As one of the fastest moving industries in the world, videogames require a demand unlike any other entertainment out there. In just a few short decades we've seen companies emerge and fade away, no-name games become legends, and technology evolve at an insane rate. Whether we notice it or not, the gaming industry has emerged from a niche pass-time into a worldwide phenomenon. In fact, the sheer speed of progression has turned the gaming industry into a "survival of the fittest" society. Did anyone really blink an eye when SEGA, one of the biggest gaming companies in the world, was forced to drop out of the console race, or were we all just busy playing PS2? Has the shock of not playing your N64 or original Playstation really become top priority now that we've got games like Twilight Princess and Gears of War on the way?
There will always be exceptions to the rule, sure, but our industry moves at such an amazing pace that anything and everything is eventually left in the dust, whether it goes down as legend or lacking. In an interesting turn of events though, we're starting to see the pendulum begin to swing back in one key area of gaming right now. The arcade industry, seemingly diminished due to console gaming, seems to be getting a second life, possibly from the very thing that ended it in the first place.
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It ain't ever coming back. They can only exist in amusement/theme parks.
And the home consoles' arcade game distribution schemes(XBLA, Wii's Virtual Console, and whatever Sony will have, I guess) have put the last nail in that coffin.
Dave and Busters seems to be pretty popular though. They even mention them in this article. Having a place to get drunk and play some arcade games was a pretty good idea.
Well Dave and Busters is the exception; its like Chucky Cheese for grown ups, with beer instead of giant animatronic rats playing the drums, lol.