[北京] Arcade Culture – Beijing (Xidan)

[北京] Arcade Culture – Beijing (Xidan)

Hi Steemit, today is a very sad day for me but I thought I’d post to keep my mind off of things. The arcade was a place to zone out and escape to when I was younger, so I think it’s fitting I post about an arcade I found in Beijing.  
 

Get Out & Game! 

I have been an avid gamer since I was a child. I can recall the feeling of watching my uncle playing video games (NES at the time). Drawn to the world of pixels I think I have always had gaming as part of my life in one form or another. Clocking Super Mario Land is one of my greatest gaming memories, perhaps gaming nostalgia requires its own post.  

Gaming isn’t always a couch affair, in recent times we have seen VR and other AR games change on the go and immersive gaming. But before the home console and mobile age the place to get your gaming fix wasn’t at home, it was at the arcade! My father would tell me how he used to frequent the arcade after school to get his Galaga fix. During my studies I also began to frequent the arcade, learning to play the most niche games and meeting amazing people, it was a really great time.   

The arcade industry has suffered over the years around Europe. With busy extracurricular activities, online gaming and other recreational venues, running an arcade is not an easy affair. During my time studying in London I saw the closure of Trocadero, an iconic place with a multi-storey arcade which even hosted Sega World at a time. 

I play a number of games including fighting, rhythm and whatever else I can with friends. Arcade gaming is a social thing. So with my trip out in Asia, I really wanted to see the arcade culture and discover some new games I would never have the chance to play in Europe!
 

Xidan Plaza Arcade 

While in Beijing a friend of mine recommended a visit to Xidan which was a short train ride away from where I was staying. Xidan is a commercial district with lots of shopping and food. I asked around for directions to Xidan plaza, (I might have been calling it the wrong name) and was directed through a mall.  

 

Making my way through the mall I passed an interesting section with VR machines. These were a little different to the usual headset setups I have seen before with dedicated controls. Didn’t see anyone playing so I remain curious about these machines.  

Heading up the escalators, it was getting later in the day but business was still going on the other floors.  

Greeted by cranes and teddies. Lots and lots of teddies.  

Arriving at the arcade floor, there were a number of areas with different game types. From cranes to fighting cabs, this place wasn’t big by any means but packed in a variety of machines. Some of which I knew of ands others not seen before.  

I didn’t want to just watch everyone playing so I went to get some tokens! Perhaps I got a few too many…oops. It’s worth noting you won’t be able to redeem tokens back for cash, an identity card is required.  

Racing area, people were getting their race on with Wangan Midnight.  

The arcade wasn’t too busy but there were many groups of people either watching others play or awaiting their own turn.  

Music Games 

 

Everybody’s favourite Japanese drumming game – Taiko no Tatsujin. 

This is a rhythm game where coloured drum notes steam across the screen and you drum accordingly. Probably one of the more fun games I have played, there’s something satisfying about drumming out a tune with the don sticks. There was also a very interesting percussion master machine there ;)
 

 

Not really sure what this game was about, I saw quite a few people sat around the table playing together, maybe a whack-a-mole type game. If anyone knows, please enlighten me.
 

 

Spotted Japanese Bemani game - IIDX. Probably one of the hardest games to master at a high level. I’ve not played this game much but have seen some crazy things done on it!
 

 

Giant platform that lights up featuring Jubeat from Konami. If you like rhythm games it’s a must try. There are mobile versions available.  

Drummania XG – I have not played this one but I saw it as playing IIDX with a drum kit lol. Looked fun and there were some skilled players hanging out here.  

Mini Karaoke! These booth styles allowed a couple of people to belt their hearts out, all sound proof of course. I have not come across these before in Europe and they were really cool to see!

 

Top Star - A Chinese touch screen rhythm game. Perhaps a little like Cytus, seemed interesting. Many Chinese games had the latest C-pop and K-pop tracks, even music I recognised from other popular music games.  

Maimai – An awesomely fun music game from Sega with touch screen, buttons and even a camera. I really enjoyed trying this game and would definitely learn higher levels if I had the time. It gets a little chaotic and sometimes I really did feel like an octopus. 

There were lots of people playing this game. Some were even recording their gameplay probably for youku (Chinese Youtube). The arcade provides gloves to play and people bring their own. 

Arcade etiquette is important, treating the machines with care and using your token to join the waiting list (coin queue).  

Get your Street Fighter on! 

Lots of nostalgia with Neo Geo! My arcade hardware knowledge is limited but I believe they had a mixture of Versus City cabinets and Viewlix. Most were in good condition but I wasn’t sure where some of the seats had gone… lol.
 

The newer fighters, Tekken and Street Fighter were out in full force. I didn’t see any high level play that day but plenty of people having fun on these cabs. It was even nice to see families come to the arcade and have fun with their children.  

Get up & Dance

Danz Base – This was a pretty epic bit of kit that seems to fuse just dance and Asian pop. There were plenty of people dancing away, timing their moves with the avatars on screen. This was actually one of the more popular machines in the arcade with quite a few spectators and experienced players.  

E5 – I have not seen this dance game anywhere in the world. It’s made in China and is pretty epic.  

Probably the most popular game in the arcade there were multiple machines with the older version being cheaper for a credit, both machines were packed out! Spectators, performers and “speed” players. I found E5 interesting as it does away with the bar on the dance platform (as seen on Dance Dance Revolution / Pump it Up) and implements hand sensors! There are 5 floor sensors which are all connected, no metal middle panel here. Dance with your hands and feet (your whole body) to get the best scores.

 

I saw some really cool performances, Tony and his girlfriend were some of the better freestylers I had seen. Meeting new players and making friends in China has been great. 

I enjoyed seeing real dancing on a dance machine with good tracks. I would say E5’s music selection is huge and you get to navigate the UI with a touchscreen! I hope to see one of these in Europe, it would definitely be refreshing for dancers to get involved again.  

Continue? 

That covers my short trip to Xidan Plaza’s arcade; it brought back nostalgia seeing crowds of people enjoy games together. I hope arcade culture can continue to thrive and evolve to accommodate future generations.

A special shoutout and thank you to all the arcade players I met in Beijing!

I’d like to hear about other arcades, I have heard Japan is a mecca for gaming and will take a trip out there sometime to see for myself. Hope you enjoyed this post and stop by in Xidan sometime, it really was worth it.

Thanks for reading! : )