U.K Arcades underwhelming

[JU!]

I wud just like to say how underwhelming U.K arcades r, i went to Traford centre in Manchester yesterday. The Namco station ws to put it mildly shocking. I go to play Soul Calibur 2 the button layout completly wrong, then beside the SC2 machine i c Tekken 4 ?1 a go whats goin on there? The only good machine there ws Initial D vers 2, wheres F-Zero? I know Japan has a larger arcade scene n when i went there it ws amazin with about 10 Evo machines side buy side in mint condition, i struggle even to c one Virtua Fighter 4 Evo machine in Britain which is unbelivable. I can't speak for London which may have a much better arcade scene but i am yet to explore it. But i wud have expected so much more from a Namco station, if u can have Tim Crisis 3 n Virtua Cop 3 whts the problem with havin SNK Vs Capcom chaos or GGXX reload or even GGX?

I am dismayed by the uter lack of knowledge the people who own these arcades seem to have, everyone knws the buttons on SC2 are not layed out like Tekken 4 so why not just move em. I knw i have ranted on but seriously i expected a few more machines than i saw n at lower prices. No wonder arcades are goin down hill.

[Saurian]

I really hate the arcades here.

A while ago I walked (WALKED) all the way from work to Namco Station in Westmister cos I just HAD TO play Pump It Up. When I got there I couldnt find it, was about to leave when I found it downstairs in a totally stupid position right next to the stairs with the sound turned down so low it get drowned by the music of the bar it's in. Add to that the game kept crashing due to the amount of drink spilled into it and the non-working controls....it was unplayable.

Troc is by far the worst tho - I watched someone TRYING to play SNK Vs Capcom Chaos in there the other day, the sticks were so bad commands were impossible - instead of replacing the controls and layout to suit the game they turn the machine off.

A friend of mine was telling me about how Guilty Gear XX hadnt been accepting money for ages - each time an engineer was called they fobbed him off with some rubbish. So after revisiting to play and being met with this non-working machine he enquired again, this time he got someone with a shred of intellegence who opened the machine to find coins jammed in the mech. Just think 3 or 4 days of the machine not taking any money was fixed by simply removing some coins....
These machines are part of a new area in Troc which has VS City cabs (back to back machines) - this has attracted lots of gamers to the arcade (something the staff are not used to) THE most annoying thing about this TINY area is that they insist on playing music over the games to drown them out - I have never understood this logic. I'd be pretty ****ed off if I went to a cinema (arcades are the cinema of videogames imo) and they were playing **** pop music over my film. This area is really small and cramped yet they insist on playing this stupid music over everything so you cant speak in normal tones to friends or hear your game properly - whats even more stupid is the the speakers blast out nothing but treble so you cant hear the music or the games >_<

Arcades here are **** because the idiots running them have no idea about the product or how present it - simple as that. I'd love to go play Evo every night, I love hooking up with other players but I'm not putting money in ****ed up machines in that dump. They dont provide promotions or information, they dont keep themselves or their customers informed of new products or keep up with them in any way - they dont present the products they have in an attractive manner and most importantly they NEVER listen to their customers.

[C']

I wud just like to say how underwhelming U.K arcades r, i went to Traford centre in Manchester yesterday. The Namco station ws to put it mildly shocking. I go to play Soul Calibur 2 the button layout completly wrong, then beside the SC2 machine i c Tekken 4 ?1 a go whats goin on there? The only good machine there ws Initial D vers 2, wheres F-Zero? I know Japan has a larger arcade scene n when i went there it ws amazin with about 10 Evo machines side buy side in mint condition, i struggle even to c one Virtua Fighter 4 Evo machine in Britain which is unbelivable. I can't speak for London which may have a much better arcade scene but i am yet to explore it. But i wud have expected so much more from a Namco station, if u can have Tim Crisis 3 n Virtua Cop 3 whts the problem with havin SNK Vs Capcom chaos or GGXX reload or even GGX?

I am dismayed by the uter lack of knowledge the people who own these arcades seem to have, everyone knws the buttons on SC2 are not layed out like Tekken 4 so why not just move em. I knw i have ranted on but seriously i expected a few more machines than i saw n at lower prices. No wonder arcades are goin down hill.

2D fighters don't draw the crowds anymore whereas today's casual audience tend to appreciate a light gun shooter much more, so your comparison between SNKvCapcom to VC3/TC3 is a bit unfair. I don't mind Trafford Namco too much as it has a fair few games that I enjoy playing (Initial D, Soul Calibur 2, Time Crisis 3, Virtua Cop 3 and Pump It Up) but obviously I agree that it lacks too much. A 2D fighter would be cool (they had Third Strike removed about 2 years ago, and prior to that they had SFA3) and why they got the awful Tokyo Cop instead of F-Zero AX I don't know (they both take a similar amount of space.

My problem with Namco Station is mainly they have too many oldish games that no one plays that could be replaced. Crap like Star Wars Arcade Racer or RaceOn!. Why?

