Sega what have you become

Over the past month and a half I have been travelling up and down the country a lot visiting my wife's family in Scotland.  On my travels I've noticed arcade games have even disappeared from the majority of motorway services. I guess why would kids want to play a 15 year-old Time Crisis or Daytona USA machine when they've got DSis, PSPs and smart phones in their pockets. However, Sega (who I voted my favourite arcade manufacturer only last month) still has the a strong presence, but only in the form of prize machines, such as Sega UFO Catcher and Key Master.

They all have proper (bat-style) arcade joysticks, which I can't help looking at and thinking, "You used to be used for Shinobi, Golden Axe and Virtua Fighter. You used to control PROPER GAMES!"

Like the true journalist I am (ahem), I decided to try these latest "amusements".  It felt good to be using a proper arcade stick again, but much to my dismay, the games themselves are incredibly challenging and addictive.  Key Master looks deceptively simple, but success is not only difficult, but also requires genuine skill, unlike traditional grabber machines.  I sunk a couple of quid into one machine trying to will something for my son.  I could have spent more, but I still hate the things.

MTW