Yep turning the juice off would make it difficult to run an arcade.

95 Jobs! Really! What the fuck are all those people doing!

My estimates:

Cleaning crew 4 guys
Maintenance crew 8 guys
Security 4 guys
Kiosk/sales Attendants 4 guys
Gangster Accountant 1 guy
Machine procurement, leasing and sales 2 guys
Revenue Collection and auditing 2 guys
Marketing 2 guys
Human Resource 1 guy
Facilities Management 2 guys
Legal 1 guy
MD 1 guy
CEO 1 guy

I make that 33 people. factor in shift working for weekends and you could probably double that, that's still over 30 jobs unaccounted for.

What London arcades are left now then? Not that "Fun"land was a proper arcade anyway...

There's nothing of note.

The only place where you can have a semi-decent game on SF4 is Casino (but you'll want to spend at least an hour in the shower after a visit). The other family Leisure dumps (Las Vegas etc) are mostly gambling machines, and a few dance machines. Namco Station is just bizarre, it's absolute shit as far as arcades go and not worth anyone's time.

Madbury's staff estimates are pretty much spot on! XD - 90 jobs....

At Segaworld it wasn't even that much. There were around 3 members of staff per floor, 8 engineers, 4 floor managers (who also did cash collections), 4 senior managers, 2 in accounts and 1 human resources. Security was outsourced.

No cleaners. I'm not joking.

Te craziest thing is, if someone opened a small place with around 10 VS style cabs hosting the latest fighting games - they'd clean up. It's so simple, but arcade operators in the UK live in their own little world, completely removed from what their potential customers are interested in.

Yeah, I know what I'd do with a small lottery win.

Arcade/LAN center with a nice little reasonably priced coffee corner to boot. I'd have a console lounge upstairs for tourneys and private hire.

I'd run it all myself too, tills, phone, maintenance, accounts, marketing, website, coffee machine, cleaning the shitter... One staff. Or maybe just one lacky to look after the till in case a button ever needs replacing.

It'd either be that or a coffee shop in Amsterdam anyway. Infact, I'd have this arcade in 'Dam. Two birds with one stone.

I was just at Casino the other night... they have 3 pinball tables... THREE!!! must be a strange gravitaional field... I like pinball. The Rolling Stones one has to be a joke, it has Keith Richards (I think) "dancing" across the table, and you have to hit him with the balls, its a good skill table... but still.

As for funland... I mean, it was ok for me, it had arcade machines... and floors and a ceiling... I know it wasn't a mecca for anything, but went like once every 3 months.

What's the idealised version of an arcade then, a load of vs cabs? I'd want some well maintained racing games... something without a Nitrous button, but something with a Lancia Delta Integrale or Ferrari in it, and maybe some planes.

My favourite arcade is HEY in Akihabara. Masses of cabs hosting everything from 80s classics, all the top stuff through the 90s and a good dose of newer machines like Darius Burst. HEY caters to everyone, and it's absolutely spotlessly clean with none of the ridiculous blaring background music you get in arcades here.

Funland was a fucking embarrassment. It's the dirtiest, skankiest funfair or seaside "Amusements" corner blown up fill a few floors.

I cannot get over the machines they had in there, no matter where you were within the building you always ended up with one of those fucking punching bag machines near you. As soon as you walk into the building THAT is the first thing you hear - I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason the were evicted, I would. xD

That video of Hey is making me hard. The clean lines of all thos Astro city (I think) cabs. It's just lush. I love the way the walkthrough goes past all those UFO catchers and then BOOM! it opens out into all that arcade porn.

The players in there are disgusting too! I was stood there watching this guy 1 life Radiant Silvergun. Then upon looking round the corner there's some next bredder sitting there making a mockery of the final boss of Shikigami No Shiro 2 while controlling both sides. He wasn't just mirroring the controls on both sticks, he was actually independently weaving both players through the barrage!

