Namco blames Wii for arcade closures in Japan

Namco Bandai is shuttering between 50 and 60 arcades in Japan, and it's laying the blame squarely on Nintendo's shoulders. "A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home," said company spokesman Yuji Machida. Namco figures that Japanese kids are saving up their pocket money to buy the latest and greatest Wii game or accessory, which is clearly unacceptable. Sega Sammy also has plans to close about 100 of its arcades, but there's no word of finger pointing from that camp. While we're certain the Wii's popularity has a little something to do with it, perhaps Japanese gamers are just beginning to learn something their American counterparts got down years ago: why leave the couch? Ever?

[Via Joystiq]

[duncan.macleod @ Feb 8th 2008 8:48AM]

Another failing business model blaming someone else for their shortcomings. Why would i want to go to a coin op when i can have my kitchen and friends over in the privacy of my own home for a beer or other mind altering substance.

[duncan.macleod @ Feb 8th 2008 8:49AM]

This smacks of RIAA blaming piracy for their Failing Business model. (A bit of a stretch but its an analogy!)

[JohnSearle @ Feb 8th 2008 9:17AM]

Why do people go to a coffee shop when they can make perfectly good coffee, and sometimes better coffee, in less time, and without having to travel anywhere?

[Flashpoint @ Feb 8th 2008 10:45AM]

The industry for arcade gaming needs to simply come up with better ideas at a faster rate in order to compete with home video game systems.

I remember pumping $5.00 at a time into TIME CRISIS when it first came out, but later on, I got the full Guncon set w/ pedal and the game and I could play it at home inexpensively. Wii cannot copy most really good arcade games - the wii blaster sucks and doesn't feel as natural as a Guncon for example...and Wii doesn't have anywhere near enough graphics power to copy higher end arcade games. If you wanna blame someone, blame XBOX LIVE or PS HOME for giving customers endless hours of online fun with CALL OF DUTY 4 and HALO 3. Blame the PC for keeping people in the house on MMORPGS and Crysis.

The problem is, the arcade hasn't come up with a game worth going to the arcade to play in years and the proliferation of home gaming systems keeps people couch potatoed'.

[ReggieXuk @ Feb 8th 2008 8:49AM]

"THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!"

[morejello @ Feb 8th 2008 8:57AM]

THEY TOOK ER JOBS!

[Rob @ Feb 8th 2008 9:11AM]

trp, trp, trp, trp !!!

[Nando @ Feb 8th 2008 12:38PM]

Tuk-ah-durrrr!!!!!

[Jason Clifford @ Feb 8th 2008 9:01AM]

Back in the hay day of Arcade machines in the US they far surpassed home consoles when it came to controls and graphics. Around the time of the PS2 was the end of American Arcades. For the first time the home graphics where equal to the COIN OP machines.
Japan Arcades have lasted longer because of the culture. Now that consoles over there are offering online play and far better visuals arcades focused on different input types (birth of Drum Master and DDR). The Wii ended that. The controller is the more unique then what you could find in any arcade of the time. Now the game seems to be over for them.
If you want the best visuals in Japan there is the PS3 and if you want different controls with quirky mini games there is the Wii. Arcades = Fail unless they catch up with the time and figure out what they can do to truly stand out.

[Anthony @ Feb 8th 2008 11:46AM]

I'm certainly not the target market, but I remember game arcades when I was much younger & part of the fun wasn't the game. It was being w/ other kids.

Now that half of America's youth is overweight & doesn't want to stray too far from the potato chips could that also be part of the problem?

Being around other people is fun to me, but I see & know so many that don't want to socialize outside their artificial environments ("social networking") that I think this must be a factor as well.

[Flashpoint @ Feb 8th 2008 12:01PM]

Video Game consoles have equaled the arcade in graphics since the PS1...not the PS2. And if you go further back, there was NEO GEO - basically an arcade machine built for home use. The Wii is getting too much credit here.

[Jagannath A @ Feb 8th 2008 9:07AM]

they are not blaming... they are just stating the trend...

[Jordan @ Feb 8th 2008 9:08AM]

maybe it's all the scoliosis the Japanese teens acquired from sitting at the arcades with such poor posture

[Jake @ Feb 8th 2008 10:03AM]

Chiropractors of the world, rejoice!

[Nate @ Feb 8th 2008 9:13AM]

Captain Obvious here: video games at home are awesome and don't charge you every single time you play.

[SilverGixxer @ Feb 8th 2008 11:12AM]

Dude, exactly what I was thinking

[Rob @ Feb 8th 2008 9:14AM]

These arcades in Japan are some of the loudest places I've been to. You have to shout just to talk to the person standing next to you. They were usually full every time I passed by one.

[Jason Collin @ Feb 8th 2008 12:31PM]

Yeah, you can't enjoy the arcades here in Tokyo because they are just insanely loud. I did stumble upon a basement arcade that was setup for some kind of tournament play, which looked cool though.

