Probably one of my biggest criticisms of the arcade industry in the United States is the fact that there doesn't appear to be much effort being made to dissuade or change the popular opinion that the "arcade is dead".
I know it's difficult to create and establish the relationships to get coverage of games for websites, magazines, and blogs. However, in my short time in talking to people within the industry itself, I've always come away from the experience with the opinion that for every step that's being made in a positive direction, it's still very closed off from those on the outside compared to the much more open nature of the console market. I'm not sure if this has been a result of the negative coverage of the industry from the "major sources" or if the closed community is part of the issue in why the "major sources" are so quick to declare the industry obsolete to begin with, but either way it seems to be a cyclical argument that just returns the same poor results.
Every once in a while though a website comes along and does an arcade feature that really hits home with me. Today I received an email from Jared Rea from Gametap, in which he spoke briefly about a new series that they are launching called "No Country for Old Arcades". In the series, Jared is planning on travelling to some of the locations that are considered the last great arcades in America and telling the story of both the industry as a whole and the possible future changes that may be in store for the traditional arcade.
The first feature was posted earlier and covers Sunnyvale Golfland in Sunnyvale, California. It's a great read that I feel hits to the heart of the strengths of the industry, the weaknesses of the industry, and how a traditional arcade can be poised to remain strong even in what has been called a depleting market. Jared also has a blog where he plans to outline his trips to the arcades on a more personal level. Both the featured articles and the blog should be a great source of interspection from arcade owners and arcade gamers from around the country's more popular hot spots for the industry.
After reading the article and the blog, I really got inspired to issue a challenge of sorts for 2008 to arcade owners, arcade developers, and arcade distributors. I truly believe that the arcade industry can be a strong force in the US. I also believe that despite the common conception that arcades are on life support here, there are steps that can be taken in order to ensure its future survival and relevance. All of this however doesn't come without an effort.
My challenge to those in the arcade industry in the US is simple - put yourselves out there more in 2008. Give us the reasons why you believe the industry is strong or accept your weaknesses and tell us how you plan to fix those for 2008. Show us your upcoming releases with better media quality images and videos through as many sources as you can (YouTube for example would be just ripe for distributing movies for little cost on the part of developers). Update your websites and press contacts. Provide the details on the technology that will be making your games unique and different.
I just want to see the effort from those who are part of the industry to vie for their spot in video game coverage, because I don't feel that there has been much of a real dedicated effort over the last few years. It's almost as though they have given up on positive mainstream gaming press coverage that is outside of the usual sources of insider information.
This may have come off as a little bit of rant, and I apologize for that. I just truly feel that the future of the industry is in the hands of those owners, developers, and distributors, and it is up to them to get their message out. It seems that for far too long we've been only addressing the negative comments when they are presented and not necessarily pushing for real change in how arcades are viewed as a whole.
There's an audience out there for us, we just have to fight for them.
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