C O N T E X T 1 2 8 : M A R C H 2 0 1 3 25 The heritage of of leisure The heritage The heritage of leisur ge of leisure The h The heritage of leisure of leisure The h heritage New Brighton, which opened in 1939. For visitors to the coast, the amusement arcades would have offered out-of-the-ordinary experiences through their modern machines and buildings. In this way the arcades helped to create the atmosphere of excitement, pleasure, escape and the extraordinary at British seaside resorts. The popularity of the British seaside resorts could not last forever. As the resorts began to decline during the 1960s, many of the grand theatres, concert halls, pavilions and ballrooms closed due to reduced patronage. In many cases these buildings were swiftly transformed into amusement arcades. This was a relatively simple task as the arcades did not require the buildings to be extensively refurbished, nor did they need specialist fixtures and fittings. Among the many examples of seaside architecture that were converted in this way were BrightonWest Pier’s concert hall; the 360-degree cinema at Blackpool Pleasure Beach; Southport pier pavilion; and Colwyn Bay pier theatre. By this point there were numerous automated machines on the market, including gambling machines, cranes, pushers (also called ‘penny falls’) and various forms of novelty games (such as horseracing, pinball and driving games). It was during the 1970s and 1980s that British amusement arcades underwent their most rapid expansion, with the introduction of ‘video-game’ machines such as Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pong and Pac Man.These machines had major appeal to the youth and family markets, the arcades offering many young people the only opportunity to experience this new, exciting technology. The buildings in which these machines were housed also underwent a radical overhaul, with extensive use of fluorescent lighting, music and public address systems. Fibreglass frontages created an almost Vegasesque aesthetic at many British seaside resorts (for a classic early 1970s example see Shaw’s Premier Amusements in Bridlington). Thus the colourful, illuminated and noisy amusement arcades retained their reputation for spectacle and the extraordinary. Since the 1990s, seaside amusement arcades have been in significant and, some might say, terminal decline. The reasons are four-fold. First, the traditional seaside arcades have seen increased competition fromwithin the amusement arcade industry, with the rise of the Family Entertainment Centre (FEC). FECs provide not only arcade machines, but also a range of other components such as tenpin bowling, pool halls, bars, restaurants, soft-play areas and rides such as dodgems. From the mid-1990s onwards a number of major national and multi-national companies established FECs in the UK, making significant investments in the machines and other facilities that featured within these centres. FECs represented a new form of competition for the traditional family seaside arcade. They were able to offer a secure, safe and clean environment for their customers, and were therefore more appealing to the family market. Furthermore, unlike the seaside arcades, the FECs were more likely to be located in city centres or in large-scale shopping centres (one of the most successful FECs, Namco’s ‘Funscape’, is located in London’s former County Hall) leading to increased footfall on a year-round basis. Second, seaside amusement arcades were also facing the problem of a poor public image, and had gained a reputation for anti-social behaviour and low-level criminality among young people with little to do and nowhere else to go. A number of studies within the UK portrayed seaside arcades as dangerous and unsafe, venues for immoral or illegal activities, and encouraging problem gambling behaviour among children and adolescents. This negative perception has deterred the family market from visiting seaside arcades. Third, the rise of the home games consoles had a negative impact on amusement arcades. By the mid1990s, home games consoles were able to compete with the arcade video games in terms of the quality of graphics and game playing, resulting in young people no longer needing to visit amusement arcades to enjoy video gaming. The final factor affecting seaside arcades has been recent changes in government legislation since the The New Palace and Adventure Land, New Brighton.The building was opened in 1939 and remains within the ownership of the Wilkie family. Shaw’s Premier Amusements in Bridlington. The arcade contains some fine examples of early 1970s arcade design and amusement machines.
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