X-Cape’s income plummets as patrons lose interest

Even die-hard fans of Street Fighter are abandoning the arcade
scene on campus and picking up the hand-held game controllers at
home.

X-Cape, UCLA’s arcade in Ackerman Student Union, has been
no exception to this downward trend, as students lose interest in
the games that typically cost a quarter each.

Student Union Director Jerry Mann attributed the growing
popularity of home entertainment systems as a result of more
advanced technology.

“Now there’s machines that you can plug into your
32-inch TV with your surround sound stereos and get the same effect
as in an arcade,” he said.

Income generated from X-Cape has dropped 60 percent from the
early 1990s, causing worry for the Associated Students of UCLA.

“It’s an incredible drop,” Mann said.
“We’re getting pretty close to breaking even, or even
losing money.”

The video game high occurred in the 1980s when video games first
became popular. Then, when Street Fighter II hit arcades in the
early 1990s, the X-Cape income skyrocketed, said Guillermo
Castaneda, ASUCLA recreation manager.

“Hopefully there will be another interface coming soon to
rejuvenate X-Cape,” Castaneda said.

Castaneda, who is also in charge of game selection, said he
tends to choose fighting games “with a little death” as
well as challenging driving games to fulfill the preferences of
college students.

To compensate for the dismal income of X-Cape, Mann said the
solution will most likely lie in cutting operational hours from the
game room.

Although some of the higher-technology games such as Dance Dance
Revolution cost upward of $15,000, replacing the machines is not on
the agenda.

“Our focus isn’t to make more money, but to provide
services for the students,” Castaneda said.

Those are words of relief to the “regulars” who
visit X-Cape nearly everyday, like third-year cognitive science
student Henry Kim.

Kim, who goes to X-Cape during gaps between classes, compared
the game room to a “subculture within a subculture”
where tournaments are held to keep the arcades alive.

“There’s the Street Fighter group, and the music
people,” he said, referring to the participants of Dance
Dance Revolution.

Though ASUCLA is aware that income from X-Cape might never reach
near-millions as it did in the early 1990s, the union is still
hoping that the current income of $300,000 is the worst it can
reach.

The growing popularity of home entertainment systems ““ and
the resulting downward spiral for arcades ““ is actually
happening all over the country, said Ryan Bowling, press aide for
Sony Computer Entertainment.

As more UCLA students opt to use systems such as XBox or
Playstation, surrounding electronics stores in Westwood have seen a
surge in video game sales.

At Best Buy, Xbox and Playstation 2 systems are highly popular
among UCLA students, said Juan Enriquez, a sales representative for
Best Buy.

Enriquez said this was due to the more “mature”
games which XBox offers.

As new technology induces more innovative games, the future of
arcades remain uncertain, especially when students can tap into the
cyber world, Bowling said.

“The interaction is still there with online gaming, but
now you don’t necessarily need to leave home,” he
said.

But to the “regulars” who inhabit X-Cape, the place
is more than just a room for games.

“It’s a place to socialize and play with
friends,” Kim said. “You can’t really compete
when you’re at home.”