position and later on Soul Calibur

The list above is random and not in order. I consider all ten companies/development houses to be really great. If I had to pick three 'winners' from the list above, it would probably be these three...

- Yu Suzuki's and most other Sega AM-2 department games

- Yoshiki Okamoto's games

- Toaplan's 2D classic shooting games

If you don't have time to collect old games in its original form ((which is a pity)), I can recommend three ways to experience classic arcade games on newer home consoles:

- 'Redone' classic shooters such as R-Type Final (PS2) or Gradius V (also for PS 2) or Last Hope (Dreamcast)

- Anthologies such as Metal Slug Anthology (PS2 or Wii), some games are also downloadable for all new consoles.

- Mixed 'Classic' collections for home consoles. Capcom has issued a few good ones, so has Sega. Such collections continue to be published. For example, a new 'Konami Arcade Classics' collection will be released in autumn 2007: http://ds.ign.com/articles/740/740892p1.html ((this time for the highly popular Nintendo DS...))

PS: Lists always make it difficult, since some good companies are left in the cold. For example, I also like games from companies such as Treasure, but they haven't been around long enough in the earlier days of video gaming ((read: the 80s)) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Co._Ltd . Be sure to pick up Treaure's excellent shooter 'Ikaruga'  if you have time. Similarly, I didn't list 'one-hit' arcade wonder companies such as Seibu Kaihatsu Inc. ((early Raiden series...)) or Westone ((Wonderboy...)).
Also note that this list focuses on ((classic)) arcade game developers, not electronic gaming in general.

Eine Ausstellung rund um eines der ersten ((kommerziell erfolgreichen)) Videospiele gastiert in Bern bis Mitte September...

http://www.pong-mythos.net/

Ich würde gerne den gelben Arcade-Automaten von Pong begutachten, ob dort wirklich noch Syzygy steht ((der Name war wirklich ein Zungenbrecher, bevor man sich dann für Atari als neuen Firmennamen entschied))

In der heutigen BZ Bund-Ausgabe ist dazu ein Artikel erschienen:

http://www.espace.ch/artikel_408144.html

http://www.espace.ch/artikel_408332.html

PS: Auf einem der Bilder bei Pong-Mythos habe ich auch die PainStation entdeckt, ob die allerdings auch in Bern gastiert, weiss ich nicht ((Sony hatte und hat keine Freude am Namen)): http://www.painstation.de/new/idea.html

Toaplan hat meiner Meinung die besten vertikalen 2D-Shooter geschrieben bis zum Konkurs der Firma 1994. Ich erinnere an Titel wie Truxxon/Tatsujin, Flying Shark oder Twin Cobra.

((Ich weiss, die meisten würden diesen Titel der Dekade 1980 - 1990 einer bekannteren Firma wie Konami mit Nemesis/Gradius oder IREM mit R-Type zuschreiben, eventuell sogar Capcom mit Titeln wie Gyruss, 1942 und 1943))

Mehr zur bewegten Geschichte und den Arcade-Spielen von Toaplan (französisch) hier:

http://www.neo-arcadia.com/dossiers/toaplan/toaplan.php

Aus dem Konkurs bzw. den ehemaligen Programmieren von Toaplan bildeten sich etliche Nachfolge-Firmen. Die bekannteste ((aber leider eben nur bei Liebhabern von Shootern...)) dieser Toaplan-"Offsprings" ist zweifelsohne die japanische Firma Cave.

Zum niedrigen Bekanntheitsgrad von Cave im Westen ((auch hier in der Schweiz)): Diesen "verdankt" man allem dem Niedergang der Arcade-Hallen und des Shooting-Genre allgemein; nur wenige sahen jemals live einen Cave-Titel in einer Spielhalle. Es gab immer weniger Automaten-Aufsteller und die wenigen überlebenden Spielhallen investierten nicht mehr in neue Titel ((aus Japan)) - oder wenn schon, dann in grosse "dedicated cabs" wie etwa das Rennspiel Sega Daytona...

Ein Grund, sich die Firma Cave genauer anzuschauen, die das Genre 'Danmaku'  ((oder englisch Bullet Hell, vereinfacht gesagt die Weiterentwicklung des klassichen 2D-Shoot'em Ups ab Mitte der 90er Jahre)) massgeblich miterfanden:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_(company)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_hell

Die Arcade-Shooter von Cave werden im speziellen auf dieser Seite vorgestellt:

http://www.world-of-arcades.net/Cave/cave.htm

Die Spiele gehören zu den schwersten Videospielen überhaupt. Mehrere Monate oder Jahre Training sind nötig, um einen Cave-Titel auf dem höchsten Schwierigkeitsgrad mit einem Credit durchspielen zu können.

Dieses Jahr soll übrigens der neue Cave-Shooter namens 'Death Lolita' erscheinen. Leider kann man sie ausserhalb Japans fast nicht mehr finden und ein neues Spiel ((Platine und Artwork)) kostet zwischen 1000 - 2000 Franken. Aeltere Titel wie DoDonPachi bekommt man dagegen schon für (("nur")) einige hundert Franken - natürlich braucht es dann noch einen Spielautomaten.

Ein Bild Video des Kampfs mit dem Endgegner des dritten DoDonPachi-Teils sagt wohl mehr als tausend Worte ((obwohl nur der zentrale Teil des Spielersprite, die sogenannte 'Hitbox' zum Verlust eines Lebens führt)):

Sigh, even Kotaku.com call this unsexy. Much you still have to learn, young gaming padawans. Yes, it's all ironic, I love Kotaku, get over it.

Arcade manuals from 1942 all the way to Zaxxon. All there in PDF format for you, Very nice:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/unsexy/1700-arcade-manuals-await-your-perusal-289561.php

and

http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/ARCADE/

If you rather want to see more colour and pictures, go see the nice Arcade Flyers page: http://www.arcadeflyers.com/

Here's an essay on a dying pop-culture place. Opening words:

If you've never been inside a Japanese game center, and if you are not old enough to have seen what Western arcades looked like in their heyday, you will perhaps find it difficult to accept this claim that I am about to make here.

(...)

The starting point of this essay then -- and make of it what you will -- is the observation that games released in the arcades are of a much higher quality, on average, than games released for the home console market. In other words, if you decided to walk into an arcade today blindfolded, and spend the evening playing the first game you bumped into (having taken off the blindfold first, yeah), chances are you'd have a lot more fun than if you spent the same amount of time playing something picked at random off the shelves of your local game retailer.

(...)

None of that fucking bullshit is effective in an arcade enviroment where every coin a player drops in the slot is effectively a vote for the quality of that game, and where the player will simply quit the second he feels he is not being entertained. The fact that the "voters" themselves are usually older and more experienced than the average person who buys console games (which demographic nowadays includes millions of market-distorting kids and their moms, dads, relatives, etc.) helps explain why Arcadia's monthly lists of the top arcade earners are always filled with -- at the very least -- good games, whereas the various top console game charts around the world are usually made up of the worst imaginable dreck scooped up from the inside of a seemingly bottomless barell.

So this is how the arcades work: a highly competitive and transparent environment, experienced players, no magazines, no clueless reviewers, practically non-existent marketing budgets -- and what do you get?

Good games and players who are capable of appreciating them.

Read the rest here: http://insomnia.ac/commentary/arcade_culture

I mostly agree. I still mourn the day Sony/SCE ((and as a result Microsoft,a few years later...)) entered the video game industry.