News Room Contributor Posts: 4911 Joined: 12 Nov 2002 | Namco Bandai Blames Arcade Closures on Home Consoles
Namco Bandai Holdings has announced it will be closing roughly one-fifth of its arcades in Japan, laying the blame at the feet of home videogame consoles.
A report in Reuters suggests home gaming consoles, particularly the wildly popular Nintendo Wii console, are largely responsible for the reduced interest in conventional arcades, which has resulted in the forthcoming closure of 50 to 60 arcades. Stock in the company fell for the second consecutive day following a downward revision of the company's earnings forecast, which saw its full-year net profit outlook cut by 38 percent. Namco Bandai shares have slipped 27 percent since Tuesday.
"A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home," said Namco Bandai spokesman Yuji Machida, adding that many Japanese children are now spending their money on games for home consoles rather than at arcades. He also claimed increasing gasoline prices were contributing to the company's difficulty, as family outings to large shopping centers where the arcades are located have been cut back.
The new follows a report that another major Japanese arcade operator, Sega Sammy Holdings, is planning to close 100 of its own arcades.
Permalink |
BANNED Posts: 675 Joined: 6 Dec 2007 | Rest of world to Namco: 'Well duh.'
The arcade has been quicky dying over the last decade and they're only picking up on this now? Why would anyone want to stand in a crowded, noisy room usually full of snot-nosed kids and paying a dollar a game when you can buy the game for $40-$50 flat and play for free at home? |
Press Junketeer Posts: 439 Joined: 15 Dec 2007 | why they simply dont try to adapt? |
Muckraker Posts: 308 Joined: 15 May 2007 | lol. Halfshadow, you said nearly exactly what I did when I read that.
honestly, though, I do miss those days.. having a long line of kids standing with tokens in hand waiting to get their asses handed to them by me... until some kid comes along barely tall enough to see the screen and whips me with no effort.
Maybe I don't miss those days after all... |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1137 Joined: 13 Jan 2007 | Well, arcades in Japan are really something. It's likely more social than the Wii could ever get. The good arcades are really crowded, it's a good way to meet people. Many look like casinos. I mean, there's a thriving business over there, I wish there were more of these elsewhere.
Adapting would mean leaving this segment of gaming, and that would be really sad. |
Namco Bandai Blames Arcade Closures on Home Consoles
Namco Bandai Holdings has announced it will be closing roughly one-fifth of its arcades in Japan, laying the blame at the feet of home videogame consoles.
A report in Reuters suggests home gaming consoles, particularly the wildly popular Nintendo Wii console, are largely responsible for the reduced interest in conventional arcades, which has resulted in the forthcoming closure of 50 to 60 arcades. Stock in the company fell for the second consecutive day following a downward revision of the company's earnings forecast, which saw its full-year net profit outlook cut by 38 percent. Namco Bandai shares have slipped 27 percent since Tuesday.
"A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home," said Namco Bandai spokesman Yuji Machida, adding that many Japanese children are now spending their money on games for home consoles rather than at arcades. He also claimed increasing gasoline prices were contributing to the company's difficulty, as family outings to large shopping centers where the arcades are located have been cut back.
The new follows a report that another major Japanese arcade operator, Sega Sammy Holdings, is planning to close 100 of its own arcades.
Permalink