AHC: Save the Video Arcade/LAN Parties

Delta Force

Banned
During the 1980s and early 1990s, video arcades were a popular place to hang out. Eventually people stopped playing video games in public (at least in the United States) and started playing them at home on computers and consoles. Even then, people would usually still meet at someone's house, playing together or taking turns. Sometimes people would arrange for LAN parties at someone's house or a business with enough space, and there would be multiple consoles and/or computers linked together via LAN. As the internet became faster and more reliable, eventually people simply started playing video games together online without the need to be in the same location. With some games it isn't even possible to have multiple people play on the same console anymore, which can be frustrating when you actually do have several people in the same place.

There are two challenges here, and you can choose to do one or both of them.

The first is to save the video arcade as a common hangout. By video arcade, I don't mean the machines you might find at casinos, bowling alleys, restaurants, or movie theaters, but an actual standalone location that people actually go to for the purpose of playing video games. Something like Dave and Buster's where the video games are part of the appeal would count, but it would have to be a common thing instead of something that is notable because of how niche it is. I suppose an additional point is that there should ideally be new arcade games produced, as opposed to the arcade being nostalgic or a place hipsters go to ironically :)D).

The second is a bit easier. It would just involve having internet cafes, multiplayer gaming at a friend's house, and/or LAN parties remain popular. In the case of internet cafes, I suppose it would be having them become popular and stay that way.

Because having a slow or unreliable internet would make this easier to do, bonus points if the internet is at least at 2003-2006 levels of utility. In other words, the internet is somewhat fast and fairly reliable, but it's primarily used for business, chat rooms, IM, etc. No social networking, heavy video/image viewing, or downloading of large files (movies, video games, etc.).
 
Arcade demise comes down to technology and cost. Arcade games used to have vastly superior graphics and only cost a few hundred dollars. At twenty-five cents (sometimes fifty) a game. If you could get a cabinent for four hundred dollars then you could regain that loss after sixteen hundred uses. That might seem like a lot, but given the nature of games back then it was doable within a year.

Now days, consoles and arcade machines aren't that far apart. Most people would just buy the console and play it at home. Many of the arcade machines are specialized controls like cars or airplanes or light guns. I think they run for over ten thousand easily, so even if you charge two dollars a pop, it'll take five thousand uses to break even. Not as many people are will to put two dollars in for a round as they were twenty-five cents. The biggest thing to do is make them cheaper, but you'd have to produce more to lower the price and you aren't going to produce more unless people want more.
 
In third world countries(and south korea) LAN parties are still popular and the cybercafe help in those in that regard, for avoid that, you should avoid the massive migration of pc games to consoles, and that is other big POD itself.

For the First..why not combing part of the second idea..ADD Internet to arcades early and make arcade stronger or make people not arcade ports to console(by power or not antagonize console reasons)
 

Delta Force

Banned
What if arcade machines became something akin to very high end gaming computers? They could be built to a common standard in hardware and software that changes every few years, like console generations. Cabinets could be built with a common interface standard, and the electronic/computer systems could be moved between similar cabinets since they would be a major part of the cost. The final part of the system would be the games.

An approach like this would allow arcade machines to maintain a technological edge over consoles and standard PCs of their era, giving them a niche. It might not be a video gaming niche though, as it might end up being primarily used for training drivers, pilots, astronauts, military personnel, etc. Building everything to a similar hardware and software standard would also parts developed for one game to be used in others, instead of being limited to the custom setup typical to arcade machines.
 
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