Is it anything like Fight Club?
If it is, he broke the first rule.
To me it was a amazing place. It was packed. It was in a garage and had 32 cabs in it. A lot of retro 80’s games and a lot of Japanese cabs with Neo Geo fighting games in it. No Capcom Fighting Games. But they were hardcore at Samurai Showdown II, Kof 2002, and Mark of The Wolves. All these guys were Neo Geo guys. The guy I was with asked me to go with him because he wanted to show me this community. It’s not open to the public and it’s invite only. But ya they had skills in SS2, Kof 2002, and Motw. It was funny because I was the guy who had no clue what was going on. I loved the place also because there were no consoles. Only machines. Pure arcade.
Should I put in Mark of the Wolves and take out my beloved Hyper Fighting? I love Hyper Fighting. I’m not a fan of 4 button games. It’s just so awkward.
We can try it out for a night. I know a lot about the mechanics of Mark of the Wolves, and it’s hardly as wonky as the KOF series. Also: how does one keep alive a Neo Geo community if your place is invite only?
I think they have their own fraternity and they like it that way. It’s good enough for them. They’re good enough comp for each other. You should see how seriously they play Puzzle Bobble lol. They’re a closed group. No outsiders. Heck the guy bought pizza and drinks for everyone. I don’t think he would do that if there were outsiders involved. I got lucky because the guy I was with knew the guy and he had to check with the guy first if I could go lol. The owner was really cool.
I don’t know. It got me thinking. Maybe the wheels are turning or they turned already and I just realized it. The arcade games are for an older generation. Everyone in that Neo gathering were older. I didn’t see any young kids who looked like they would play Marvel. The mentality is different now. I don’t think kids are willing to play older games as much and I don’t think they like the $.25 per game thing. It’s all online now. Now if they had a coin operated UMVC3 that would be a different story. If the local arcades here had a coinoperated UMVC3 they would be packed and we would see a resurgence in the So Cal arcade scene.
But I’m an optimist when it comes to bringing coinoperated 3S back. It just takes a lot of promoting.
Newer kids grew up in a generation. They’re spoiled, for lack of a better word. They want to use their own controllers, play against other people for free, play a ton of matches online, and expect every game to have built-in comeback mechanics. They don’t understand that the true value of playing in the arcade environment is primarily the social aspect, and as a motivator to improve your game. Anybody can just grind matches brainlessly online while sitting at home in their underwear, where wins and losses don’t really hurt too much. At the arcades, you have to pay to play, when you lose, you’re treated to embarassment by having to do the walk of shame, having to wait in line for another 10-15 minutes, and letting that salt fester and develop, while you figure out a way to come out on top.
Personally I went to the arcades in sweat suits and two days slept in shirts. Made me feel like I was back in my room but with people around me. Plus it added to the out of game mind game if the guy I was playing was side by side with me in the case we didn’t have head to head machines.
Kinda like taunting in any game after a knock down. It ain’t for the power up in 3S, it was to get the guy mad.
Mind games.
Here’s the paradox right now. Evo is getting bigger and bigger every year and the arcade scene in So Cal is dwindling. I remember in the last decade even though Evo was small, the arcades were packed. I just loved it when it was just MVC2 and 3S. Great games and ethusiastic players.
But that run when SF4 first came out was like a return to the golden age of sf2. The fighting game population was addicted to SF4. They had to play. Whether they were married, had kids, going to school, had jobs, they had to go where the scene was to play SF4. And scenes could pop out of anywhere and you’d see all these people show up. They were in offices, garages, rented town homes, bowling alleys, Buffalo Wild Wings, you name it. You could’ve held a gathering in a gasoline station’s woman’s restroom and you’d see all these people show up. Marvel 3 killed it. Damn you Marvel lol.
I think it is more so the fact that the arcade scene as a business was destined to fail as a result of advancing home technologies. The home console generated increased revenue over video games that you can physically own. No longer did you have to travel to play a game and it turned out to be more cost efficient. How much is a game currently? A copy of AE was retail price $40. For $40, I can play all day and night and get my moneys worth. Ignore the social factor of going to play with other people, the online portion of the game takes care of that. Say what you will about good or bad netcode, but for the average person who doesn’t give a damn about that just enjoys the game as it is.
