Can Bitcoin bring back arcades?

[pereira4]

I talked about starting a casino business with physical Bitcoin machines, but I think what would be even cooler is machines that run on Bitcoin where you can play all the classic games. I think the social element is very strong and it's what made arcade saloons so great, this is lost with modern gaming consoles and computers where people play at home.

Arcades lost the battle against the computers and consoles because the hardware was getting better in consoles and computers. Also, the price was getting really high.

So if we can bring back super cheap arcades I think people might come back for the social aspect and also because you play with nice joysticks and not some boring keyboard or gamepad.







As you see there are some prototypes already. So imagine a gambling saloon, that also has a lot of machines where you can pay a micro fee and play some games. In the future Lightning Network will allow for cheap and instant transactions with super high volume. I think this will be the start of the revolution if we can make it into the mainstream level of Bitcoin usage.

[onlinedragon]

Don't think that bitcoin is populair enough to start a Bitcoin service in a shopping centre or something. Expect that you have to pay for the games you using.

[Araudan]

It's a very beautiful idea ! Arcades games are so great. But the use of the bitcoin afraid me because I don't know if bitcoin will be a really benefit for your shop. Imagine many clients come to you and say "I only have coins so I can't pay it sucks".
But it's just my opinion. Maybe you could propose bitcoin and real money... ?

[MontyOnTheRun]

Unfortunately I think the coin operated arcade is never gonna come back - unless it's at 80s pricing (10cents/10p) a go.

In the UK there are arcades at seafront resorts and Namco Funscapes http://www.namcofunscape.com/ but they are filled with prize ticket games and slot machines. Any arcade games that are there are a minimum of £1 a go (0.0036BTC) which is unrealistic for gamers to shell out in the amounts needed to make a decent profit.

You would have to use Bitcoin and real money to maximise your customers. And use an entrance fee (like a nightclub) or subscription (members club) would possibly be feasible. Gamers could then 'hire' machines for a set period of time. You could run competitions to increase the revenue.

The money made on this business would be on the entrance fees and on concessions - snacks, drinks, merchandise etc though - like a cinema.

[BTTrader]

Not sure if this would actually bring back the retro gamers but man is this a cool idea. I sure would like it, you would have to have a really easy way to get bitcoin at the arcade, I'm not sure if the gaming is incentive enough for new comers to try out bitcoin.

[Nimbulan]

well it can bring it back but i doubt that anyone would still be interested in playing it and spending their money on it, it would be a nice idea but i think that no one will waste their time on it

[SFR10]

The idea is great, the prototype is even greater but the possible problems sort of out weights the benefits I guess. By having BTCitcoin arcades, each user is limited to being able to play only if they have BTCitcoins therefor majority will be excluded so a modification should be done so normal coins could be paid as well with the option to pay using BTCitcoin on top of that.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I'm not a kid anymore, so I wouldn't go out of my way to play video games in an arcade--I don't even do it at home anymore.  But I think it's a great idea for those who would.  My feeling though is that arcades are pretty much dead, and getting the machines set up for bitcoin would just be lost money.  Arcades don't thrive anymore and for good reason.  People play games on their phones and at home.  Why waste money traveling to an arcade?  I don't think the social, get-together aspect would be compelling enough.

[lite]

well it can bring it back but i doubt that anyone would still be interested in playing it and spending their money on it, it would be a nice idea but i think that no one will waste their time on it

I agree with you, when people can play games in 3d on their PC/console then why would they waste their time playing arcades games?
it's more fun playing games on console..

[mtnsaa]

Well I was thinking that a great business would be to buy some Oculus Rift and rent it, many people won't be interested in buy them because of the price tag but they should be able to rent for some minutes since it's a very novelty product not only for gamers or kids. I guess this will mostly work on third countries, Europe, etc since in the states everybody seems to have like 3 gaming devices, etc.

[koshgel]

I really like this idea in theory but is there a strong demand to play these types of games? The nostalgia favor is great but most of these types of games are on people's phones now.

That being said, I would like to see BTC being integrated into games and arcades in some way.

[pereira4]

I'm not a kid anymore, so I wouldn't go out of my way to play video games in an arcade--I don't even do it at home anymore.  But I think it's a great idea for those who would.  My feeling though is that arcades are pretty much dead, and getting the machines set up for bitcoin would just be lost money.  Arcades don't thrive anymore and for good reason.  People play games on their phones and at home.  Why waste money traveling to an arcade?  I don't think the social, get-together aspect would be compelling enough.

