Articles
Arcade. Eyesore. It’s Conquered.
Arcade. Eyesore. It’s Conquered - The state of the modern arcade.
Gary has a childhood full of memories set in that familiar ‘80s arcade environment. He now
takes a look at the state of the modern arcade.
By Gary Durston
L
ast week, I had a most
disappointing time with
games. I found myself
visiting Namco Funscape at the
Trafford Centre in Manchester,
and like a child I approached
this dedicated arcade with
glee streaming from my face,
overlooking the bizarre use
of an umlaut in the title’s ‘u’.
Issue 57 • July 2014
Now, before I continue, I would
like to make it abundantly clear
I am not defaming Namco
Funscape itself, nor it as a
business model, its staff, its
décor, or anything about it as
its own entity. But from the
moment I walked in there
until long after I left I felt
both depressed and angry at
the realisation that arcades
are dead – both in general,
and to me personally.
I’m not so naïve that I didn’t
know this has long already been
the case for the last 15 or so
years, but it’s been so long since
I had set foot into a ‘dedicated’
10 • Gam SۈXY