26 replies to this topic

[vectra666]

As the title states I went to weston super mare (mud) today to have a blow out on the slots like I do every once in a while. Took £300 and spent around £250 on the fruits mainly multi player astra types. But after about 3hrs I suddenly became bored I mean whacking £30+ in a £5jp to get a £2 top board or 50 in a £25er to get a fiver if I was lucky, also the arcades down there are getting shitter less slots I mean a 4player partytime reduced to two and one of them glass cracked, other one had hardly any lights working, a bit like the duff beer I seen with only a couple of lights lit up on the cash trail, machines with no start buttons and the auto buttons sticking. So I feel now there,s no point in wasting my money in these, yes when I go on holiday I,ll have a hour or so a day but not a whole day with a ton burning a hole in my pocket. It just seams the machines are getting tighter as in payouts in recent years and the arcade owners do give 2 shits about entertainment and the look of the place just grabbing every quid possible a couple of positives I did get to play a cops n robbers red and a casino crazy fruit red 5p play still won nowt from them lol.
So end of the day I,ll stick to a bit of online play and the emulations

[gemini17]

The bottom line is like all businesses, arcades are suffering in the recession we are firmly in(even though politicians would argue we are not!),as much as any other business is.

Unless the arcade is a mainstream monopoly like Nobles,Quicksilver and Teddys for example-The rest of the field quite simply just do not have the funds or resources to improve the arcades etc unlike the big names I mention-And even they have suffered casualties in recent years,especially Quicksilver.

The above relates to the recent years of recession and current climate we are locked in! And hence with little money around,less people are playing in any gaming centres.

You got to remember too Vectra in the winter period few people visit coastal towns,main factor the weather and little or no money to gambol!

If I do have a gambol,which like your self is rare now-I stick to the local arcade centres in the town-we have Warwicks here in Blackpool.As they not only pay a good percentage but they also appear to have regular players.

I avoid the sea front like the plague,as the arcades are so run down now and like the experience you just had,if I took £300 to have a punt it would be gone in less than half the time your money took to lose.

If you have local arcade close to you Vecs,then my advice would be when you want a game try them.

Avoid the coastal arcades or better still try some of the online sites,I find now I have a better game from online bingo and slots than what ive ever had from any amusement centre.

 

Jay

[andy-1]

I hardly touch arcades as much as I used to when i'm on holiday as there is just hardly any decent machines about.

 

Lucky you vecs you came across my favourite cops and robbers the red one.

 

Last time I was in rhyl there is an arcade that has a few older machines here are some I can remember,

 

Paperazzi, Exchanges Unlimited Empire, there are more but can't remember what ones as it was the beginning of december when I went in.

[Bencrest]

If you aren't already aware, there's no fun in a 'quick' gamble these days, the vast majority of machines are geared to give a streak and therefore, even on smaller stakes and jackpots (especially lo-techs!) you can expect to put in many times the jackpot amount before getting a 'good' game

[chasnbons]

Last time I was in rhyl there is an arcade that has a few older machines here are some I can remember,

 

 

The only arcade worth going in, in Rhyl IMO is Harkers, well kept machines, nice staff, any probs (the we've had) sorted without issue, free drinks offered without having to ask AND..... Les (the owner) if a lovely bloke, very friendly etc and how many other arcades do you know where the big boss will walk round putting money in the machine you're playing, at random.

 

He's put either 10 or 20 quid in a B3 I've been playing LOADS of times which I've NEVER had ANYWHERE else.

[Magz]

Frankly, I'm surprised there are as many arcades around still as there are. Look at HMV, limped along for a while but it just couldn't compete with the Internet. I see arcades going the same way. Why put up the the BS that you usually get in an arcade when you can sign in online and play there. Recent threads that bemoan the stuff that goes on with staff and favourites etc are not an issue online - nor is poorly maintained machines and lack of variety.