Personally, the odd SC2 button layout don't bother me too much, it's the awful US style sticks that bug me more (especially when they have much better japanese style sticks on the cabs next to it - Virtua Tennis 2 and Virtua Striker). However, back earlier in the year i put up with the dodgy controls as I preferred putting up with it as it meant I got some good challenges from fellow players. However, even that's gone now.

UK arcades really are crap.

[C']

Add to that the game kept crashing due to the amount of drink spilled into it and the non-working controls....it was unplayable.

What is it with Pump It Up machines and crashing? The one at Trafford is absolutely awful and crashes almost every time I visit it. Will just freeze when I'm picking songs so have to hunt down a member of staff who give me a look as though I'm trying to get free games. Frankly, if I was doing that I wouldn't have the nerve to do it so often. It's ridiculous, yet will they cough up the money to fix or replace the machine?

Will they ****.

They just switch off and reboot in the hope that the next person it freezes on will ignore it. Stupid. They need to update the game anywya. Standard PREX is getting boring now. PREX 3 (or even 2) would be nice.

[Saurian]

All machine require pro-active maintenance - but this never seems to occur.

Pump It Up runs off a PC, if this machine is against a wall or not ventilated there will be problems - disks need to be cleaned, fans blown out, connectors and switches checked - but it's doubtful any of this is taken seriously.

As long as the lights come on it's working ennit - what do WE know?

[C']

As long as the lights come on it's working ennit - what do WE know?

The machine is supposed to have lights?

Guess what else doesn't work on it. Actually tell a lie, I think the 1up top left pad lights up when I stand on it.

[stroppa]

Here in auld reekie we have the most temperamental VF4 ver. C machine. No evo to speak of whatsoever. The VF machine we have will occasionally accept your money, more often than not you'll just have to accept facts and leave without getting a credit. I've alerted the staff more than once about this, but they just don't seem to give a toss.

[Max M]

The bastards have blocked half of the Trocadero arcade off now, so they can put the bloody Salon (From the Channel 4 TV program) in there.

Even less games.

[C']

Here in auld reekie we have the most temperamental VF4 ver. C machine. No evo to speak of whatsoever. The VF machine we have will occasionally accept your money, more often than not you'll just have to accept facts and leave without getting a credit. I've alerted the staff more than once about this, but they just don't seem to give a toss.

If arcade operators can't even be bothered with basic maintenance on coin mechanisms they may as well not even bother

[Magnakai]

The bastards have blocked half of the Trocadero arcade off now, so they can put the bloody Salon (From the Channel 4 TV program) in there.

Even less games.

So that's what's in there. BASTARDS.

BASTARDS BASTARDS BASTARD.

Actually, are there any VF4 Evo machines in London at all? I haven't been into Namco Station in a while, so maybe there's one there. But there isn't one in Troc or any Play 2 Win that I've tried. I should try Casino.

[Rsdio]

I dunno, the faults of UK arcades usually doesn't bother me since I'm usually happy to be in one at all . Sometimes the badly looked after machines gives a bit of an extra challenge - I remember getting a hefty Street Fighter Alpha 2 score despite the joystick not registering left movements and two buttons being broken.

If I remember right, one of the Daytona cabs at the Trafforfd centre has one of the streering wheels almost completely melted

[C']

If I remember right, one of the Daytona cabs at the Trafforfd centre has one of the streering wheels almost completely melted

How about the seats that don't lock into place anymore, so you spend the entire game sliding backwards and forwards

[goldbricker]

I found my first ever Initial D arcade just round the corner from me recently. When I sat down to play the game the car wouldn't go above 3rd gear and was stuttering at 95kph. There's me thinking where's all the hype about this game come from? Until I realise that my rival is miles ahead of me and I died before the second checkpoint. The accelerator was ****ed!

I eventually got the PS2 version and saw the light.

[Firsty]

Last time I was in the Troc was September.
I was quite chuffed to see some VS City cabs.
Took a gander, and saw SF3 3rd, it used to be just down the steps.
So I watched some Shotoscrub playing for a while.
He was good, especially with parrying.

I came back later and had a little play around with Yun.
I'd started playing as him only TWO DAYS before hand.
Minding my own business practicing some combos
then someone comes Pwn me :/
I learned a lot off him tho. He was a ****ing robot.
Nice to see some skill there.

It's way too busy in the early evening tho.
And that Capcom VS SNK cab!!!
WHAT A ****ING JOKE!
The screen has gone green and purple.
Player One's kick buttons don't work
and the stick is so poor.


Ah well....

[Toast]

Yeah it was a surpprise to see those Versus cabs at the time but the constant flashing of the winner light really pissed me off. I just couldn't concentrait on the action.

Popped into Casino and as ever its empty these days, the machines are in such poor condition nobody goes there. I miss the arcade gaming of old and the expert community it brought together.