Arcades are still relevant in the gaming industry

Allow me to blow the dust off the game station control counter, insert a quarter or two and remind a few people why arcades are still relevant.Congratulations, you are now reading an article from a guy who can go into an arcade room with a $1.50 and be there all day. Some call it nerdy, but I call it awesome.Time Crisis, my game of choice, or Soul Caliber, which may cost $1.00 to $1.50, will keep me busy, especially Soul Caliber.Think back when arcades were hot spots at city malls, there would often times be a guy at a game station surrounded by fellow gamers cheering and betting on who would lose. I was that guy picking out the next victim to challenge me in a fighting game.Now, arcades are as empty as a mom and pop store next door to a Wal-Mart. That is sad because arcades were a pleasant pastime for everyone that enjoyed games and an excellent way for them to interact. The dwindling of arcades could almost compare to what someone may be holding to read this article: newspapers. Both entities are being destroyed by technology. I understand the convenience of having a home console and a gamer’s ability to talk through online play. However, good old fashion face-to-face trash talk after a knockout in Street Fighter cannot be equaled. Some could say that the Nintendo Wii with their motion sensor controls was the final blow to the arcade industry. Nothing can truly replace the interaction of shooting bad guys on a giant screen with a plastic gun and then franticly feeding the machine a couple quarters before the continue counter reaches zero. The social interaction and the sense of comradery one gains when an opponent in a shooting game with digs into their own pocket cannot be rivaled by blasting away at baddies on a Wii.One plus that my friend Jordan Culver may have forgotten is that online play is open to cheaters. Video game cheaters don’t even like other video game cheaters. At an arcade, you can’t cheat; you only have skill. So before we say game over to the arcade, let’s remember what it has the good times we shared with some of life-long friends and gamers.