As many smarties already guessed, this episode focuses on the sad loss of the American Arcade. Here's a preview-image, in which The OverThinker surveys the ruins of "The Sharkcade" - the grim fate of which was witnessed at the end of our last episode...
19 comments:
Any chance episode 56 will be about the Supreme Court ruling? It would just be such a waste of that topic if you didn't do an episode on it just because more people were interested in Project Rainfall. Or maybe you'd like to give your two cents on Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and how DLC is possibly being used to sell people unfinished games at full price. Or maybe Capcom's cancellation of not one but two Mega Man Projects. Just a few suggestions, no demands. Keep up the good work.
In other news, Nintendo announces today that they're dropping the price of the 3DS in all regions. In America the price will go from $250 to $170. $80! That's huge! I knew the little box was struggling but damn! And it's only been out what five or six months? They'll have to really dig deep to pull themselves out of this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMriZl9HH28
I saw one these in Houston and damn it made me feel like I was a kid again
Hopefully they will be in all walmarts
I see a shadow on the wall! I called it!
Arcades were neat back when all the consoles were struggling like hell to reach their level, but then they succeeded and quickly switched to better graphics as the new struggle.
Ahh, i love your show and have even loved your new direction. and i can see these will continue to improve its nice to see you working your topic into the story more keep it up Mr. Overthinker!
"In gaming non-news: Nintendo does something completely awesome and even rewards its most loyal fans; people still find a way to bitch about it like a bunch of five-year-olds"
Ah Nintendo, going so far and yet people still act ungrateful
it really scares me that the preview for your episode is about the side story and not about what we all love about your show:
the overthinking
@shadowzard,
Here's the thing about that... whatever the "ratio" of side-story to editorial/lecture in a given episode, the "story" footage is generally the only 'original' visual material that can really be used for a preview. I can't really run audio-clips of whatever "overthinking" may or may not be playing OVER such shots, and the only other "screencaps" I could show would be stillframes from video games or one of my stock "gag" stills.
Hey, Bob (and anyone else, I imagine). If I could have you answer a question for me, related to this episode. Do you think an arcade could work in this day and age? I realize that that PSN and XBLA are convenient, but, I really think an old school, right out of the 80's arcade could work, with people in our generation nostalgic enough to actually pump quarters into cabinets again and people of the online gaming generation curious enough to see what exactly these Val Halla's of gaming were. I've heard of a couple people interested in starting one, and I am, too. I'm just curious about what you think since, y'know, you're the Game Overthinker and whatnot. Thanks, if indeed you reply, or read this.
@Nathan: Problem is, they wouldn't just be competing with consoles, they'd also be competing with social gaming sites, and not just Facebook but completely free and non-scummy ones like Kongregate.
Now, pinball machines, ride-able motorcycle controllers and light-gun sniper sims are still around at movie theaters and theme parks and so on, but all things that you can't get on a home console. Button-and-joystick cabinets are gone.
So, a free-standing arcade in the classic sense would probably fold. It could work, however, as an attraction for a retro-game store. "Come in and not only buy and trade NES games too obscure to get Virtual Console ports, but also play some of the arcade boxes of your youth as well!"
Not to spoil too much of the actual episode, but IMO a new arcade primarily using "traditional" cabinets would fold. It's not a workable business-model now; beginning with the following unavoidable fact: Kids and teens don't walk around with pocketfuls of change and singles anymore.
Now, if someone were to "re-invent" the arcade cabinet - things like multiple (as in 20+) games per-unit, credit-card/"point-card" (phonecard?) enabled, some sort of smartphone-compatible "take your scores/stats with you" interface, wifi... basically, take the model that's been proven successful for "Golden Tee" and apply it to other games? THAT I could see working. I don't know if it'd still work to have a whole building dedicated to it, but I could easily see that kind of neo-cabinet becoming a food-court/bar/restaurant/lobby fixture.
Any console that has its own display but isn't portable, I call it arcade because it's basically the same deal as an arcade cabinet. Like the Virtual Boy, or Vectrex.
now no one bitch at me if im wrong here plz.okay im not one hundred percent sure if im rite but disneyquest in disneyworld(and disneyland) is an arcade that if i remeber rite doesnt giv u prizes and u just play to play
I really hope someone DOES find a way to make the arcades work again. I like Bob's idea about a credit card/point card system with multiple in one arcade units.
Arcades are more then just being better games then consoles (or just different ones). It's a communal experience where I met a lot of my friends growing up, and I think the world is poorer without them.
I remember listening to a film podcast reviewing the original Tron and one of the reviewers noted arcade culture is the one thing from his youth that's gone away that he misses. I could relate.
I don't think the demise of arcades in North America is entirely technological, as they're still viable in Japan and South Korea. I think it's as much if not more a cultural change. Over two decades ago, in my pre-pubescent years, my parents thought nothing of my being out of sight for hours at a time. I could ride my bike a few miles to the smoky pool hall's arcade and spend a couple hours dumping quarters into machines. That would not fly with most constantly supervised, over-scheduled kids today.
But as a public librarian, I've seen packs of boys come in during lunch time or after school, take over the public internet terminals, and play Runescape for hours while trading tips and socializing. This suggests to me there's still a desire for a real-life gaming & socializing venue, but something cleaner and safer than the dark arcades of yesteryear.
Not sure about other places, but here in Ontario there's not much inclination to make spaces for teenagers. They don't spend or have as much money as people who've hit legal drinking age, and the liabilities involved in running a licensed establishment that also allows teenagers (serve alcohol to an underaged patron once and it can ruin you) makes it not worth the hassle for most merchants.
You should also do an episode on Nintendos massive pride drop.
Hey Bob,
I'd be really interested for your opinion on the latest Jimquisition, "Fight in the Name of Childishness".
I'm neither a lover nor hater of Jim but I realllllly disagree with him here. Why do Jack Thompson and the like actually need anyone to argue with? Gaming makes too much money to just disappear, so why should anyone drag themselves down to a Foxnews-level shouting match? No one watching Foxnews is watching to be convinced of anything, just to hear their own mindless views spouted back at them. Jim gives one example of where trolls apparently won the day... by getting a retraction from one member of the panel, which pretty much no one watching Fox that day has probably seen. Trolls swayed one person. Does Jim really think that all the recent anti-gaming laws were defeated by people writing their Congressmen with the salutation, "Hey douchebag,"?
@Scott,
I'd have used different words, but I think Jim has a point there. Intelligent, reasoned debate only works when both sides are willing to engage in it. Nobody likes to admit it, but when someone comes at you with the rhetorical equivalent of a shotgun, you probably aren't going to nuetralize them with anything short of a BIGGER shotgun.
I also think it's a mistake to treat EVERY argument as worth considering. The "games cause X" people are not arguing from a place of reason and fact, so reason and fact will not counter them. One of the worst things that's happened to modern discourse is that we've lost the ability/inclination to shut down idiots and liars by plainly stating that they ARE idiots and liars.
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