- Joined
- Jul 8, 2012
- Posts
- 835
I conflate Arcade 1Ups with McDonald's burgers. Sure, they are burgers, but they are a far cry from a real, hand-formed BBQ burger. I read many years ago a criticism of McDonald's burgers. It said that the consumer has a desire for a burger. In their heads they are dreaming of a real burger. McDonalds offers burgers that are not real, but come with some sort of gimick or song-and-dance distraction. The person buys and consumes the McDonalds burger, but they are left wanting more psychologically because the McDonald's burger, while providing calories, and looking similar to a real BBQ burger, is not actually the "real burger" the person actually wants. As a result the consumer needs to buy more of that fake burger in an effort to satisfy the desire for a real burger. Upsizing, dipping sauces, pack-in toys, etc. are all designed to be tacked-on to the fake burger to (approach) satisfying the consumers desire (and to take their money).
I see similar things going on in the A1U community. They want a real cab like they remember from the arcade. They get a fake one that is more accessible (like McDonalds), but there are many elements of the A1U that constantly remind the user that they are not using a real cab. In an effort to satisfy their desire for a real cab they buy more A1Us, mod them, and put in shiny light-up buttons (to attract crows I guess).
I see similar things going on in the A1U community. They want a real cab like they remember from the arcade. They get a fake one that is more accessible (like McDonalds), but there are many elements of the A1U that constantly remind the user that they are not using a real cab. In an effort to satisfy their desire for a real cab they buy more A1Us, mod them, and put in shiny light-up buttons (to attract crows I guess).