Namco Bandai Holdings has announced today that it is set to close between 50 and 60 of its Japanese games arcades (approximately a fifth of its total), and it seems the blame is being lumped onto the success of the Nintendo Wii.

Since the Nintendo Wii’s launch in Japan in late 2006, many of the children we assume used to frequent Namco Bandai’s arcades are instead choosing to stay in and play, whilst saving up money for new games at the same time.

“A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home,” company spokesman Yuji Machida said.

And he’s right, y’know. Given Arcade gaming has shifted towards providing novel experiences (SEGA Bass Fishing, Afterburner cabinets, various racers etc.), it now has stiff competition from the Nintendo Wii’s motion controls and the popularity of add-ons such as the Wii Balance Board, products that provide the same pleasure but in the comfort of the home.

Petrol prices were also to blame, explained Machida, noting that families were making less trips out to shopping malls and other places were games arcades were housed.

Technical advances in consoles and the rise of the cheap big screen television can’t have helped much either, so we wouldn’t say the Nintendo Wii is completely to blame. The cost of Arcade gaming seems to have increased significantly too. A couple of minutes with a single credit out and about versus unlimited time and lives at home? Money talks in a lot of situations, sadly, and as a consequence we know which we’d choose.

[Source: Reuters]