Arcade venues continued to open, expand and experiment through August 2024, even as operators in the United States reported a difficult trading period. This round-up follows new arcades, pinball lounges, family entertainment centres and community-led projects across North America, Europe, Asia and beyond.
Industry reporting indicated that many US operators were performing below the same period a year earlier, with the summer proving unusually slow for some businesses. Nevertheless, the locations below show continued investment in free-play arcades, Japanese rhythm games, pinball, redemption attractions and hybrid bar, dining and entertainment venues.
For Australian readers interested in building a home setup, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide covers the main considerations when choosing a cabinet.
North America
Fat Cats, Clinton, Utah
Utah-based Fat Cats opened its ninth venue in Weber County, close to Ogden, with a game room designed by Betson Utah. The chain also operates in Idaho and Arizona. Drakons and Mega Shot were expected to join the lineup, while LAI Games and Ace Amusements’ Air Strike had already proved one of the group’s strongest earners at another venue.
Arcade Monsters, San Diego
Arcade Monsters expanded from Florida to California with a soft opening held during San Diego Comic-Con. The venue occupies two floors and uses a $20-per-day free-play model.
The second floor divides the games into themed rooms, combining Vewlix-style cabinets, older Japanese candy cabinets and modern dedicated machines. Its Japanese focus includes titles that may not yet have appeared at Round1USA, while the broader collection includes pinball, 1980s and 1990s video games, TRON, Batman Forever and independent games such as Killer Queen Arcade, Spooky Smashers, Black Emperor and Nidhogg II.
The more open first floor has a stronger family entertainment centre character, with newer games from Raw Thrills and Sega alongside additional pinball machines.
Eastwood, Los Angeles
Eastwood is a country-themed bar focused primarily on food and drinks, but its sizeable game area includes Connect 4 Hoops, Halo: Fireteam Raven, Space Invaders Frenzy, StepManiaX and several sports and ball-toss redemption games. The venue also features a mechanical bull.
Pinball Planet, Parma Heights
When family-run Southland Lanes in Middleburg Heights closed, its arcade and pinball collection found a nearby home at Pinball Planet, less than two miles away in Parma Heights. Pinball Planet also appears to have acquired some seating and attraction features from the former bowling venue, and added a new Stern John Wick machine.
The Last Quarter and Game Craz, Malvern
The Last Quarter combines a game shop selling console products with pinball, pool and arcade machines including Cruis’n World, DoDonPachi, House of the Dead 2 and NFL Blitz 2000. Malvern’s existing Game Craz also moved into a larger second venue.
Satellite Pinball Lounge, Oakland Park
Created by the owners of a local independent arcade bar, Satellite Pinball Lounge near Fort Lauderdale is dedicated to pinball. Its collection includes Godzilla, James Bond, JAWS, John Wick, Labyrinth, Pulp Fiction, RUSH, Star Wars, Stranger Things and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Sidequest Arcade Bar, Great Falls
Montana’s new Sidequest Arcade Bar currently has a compact lineup: the video games Super Bikes 2 and Viper Phase 1, plus five pinball machines themed around Alien, Foo Fighters, Indiana Jones, The Mandalorian and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Family entertainment centre updates
- Dave & Buster’s closed its Addison, Illinois venue, the company’s sixth opening from 1995 and a long-running location used for testing new concepts. Newer or planned venues in Schaumburg and Lombard may fill some of that gap.
- New Dave & Buster’s venues opened or were announced for Barboursville, West Virginia, Johnson City, New York, Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Euless, Texas.
- Round1USA opened in Gurnee, Illinois, while a former Round1 site in Louisville, Kentucky was replaced by Tilted 10.
- Main Event was announced for Kentwood, Michigan; PINSTACK opened its largest venue in North Rim, San Antonio; and Alley Cats announced a new Burleson, Texas centre.
- The Rush Funplex received new installations in Pleasant View, Utah and Shawnee, Kansas. AVS Companies installed games at Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, Michigan and Smash Park in Nebraska.
- Emagine Theatre in Minnesota renovated its game room, Rab’s Country Lanes in Staten Island added an arcade, and the Hasbro Game Room received a detailed tour.
- Decoy High-Tech Game Bar opened in Gainesville, Georgia, adding another location-based entertainment concept to the market.
Closures remain a concern, particularly for bowling venues with attached game rooms. Supporting local arcades throughout the year is more meaningful than treating them as occasional destinations.
Europe
High Score #6, Bracknell
High Score opened its sixth and largest UK venue in Bracknell. The free-play arcade charges £11.95 for one hour, a price that has attracted criticism, and its collection emphasises newer experience-driven games, including Wahlap’s Speed Driver 5.
