You’d be forgiven for thinking arcades went the way of payphones. Taking on new forms, the arcade continues to survive.
Published in · 11 min read · Aug 19, 2020
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Tokyo’s Akihabara neighbourhood is famously known as the mecca of anime and video games. Sadly, on the 30th of August, it will be losing one of its iconic landmarks. The popular Sega Akihabara Building 2 arcade announced that it will be closing its doors permanently.
For an entire generation, video game arcades might be relegated to the history books of gaming. Yet for a moment in time, arcades were inseparable from gaming. You’d be forgiven for thinking they’d already gone the way of payphones. However, you’ll find that even in 2020, arcades are still alive and have evolved to survive in changing times. But the clock is ticking.
In the US, arcade games have a long history, taking various forms like fortune-telling and pinball machines. But it was in 1972 when Atari released Pong, that everyone saw video games were a viable industry. At a time when other machines brought in $10, Pong brought in…