[kev @ Feb 8th 2008 9:15AM]

Well, namcoworld is actually pretty shitty, so I'm not surprised this happened. I set foot in there once and just went back to going to the other arcades. Games weren't interesting, and no one good enough to challenge for whatever decent games they did have.

ROUND 1 is still far better, and the local ones are good too.

[kev @ Feb 8th 2008 9:20AM]

Oops, I meant namcoland. Meh, same difference.

[Tim @ Feb 8th 2008 9:33AM]

How do you say cocooning in Japanese?

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

So this is how social interaction and therefore society collapses.

[Denus @ Feb 8th 2008 10:13AM]

引きこもり

[Tony Rayo @ Feb 8th 2008 10:21AM]

What you just said in kanji was close to "beautiful young babysitter". This is why you can't trust online translators; esp. for asian languages.

- Tony R.

[Carl @ Feb 8th 2008 9:09PM]

How do you know that he is not cut n pasting from his favourite Japanese teen porn site?

[OddManOut @ Feb 8th 2008 11:48AM]

Tony R., do you speak Japanese ? Maybe you do. Do you READ Japanese ? I'm guessing you don't...because 'Denus' is correct. He's talking about a known physchological condition wherein people "withdraw from society". You yourself drew attention to the kanji...well the first kanji in that word means "pull, to pull back, to withdraw", and is designed to resemble a bow (like a bow and arrow...that you PULL BACK). 'Komori' by itself does mean baby sitter, and there is a kanji for it. But if you look up 'Hikikomori' you'll get several formations of it, but none of them use the kanji from the word that means 'baby sitter'.

[Jason Collin @ Feb 8th 2008 12:37PM]

Yeah, the "hikikomuri" thing is real. I talk about it with my students all the time. A lot of them on the weekend don't venture out of their apartments save to go to the grocery store.

The other major reason why arcades might not be doing well is the fact that there are just LESS kids overall in Japan's population. The birthrate continues to decline each year. So there are simply not as many kids to fill arcades as before.

And I would blame the DS before the Wii, as you see kids glued to DS's out in public all the time and playing with friends on the trains.

[JD @ Feb 8th 2008 9:39AM]

Just look at that arcade and you can understand why people would rather stay at home to play. The games all look the same & the lighting is terrible.

Arcades are supposed to be about the outrageous looking arcade cabinets, flashy lights and controls, great music, & overall ambiance of the place. That looks like a laundromat with a few tv's stuffed in boxes. Sure, I'd rather be at home where I can create an atmosphere that is fun and entertaining too!

[Kurian @ Feb 8th 2008 11:11AM]

^^ Best comment on Page.

[bombgigitty @ Feb 8th 2008 4:31PM]

Or when you get bored of playing games you can hit the button on your media switch and whack your bag to your favorite porno

[Marc @ Feb 8th 2008 9:40AM]

In fairness... get over it Namco. How do you think the producers of celluloid film feel? Or CDs? Or VCR's? Or Microsoft

[Superprime @ Feb 8th 2008 10:09AM]

CD producers make DVDs and Microsoft has record profits :P

[Anthony @ Feb 8th 2008 12:14PM]

Analog recording tape is one example, however. I remember when Wilco bought up a great deal of stock from the last remaining company when they were closing. They didn't like recording digitally & tada.

However- Kodak's made a big show of their film centers closing- filming the implosion (like their viability).

I say they turn those arcades into what they look like: Casinos. Money to be made.

[kaiswil2 @ Feb 8th 2008 9:48AM]

Shuttering? 50 to 60.....their arcades have shutters no wonder they are closing.

[Teebo @ Feb 8th 2008 9:57AM]

Arcades were doomed long before the Wii. The home console risen, the arcades didn't. Simple fact of life.

[Nathan @ Feb 8th 2008 10:07AM]

In reading the comments I can see that most of you have never been to a Japanese arcade. This is sad indeed. Every time I went to Japan I spent nearly $100 worth at arcades. It's something I miss here and you can't play in arcades anymore. I'm willing to spend the money, it's more fun. It's like a privilege you don't even think about. I miss those days. Japanese arcades are 10 times better than American ones were. You don't know what you're missing.

They are probably shutting down the Namcoland locations, as was mentioned. I've been to 3 different Namcoland arcades. They all sucked. One was closed down 2 years ago a bit after I cleaned out their prize machines. $20 won me over $80 of merchandise.

[august @ Feb 8th 2008 11:57AM]

Well then tell us what is so great about japanese arcades instead of calling the majority of the people here ignorant. Btw congrats on the net gain of 60 dollars, i'm sure you're very proud of yourself for this acomplishment.

[Jamar @ Feb 8th 2008 10:37AM]

The only good Namco arcade I've been to is in Hong Kong, mainly because that's the only arcade I've found in China (yeah, that's a bit of a technicality, so sue me) with a functioning Densha de Go 2 machine. $2 got me half an hour of play time.

