Namco to close a fifth of its arcades, blames Wii
Published on
According to this, Namco Bandai is to close a fifth of its Japanese arcades, 50-60 in number, blaming Wii for taking physical-style games into the home.
"A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home," company spokesman Yuji Machida said.
The Nikkei hammered the company's stock on the news, which saw it slide 27 percent since Tuesday. Namco Bandai isn't the only arcade operator to be hit by this "problem": Sega Sammy is also closing down 100 arcades as their popularity wanes.