Arcades can work, but it will take new tech to make it happen.
Yesterday, GameWorks announced it was closing all its remaining locations. The joint venture with Sega brought Japanese-style mega arcades to the United States. It was the model for Dave & Busters, eventually matching their restaurants too.
It’s extremely tragic. GameWorks was my favorite destination in Las Vegas. COVID hit right as arcades were finding ways to innovate. Now they are back to square one.
With VR tech, arcades absolutely can survive. But we need to do more. We need new technology, new solutions, and the ability to assure customers that games are above what they can do at home – while being safe at the same time.
As we look to 2022, Console Enterprises will be refocused on these tasks. You still won’t hear its name much, but by operating as a boutique design consultancy – we’ll be working to make sure the arcade can come back – and be better than ever.
Hi from the opposite side of the Globe!
I like your slogan “It’s time to rethink the arcade”. Of cause, VR arcade gaming from home is 100% COVID-safe but it is too far from classic arcade as a form of gaming in public places. As a DIY fan I am trying to rethink classic arcade gaming in my own way. What if it will be possible to create COVID-safe , weather resistant and vandal proof gaming hardware? I made several experiments with my DIY foot-operated game controller and it looks that it is possible to created an outdoor distributed arcade gaming system where players will have possibility to communicate while keeping social distance . I understand that my project has limited functionality but from other side consumers seem to be prepared for this ganre by playing hypercasual games with extremely limited control. My experiments with drawing and video you can find in my blog. Any feedback will be appreciated 🙂