It may seem to be a generation of “lazy, snot nosed kids who want everything fed to them”, but it really isn’t, it is just a generation of accessibility. How far did the old school players need to go in order to play their favorite game? Laundromats, corner liquor stores, the actual arcade, that shit required people to get out of their house.
Accessibility is what made arcades die out. Why should I have to make the drive out somewhere to go play a game when I can just play home with my own friends? Even wanting to get better at a game isn’t often seen anymore. There is no hunger for the game because there is no need to be hungry; I get my fill just playing at home. The arcade business is designed to bring in people to constantly play. No people are going because they are enjoying the same game at home.
Back in the 80s, technology wasn’t up to par with that of the arcades. Compare a copy of Pac Man in the arcade vs. the Atari 2600 port of the game. There is no competition, arcade wins. Now compare Pac Man now? There are updated versions of the game that are exclusive to home consoles.
It’s just the way things are going here. Technology for the console systems have greatly surpassed that of the arcade scene. Even with all these fancy arcade cabs, with networked systems, and unusual interface controllers, the console systems have most definitely beat out the arcade scene for the majority of the gaming market. Console systems are easier to play, cheaper to play in the long run, you can play it anywhere where there’s a TV, and you get to use your own controller.
The only viable way to run an arcade, in my mind, is to have console cabs. They’re the cheaper alternative to live cabs, majority of arcade goers won’t know the difference or they wouldn’t care, and you can put a variety of games in there. The issue would be with trying to come up with an effective system of charging for play, or doing a network or H2H setup, but it’s better than shelling out $10k for a single arcade cab, and another few grand for the upcoming patches and balance changes that are constantly being made to newer games.
Quick response because I’m driving lol:
But these days no one is even playing SF4 anymore. To many the game is played out in America. Street Fighter to me is the arcade game that promotes the arcade culture. But I walk into places that does have the AE 2012 cab that is only $.25 btw and no one plays it. It’s empty. I thought with 3S and MVC2 cabs lasting 10 years at least a AE 2012 cab would last half that time but nope.
The social dynamic keeps current arcades alive, frankly. A different kind of logic would need to be applied now that would better service the individual handing over money to play games they could otherwise play at home. Really, arcades are one of three things right now: traditional, a “Super Arcade”, or a Chuck E Cheese. The former is your classic arcade with coin op play or some means of charge. Sadly, this model makes no sense in a generation where, as Suga put it, no one is hungry. Grant and I grind it out hard on 3s, sure, but that’s just two guys who missed the boat a decade ago who still giggle over Urien unblockables. Where are the Marvel players at Don’s now? If not somewhere else, they’re home. There’s also the issue of segmentation in the community, gas prices, location, and the economy.
The other two are also self-explanatory; either an arcade is now considered a nonstop event beast, or an amusement center. The latter is a lot more casual, but appealing to everyone is better for making consistent money than appealing to one demographic of low-forward mashing scumbags who feast on freshly squeezed salty tears. However, this would make more sense for the old school model for charging 25 cents a hit or some kind of admission fee. Place in a central location, and you’ll make something. For the other, if there’s one thing Super Arcade does right, it’s in actively promoting itself and staying relevant despite how much money they barely make. It’s in a situation where it’s competition doesn’t actively stream events every single week. Doesn’t matter which generation we’re talking about, if you give the stage for someone to show off in front of a group of greats with incentives to make the trip, everyone and their mom will show up.
Arcades can’t be about servicing a game anymore in a world of accessibility unless accessibility is intentionally made exclusive. As a game developer, personally speaking, if arcades were designed in such a way where I could give an arcade owner games you can’t get elsewhere as a highlight of said arcade, then you’ll effectively give the customer unique incentives to show up. Japan still does this technically, whereas the west does not. This does not, however, remove the thought of centering a game at a location for play despite cultural distinctions over there and here. The effort has to be a lot smarter, beyond just plastering crap on Twitter and Facebook. Look at streaming, look at the knowledge players at an arcade can present to a wider audience, look at partnerships to present games you can’t get/play elsewhere, unique events, important people who are willing to show up all the time – you create a service of interest by providing one, not “appearing” to be one with business methods that only diehards like us care about.
Well what I learned last Saturday night at the Neo Geo underground arcade, is that if arcades are gonna exist in today’s world they’re probably gonna exist more in people’s garages. It’s going underground. Way underground. I’m guessing now how many more of these secret arcade cells around So Cal even exist. I have a hunch there’s more. Invite only lol.
