Tough econonomy no fun for arcade suppliers

Technician Dave Cadieux looks over a Bally Supersonic pinball machine at Arcade Amusement Inc. in Oak Lawn. SouthtownStar photo: Joseph Meier

The heyday of Southwest Side arcades a fading memory, dozens of leftover games end up in an Oak Lawn storefront.

They’re all for sale and work just fine, but they stand unplugged, lifeless and apparently of little value to consumers anymore.

The longtime owners of Arcade Amusement say their business of supplying arcade games to local business has never been worse in the shop’s 61-year history.

“Everything hit us at once,” said Bill Brennan Jr., who inherited the store at 9724 Southwest Highway from his father.

For decades, places such as bowling alleys, roller rinks and corner taverns livened up their space with simple arcade games and pinball machines.

Most still do, of course, but the games are more sophisticated. Some might say intimidating.

“The worst thing an adult wants to do is go up and play a machine and not know how to work it,” Brennan said. “Nobody wants to spend their money and be embarrassed.”

Advanced gameplay, however, is only a small part of the arcade industry’s troubles, Brennan said.

Hard economic times have consumers keeping their cash in their wallets and away from the coin slots and the smoking ban forces tavern dwellers outside.

Meanwhile, home video game consoles continue to plunge in price and explode in popularity. Dozens of low-tech arcade classics are bundled for home systems and sold for about thirty bucks. Some can be downloaded on-demand.

“You could say it’s somewhat of a perfect storm,” said Mike Rudowicz, president of the Elk Grove Village-based American Amusement Machine Association.

The arcade industry peaked about 20 years ago, with coin-operated machines taking in as much as $7 billion annually, Rudowicz said.

But even with the national average price of one play doubling to 50 cents, there’s 60 percent less games on the market to accept a consumer’s money, leaving the coin-op industry perpetually struggling to keep pace, Rudowicz said.

Even bars, long a cornerstone for Brennan’s business, have strayed from their coin-op roots.

Consider what happens when a bar hosts a “Guitar Hero” night: The jukebox is silenced. Patrons watch the action and ignore arcade games.

Good for the bar. Crippling for the arcade industry.

It’s not that there’s a lack of options out on the market.

Across Southland bars and restaurants, there’s shoot-em-ups, skill games, trivia machines and even a popular test-your-strength boxing speedbag.

The challenge now for game manufacturers, the Brennans say, is staying relevant.

That used to be easy.

Game manufacturers used to churn out new games and concepts every week. The junkyard of joysticks, jukeboxes and circuit boards in the back of Brennans’ shop serves as evidence.

But now, it’s an uphill battle.

Legions of programmers left the arcade industry to create games for the expanding home console market. The recent bankruptcy filling of Chicago-based Midway Games hasn’t helped, either.

“The business just isn’t there anymore,” Brennan said.

Yet another challenge? Inflation.

From the cost of manufacturing electronics to the price of gas for delivering and servicing the games they sell, Brennan said expenses across the board have increased.

But arcade game suppliers can’t pass along that increase.

“People aren’t going to let us charge more than a quarter or 50 cents per game,” said Kathy Brennan, Bill’s sister who’s worked at the shop for three decades. “Our prices of games don’t go down.”

While some business owners say they don’t depend on arcade machines for a revenue stream, they say there’s less people playing them.

“I think the average American right now is scared but still wants to go out and be entertained,” said Mickey Halleran, co-owner of Orland Bowl in Orland Park and one of Brennan’s clients. “I think he’s taking that dollar and saying to himself ‘Am I getting value here? Is it worth it?’”

In the meantime, the Brennans hope the economy turns around. Bill hopes there’s a new arcade trend to follow. There always has been.

Now, he’s not so sure.

“There’s always seems to be something on the horizon,” he said. “But I haven’t seen it yet.”