The sheer variety of games people play there too is really refreshing. Those online strategy and RPG games they have in the arcades there are absolutely brilliant (Square's Lord Of Vermillion or Sega's Shining Force for example), we'll never see any of that - same with Border Break

A part of me wants to get into Lord of Vermillion, but it looks very expensive and very, very addictive - cheap and addictive is good, expensive and addictive is not. Also, taking on Asians at an RTS is moralistic suicide. The last time I tried SC2 in a LAN center I walked out half way through my session because it was utterly pointless. I'm reckoning enough as it is with SF.

I'm quite sad about the Troc closing really.

I know it was mismanaged, and not properly maintained - but it was still about the best selection of arcade machines anywhere near London. Mixed feelings, I suppose.

They had a proper devoted group of Bemani players that kept Para Para Paradise and DJ Max Technika busy, much to my amazement.

They also had a good selection of Naomi VS cabinets, and a normally busy group of Vs. fighter players - even if they did tend to favor Tekken.

Also, as Sega Europe became obsessed with UFO Catchers over arcade machines, they managed to feed my developing UFO habit.

Finally, they kept Battle Gear, Initial D, and Derby Owners Club going much longer than you would expect, each with it's own niche following.

It is true that they had no idea how to promote the place, and the condition of the building and fittings had been quite appalling in recent months. There must have been _someone_ who was trying (Bemani and VS cabs etc.), but the approach seemed to be mainly ensnaring unwary tourists - very little repeat business there, I bet.

Out of interest, how much were they charging per shot at the various machines? I don't know how you can possibly get good at any bemani title at a quid a go, unless you are rich, a diehard/hopeless addict, and naturally good at that kind of thing.

I'm guessing 50p for fighters and 100p for everything else?

That was pretty much it - some older Bemani machines were 50p a go, Technika was £1 a go.

They do that crazy line dancing shit don't they to save money, so you're practicing off machine. You need a group of about 6 players to make that work.

Urm, yeah, sort of, kind of - if anyone was playing it, they would be in a group, and the next up would be hovering in the background practising.

Somehow Para Para includes a lot of Eurobeat stuff that gets used endlessly elsewhere, I think that is where the renewed interest came from. Maybe it is just the Initial D anime - I'm surprised you hadn't stepped up

Playing in Funland was always a nightmare. It's OK if you only went there once in a while, but if you're a regular visitor you used to get harrassed by the staff and security.

Near enough all of the regular guys who made the VS setup they had for a while work ended up steering clear due to the constant trouble. Complaining that a stick or button did not work got you nowhere (and their machines were always fucked), and very often people would complain only to get thrown out for "causing trouble". One friend of mine got thrown out by security for confronting one of their guards who nicked his quid off the top of the machine.

I got "banned" from there twice. The first time was when I was given a software upgrade for Pump It Up by Andamiro who manufactured the game. I didn't have any use for it so I sent it to Funland with a letter explaining what it was. One of their guys installed it, but then I got a bizarre letter in the post about how *I* was going around changing their game software. All I did was post it to them with a letter explaining what it was, what they did with it was down to them and I couldn't care less!

So where exactly is the best arcade in the UK? Tragically it might indeed be Namco, even though it's basically gone to shit.

I remember Paper and I talked to a bunch of guys who were heavily into that Sega football game with the collectable cards at ATEI one year. My conclusion is that the arcades over here are waaaay too conservative in their choice of machines.

This is the problem with the operators, they live in their own little world and honestly think that arcades have always been the exact same thing they were setting up in seaside towns aeons ago.

If they actually paid any attention to what people want to play, then it would be a completely different story. I rememeber how much noise I made about DDR when Konami first presented it, but was told it was just a "gimmick" that people would never play.

Namco Station is just about all we have left. Casino near Goodge Street is the other one, but it's so run-down and disgusting it's really not worth going.

Sadly, I completely agree.

Namco are really slow to get new machines in, and never has had any kind of Vs. community.

