Information about Video Arcade

A video arcade (also known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom or a game center in Japan) is a place where people play arcade video games.

Video arcades typically have subdued lighting to inhibit glare and enhance the viewing of the game's video display.

Some businesses, such as Dave & Buster's, have based their businesses by combining a bar and restaurant with a video arcade atmosphere.

Types of games

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The video games are typically in arcade cabinets. The most common kind are uprights, tall boxes with a monitor and controls in front. Customers insert coins or tokens into the machines (or use magnetic cards) and stand in front of them to play the game. These traditionally were the most popular arcade format, although presently American arcades make much more money off deluxe driving games and ticket redemption games. Japanese arcades, while also heavily featuring deluxe games, continue to do well with traditional JAMMA arcade video games.

Some machines, such as Ms. Pac-Man and Joust, are occasionally in smaller boxes with a flat, clear glass or acrylic glass top; the player sits at the machine playing it, looking down. This style of arcade game is known as a cocktail-style arcade game table, since they were first popularlized in bars. For two player games on this type of machine, the players sit on opposite sides with the screen flipped upside down for each player. A few cocktail-style games had players sitting next to rather than across from one another. Both Joust and Gun Fight had these type of tables.

Some arcade games, such as racing games, are designed to be sat in or on. These types of games are sometimes referred to as sit-down games. Sega and Namco are two of the largest manufacturers of these types of arcade games.

Arcades are not limited to video games only, though. Pinball machines, redemption games (games paying out tickets), and merchandisers (games where prizes can be won) are also common in many arcades. There may be a counter where players can redeem their tickets earned at redemption games. The tickets can be redeemed for a variety of prizes.

Other kinds of machines can also be seen at video arcades, like gambling machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines, or even vending machines. Large toys and rides usually seen in amusement parks are also common in certain arcades.

Popularity

Video arcades started springing up in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade games, the early 1980s.

During this time, arcades were so popular in the United States that school children could easily pass one or two on their way to or from school. This disturbed many parents who disapproved of the perceived unfriendly atmosphere of the arcades and of their children's use of money on the "frivolous" activity of video game playing. Some attempts were made to prohibit children's patronage of such establishments with varying degrees of success. In some cities and towns in the US, largely due to parents' demands, video arcades would be constantly watched by a sheriff or policeman. The main purpose of the police officer's job was to prevent truancy, and many children would not be allowed entry into the arcades unless the schools were closed. Police appearances near the arcades would also have the additional effect of scaring some troublemakers away such as drug dealers or thieves.

Most opposition to such stores had evaporated with the North American video game crash of 1983. Arcades experienced a resurgence of popularity in the mid 1990s, but soon began to decline again. This decline was due mainly to the fact that the technology of home video game consoles began to rival and eventually exceed that of arcade games. Also, the rise of the Internet offered a recreational diversion that would keep many potential arcade customers home. Many arcades still exist in the US, but not in nearly the large numbers of the early 1980s.

High game turnover in Japanese arcades required quick game design, leading to the adoption of standardized systems like JAMMA, Neo-Geo and CPS-2. These systems were essentially arcade-only consoles where the video game ROM could be swapped easily to replace a game. This allowed easier development and replacement of games, but it also discouraged the hardware innovation necessary to stay ahead of the technology curve.

Most US arcades didn't even see the intended benefit of this practice since many games weren't exported to the US, and if they were, distributors generally refused to release them as simply a ROM, preferring to sell the entire ROM, console, and sometimes cabinet as a package. In fact, several arcade systems such as Sega's NAOMI board are arcade versions of home systems.

Video arcades are still very popular in Japan, where they are called game centers (ゲームセンター). Game centers are made up of four general types of machines: sit-down games, prize-awarding games, casino games, and photo booths. Sit-down games are still the most popular, and as mentioned above, Sega dominates the market for sit-down games. However, Konami's Bemani division has dominated the music simulation genre of games, which is becoming increasingly popular in Asian culture. Prize-awarding games often include machines such as the UFO catcher. Casino games (メダルゲーム, literally "medal game") include pachinko and slot machines, although players cannot win money from these machines. Instead, winnings are paid out in tokens (called "medals," hence the name), which may be used to play more games or redeemed for prizes.

In the United Kingdom, arcades were particularly popular in seaside resorts where, until around 1994, a game would cost between 10 pence and 30 pence. The decline of the traditional arcade, however, did not occur in line with the stagnation in improved technology. Indeed, it was the huge leap towards polygon 3D in the mid-90s that caused the decline. As home console graphics improved, arcade games had to impress the potential player with expensive, novel cabinets featuring interactive guns, swords, footpads and other features. With the improvements in arcade game technology came considerable price rises, often at £1 a game. This isolated the traditional teen male visitor and many of the businesses fell into decline. They were forced to accommodate more for their other traditional visitor group, the middle-aged male, which precipitated a shift towards gambling. As a result, many arcades in the UK today are comprised mostly of fruit machines. This parallels the move in the US towards redemption gaming, which itself resembles gambling; redemption, however, is targeted towards children as well as adults.

See also

• List of video arcade games