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Japan’s once-booming arcade sectoris hitting hard times, with numerous arcade closures being blamed onNintendo’s hugely popular Wii console.
Sega Sammy Holdings Inc plans to close 110 arcades and Namco BandaiHoldings is set to close between 50 and 60 of its outlets this year.
"Arcades are expensive, noisy and filled with cigarette smoke," 15-year-old gamer Gene Sato, told Reuters, adding, "besides, I can stay home and play NBA Live on PlayStation 3."
Nintendo to blame? "It’s pretty clear that Nintendo has been the leader in innovation," said Jay Defibaugh, an analyst at Credit Suisse.
Jun Higashi, president of Namco Bandai's Namco, said at Tokyo’sannual arcade expo back in February that arcade companies, “need toinnovate, especially in the realm of games where people move theirbodies,” adding also that there is a need to, "develop games that can'tbe played at home."
Whether this current downturn in Japan’s arcade fortunes is cyclicaland a result of the latest generation in the home console cycle remainsto be seen.
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