Two very different reactions to shmups

[ROBOTRON]

I'm 24, and I play a bit of everything. I don't really know anyone in their 40's that plays video games.

Shame on joo!

I'm 40 and shmups are my fav genre.

[stuntman]

ahh, sorry mate. i didn't recognise your name on the forum and thought you were new here.

That's OK. I don't post all that often. I really need to get myself an avatar.

what's the big century cab like?

It's pretty cool. Mine came with a multi-sync monitor which offers some flexibility. I managed to rotate it on my own (laying the cab on its back) but it's not something I'd want to do often. Actually, I decided mine will be staying vert. There's a fair amount of room to work with inside. It's the only cab I've ever used, so I can't compare it with anything else, but I really do like it

[Turrican]

the 40 years old one like RFJ and showed skill despite not touching a stick in years.

the 24 years old buddy laughed at your weird vertical monitor, didn't grab any powerup, and thought for the rest of the day how could you waste your money into this shit.

Am I correct? (call me Sherlock)

edit: yeah, real Sherlock, I didn't even notice you already gave away the solution

[Kaspal]

Well I'm also in my 20's (latter half thereof it's true) and have a cab with Futari in it, also have a friend (in her 20's) who constantly wants to come over and play it, so we do exist

well, im 28, and te very 1st shmup ii played ever, was Gradious... and the 1st one i ever finished was Life Force... since then im hooked... so, yeah we DO exist, but i know most of the ppl in our age range are more "mainstreamers".

[Fenrir]

well, im 28, and te very 1st shmup ii played ever, was Gradious

Karous? Gladius? Gracious? Bet it's an unlocable in Otomedius G for X360.

[Asherdude]

I'm 24, and I play a bit of everything. I don't really know anyone in their 40's that plays video games.

Shame on joo!

I'm 40 and shmups are my fav genre.

Same here. I grew up with shmups. I started off with the Atari 2600 and I'm been into them ever since.

[Shatterhand]

My father is reaching his 50s (he's 49 now) and he does play games... though I think he only plays RTS games nowadays. I dunno, I haven't talked with him for a while.

He was pretty good on the first Fifa though

[spadgy]

jpj wrote;

you'd know

Hehe, yup 38 & counting...

I guess there's two types of shoot'em up players here:-
*The old dinosaurs who have stuck to what they like since the 80s (very few btw )
and
*Younger guys who are clever enough to keep their eyes and minds open.

Even Del was young once! I've seen some amazing BMXing pictures!

I'd argue there's a middle group to add to Del's two. I'm 28. Actually I'm 27, but I've been thinking I was 28 for a while. Anyway. I was always keen on shmups from afar when I was proper young. Then I got into them as my favourite genre on the Amiga. But it wasn't till about 2000 that the obsession started. Or does that put me in the younger group? I just think quite a large group of us who missed out on being teenagers in the 80s arcade era, but just remember when arcades were big, and are trying to get hold of what they missed out.

On the original topic, I'm always surprised when modern shmups doesn't cause some reaction. Most of my mates give me the 'it looks great but I couldn't do it' line, but when I do get people to have a go they seem quite surprised how capable they are...

[Hulkcore]

I've always been a PC gamer since as long as I can remember. My love of shmups grew out of playing Raptor: Call of the Shadows on my PC growing up. I eventually started getting into MAME like 6-7 years ago and stumbled upon Esprade one day. It blew me away and opened the floodgates of Cave shmups. I pretty much just started finding as many Cave roms as I could and eventually found my way here.

My favorite games list would practically contain a game or two from almost every genre imaginable, except MMO's...

If I hung out with more older people I would probably know some more gamers.

[TOK]

Settle down you whippersnappers. LOL.
I'm in my early 40's and I've also been gaming since the Atari 2600 days. Still have more consoles than I can count, a gaming LAN, and 5 arcade games. Have a bunch of old crotchety buddies that game, too. I actually feel a bit lucky to have lived through arcade gamings Golden Age. You guys in your 20's missed something great. The fact that you're here guarantee's that you would have loved it!