Underground Virtua Fighter arcade scene. How much you wanna bet there’s one that exists? 
I have searched high and low to find some sort of secret ST training garage where it’s just a few dudes and an ST cab going at it. At this point, it’s like searching for a mythical unicorn.
Anyways. America has always been Marvel-centric. This type of appeals to what most Americans want out of a fighting game. They want a fast-paced, flashy game, that favors being able to do cool combos, 50/50 mixups, and a whole bunch of lasers and missiles and rockets and shit. SF has generally been a difficult game to appreciate due to the fact that there usually isn’t much flash associated with the game, and it’s widely viewed as a more strategic game that rewards consistent execution of basic moves, having a strong mental game, knowing the matchup and your character, and understanding the game engine.
tl;dr The average young gamer in America has ADHD issues.
Quoted for fact. Why?
Because I no longer care for fighting games if it isn’t Tekken Tag 2 or the new Metal Gear Solid game that was revealed today. see how weak my attention span is!?
Actually that new Metal Gear Solid games looks fucking sweet. Especially if it’s an actual game, and not an interactive movie that you occasionally get to play cough MGS4 cough
Honestly it’s because younger players nowadays have grown up in an age where we’re always connected and being stimulated by some source of entertainment. This ranges anywhere from our preference in movies (notice how older movies are much more deliberately and slower paced), our video games (like SFxT’s 10,000 colors that it displays on the screen, even the life bar has like 5 different colors), our music (dub-step sounds like a 56k modem having sex with an AOL disc), the internet itself (flash games, facebook, twitter, youtube, all designed to keep us constantly connected and for a quick fix of entertainment in 15 minutes or less).
I do admit. It’s hard selling old games to a new generation. You have to convince them that these games are more worth while than the new games. I’ve been spoiled because I actually saw great communities gather together and play old games. I saw strong 3S, MVC2, Kof 98, Kof 2002, and most recently Mark of the Wolves.
It can be done. It just takes a lot of work. You need to come up with a system that constantly “breeds” players. It’s like creating an army. It’s recruiting and it’s training. And when it gets bigger and more people find out, they’ll want to join.
Who will honestly recruit though? Every time I see players mentioning old games, the same responses are given. “New school players are spoiled”, “New school games are easy”, “You would never hang back in the day”. Not exactly the most welcoming group. There is a reason why I tended to stay clear from arcades and just play on my own; people were dicks. Eventually, I was able to communicate with other groups of people with the same attitude toward the old games (we want to learn) and we started playing in our own small community. I didn’t necessarily reach out to other groups to learn the game; I helped create my own at my school. Eventually, we would start going to locations to play like Regency, AI, Japan Arcade, etc.
Of course, the drive to get better at the game eventually dwindled because of personal obligations; but I still strive to want to get better at a game simply because of personal self fulfillment. When I travel to Dons, the local casuals in South Gate or some other place, I want to show that I can at least hold my own at a game. It ,isn’t fun just seeing yourself get your ass kicked all the time. If anything, that is what made me want to learn lol. It sucks to lose, 
but at least I can accept the loss and move forward without someone popping off at me like in those famous MvC2 videos.
You just need a good salesman who is driven enough to convince you that in this case Third Strike is a fighting game worth investing in. Thinking about it now I think a lot of old school gamers are out of touch with their “too cool for school approach” when it comes to dealing with the new school. They got to be more inviting and welcoming inorder for their scene to survive. This old feudal system that was created by 3S players when SF4 came out is not working when it comes to getting new blood.
We want to be creators not destroyers. The thing is too many people sit around and complain about products but have no idea how to make one themselves. The age of access to all this information makes us too critical. We think we’re smarter than we really are. A lot of us know how to criticize movies but we have no idea how to even make one. I know a guy who complains about the way food is made to the T at restaurants but I know he hasn’t even been in a kitchen in his life. We want everything but we did nothing to earn it. Just because we pay $.25 a game we think everything should be perfect and high quality. The age of piracy and getting free stuff on the Internet has made us feel that we’re entitled to everything. And if we pay for something, even if it’s good quality, we want it at a discount price. This way of thinking has to change. We gotta put more effort if we want nice things. Can’t take it for granted. Nice things cost money. Not everyone should own Jordans. You gotta pay for them. You gotta earn it.