Yeah,

They only vs. fighter they have is Tekken 6

Also went in there last week for about an hour and tragically their Let's Go Jungle is all arsed up because the gain on the pots for the guns is set way too high, so the slightest movement zips your sight from one side of the screen to the other

Then there's the total waste of space that is dodgems and the dozen pool tables they have which are charged at £1 for 5 minutes of play! Have they gone completely and utterly nuts! Yes I think they have.

I'm in shock - Casino have THIS!!!!1 (I'm not kidding!!!) O_o

O_o err what? Seriously? Maybe this is a transfer from Funland?

Not played that one. Looks brilliant. Is that screen bespoke? Or is it using 2 projectors? I remember the original had 2 CRT monitors didn't it.

It is two screens side by side.

The original used some mirror trickery didn't it to get the screens to match up without showing the bezel?

Woah, that's mint.

Nah it's not from Funland, it's a different company operating Casino. No idea how and why this cab is in there - but I know I'm there most evenings from now on! XD

Oh yeah - this one looks the same.

It looks wicked. I see 4 joysticks on that bad boy. I'm assuming it's 4 player then which would be great fun. Next time I'm in town I'll have to go check it out!

Man this Darius Burst is something else...

The PSP version I always found really underwhelming, it feels massively inferior to what they achieved with G Darius. But this arcade version "Another Chronicle" brings all the new mechanics together beautifully.

Another thing which is brilliant about it is how accessible it is. If you insert 4 credits you get infinite lives! With loads of different routes to choose from, having what is essentially a Training Mode is a godsend.

The cab itself is gorgeous, perfect sticks and buttons, a decent pair of external speakers above you and a fat sub in the seat. The two halves of the screen are slightly misalinged in Casino's cab, I cannot stand they way they leave things like that - something like that would have driven he up the wall until I fixed it. I'd lose sleep over it!

The game itself is the complete opposite of the PSP version, instead of feeling empty and over-simplified, it's utterly overwhelming! I still cannot process the sheer amount of screen space you have to work with, I'm still micro-managing little sections of the screen rather than taking in the whole thing.

Button 1 turns the ship 180, you can fire in both directions. Button 2 is Shot, which can be held for autofire (but is much faster if you rapidly trigger it). Button 3 is the Burst button and this is where things become interesting.

From what I understand, the Burst ability is controlled via an auto-replenishing gauge below your Silverhawk. Double-tapping Burst will launch the Burst just ahead of your current position where it will fire a linear beam. Releasing the Shot button will cause the Burst Unit to pivot in place in an opposite relation to your position, holding the Shot button will lock the unit in place as you move.

Holding the Burst button down will activate a beam attack which is basically a smaller version of the Alpha Beam of G Darius. Firing your Burst beam to counter an enemy's Burst beam will cause your beam to massively power-up and deal crazy damage. The timing of this counter is FAR stricter than in G Darius, I've not once been able to land it properly yet, I'm still struggling to process the massiveness of the screen!

Not tried it yet in multiplayer, but it states on the cab that players can mix their beams! I'd love to see a group of good players on this, the team element is heavily promoted through the entire presentation of the game.

No idea how long this dream machine will last in there. Rinse it while you can!

PS - I NEED the soundtrack!!!! T_T - Bring your headphones, in fact bring a means to record the audio! XD

I might, just might be able to make it over to Casino on Tuesday after work. I have a meeting in London that day...

It's pretty certain I'll be there! XD

Throw a couple of quid in there and you get infinite lives. There aren't that many ways you can have such fun legally for that price.

Awesome. I will have to swing it with home commitments and hole up in the ICE library in the afternoon. I will let you know. What time are you usually down there from?

I normally get there around 6 and spend an hour or so on it. I'm back in there tonight too.

I just have this horrible feeling this won't be there for long.

You're probably right. It's too big and too niche to generate the revenues per sq. ft. that you could get from say... 3 more bloody fruit machines!

