Namco: Wii killing arcade scene

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 8th February 2008

Namco is closing 60 arcades across Japan, blaming the expanding home console market as the main factor.

The arcade scene in Europe and America has been quiet for a long, long time but in Japan things are a little different. In Japan the arcade has enjoyed a strong, consistent fanbase which has never really been under threat - until now!

Today though Namco Bandai announced that it would be closing up to 60 arcades across Japan, citing the Nintendo Wii as the main reason for the closures.

Yuji Machida acted as spokesman for Namco and told Reuters that the expanding home console market was impacting on the profitability of arcade centers.

"A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home," said Yuji Machida who saw the strong sales of the Wii over the holiday season as the reason for the sudden closures.

Yuji later went on to say that the price of petrol was also a problem for the arcades as families no longer want to travel to arcades when the petrol is so expensive.

The 60 arcades in question account for a whole fifth of Namco Bandai's arcades in Japan.

When was the last time you went to a old-fashioned arcade? Personally, I haven't been to one since University when I used to waste my student loan on House of the Dead 3. Let us know what your favourite arcade game is in the forums.