I heard one problem was the rising cost of cabs. Like, sure the new SF4 cabinets look really nice, but they’re really expensive, and you need two cabs just for link play.
Yeah I don’t know how well SF4 did for Japanese arcades. I’ve heard a couple things, but from second and third hand sources, so take it with a grain of salt.
Remember SF4 was sold in increments of 4 boards. You need 1 board per player (2 boards for a single h2h cab). Not only that but Capcom was pushing for the viewlix cabs too, which are even more expensive. Not all Japanese arcades necessarily bought the viewlix cabs too, but many did. Supposedly part of the selling point for this whole enormously expensive package was that upgrades for future installments in the series would be a simple inexpensive HD swap. Of course we know now, instead the Japanese arcade market was left in the dust for 1 upgrade of SF4, and is now getting the 2nd upgrade long after its appearance on consoles, so I can imagine that caused some business problems for some arcades.
Edit: One last little tid bit is the non chain arcades like Vision generally charge cheaper per game prices than the chain arcades, so its harder still to get back the money you invest on new games.
That’s awful.
Keep Super Turbo alive!!
yeah, but thats still better than SF2 where a few months after WW comes out CE came out and a few months after that HF comes out.
If SSF4AE came out even 3-6 months after SF4 came out and had the same price tag it’d be difficult for those arcades to really cough up the funds to purchase the upgrade.
The economy and arcade culture then was nowhere near bad like today.
Maybe it is. I don’t know. I don’t believe they were releasing console versions of the game at the same time as the arcade releases. That’s a significant factor. I’m sure plenty of places who didn’t even bother to upgrade made plenty of money off their WW or CE machines.
And I believe SSF4:AE is supposed to be cheaper than SF4.
Isn’t that exactly what happened on SRK? Thats not really a foreign thing, thats just what SF4 does.
Gamer’s Vision wasn’t exactly a successful business model. KSK decided not to purchase Street Fighter 4 when it was released, even though it would’ve been a big hit. When “no arcade super” was announced, he made this long emo post on his blog about how Capcom was charging too much, how it’s impossible to make a profit so there was no point in purchasing, etcetera. Although SF4 was unusually expensive, it did eventually make a profit at the US locations that purchased it so KSK certainly would have profited as well.
He started focusing on console events and was kicked off the SBO committee around the time he decided to promote Godsgarden, a console-only event.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that KSK opened his arcade in a not-so-good location in Yokohama. It was inconvenient to access by train and not near a lot of other shops. Yokohama’s fighting game scene was already covered by fighting game-centric arcades like Seven Island which were actually close to the Yokohama train station.
So, while this is a very sad announcement, KSK had a chip on his shoulder after Capcom’s high asking price for SF4 and he decided not to purchase the game despite being a fighting game arcade. So, fighting gamers had no more reason to go, locals had no reason to go, and casuals had no reason to go. I think if KSK had shifted his focus to more popular neighborhood-arcade games like Mahjong/Pachislot or moved to a better location near a Yokohama/Tokyo station (like Game Inn Sakura / Game Spot Versus) he could’ve had a very successful “fighting game arcade” if that’s what he really wanted.
So yeah, at least among fighting gamers, people mostly went to KSK’s arcade only for events and stayed at the regular, more conveniently-located spots during their regular weekday routines.
I went to every single 3S ranbat there during my one year tenure from 2005-2006 and I will miss the atmosphere. I wish KSK luck with his events although I do not think it will be more profitable than a well-planned arcade/game center in Japan.
I remember reading an article about how Capcom’s amusement dept was pretty upset and almost left in the dark about Super being a console only release when it was announced (I’m trying to dig up where I found the link, but don’t remember exactly where I read it) Pretty understandable with what Capcom AM was promoting.
does this mean no more nuki commentary hype
:C
2nded on the lack of SF4 at Gamers Vision. That was the very first thing I noticed when I visited there.
RIP GV. ;_; Hopefully Godsgarden proves to be a successful venture for him (he’s got some new plans for that).
He commentates for Game Versus.
Also I didn’t know he protested SF4 from the beginning. The more you know… :looney:
So, does this affect EVO Japan?
man sportsland had some dedicated fg regulars as well, and it was right in the mix (shibuya) and it still had to leave it’s spot
arcades are just failing
actually it’s across from the 5 story kaiken so that’s kinda hard to fuck with as well
damn you ssf4!!!
shakes fist
Yo man SFIV fucking shit up left and right.
Damn this is sad. :shake:
so lack of a shitty game kept players away?
damn, it sucks :shake:
i was under the impresion that the companies behind the games were the ones that have to pay for their games being on SBO, wich is why sbx was on sbo this year
awh, sad to hear that.
As a side note, from what I understand it’s definitely not impossible to have a FG-centric arcade in Japan that doesn’t have SF4 and still manages to be successful.