Does anyone knows who runs Casino? It seems unrelated to all the Play 2 Wins which otherwise populate central London.

I wonder if the Casino owners are super keen on arcade games, or just try out the odd new cab to see how it goes.

I can't remember the guy's name but I sat next to him on a plane to Italy (just a random encounter) and spoke with him briefly. He didn't seem very clued up about the games themselves, he was on his way to the same arcade trade show I was so he must have an interest in getting stuff in on a trial basis.

Casino is a standalone centre, it's not related to the family Leisure sites at all (Play To Win, Las Vegas etc).

Darius Burst at my place now. Will play later.

This game is the new crack! I had a wicked session today - can't wait till I get paid, I'm on this 24/7! XD

(found a nice vid)

Yeah, it was mint yesterday. They recently did a new versions "Darius Burst Another Chronicle EX" that was released at the end of July in Japan:

http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20110727_463371.html

I'm going to be on this tomorrow after work. Should be at Casino from about 18:30. Can't wait.

There are some really lovely Darius Burst kits about too:

http://www.pmoa.co.jp/pp004/lsb-set
http://www.hlj.com/product/POA38019

The new mecha designs for the game were also done by veterans Kanetake Ebikawa and Takayuki Yanase (both worked on the recent Gundam 00).

I can see that happening on my desk....

I should see you there on Tuesday Mads.

I'll do my best to drop in too. Fingers crossed the unit is still there!

\o/

Great, Hopefully see you guys tomorrow. I'll have my cash ready . We may even be able to get some reasonable multi going on it. It better still be there that's all I'm saying.

I could probably get there for 7...

The game is clicking a lot more now, but the one thing I still have massive problems with is the Burst Counter.

It's nothing like G-Darius where you simply fire your Alpha Beam at an enemy's beam attack in order to counter it - this time, the timing is VERY strict!

Beam attacks are signposted by an audio/visual cue, 3 pulses of light accompanied by a unique sound effect signify a beam attack is about to be fired. The key is timing, the cue is basically a 3 count - you need to fire just after the 3rd count. You need to fire your Burst Beam (just) as the enemy beam is about to hit you, it's basically a "Just Evade" type of timing.

Another wicked little trick you can do is combine your Burst powers when playing multiplayer. The Burst Unit will deploy and fire upon a double-tap of the Burst button, releasing the Fire button when the unit is deployed will cause it to pivot on the spot in opposite relation to your craft. Holding the fire button will lock the Unit in place and have it fire in whichever direction it is facing. The trick in multiplayer is to set up the Burst Units so that the beams cross into and merge with eachother, this multiplies the attack power (and looks absolutely epic in the process).

Another Chronicle Mode is pretty much a Campaign mode, you need to conquer a whole map full of challenges - as an arcade (not just as a single player).

PS - Come down if you can Paper! With 4 ships we can't possibly lose!!! XD

Do it you know you want to!

Hope to see you guys later, I'm off work this afternoon so might pass down there early.

I'll just leave these here. Have fun guys

Sick! I'm going to burn these bosses into my brain! The Lightning Claw pattern is the same on our version - hopefully I'll be able to bite the rest of them too.

Had a wicked session on this tonight, thanks a lot for coming down guys. I notice some subtle differences in this EX version now. They've added an extra visual marker for the Burst Counter (which I'm still failing miserably at), see those 2 circles which meet at the exact point of the counter in this vid? That's new! I WANT IT!

I'm still going to camp out on Easy course for now until I get this this counter down. Once I'm in there I'm hitting up Normal. Will probably be there tomorrow too! XD

Multiplayer is great fun, the team Burst attacks are all kinds of amazing. The damage doesn't seem to scale when extra players are added to the mix, you definitely make a bigger impact on the bosses and shave minutes off the battle when you have team Burst Attacks kicking off (which are absolutely EPIC!)

Really hope this machine does well enough to stay there (was quite busy tonight), I badly want to be kept up to speed on Darius Burst and get to play EX too!