Some indies still make arcade games - Killer Queens comes to mind, and I'm pretty sure Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge got a full on coinop release. Of course, Japan still puts out all manner of new machines with all kinds of creative gimmicks (especially music-based, or arena fighters), but they're rarely available stateside and they might not always be the vibe you're looking for, if you're trying to scratch a 90's nostalgia itch.
https://sternpinball.com/ continues to make modern (awesome) pinball machines - I'm fortunate enough to work for a company that stocks a couple in breakrooms. They also usually have a big presence in the floor of California Extreme (https://caextreme.org/) which is totally worth checking out if you're in the Bay Area in August.
Yes, but there's not nearly the variety. Mostly new arcade machines are either retro stuff, or real pinball, driving games or other large cabinet experiences, or fighting games. Not a lot of new standard sized standup arcades that aren't fighting games (or at least, I'm not aware of them). The reality is all these machines are basically PCs now, and where's the excitement from playing a PC based arcade game on a ~25" screen for 50 cents to a dollar when you could play it at home on your PC or your PC based console.
> The reality is all these machines are basically PCs now, and where's the excitement from playing a PC based arcade game on a ~25" screen for 50 cents to a dollar when you could play it at home on your PC or your PC based console.
This is something that Michael Abrash hasn't really received proper credit for: he basically invented the model of using off-the-shelf PC components for videogames, which then spread to consoles and arcade games.
If it wasn't for Abrash's "mode x" we wouldn't have DirectX, then Direct3D, then XBox, then arcade games that are nothing more than personal computers.
At the time that Abrash came up with "mode x", there were basically two ways to play games on a PC. The first method was to use a PC that included a great graphics chip (like the Amiga), the second method was to add aftermarket cards. Neither method was ideal, because there weren't many Amigas in existence, and software developers couldn't maximize sales while selling software that required aftermarket hardware.
> The reality is all these machines are basically PCs now
You could make the opposite argument back in the day. Arcade hardware was what home PCs, and consoles, tried to emulate. The truth is, these still use specialized hardware even if they end up targeting embedded Linux or embedded Windows (or a combination of the two). They are also incredibly efficient with their use of hardware
Arcades are unfortunately slowly dying in Japan, but it's still a much bigger business there than in the states. Most new arcade machines since the late 2000s are off-the-shelf PCs with (already for its time) outdated graphics cards.
Depends on the location, many of the best arcades in Japan are multiple floors, and each floor usually has a theme, so like the ground floor is crane games, and then a floor for shooters/shmups, then a floor or two for fighting games, and then a floor or two for music games. Maybe a floor with card games or those giant horse racing games...
I was fortunate enough to go like 5 years ago, but I really fondly remember Taito Hey had a whole row of like 8 Super Sweet Fighter 2 Turbo machines which were basically continuously occupied, and then a floor down I watched somebody basically one credit perfect one of those Capcom Dungeons and Dragons side scrolling brawlers, and then on another floor was a widescreen Darius machine (which I'd never seen in the US).
In other locations there were floors of like card-based army formation strategy games, music games with circular screens, etc.
Pachinko is like its own thing, almost always in different buildings, usually like 3 times as loud as the arcades, and full of smoking.
Strangely I don't recall seeing any western style pinball machines anywhere, though.
Basically, it was arcade nirvana for someone like me (born in the early 80's) I heard things got pretty bad during Covid, though, so I don't know how much it's regressed. I do have a friend who just got back from visiting the first time though, and he mentioned he could still find tons of competition in old fighting games and stuff. (Man I wanna go back, especially since the exchange rate is so good now)
The thing that baffles me is we're still stuck in these form factors that are mostly made for
a) standing b) in a group of 1 or 2
The cabinets don't have to look like this anymore. We don't need a CRT, we don't need the full size cabinets.
Seems like a real opportunity to design a more bar-friendly option, tables with multiple monitors that operate like the old desktop/seated machines or similarly.
Standing is fine but after awhile people don't want to smoosh next to each other and stand in front of a crappy screen. But most of these places are too attached to the retro aspect, imo.
Video games have had a format like that, intended specifically for bars and restaurants, since pretty close to the beginning. They're called "cocktail cabinets".
> Video games have had a format like that, intended specifically for bars and restaurants, since pretty close to the beginning. They're called "cocktail cabinets".
I referenced them above (but gave them a different name, "old desktop/seated machines"). They're still archaic and don't fit well with modern bar seating nor gaming.
Playing on one screen split in half was sort of a necessity at the time but it never really worked that well.
You just need to find an arcade with some candy cabinets, those are seated. Also, most of them are set up for one player per cab with your opponent sitting on the other side of you
