Arcades and the Vending Machine Business

The arcade business has certainly wound its way through the culture of the entire planet; it started in the early 80’s… exploded in the 90’s and it almost disappeared as we approached the millennium.

Mom and Pop arcades exploded into the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, neighborhoods. Arcade fever was all of the rage; it was a contagious disease for those of us that got close enough to a coin mechanism to drop in a couple of our quarters in. This contagious disease had a strong run for two plus decades.

Giant arcades designed as food and beverage establishments sprung up in giant malls like Dave and Busters which quickly became the big dog; they offered a large food menu and an even larger more expansive full service bar menu.

Redemption machines were no longer just “Carney” gimmicks used at state fair to pick your pockets, instead they become the ultimate tool for “arcade dating” for establishments like Dave and Buster’s. You purchase plays from the cashier and then as you win you can exchange your winning chits for goods that are available in the parlor’s gift shop.

Japan’s culture went redemption arcade mad with their own special type of game; hundreds of Pachinko arcades sprung up all over the country.

Pachinko unlike the U.S. style arcades have just gotten stronger, they now produce revenues in access of a BILLION dollars a year.

Pachinko is a mixture of slot machine and pinball. The player is quite passive while playing pachinko. He or she is only controlling the speed with which many small steel balls are thrown into the pachinko machine.

Pachinko machines can be found in pachinko parlors, which are spread over the whole country. Many parlors also offer a corner with slot machines. One can recognize parlors easily because they are lit up bright like a Las Vegas casino with flashing colorful neon lights.

Inside a parlor it is loud and smoky. Both men and women play pachinko and it is said that there are even a few pachinko professionals. Most players of Pachinko watch their shiny little balls just make their way threw the maze of curved shoots and disappear, but skilled players claim they beat these machines on a regular basis.

As you win these shiny little balls your prize ratio and even cash ration sores. The parlors have found a clever way to bypass the law that prohibits gambling in Japan. First the parlor exchanges the balls for winners into prizes like iPods, cameras and PDA’s; after the lucky winner leaves the Parlor they can then exchange them for cash at a separate business that works from a small window just outside and around the corner from the parlor.

Pachinko has never caught on in the U.S., but we have hundreds of our own “redemption” games; if you want a broad overview of redemption mania in the U.S. visit a Dave and Busters store or your state carnival. Stacker is probably the biggest selling, most sold redemption machine in the U.S., Canada, New Zeeland and Australia at this time. Redemption machines are here to stay and the games themselves seem to be getting better and better.

Jimmy Ingram

PS: you can find several books on vending that I have written @ http://vendingforprofit.net