[Anthony @ Feb 8th 2008 11:49AM]

I was watching "Beautiful young babysitter" the other day at home but I had a bunch of friends over so we weren't cocooning.

I must say part 2 is better. But 1 is still a classic.

[JC @ Feb 8th 2008 3:10PM]

1 point for funny comment, but -1 for not posting it in the right thread. Your score so far: 0.

[Anthony @ Feb 8th 2008 3:29PM]

I know. Very strange. I don't know how it happened. I'm using a widget so I don't know if that was part of the problem. Zero score isn't too bad. I had until I was 19.

[K_G @ Feb 8th 2008 12:47PM]

Wow, I hadn't realized that porno mahjong games had been released on the wii. While there are some definite trends causing this, one of the biggest ones is likely demographics...there are simply fewer and fewer younger (25 and under) folks in Japan as time goes by. And given that a fair bit of J arcade development has focused on high cost sim/card collecting games along the lines of derby owners club, I wonder if the MMORPG games are starting to eat in that market as well. They would certainly be much cheaper to play.

[Allen @ Feb 8th 2008 1:13PM]

You mean the country that BROUGHT us video games still has arcades at all?

Alright Japanese, listen up:

The hundreds of dollars of quarters you spend a year at those machines could of been more productively used to buy a game system and a few games. Considering there is a much wider selection of games for consoles, you'd be even better off.

And you'd never have to beat someone elses high score.

This is your "Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Japan" lesson of the day.

[Tony @ Feb 8th 2008 1:39PM]

Is it cold up there atop your high pedestal?

[fahnboi @ Feb 8th 2008 4:24PM]

Hi Allen, this post is as good as your mindless pro-Vista, anti-everyone else who doesn't share your MS marketing-speak version of reality.

[peepeepants @ Feb 8th 2008 3:23PM]

Okay, I spent a shitload of time in my junior high to high school years in Tokyo arcades. This is sort of what it's like compared to US ones:

Tokyo arcades are bright, packed with people, CLEAN, and have the newest games in the market. Back in the day, ashtrays were cleaned out regularly, and nowadays they still wipe down the controllers often. They spray carpets to keep them fresh and lavatories are well maintained. The joysticks are also much more responsive, compared to the US standard, immobile thumb stick, so it's easier to play shooters and fighting games. There are a few drink vending machines on each floor- meaning 15+ drink selections- sometimes there are icecream machines. There are many 2 floor arcades, with toy/candy/prize games and photo booths on the bottom, and the video game type on the top. When the newest competitive games come out (fighting, etc.), they don't have one that everyone is crowded around (well, maybe on day 1..)- they have like 5, and the competitive games are setup so that arcade machines are back to back, so every player gets their own machine and doesn't have to share space with their opponent. So even if you're not playing games, you can buy your favorite drink, and watch for hours, what is equivalent to some random tournament. Comfortable seating, instead of having to stand up for many-hour fighting game sessions. Tokyo gamers are the best I've played against and watched, especially when it comes to fighting, shooting, and puzzle games. The environment in Japanese arcades is more of a socializing, fun, and sometimes casino environment, whereas the US arcades I've been to, all feel dark and like there should be a bowling alley right next to them. Clean, compared to grungy. Tokyo arcades have a totally different vibe than US ones, and the obsessiveness of Japanese gamers adds to the depth of the whole scene. It's insane, it's clean-- it's lovely.

[dean @ Feb 8th 2008 3:48PM]

Here's a problem with arcade machines- they are expensive. Just a simple 50 dollar game is put into a cabinet that costs $5000. Seriously, a 24-30" screen plus a gameboard and a small pile of wood and handiwork shouldn't cost that much. Then they have to charge kids $2 for a 2 minute play.

Now, that doesn't count games where you get to sit in a motorized chair with speakers, with all sorts of cool effects. Those games are worth the $2 play. I can't get on a plastic horse and race or play ski-ball at home.

[tekdroid @ Feb 8th 2008 8:32PM]

since Namco Bandai are heavily into electronic games for couch potatoes using consoles as well, why should they care? :)

They continue to make good money either way.

[Spidey @ Feb 9th 2008 2:33AM]

Just come to the USA and try to find an arcade. There aren't any in the area I live anymore, and they shut down long before the Wii came into existance. What a lame excuse for an industry that is no longer thriving.

[CarlosGames @ Feb 9th 2008 4:30PM]

This is not that bad really for us as consumers, this only means arcades will have to (finally) evolve and change a little, is not only a wii fault, is also fault of the arcade market because they have not changed in the last 5 or more years.

This is what competition is about :)

[paultakeda @ Feb 10th 2008 12:08PM]

The last time I was in a Japanese arcade was in 2000 playing Tokyo Bus Guide, because it looked awesome.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32799091@N00/131169649/in/set-72057594111041501/

Of course, I sucked. But that's not the point.