I remembered writing an article talking about how the Legacy Virus pandemic never made me miss the arcade, After learning just recently that Tekken 8 wouldn't have an arcade release - I'm really more than convinced that the Legacy Virus did perform a deadly fatality on the arcades too. Sure, the Legacy Virus vaccine was created but the consequences are still there. There's nothing Cable could do to time-travel and prevent the decline of the arcade market.
The EXPUTER revealed how Japan's arcades are dying. There are many factors and the Legacy Virus probably played the biggest impact:
While gaming arcades have been on a downward trend ever since PC and console gaming became much more dominant, gaming arcades in Japan face a much bigger challenge than just competition; COVID-19. Social interaction has always been the most important aspect of arcade gaming. It’s what set it apart from multiplayer video games; you go to a gaming arcade and socialise with others that share common interests as you. However, if everyone’s practising social distancing to avoid a deadly disease, the socialising feature of gaming arcades goes away.
According to a police white paper, the number of gaming arcades has been decreasing since 1986, from where there used to be 26,573 of them across Japan to now only 4,022, as of 2019. This number has declined even more since the pandemic, as many businesses that rely on physical interaction have closed down. If you’ve played the famous Yakuza video games series, you’re probably familiar with the Shinjuku Playland Carnival arcade in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district. However, that too closed down in November 2020.
“The amusement market continues to face a harsh operating environment given the direct impact it sustains from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Square Enix states in its financial results released on 13th May 2021. CAPCOM, too, in its financial results released on 29th July 2021, discussed how the pandemic has influenced the company’s arcade sales. As a result of COVID-19, the entire industry has faced the consequences!
For decades, bowling alleys functioned as a form of entertainment for people. By the early 1970s, people were introduced to gaming arcades as a place for amusement and social interaction. Not long after, gaming arcades completely dominated the industry across the world, particularly in Japan. Even until the early 1990s, gaming arcades became an immense source of income because of the recreation they brought to children and adults alike — a virtual environment to escape from reality.
However, with time, companies like Nintendo released consoles that were both convenient and affordable, and gaming arcades started to gradually decline. With the debut of the internet, online multiplayer games became more common and the social interaction aspect of gaming arcades, which was once physical, now became virtual. Yet, gaming arcades still didn’t die out completely. Over the years, they became a centre for nostalgia — a place for people to reminisce about their past. In 2010, Nikkei reported that gaming arcades were increasingly becoming a place for social interaction among elderly people.
Unfortunately, much of what set gaming arcades apart — social interaction — has been restricted due to COVID-19. When Japan declared a state of emergency because of the pandemic, Taito and Sega — two gaming arcade giants — completely shut down their gaming arcade centres temporarily across the country. As a result, not only did sales suffer but the enthusiasm for gaming arcades also diminished. The gaming arcades that didn’t close had to take necessary precautions, such as using disinfectants and practising social distancing, but the whole ambience of gaming arcades was no longer the same.
I was reminded of the times when we eventually had a PS1, PS2, PS3, and a PS4. Why would I want to go to the arcade IF I can play the Tekken games at home during my break time? Playing Mortal Kombat II on the PS2 via the game Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks is another. I think I have a vague recollection somebody managed to reach Kintaro and was playing as Sub Zero (Kuai Liang). The person was repeatedly pummeled and lost a round. Worse, the person ran out of quarters and it was GAME OVER. Kintaro was already known to be that tough monster. There was even a joke that Goro in Mortal Kombat was pretty much a character that drained the federal reserves. I did count the number of times I lost playing Mortal Kombat II and said I might've spent a lot of money just to beat Shao Kahn! It's unlike Mortal Kombat (2011) which has the right amount of difficulty and the AI was nowhere near as broken as old arcade games. I figured out that if MK (2011) may have been frustratingly difficult if it had an arcade release prior to the console.
I think these digital amusement parks may end up focusing on other types of amusement. Maybe, Whack-A-Mole or any similar game to get tickets will still be there. With the Legacy Virus being endemic - I expect children to be in bumper cars any time soon. However, it looks like the arcade game is about to become history.
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