Namco: Wii Hurting Us
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February 9th, 2008
While the success of the Wii is bringing in tons of cash for Nintendo, it’s taking away money from Namco Bandai, who is blaming the console’s success for its ailing arcade business. The company revealed that it is closing between 50 and 60 of its amusement arcades because of declining profits, roughly 20 percent of its operations. They also blame rising oil prices.
“A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home,” said spokesman Yuji Machida in a Reuters report. “Many Japanese kids got a Wii last year, particularly over the holiday season, and it seems as if much of their pocket money is now being saved to buy more hardware or software for the console.”
Arcades have been declining in the past few years with the rise of home consoles. Sega Sammy and Capcom’s arcade units have also suffered losses.
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