[Zebra Airforce]

I wish DEL would compile all the stories from his youth in the arcades. I'm sure he's had alot of amazing experiences.

[DEL]

Zebra Airforce wrote;

I wish DEL would compile all the stories from his youth in the arcades. I'm sure he's had alot of amazing experiences.

I've listed few of them already. I wouldn't want to bore people with arcade stories of yesteryear .

TOK wrote;

I actually feel a bit lucky to have lived through arcade gamings Golden Age. You guys in your 20's missed something great. The fact that you're here guarantee's that you would have loved it!

According to ill6 and Mulletgeezer, the arcade scene is still strong in Japan though, with queues behind the Death Smiles cabs.
I'm sure GaijinPunch can say more on this.

With regards to the Thread Topic, the arcade-going mentality has disappeared from the West. ill6 & I were at our local arcade last night and he said that it could do much better with new candy cabs & more new boards, but I basically replied that this wouldn't make a difference, not in terms of new customers. Things would stay the same, the same local fighter players and a handful of shooter players.

The western habit is now either online play of FPS's at internet cafes or just staying at home. The current generation don't have the experience of anything else. The simple fact is that there are hardly any arcades left in the West with 2D skill based games. Such games have long since been eradicated from arcades and bowling alleys. All that is left are the 4 minute thrill rides. No-one is going to spend large dollar$ on expensive games that last 4 minutes per credit whether you're skilled or not . This is now all you will find in arcades and alleys. They are truly for pure amusement and offer no value for money.
*Too expensive
*Way too short
~ No value for money, no sense of accomplishment = no repeat custom.

They are in effect, shooting themselves in the foot.

The World changes very very quickly, and not always for the best. The western gaming industry has lost sight of what made video games so popular in the first place.

EDIT:- Super Laydock and I went to the ATEI Amusement Trade Show in London in January. We had a few goes on the machines that will appear in the bowling alleys and arcades this year. Of course they were nearly all the 4 minute per credit thrill rides.
A case in point; we both sat in a brand new roller coaster type machine which was like Prop Cycle flying through the air. 4 minutes later the credits ended and I asked Super Laydock whether we actually had any control over our characters?! He wasn't sure and nor was I. At one point I thought I had influenced my character to go upwards, but....no. I swear the whole experience was purely on rails .
Its just getting worse .

[Zebra Airforce]

But there aren't any arcade stories of this year anyways!
I have read a few of your stories in the Toaplan Infinite Looping thread and found them to be pretty damn interesting. It would be a good idea to put some of these stories down, so folks who are interested can get an idea of how lively the arcades were, and maybe to experience some of what they (and what I) have missed out on.

[DEL]

Zebra Airforce wrote;

But there aren't any arcade stories of this year anyways!
I have read a few of your stories in the Toaplan Infinite Looping thread and found them to be pretty damn interesting. It would be a good idea to put some of these stories down, so folks who are interested can get an idea of how lively the arcades were, and maybe to experience some of what they (and what I) have missed out on.

I have saved a few stories on word docs .

In terms of how lively the arcades were....they were quite busy, but still mostly the regulars only. Arcade-going has always been a niche type thing in London, both in the old days and now.



Mills Team

[JoshF]

4 minute per credit thrill rides

That's a weird thing to call a hunting sim.

[Ed Oscuro]

That screen of Fire Shark with autofire set up is priceless :D

[DEL]

JoshF wrote;

Quote:
4 minute per credit thrill rides

That's a weird thing to call a hunting sim.

Alright alright its a generalisation .

How long can you last on a Hunting sim by the way

[Ed Oscuro]

How long can you last on a Hunting sim by the way :?:

Depends on whether the secret "mutant death deer" option is activated.

[Chi_Ryu]

I guess there's two types of shoot'em up players here:-
*The old dinosaurs who have stuck to what they like since the 80s (very few btw )
and
*Younger guys who are clever enough to keep their eyes and minds open.

