The recent announcement of Pokkén Tournament caught many by surprise. Not only because it was a serious Pokémon fighting game, made in part by the producers of Tekken and Soul Calibur but that the game was coming out to Japanese arcades first. Cue many fans shouting about this decision, complaining that the game should come out worldwide and on home consoles first, rather than getting an arcade release at all.

This feedback, to me at least, shows a lack of understanding on how most Japanese fighting games are tested and released, with an arcade run always coming first to test the game, get fan feedback from the most hardcore players and make balances for an eventual home console version (See Street Fighter 4, Tekken 6, Guilty Gear Xrd) but the low standing of arcades in the western gaming market.

Unlike in the West, the arcade market in Japan is still fairly healthy. Just look at the multi levelled arcades you find in Akihabara, with whole floors dedicated to just fighting games or shoot ‘em ups. There are game companies in Japan who just make arcade games and there is a cabinet for pretty much any genre. Rhythm games like Beatmania, any fighting game under the sun, light gun games, mech fighters with 180 degree screens and moveable chairs.

The Japanese arcade experience is so much better than any arcade you’d find in the West. This is even taking into account that most Japanese arcades are built because it is the only real place you can gamble in Japan. Until we get 8 man mech fighting games with 360 degree bubbles to play in at my local bowling alley, they will just be better. Compared to the USA, where there are a couple of barcades and dedicated arcades like Family Fun in Santa Monica, you’re lucky to find a House of the Dead cabinet at a bowling alley in the UK.

I doubt you’ll ever see an online Gundam arcade cabinet outside of Japan.

The only big arcades in the UK are the Namco Funscapes and if you are lucky to find an arcade or bowling alley, the number of functioning arcade cabinets is low. You’ll get plenty of penny slot games, the occasional Time Crisis machine with a broken light gun or if you are especially fortunate, a working Third Strike or Mortal Kombat 3 cabinet. There just simply isn’t a market for arcades in the West which makes me very disappointed that we won’t get games like Pokkén Tournament in their original state, unlike you have tons of cash to import a machine.

Having said that, arcades are more cynical than a normal game in its design. They are clearly made to suck up as many 1 pound coins as possible, are too difficult to complete unless you have a grand in small change and seem completely redundant in a world of home consoles where one purchase will get you unlimited playthroughs. Yet, in spite of all that, there is something so satisfying about playing an arcade game, which you simply can’t replicate on a console or a PC. Sure, you can emulate the Simpsons Arcade game or buy it on Xbox Live but it will never match the experience of playing it in an arcade, with a friend or a complete stranger and trying to beat it without having to ask your dad for another quid.

Also, it’s not something many people who play games can be nostalgic about. I did not grow up in a time where my only chance to play games was by visiting the local bar or arcade hoping that no-one was dominating on Street Fighter 2. All I needed to do was go to a shop and buy the actual game, I didn’t have to worry about queuing for a short 2 minute session or if the arcade was closing soon. Yet there is still a deep feeling of nostalgia when playing or discussing arcades, which is somehow stronger than memories you feel for old consoles. It may be the legacy of the machines or the fact that they are housed in their own special building, but arcade games just create a feeling that consoles simply can’t.

So, even though it is almost impossible that Pokkén Tournament won’t get an international home console release (Harada has even stated that they are looking into it), don’t moan that arcades are getting it first. Let them have this one, as it may be the last big game they get for a while.