the game rag

"The video arcade in America has been in a constant state of decline for some time now," said a spokesperson for Sega. "But that wasn't always the case. Many gamers have abandoned the video arcade in favor of other pursuits and we have a plan to change that."

The video arcade in the United States, which has long been threatened by extinction, stands in stark contrast to it's status in Japan, where Sega of America is taking it's new inspiration.

The new approach became clear when a Japanese game center in Osaka developed a creative solution for fully experiencing an arcade game in an otherwise noisy and crowded area. Their solution? Head phones.

"And not no pussy ass headphone jack or something that makes you bring your own. No, we're talking high quality Pioneer SEDJ-5000 DJ Headphones, attached to the cabinet, for use exclusively with the game. And to those worried about proper sanitation, please realize you're already sharing God knows how many germs by using the same joystick, steering wheel or whatever with everyone else, so why stop there?"

This simple addition to the game proved so effective in Japan that Sega of America will soon implement this in all of it's arcade games nationwide, and early reactions have been very positive.

"These things worked great! I could barely hear the asshole on the DDR machine right next to me," said an anonymous gamer.

And this is only the beginning. Sega is already hard at work on even more revolutionary ideas to expand the video arcade experience in America.

"Well... I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but some designers are already hard at work on something big. Imagine being able to take the arcade experience... home. To be able to purchase an arcade game, possibly on a compact disc of sorts, and to play it at home on a box like device that plugs into the television. Just imagine it. It's a brave new world."