What about us who are 30, so not quite old farts, but also not young'ins...? I have fond memories of playing Rush'n'Attack, Rush'N Crash, Commando, Flying Shark in the arcade... and of watching my brother playing Knuckle Joe!

However, I'm too young to remember Space Invaders (came out the year I was born) and Galaga...

I have shown my current students a couple of shmups - Progear and Ketsui (I'm a University Lecturer) through a supergun and TV, and out of the group of 10, three people were willing to give it a proper try (but all three credit fed, tsk, tsk), and the other 7 just looked bemused (but impressed). There ages were 18-23, and they mostly prefer Final Fantasy, WOW and recent FPS and RTS games... and one who loves SF3.3 (and has got half a dozen of the others playing it reegularly with him now).

[MX7]

Sigh, I wish you were my lecturer...

[DEL]

Chi_Ryu wrote;

What about us who are 30, so not quite old farts, but also not young'ins...? I have fond memories of playing Rush'n'Attack, Rush'N Crash, Commando, Flying Shark in the arcade... and of watching my brother playing Knuckle Joe!

Hmm...good point.
I guess you're the missing link
You are old enough to have experienced those games in arcades and newsagents tho

[t0yrobo]

In terms of how lively the arcades were....they were quite busy, but still mostly the regulars only. Arcade-going has always been a niche type thing in London, both in the old days and now.

I don't think I've seen that many people in a arcade here in Michigan in at least 10 years, if ever. Heck I've only ever seen a handful of shmups ever in the wild, a handful of different Raiden games, and some other one I can't remember (I was 7 or so when I saw it).

[Hulkcore]

I grew up spending my allowance in the local arcade on Street Fighter 2, the Mortal Kombat series, Aliens Vs. Predator (brawler), the 6 player X-Men brawler, Sunset Riders, Final Fight, Virtua Fighter, Samurai Showdown, Captain America and the Avengers, etc... But I don't remember that arcade having any shooters. This was like elementary school age, so my memory may be incomplete.

Basically, the last wave of American arcade goodness before DDR and high powered consoles sealed the coffin.

And the thing is, I'm fine with light gun games, full cockpit racing/flying games, and even some of the skateboard/snowboard games, but I start drawing the line when I see people paying $2 to play a fishing arcarde game with a fake fishing pole.

There also used to be a large arcade in the Mall of America but the last time I was in there I ended up playing Tetris because that and like Tekken 5 were the only games that didn't involve standing on some platform or swinging a fake piece of sports equipment.

[kccttzj]

My brother and his friends were about 13 when I introduced them to shooters. Only my brother and his one friend were even remotely interested. They credit fed Gradius V like none other for days, but then were done with it, and moved on. His friend still likes shooters, and plays them every once in a while, and when they see or hear about new ones, they always tell me about it. I'm not sure if it has to do with their ages or their interests.

In terms of how lively the arcades were....they were quite busy, but still mostly the regulars only. Arcade-going has always been a niche type thing in London, both in the old days and now.

I don't think I've seen that many people in a arcade here in Michigan in at least 10 years, if ever. Heck I've only ever seen a handful of shmups ever in the wild, a handful of different Raiden games, and some other one I can't remember (I was 7 or so when I saw it).

I'm working on a list of shooter locations in MI. I can check the database at work, and find out where a lot of machines are, but those are only the ones with my company. I know there are quite a few others out there, because I've seen them, but they always get rotated somewhere else.

Arcades in Michigan are busy, but for the most part, they're overgrown with redemption games and things like "Mad Wave Motion Theater". There are some good games thrown here and there though. I'm fortunate enough to have some in my area, but I still don't know many locations with shooters.

[320x240]

The thing with modern arcade games is that in some ways they are truer to the nature of the original arcade games than the games we usually talk about here. The same could be said about a lot of games for the WII. Shmups (and many other scrolling 'credit-feeders') are the offspring of a once much maligned streamlining of the arcade industry. Think about the JAMMA standard for instance. The home consoles came to be based around the same way of thinking. What peripherals except the standard 3 button (later 6 button) joystick/joypad did ever sell in large quantities?

