The Arcade Still Lives - In our Hearts and In our Living Rooms

Written by Marc DeAngelis

Thursday, 08 January 2009 07:30

Some may say that PC gaming is on the way out. But everyone knows that arcade gaming is dead and gone (with the exception of in Japan), right? The January issue of EGM (# 236), rest in peace, features an article by Robert Ashley that explains how PC gaming has immigrated to consoles. Ashley cites the popularity of first person shooters, the escalation and acceptance of adult-themed games, and the Xbox's technical similarities to the PC as the catalysts of this shift. But can't the same be said about arcade gaming? I don't know about you, but a few years ago, I was hooked on a low-budget mash-up between Asteroids and Robotron.

First, the obvious points. Starting with the Dreamcast, gamers could have arcade quality graphics at home. Hell, the Dreamcast was Sega's NAOMI board in a white box - it pretty much was an arcade, minus the quarter slots and marquee. This was arguably the first and most damaging blow against the arcade market. Who would go out to the dank and crusty arcade, when they could just sit on their couch and get the same results (save for the arcade stick doused in soda)? Add this to the fact that the 128 bit consoles, and to an extent, the Sega Saturn, were proliferators of "arcade perfect" ports. Like it or not, arcades were becoming obsolete.

Billy is saddened by this. Also, hot sauce.

The transition from arcade to living room was by no means a quick one. The 128-bit generation was dominated by FPSs featuring big green robo-dudes with holographic purple girlfriends and JRPGs with obligatory phallic-wielding Nancys (Nancies?). Arcade games hung in limbo for a large part of the last generation of consoles.

But there was one oh-so important game released on the PS2 that really got things going. Can't you hear the clicking sound in the back of your head? Or maybe a voice actor trying his best to sound like Brad Delp? Guitar Hero, while owing quite a bit to Konami's Guitar Freaks, turned gaming into an acceptable form of socializing. Moms and girlfriends nationwide embraced the plastic controller, turning the game into a phenomenon and household name.

Now, let's see here. A game with a more or less mandatory peripheral that delved the user even deeper into the illusory world of the videogame? Sounds like an arcade game to me. While many arcade games didn't feature any sort of whacky peripheral, many of the most notable ones, such as Time Crisis, Initial D, Top Skater, Dance Dance Revolution, and Virtual-On sure did.

Speaking of DDR, from this viewpoint, the game was far ahead of its time, debuting on North American consoles on the original PlayStation. But DDR didn't have the same appeal as Guitar Hero - it mainly attracted otaku, 12 to 16 year-old girls, and after-school programs attempting to counteract the calorie-filled mystery meat.

Beyond the arcade-style peripherals, Guitar Hero arguably started the "casual games" craze. It popularized games that you could pick up and play for ten or fifteen minutes, then get back to whatever else it was you were doing. This is eerily similar to arcade games - pump in a quarter and play for five to ten minutes, wash, rinse, repeat.

This instant gratification style of entertainment became the next big fad in gaming. All three current consoles feature downloadable casual games - rehashes of old school games or new IPs. In fact, the 360's marketplace for such games is called - gasp - Xbox Live Arcade! Hmm. These online marketplaces have proved extremely popular thanks to games such as Geometry Wars and indie darling, Everyday Shooter.

Also worth noting is the resurgence of arcade-style shooters brought to market by XBLA. Up for download are 2D manic shooters like Ikaruga, Triggerheart Excellica, 1942 and more. Japan is enjoying even more of these games as publisher, Cave, has signed on for many shooter releases.

This fad goes beyond downloadable or niche games; full retail releases have attempted to profit from the casual games sensation. Wii Sports is one of the most popular games of this console generation, and the Wii itself is in no short supply of casual games, shovelware or not. The Nintendo DS also has an abundant library of pick-up-and-play titles, from Cooking Mama to Elite Beat Agents.

And let's not forget about the Atari Flashback and other plug-and-play games. Customers can now purchase a plastic, miniature, Atari 2600 loaded with ROMs. The demand for old or arcade-style games is definitely present.

So what exactly is the cause of this arcade-inspired fad? First of all, casual games sell. Despite a Metacritic score of 56, Carnival Games has sold 1.5 million copies. Casual games are accessible to everyone, from little kids to grandparents; they have a massively broad appeal.

If you see this man, please report his whereabouts to your local police department.

Second, the physical arcades are long gone, so where else would the arcade games go? Now, most would expect arcade-style games to just disappear because of this, but that's not quite what's happening. In the past few years we've seen the revival of many arcade classics. Metal Slug 7 and a new Legend of Kage have been recently released for the DS. And we have more to look forward to this year. Street Fighter 4 is sure to be a hit, and King of Fighters XII will make hardcore gamers squeal with delight. Oh, and let's keep our fingers crossed for that XBLA port of Radiant Silvergun.

So it looks like consoles are not only the new homes of PC games, but also arcade games. While the rush of going to a real arcade and facing off against a stranger in a match of Third Strike is sorely missing, arcade junkies still have something to hang on to. Arcade gaming isn't dead - it's just hiding. In the form of casual games or as a retro-revival, arcades live on.