Ready Player One Arcades, Eastleigh
Independent operator Ready Player One opened in Eastleigh, Southampton. Entry costs £11.95 but appears to include unlimited play time. The current selection is smaller than High Score’s and leans towards redemption, multi-game cabinets and 2010s Raw Thrills titles, with Mario Kart Arcade GP, Sega Rally 2, Star Wars Trilogy Arcade and Virtua Cop 3 among the standouts.
Waffle & More, Crewe
This dessert restaurant’s “More” section includes arcade machines. Although some are aftermarket multi-game cabinets, the venue also has less common 2000s games such as Chase H.Q. 2, an older Japanese Dance Dance Revolution machine and a Sega cabinet conversion running Point Blank 2.
Arcade Planet, Seville
Arcade Planet moved into a new 2,000-square-metre venue in June. The enthusiast-run operation describes it as Spain’s largest arcade and the second largest in Europe. Its expanded collection ranges from rarities such as Magical Truck Adventure to imported Japanese releases including Dancerush.
Le LAP, Gentilly
Le LAP is a small community-run venue near Paris created by rhythm-game players, including Tina, in response to dissatisfaction with the local arcade scene. Player-owned cabinets include Jubeat, Dance Dance Revolution and DanceRush, with plans for further development.
European venue updates
- Namco Funscape Romford reopened after refurbishment with what appears to be the first Godzilla VR installation in a UK venue.
- Lane7 opened in Altrincham, Manchester, with bar games and a Pump It Up Phoenix cabinet.
- Arcade Club Leeds expanded, Sega Amusements supplied Mulligans in Hemel Hempstead, and the National Videogame Museum refreshed its arcade.
- Mikado Game Center Europe brought its games to Murchante, Spain for a week, while S’pace #6 opened in Liège, Belgium.
- The 2024 Olympic Village in Paris included an arcade room, although much of the selection consisted of multi-game cabinets.
Asia, the Middle East and Oceania
Hakuba Virtual Off Center, Nagano
Virtual On fans in Japan established Hakuba Virtual Off Center as a community-run destination for the long-running series. The project supports a dedicated player base despite the departure of the series’ creator from Sega in 2021 and the absence of a new arcade entry since Virtual On Force in 2001.
Taito Station and Bootverse, Japan
A new Taito Station in Sapporo devotes its entire third floor to a horror attraction, while the arcade preserves Taito’s own racing and action heritage with Battle Gear 4 Tuned and Sonic Blast Heroes 2.
Taito has also launched Bootverse, an active-entertainment venue built around attractions connected to the company’s video-game properties.
GiGO Arcade Café, Osaka
GiGO continues to expand through acquisitions, new standard venues and experimental formats. GiGO Arcade Café combines arcade entertainment with a café and restaurant, including crane games, social machines such as Sega’s Dartslive and Konami’s Scotto, plus tabletop cabinets running retro titles including Metal Slug 2.
The group has also established GiGO Vietnam and continued renovating acquired Japanese venues. One refreshed location retained an OutRun 2 SP SDX cabinet.
Cow Play Cow Moo, Jakarta
The latest Cow Play Cow Moo branch at Pluit Village in Jakarta features Japanese rhythm games, alongside a substantial crane and pusher offering and other video attractions.
Taiko Labs, Seoul
Taiko Labs is a South Korean venue dedicated to Taiko no Tatsujin. Every cabinet is connected to a streaming station, reflecting the strength of the local player community and the game’s audience.
Asian venue updates
- Leisureland opened its largest venue in Toyama Prefecture, while Game Apina opened in Utsunomiya with a large children’s card-game area.
- Marvelous’ Pokémon Frienda inspired temporary “Frienda Camp” locations, and Sega Japan ran a limited-time Gimmi purikura photo-booth installation in Shibuya.
- Ruby Star opened in Changsha as a crane-focused arcade with genuine video games. Another Chinese venue attracted attention for a logo resembling Data East’s former branding.
- Funworld opened in Bali with a focus on cranes and redemption attractions.
Coming soon
- Dave & Buster’s is preparing a Lombard, Illinois venue, with some staff expected to transfer from Addison.
- Round1USA confirmed an opening window for Houston, Texas.
- Thunder Lanes in Neoga, Illinois is preparing an arcade area, while Free Play Arcade Bar is scheduled to open in Taunton, Massachusetts in October.
- Sparks Pinball previewed its upcoming Troy, Michigan location, and Extra Lives Arcades is setting up in Paragould, Arkansas.
- Sega Amusements is returning to Wolverhampton with Superbowl UK, while another Sega Prize Zone and Superbowl UK venue is planned for Aldershot.
- NQ64 is coming to Leeds, with Super Game Shack planned for Leicester, Highest Score Arcade for Salisbury and Pixel Playhouse for Pontefract.
Arcade openings are only part of the story: relocations, refurbishments and specialist community venues are also reshaping the industry. For a home collection, explore RETROCADE’s arcade machines, racing arcades and virtual pinball machines.
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