[Nyororin]

I`m a bit late, but I`ll add my opinion. My husband manages the systems for a fairly large arcade company chain, so I may know a little bit more than average.

Also, about game centers dying in Japan. The only ones that are dying are the ones that catered to little kid games. The more mature ones, from what I understand, are still doing just fine. There are still about 100x more arcades in japan than in the US.

Maybe 10~15 years ago...

Stand alone arcades are disappearing in Japan. About 10 years ago we knew of 8 standing in a relatively small area around my husband`s university. Now only one is still around, and is looking like it would die if they didn`t have a sort of self-serve cafe attached to it. It has filled up with the huge multi-player games, and old men come in after work for a round of virtual horse racing or the like. Other times it is pretty much empty.

Purikura isn't really a game and I'm really trying to attract gamers. Plus I don't even really think that would do well in an arcade, isn't that something for a mall?

In Japan, most current arcades ARE in the mall. Or at least as a part of some other facility - like a floor in a bowling or pool hall, etc.

The only arcades that are surviving are following a fairly straight system. Kiddie games with cards or chips in the very front with one or two display games in a prominent position (Taiko no Tatsujin is a common one), candy catchers behind them, then an area of UFO catchers. Purikura is losing popularity in general, so isn`t a money-maker these days. A few machines will be at the side, but that`s about it. Behind those you get the body movement games (standing shooters, music games, etc) then a mix of driving and sit down games. Usually in the back, often with screens up against the walls, you`ll find the large multi player simulation games.
This is assuming the arcade is in a normal location like a mall or part of some other entertainment venue. Things change when it`s stand alone, because in general lighter gamers don`t go to an arcade - but they might play something if they pass one in a mall.

These days regular arcade games are the loss leaders. There aren`t many hardcore arcade gamers out there, and even fewer who might be female.
In terms of employee to game machine involvement - if the arcade is a popular one the multi-player ones can give the greatest returns. But in general the most money is made on UFO catchers. They require the most work to keep up and running though.

My personal opinion...

You`re not going to get many girl gamers, no matter how hard to try. It`s a noble ideal, perhaps, but you need to make money... And gearing a place toward attracting maybe 5% of the arcade gamer population is not going to do that.
Even in Japan, girls rarely play any actual games. Even back in the arcade heyday it was pretty much unheard of (and I went to an all girls high school, in Japan, and passed by an arcade every day). The reason people notice girls playing games and take videos of them, etc, is because they ARE so incredibly rare.