You might normally associate amusement arcades with teenagers or young families, but Japanese trade association JAMMA reports that arcades are increasingly attracting a different kind of clientele dropping in for casual interaction with others - elderly people.
According to online reports, senior players are meeting at the Round One Minamisuna amusement chain in a Koto Ward, Tokyo-based shopping centre. The most popular game appears to be an easy-to-play medal game, which sees players collect medals to play other games in the arcade.
According to Round One Minamisuna, about 6-7,000 people a week visit the arcade and between 30 and 40 per cent are elderly citizens.
Tokyo-based manufacturer Sega has also apparently noted a similar trend at some of its 200 nationwide arcades and about 30 per cent of the customers at its Amagasaki arcade in Hyogo Prefecture, which opened in 2009, are elderly.
According to a Japan Productivity Centre online survey conducted among 3,000 people aged between 15 and 79, 28.3 per cent said they have visited a game arcade at least once a year and almost five per cent of these respondents were aged 60 or older.
"Elderly people have a lot of free time and playing games at arcades seems to be relatively cheaper than other entertainment so they can stay there as long as they want," a centre official said.
According to JAMMA, the number of game arcades nationwide decreased by more than half over the last 10 years to 19,213 in 2009. A slump in the economy and the nation’s low birth rate have also spurred a decrease in the number of young customers. As a result, the elderly clientele have become crucial to the industry.
Some arcades now even award bonuses or special deals to elderly gamers and amusement operator Adores Inc has, since 2008, offered incentives to elderly customers at its Takenotsuka arcade in Adachi Ward. It usually sells 100 medals for 1,000 yen, but customers aged 65 or older get 150 medals for the same price.