[Chi_Ryu]

I guess you're the missing link
You are old enough to have experienced those games in arcades and newsagents tho

...and in dodgy back rooms behind Video shops, too XD

I've many fond memories of playing hacked versions of SF2 on electrocoin cabs in my local corner shop, too! Played Flying Shark in a pub (when I was about 9).

And Robocop (and others) in an arcade in a *garden centre* of all places.

(And buying cassettes for my Amstrad CPC464 in my local newsagents)

Ah, them were the days.

[spadgy]

I guess you're the missing link
You are old enough to have experienced those games in arcades and newsagents tho

...and in dodgy back rooms behind Video shops, too XD

I've many fond memories of playing hacked versions of SF2 on electrocoin cabs in my local corner shop, too! Played Flying Shark in a pub (when I was about 9).

And Robocop (and others) in an arcade in a *garden centre* of all places.

(And buying cassettes for my Amstrad CPC464 in my local newsagents)

Ah, them were the days.

That's exactly where I fit in. I missed the golden age, but the machines were still about (especially living on the coast by places like Hastings). Chip shops, youth clubs, local pubs especially, and I too remember a garden centre with a cab. Can't remember what though. I also remember buying cassette games in a local news agents. You didn't grow up in East Sussex did you?!!

[Chi_Ryu]

You didn't grow up in East Sussex did you?!!

Nope, I grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire. However, it was like this all over the south east UK (and probably the rest of the country, too).

Our local garden centre (the Bishop Centre in Taplow) didn't just had a cab... it had an arcade of about a dozen (maybe even a couple more)! And not a fruity to be seen...

[Rupert H]

I'm aged 28 and have always been a little uncertain when exactly this "golden age" was. On my route to secondary school in West London there were at least four different arcades which I would leave a good hour or two early to visit each morning. As a 12 year old I would spend every last penny of dinner money on the likes of Outzone, Street Fighter II and Wrestlefest. As ages go, this seemed pretty golden to me, but I understand that they were even busier before SFII changed the landscape of arcade gaming.

Although I spent a huge amount of my school days playing arcade games, for me the "golden age" would have to be the Namco Wonderpark days. Having a Japanese-style arcade in the center of London and with guaranteed competition and multiple cabs housing the latest games was, in my opinion, the best you're ever going to get in the UK. Although the divided pockets of arcade gaming I enjoyed in my youth were fantastic, Namco was the center of London gaming, and having a community centralised like that pretty much every night of the week was incredible.

[DEL]

Rupert H wrote;

Although I spent a huge amount of my school days playing arcade games, for me the "golden age" would have to be the Namco Wonderpark days. Having a Japanese-style arcade in the center of London and with guaranteed competition and multiple cabs housing of the latest games was, in my opinion, the best you're ever going to get in the UK. Although the divided pockets of arcade gaming I enjoyed in my youth were fantastic, Namco was the center of London gaming, and having a community centralised like that pretty much every night of the week was incredible.

The London Namco Wonderpark was the best place for fighters but not shooters, so I spent more time at Goodge than at Namco.

I'm aged 28 and have always been a little uncertain when exactly this "golden age" was.

The main time was 1982-1992.
SFII did indeed change the face of video games from 1992. SNK virtually stopped making varied original 2D Platformers and Shooters and went wholesale into Art of Fighting, King of Fighters series etc etc ad infinitum.
Of course consoles and 3D became stronger too.
London's Casino Arcade (Goodge) stayed strong with new releases appearing regularly until 2000. Since 2000, only 2 new shooters were bought/tested by the arcade:- Mush and GWG. So we've installed our own games there since 2004 (Ketsui, Batrider, Cyvern, S Striker, Ibara, Pink Sweets, EspGaluda, EspII, Strikers 1999, Fire Shark etc).