There are arcade saloons that have been a success for years, look at Funspot for example. I think there is still a niche, and as Bitcoin evolves and we can do instant transactions, it will be able to get arcades running for small amount of Bitcoin.
And again, a selling point is for the social aspect. The experience is not the same playing in your phone than playing in a joystick with a friend as people is around watching you play, it's a nice feeling that you can't get playing at home.

[NorrisK]

Not sure if this would be the best idea. Arcade games may be cool for the people that used to play with them in the past, but for the new generation they look dull.

The idea however, of using bitcoin for "arcade type games" is a good one though. No need for coins, just go to the game you want to play and swipe your phone and play!

Maybe there could even be an on blockchain ticket sytem, where instead of getting physical tickets for prizes, there are points awarded on the chain, which you can "sell" to get your prizes!

[Junko]

Interesting idea. It would help spread awareness of Bitcoin. Maybe also put a Bitcoin ATM in your arcade as well, so that those who don't already have bitcoin can buy some to play the games.

[onlinedragon]

Interesting idea. It would help spread awareness of Bitcoin. Maybe also put a Bitcoin ATM in your arcade as well, so that those who don't already have bitcoin can buy some to play the games.

I think the investment of such arcades are really high and I wonder if it's really worth. Still the idea of such Arcade sounds great for in my home. We will see if there will be a live BTC arcade somewhere in the world the next few months. Possible someone see this and start to realize it.

[Patatas]

This looks great indeed! Finally some ideas suggested by gamblers have seen to be taking places.The only issues we can probably have is the efficiency of lightening networks.If there is a jitter or delay in the packages sent or received,mostly the transactions,there is a high chance of miss calculations.If the hardware can't take the load ,it might start lagging.This increases the cost of implementation as well.

[cjmoles]

Sounds swell!  That used to be my thing when I was young.  I stayed in the arcade....that's where everything was back in the day.  However, I think that Bitcoin was created for the internet and for those who avoid people as much as possible.  The large part of the community which spend bitcoin are attracted to it because of its pseudo-anonymity, the anti-social part of the social network...LOL!  Strange, huh?  Social networks are full of anti-social personalities...go figure!

[BARR_Official]

The reason arcades were popular is because those games always had better technology than what was available on home consoles.

When home consoles got to be just as good as arcade machines, there was no reason to go to an arcade. 

So for this to be successful, it would have to be a combination of Bitcoin and a machine that offers something more than Playstation.  Better VR, multiple screens, a seat that moves, specialized controllers or peripherals of some kind, or even interactive real-life moving objects integrated with the game.  A fog machine, strobe lights, life-sized moving targets that come out in front of the huge game screen and knock your shock-chair on its back if you don't shoot them in time.  Or some kind of fun multiplayer experience that you can't get at home, like a combination of a video game and a paintball course.

[Sir_lagsalot]

It could bring back arcades only if bitcoin became widely accepted. Currently the better choice would be to implement the payment of bitcoin,  but not take out the fiat component completely, because most people use fiat anyway.

[NorrisK]

The reason arcades were popular is because those games always had better technology than what was available on home consoles.

When home consoles got to be just as good as arcade machines, there was no reason to go to an arcade. 

So for this to be successful, it would have to be a combination of Bitcoin and a machine that offers something more than Playstation.  Better VR, multiple screens, a seat that moves, specialized controllers or peripherals of some kind, or even interactive real-life moving objects integrated with the game.  A fog machine, strobe lights, life-sized moving targets that come out in front of the huge game screen and knock your shock-chair on its back if you don't shoot them in time.  Or some kind of fun multiplayer experience that you can't get at home, like a combination of a video game and a paintball course.

Hmmm, you are probably right there. That was exactly the reason why people went to arcades in the past.

With VR I can see a lot of potential for an arcade like system. Especially with platforms that allow you to move while you stay on the spot and real "props" such as guns with movement tracking etc. This would really enhance the experience and is something you would never get at home because of the costs and space/looks it takes.

You could even play VR FPS with multiple people in a room so that you can communicate in real time! And all of that for 0.00xxx bitcoin per game!