The Last Tokens

Comments

• omgitsaheadcrab@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

  Kinda sad read. In London there’s a new wave of arcades, seen at least 3 big ones.

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  • HouseWolf@pawb.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    I should seek them out next time I’m in London.

    Only arcade I had growing up in the North was at the back of a casino. I put all my Nans slot winnings into Fast and Furious or Time Crisis.

    The house always finds a way to win…

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• squaresinger@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Considering how short the phase was where videogame arcades really made sense (so the phase between them appearing in the 70s and them losing their advantage over games consoles and PCs in about 2000), it’s quite surprising that any of them still continue to hang around.

  I mean, totally cool that they do, but apart from for an occasional nostalgia kick, why would anyone regularly frequent a (by now retro) arcade and waste money playing the games there, when for the price of a few rounds you could just buy the whole game on a steam sale?

  It’s one of these things where the concept of them still existing feels good, but not good enough for people to actually pay for it.

  VR arcades are the current version of that, they will likely last for a bit and then they will be out of fashion too.

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  • LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    These days arcades are more pinball focused and it has saved the arcade industry in the US at least. I’m one of the people who uses the Pinball map app and tries to go play pinball anywhere I go. Many arcades have opened in the past 5 years and are doing well. People are tired of being at home from covid, and the social aspect is amazing and the community is very open and kind.

    Most people can’t afford a $7,000-15,000 pinball machine, so they go out and pay 50 cents to a dollar per game and have fun for a couple hours.

    I’m actually going to an arcade today in my city that is one of 3 huge ones within a 45 minute drive. Over 35 pinball machines and 50 arcade games, many are imported from Japan and are Amazing!!

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• Krudler@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Great post, thanks

  Our local arcade guy, I’ve known him casually for decades. He realized the DDR craze was over and the old school game profitability was long gone. He refactored and has an absolutely fabulous pinball arcade downtown, and I’m talking like 20 minty tables that he maintains par-excellence. There’s an SF cab, a NEO GEO, a DDR, a few novelties like grip strength and punching bag, 2 pingpong tables, air hockey. He rolled with the punches and stayed relevant, moved to a high-rent somewhat touristy area with shitloads of foot traffic.

  I love the imagery of the arcade in that article. We didn’t have one like that in my city, but we had the last of the true Snooker parlours and the look was nearly identical - hand written screeds all over the place adhered with yellowed tape that welded itself to the wall over time. Rickety equipment that is barely holding on.

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• Redkey@programming.dev ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Outside the major cities, at least, video arcades in Japan are still hanging on in 2025 with a mix of games. There are a lot of pseudo-gambling token games (think prize tickets), crane-style prize games, and simple, highly physical games (big buttons and levers, controller and body tracking) aimed at the 5-to-10-year-old segment.

  In terms of things we’d recognize as “real” games, almost everything is groups of locally networked terminals with some kind of physical gimmick that doesn’t translate well to a home experience. There are still some racing games, music games, and the like, with uncommon controllers and layouts, but the most common format right now is probably a flat table with an embedded screen that has some way of scanning and tracking collectible trading cards. The cards aren’t just scanned in once for use and then put aside, but actually moved around the table as tokens within the game. Obviously there are “Magic” style games, but also RPGs (both turn-based and action), MOBAs, real-time strategy, and more. Horse racing games are also popular, but to be clear, the players don’t “ride” the horses; they raise, trade, manage, and “bet” on them, and watch simulated races.

  And these days almost everything uses player profiles saved to IC cards, ranked across the country and sometimes even the world.

  Occasionally you’ll see four or six of the old sit-down “city” style cabinets (like the ones pictured in the article) in a corner, running 1-on-1 fighting games, but those are mainly found in the specifically “retro” arcades.

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