The most notable new trend in coin-ops is the number of games demanding skills that entertain an audience as well as the player. We've seen skis in Alpine Racer, skateboards in Top Skater and even cute, sit-on plastic horses in Final Furlong. But Konami's Dance Dance Revolution best illustrates a funky new change of gameplay direction with its flashing Saturday Night fever-style dance floor taking the place of the joystick and its repertoire of cheesy dance moves replacing lasers or dragon punches.

In fact, this rhythm action boom - curiously enough kickstarted by PlayStation title PaRappa the Rapper - has already become big business as hordes of beat-mixing DJ coin-ops and even a new guitar simulation (Konami's Guitar Freaks) now compete for the punters' elusive dosh.

However, while there are plenty of games you can humiliate yourself on, FG has a nagging feeling that the arcade industry isn't pushing itself hard enough in fresh new directions - which it must do in order to appeal to more adventurous gamers. Take online or network gaming, for example. In the States there are a few arcades where state-of-the-art PCs are hooked up so that games of Quake II aren't the sole preserve of offices or lonely studies. But most coin-op companies have shied away from exploring such areas, preferring to rely on banks of direct-linked racers (as in San Francisco Rush or Daytona USA 2) or multiplayer beat 'em ups such as Spikeout.

But the sobering truth for coin-op companies is that there are many, many people who will simply never play a videogame as long as it means standing in front of a screen and wielding a gun, or perhaps even the paddle of a dinghy. These are the very punters the companies are targeting - and the challenge facing the arcade today involves using new technology to provide experiences dramatically removed from those possible in the home. This innovation and ability to offer that little bit extra has fuelled the coin-op industry from the year dot. With PlayStation 2 now on the horizon, it better have more up its sleeve than just fancy graphics...