We’re like 5 days into a goddamn nightmare year, mark my words.
It seems we’ve lost another one. GameWorks, an arcade chain that was still hanging in there until now, has shut down all of its remaining locations. Previously, they had locations in Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and Seattle. Now, per the company’s own announcement, there will be none.
It would be easy to blame this on the ongoing pandemic. But at best, the virus just hastened the inevitable. The lamentable fact is that arcades as a whole have been dying over the past 15-20 years, due to a number of factors such as internet play and a decreased focus from manufacturers on arcade games. Prior to this, Sega closed their Ikebukuro Gigo arcade. Frankly, if you get a look at a Japanese arcade nowadays, aside from the fighting games (which are always present) most of the newer cabs feature some sort of gimmick that wouldn’t do well when exported (*cough* cards from a literal Gacha machine *cough*).
Nonetheless, to those that remember the heydays of the arcade scene, it’s still a shame to see yet another majestic dinosaur go quietly into the night.
Source: ComicBook
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