 

Give it a few more years and the only ones open will be those that offer a premium experience and something a bit different to the current norm. A few years after that they'll convert into another charity shop or whatever.

 

At the end of the day, you can only go on so long with a few regular addicts / people that don't have Internet access ro a credit card...

[vectra666]

Totally argee with all comments above but people say there,s no money as in recession. Then why do I hear about these FOBT's in scouse land a poor area that has 69 of the things raking in £72MILLION in less than a year. And another laugh forgot to add down weston yesterday went into a bigger arcade £25ers + and got told to leave as had no ID lol and now the goverment is putting more tax on fruits meaning the arcades will only get tighter n rougher to make their profits up and then there,s the. Newer £100jp coming in, in november, things are only set to get worse for the arcade business and player alike

[Magz]

If I was in power, I'd ban FOBTs in the first 5 minutes...

[andy-1]

I have been in Les Harkers amusements and last time I was in there he had some old machines.

 

But the arcade i'm on about is in a side street, it is by verns amusements. It is only a liitle place but has plenty of older machines no D.O.N.D

[chasnbons]

I know the one you mean mate.

[Daryl]

I haven't been in an amusement arcade now for at least two years... the last time I went in one, I was playing a fruit machine that I had played for many years, and I suddenly forgot what you had to do!

I can play them on the emulator, and I remember well how to play them, with hardly any problem at all... but when I went and played one for real, I just couldn't remember. Whether it was all the noise around me in there and flashing lights, my memory just couldn't cope with it - and that my friends will probably be the last time I ever set foot in an arcade again.

Why waste money like that when the fun isn't there anymore, it just didn't feel right or the same anymore.

[jackpotjon05]

I totally agree with all the comments made so far.

 

I used to love going to my local seafront/piers etc and had a great day many years ago playing good percentage machines

 

and some really good classics and yes, would sometimes walk away with a lovely profit.

 

Simply now, I have absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever now and probably the same for 1000's of other punters.

 

This is why I believe arcades are suffering these days, because nobody wants to play crap, deal or no deals etc or put in £20 + on a 10p play

 

£5 jackpot machine to get one board and MAYBE get a fiver back.

 

Arcades quite simply are NOT what they used to be, therefore people aren't playing in them, going elsewhere (e.g online)

 

and quite frankly have done it to themselves to a certain extent.

 

Why would I want to walk into a pub, bang over £300 in a deal or no deal for example to not even get a £70 jackpot?

 

I understand that the government haven't helped, but why put money grabbing machines in your arcades that people hate, don't want to play

 

and worse lose £100's on?

 

This is why you are losing customers.

 

I am one ex-punter and I know why I don't go to arcades anymore, how many more take my view and have done the same?

 

Before you know it, that's 100's of non-customers and 1000's of pounds profit loss for arcades.

 

To put it simply, if customers are bored as we have discussed and get crap machines, give me one good reason to visit one?

 

This is only going to get worse and one day this industry could die altogether.

 

Arcade owners take note, maybe need to listen to what customers want?

 

I won't be back for as long as this continues.

Edited by jackpotjon05, 27 January 2013 - 12:54 PM.

[Bencrest]

That's why £500 machines were put into arcades. They lost 'casual' punters, who would happily slot away on the £25 machines, so they put in £500 machines to screw as much as possible out of the 'core' players, and ideally pick up some new players on the way, sucked in by the 'random' element.

 

People who want to go to an arcade with £20 and have an entertaining game are ignored by the industry.

 

Gambling will (and always has) done well in a recession. There may be less money about, but that only leads to vulnerable people turning to gambling to try and make money in other ways, often with terrible consequences. 

 

As for arcade owners not listening to customers, apparently they do - and apparently we all want higher stakes and jackpots, which is probably true of core players but only serves to further alienate the casual punter.

 

Club machines do quite well out here, especially among the casual players, due to the lower stake (10p / £100 or 25p / £250) - many people realise that the profile is way longer, but they are getting a better value game compared to the pub machines.

