4 ms·

I've been to the Japanese arcades many times, and I'd noticed changes cross the era of machine. A lot of the newer machines are either trying to be some kind of

I've been to the Japanese arcades many times, and I'd noticed changes cross the era of machine. A lot of the newer machines are either trying to be some kind of new arcade moba or card-based experience (half or more of which seemed to flop, with entire empty floors). More single player oriented experiences feature a game loop where a small, core element consisting of about 5 minutes costs a 100 yen coin regardless of outcome. For example, the Initial D game where every single race costs 100 yen or the Pokemon game where you pay 100 yen to get into a battle and another coin if you want to actually catch the wild pokemon you beat. It's a move away from the classic model where you would usually pay on losing all your lives which could cost more but was more dependent on player skill. It was a more interactive, more participatory, model. A meritocratic one where being able to beat an entire 30 minute game session of a scrolling shooter on as few coins as possible would be an impressive source of bragging rights. The change absolutely feels like the mobile micro-transaction model extended to coin-op. To me, it narrows the gap between an arcade and a pachinko parlor, so I simply don't feel as compelled to go to arcades. The perennial fighting games and giant robot battles still pull crowds from their appreciators, as something of the core of the arcade business. That, and the two floors of UFO crane games still seem to hold fairly strong sway from what I've seen. The pandemic situation made things worse for arcades, but like many things that you've heard of many times before it only accelerated an inevitable decline. I think the move here would be first to downsize, then maybe specialize.

willis936 5y ago
The first episode of Netflix's High Score covers the 1970s and early 1980s video games, including arcades. The guy who made Ms. Pac Man started by making arcade mods that increased the difficulty of games. It was a killer business model because arcades were getting lower revenue over time because the playerbase would get good at a game within months. It isn't correct to say micro-transactions moved into arcades. It's more accurate to say arcade MTX have moved into the home. Arcade value prop is at an all-time low. It's too bad, because rhythm games are a lot of fun and impractical for homes.
- JohnBooty 5y ago
  It's more accurate to say arcade MTX have moved into the home. I don't follow your thinking. "Making the game more difficult" and "microtransactions" are both ways to squeeze more money from players but man, they are very different.
  - willis936 5y ago
    Putting money in every time you want to play is the ultimate micro-transaction. Gaming has been trying to push its way back to that golden era of profit since the home console genie was let out of the bottle.
    - JohnBooty 5y ago
      For me, the difference is crystal-clear and razor sharp. "Putting money in every time you play" leaves the play experience itself pristine. The cost of each game is consistent. "Microtransactions" pollute the gameplay experience itself. I don't know how much each game will cost. I might get hooked on the early stages of the game only to discover that accessing the rest of the game will require either impractical amounts of time, or some unpredictable and arbitrary amount of money. It also completely shatters the 4th wall for me, ruins the immersion.
- JetAlone 5y ago
  You do have a point. I have little trouble recognizing that micro-transactions and coin-op difficulty creep are both profit driven modifications made to games, and also that I'd be better served by the life of a hermit than a time machine to the 1980s if I wanted to escape the effects of human greed, particularly on much more important things than video games. I think it's important too to distinguish between a micro-transaction for something like a skin or a hat that has a cosmetic effect, versus "pay to win/pay to not grind", versus "pay every 5 minutes regardless of whether you win or lose" etc. My remarks on micro-transactions and difficulty creep is less about how profitable they are, but rather how the changes feel to me. In writing my first post, I had a thought to compromise between the old school approach and the current paradigm: what if every game loop cost 1 credit if you win, 2 credits if you lose, and 100 yen buys 2 credits? If the challenge fits into my flow state so that it's at the upper limit of my competence, I would have an explicit 50 yen incentive to win in an engaging challenge. The game devs and proprieter would still make some guaranteed income on my play time. If no one has ever posited this idea before (and I'd bet someone has, and probably tested it, and maybe it doesn't work well for them), I feel like calling it "win to save". It could even be an interesting study - players of games often won't keep playing if they feel they can't win, so the designer would have to be careful not to nickle and dime the player by setting them up for expensive failures. On the other hand, an engaging way to keep players paying could be to set them up for challenging victories that are very quick and efficient, to get them into the next loop faster... There's a lot of dimensions to this, more than I'm willing let alone able to put into one comment. I agree arcades are a fantastic place for rhythm and dancing games. I hope you have a great day.
tasogare 5y ago

willis936 5y ago

The first episode of Netflix's High Score covers the 1970s and early 1980s video games, including arcades. The guy who made Ms. Pac Man started by making arcade mods that increased the difficulty of games. It was a killer business model because arcades were getting lower revenue over time because the playerbase would get good at a game within months. It isn't correct to say micro-transactions moved into arcades. It's more accurate to say arcade MTX have moved into the home. Arcade value prop is at an all-time low. It's too bad, because rhythm games are a lot of fun and impractical for homes.

JohnBooty 5y ago
It's more accurate to say arcade MTX have moved into the home. I don't follow your thinking. "Making the game more difficult" and "microtransactions" are both ways to squeeze more money from players but man, they are very different.
- willis936 5y ago
  Putting money in every time you want to play is the ultimate micro-transaction. Gaming has been trying to push its way back to that golden era of profit since the home console genie was let out of the bottle.
  - JohnBooty 5y ago
    For me, the difference is crystal-clear and razor sharp. "Putting money in every time you play" leaves the play experience itself pristine. The cost of each game is consistent. "Microtransactions" pollute the gameplay experience itself. I don't know how much each game will cost. I might get hooked on the early stages of the game only to discover that accessing the rest of the game will require either impractical amounts of time, or some unpredictable and arbitrary amount of money. It also completely shatters the 4th wall for me, ruins the immersion.
JetAlone 5y ago
You do have a point. I have little trouble recognizing that micro-transactions and coin-op difficulty creep are both profit driven modifications made to games, and also that I'd be better served by the life of a hermit than a time machine to the 1980s if I wanted to escape the effects of human greed, particularly on much more important things than video games. I think it's important too to distinguish between a micro-transaction for something like a skin or a hat that has a cosmetic effect, versus "pay to win/pay to not grind", versus "pay every 5 minutes regardless of whether you win or lose" etc. My remarks on micro-transactions and difficulty creep is less about how profitable they are, but rather how the changes feel to me. In writing my first post, I had a thought to compromise between the old school approach and the current paradigm: what if every game loop cost 1 credit if you win, 2 credits if you lose, and 100 yen buys 2 credits? If the challenge fits into my flow state so that it's at the upper limit of my competence, I would have an explicit 50 yen incentive to win in an engaging challenge. The game devs and proprieter would still make some guaranteed income on my play time. If no one has ever posited this idea before (and I'd bet someone has, and probably tested it, and maybe it doesn't work well for them), I feel like calling it "win to save". It could even be an interesting study - players of games often won't keep playing if they feel they can't win, so the designer would have to be careful not to nickle and dime the player by setting them up for expensive failures. On the other hand, an engaging way to keep players paying could be to set them up for challenging victories that are very quick and efficient, to get them into the next loop faster... There's a lot of dimensions to this, more than I'm willing let alone able to put into one comment. I agree arcades are a fantastic place for rhythm and dancing games. I hope you have a great day.

tasogare 5y ago