 

As to why arcades are still about - well, I think a lot of that is down (at least in arcades I've been in) the older players, who wouldn't know how to play online, who don't trust online gambling, or who like to go out and meet people while gambling.

 

Having said that, I would rather go into an arcade than gamble online, because of how the payback works in an arcade vs an online slot, and the fact I preferred variety of games and the lower jackpot levels in an arcade.

Edited by Bencrest, 27 January 2013 - 03:17 PM.

[mabby2000]

Last time I was in rhyl there is an arcade that has a few older machines here are some I can remember,

 

 

The only arcade worth going in, in Rhyl IMO is Harkers, well kept machines, nice staff, any probs (the we've had) sorted without issue, free drinks offered without having to ask AND..... Les (the owner) if a lovely bloke, very friendly etc and how many other arcades do you know where the big boss will walk round putting money in the machine you're playing, at random.

 

He's put either 10 or 20 quid in a B3 I've been playing LOADS of times which I've NEVER had ANYWHERE else.

 

 

 

I have been to rhyl back in august 2011, seen some arcades there. There's one called vern's.. i have no idea if it's based on the owner's name! people say that there used be a load of proper classics in there back in the old days?!

Edited by mabby2000, 27 January 2013 - 05:26 PM.

[mabby2000]

I for 1, i ran an arcade in 1998 to 2001 yes we used to get customers come in for a natter an coffees! at the time i had £15 jackpots then.... was always busy.

fast forward to today arcades hardly have customers in, it's cos they moved on into bookies an play on them bastardised machines called the FOBT'S!

I often wondered would it make any difference if i opened up an arcade full of fbot's...?! even if i started an arcade i will not have any fbot's...

i did have a little inkiling.... what about an arcade full of clubbers? least they run to percentages (not the ferry versions mind!)

[straekseims]

U all say that, has anyone been to the arcade in march? Its close to what we want, just wrong machines lol £5 afu and old reds. Service is bad as they put forign telly on and ignore you! Got accused of scamming as there bar x went wrong as it kept dropping to bottom n went empty! ....thanks! They had been open a day .also meltdown had a loose bottom door that wasn't locked! After £8 in realised it was in test....told em and got my £8 back but got shirty with me! Wtf for?

[RHM]

I occasionally have a tenner on the granny bar x machines lol

[royal exchange]

Hello all, there are 2 arcades near me a nobels/ shoppers amusements and a bensons. There used to be a monachs as well but that's been shut for months now. When shoppers first opened 10 years ago it was great, there was loads of oxo's my (my favourites) and they paid out token jackies which I liked. A variety of £5jp and decent £25jp. The service was great, good promotions and free bingo. But fast forward 10 years and it's gone downhill, all the decent fruit's have gone, the service has gone down the kharzi. It seems to me all tey care about is the £500jp machines, I haven't bben in there for a while as I got fed up of losing all the time. The last decent arcade I went to was MR p's in Gravesend. Brilliant place. Friendly, free food and drink didn't have to ask they just offered. I will definitley go back there. £40 lasted me all day. How many arcades can you walk into today with £40 which lasts for 5 or so hours. Arcades were so much better in the late 80's early 90's. Blimey im getting old.

[Boulderdash]

Arcades are no longer fun because they are no longer arcades. They are casinos.

 

This happened about the same time as the concept of the AWP went out the window, about ten years ago I think when the JPs went rapidly up from £10 to £15 to £35 and then £70, still with a 25p stake available. 

 

Ten years ago you could take £20 to an arcade and play for an hour. Now you are lucky to get ten minutes. And it will only get worse as the last two govts are addicted to the taxes they are reaping from gambling. FOBTs are of course the crack cocaine of gambling, which is why they are proliferating in the recession. 

 

There is no amusement in fruit machines any more, it is just gambling and that is why the fun is diminished and the arcades are dead.

 

Sad.