March 2024 brought a varied group of new arcade venues, barcades, freeplay attractions and family entertainment centres across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. This edition also covers a major Japanese reopening and several developments relevant to Australian arcade fans.
The locations range from classic game rooms and pinball businesses to larger entertainment centres featuring redemption games, rhythm machines, racing cabinets and bowling. The mix shows how modern arcade businesses continue to use different operating models, from timed freeplay to hospitality-led venues.
For anyone planning a home setup, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide is a useful starting point. Operators can also browse the latest arcade machines and consider how cabinet choice affects a venue’s audience.
North America
Admission-based freeplay venues remain common in North America, alongside restaurant arcades, pinball rooms and more traditional amusement attractions.
The Dugout Arcade — Baltimore, Maryland
The Dugout Arcade joined Peabody Heights Brewery in early March as a freeplay attraction. Its cabinets came from Save Point, which also operates a physical venue in Union Bridge and supports arcade activity at conventions.
The collection covers several eras, with a particularly strong emphasis on current rhythm games alongside classic machines. Game details are available through The Dugout Arcade and its Instagram updates.
Pixels Arcade Taproom — San Rafael, California
Pixels opened as a bar and arcade with a stronger retro focus than The Dugout. Its pinball lineup includes Stern’s Star Wars and Ghostbusters Pro, alongside the video games. Venue information is available from the Pixels Arcade Taproom website and Facebook page.
YESTERCades No. 4 — Metuchen, New Jersey
New Jersey’s YESTERCades chain has added a fourth venue in Metuchen. Like its three established locations, it charges for time-based freeplay. A full tour of the new site was recorded by S1ckH4nds.
Balboa Fun Zone Arcade — Newport Beach, California
The small arcade in Newport Beach’s Balboa Fun Zone has been refreshed with a conventional attraction-style lineup. It now includes redemption machines and newer video titles such as JET’s Big Shot and Adrenaline’s NFS Takedown. A venue video is available from the Balboa Fun Zone.
Arcade Replay — Stockton, California
Arcade Replay combines Raw Thrills releases with Japanese titles including Initial D Arcade Stage 3, Tekken 7 and several Vewlix cabinets. Photos shared on Facebook show a fighting-game area that has already attracted players.
Game On Pinball — San Jose, California
Game On Pinball combines a repair operation with public play and private events. Its lineup changes regularly and includes older, newer and harder-to-find machines. The current pinball selection also identifies titles scheduled to leave.
Tin Pin Game Bar — Marietta, Georgia
Located inside a Tex-Mex restaurant, Tin Pin offers Stern machines including Deadpool, James Bond 007, TMNT and Venom. Its video-game row includes Donkey Kong, Galaga, Street Fighter II and a Williams multigame cabinet featuring classics such as Defender. More information is available from Tin Pin.
More North American updates
- Dave & Buster’s reopened a former GameWorks site in Schaumburg, Illinois. The venue includes pinball, although no location-test game was present at the time.
- Velocity eSports opened in Schaumburg’s Woodfield Mall in a smaller former GameWorks space.
- Round1 opened at Danbury Fair in Connecticut, with a video tour also recorded.
- The Cove Bar & Arcade opened at Treasure Island in Las Vegas, occupying more than 7,300 square feet.
- Lucky Strike arrived in Miami, with photos showing one early location featuring Godzilla.
- Rush Funplex is planned for Shawnee, Kansas, Spy Ninjas HQ has opened in Las Vegas, and a new Chuck E. Cheese location is planned for Culiacán, Mexico. Chuck E. Cheese is also surveying possible retro stores.
- Industry reporting continues to track adult-focused FECs, a family arcade in Gilmer, Texas, and the problems associated with placing small home-oriented cabinets in commercial venues.
Europe
The United Kingdom supplied much of Europe’s activity this month, with additional openings and updates in Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands.
YuMe World No. 2 — Durham, United Kingdom
YuMe World has expanded beyond its Newcastle venue, which had operated since 2019, by opening a second site in Durham. Sega Amusements supplies the venue and also works with operators including Superbowl UK and Gravity. The site features recent Sega Amusements International releases, other arcade games and a desserts bar. Further details are available from Sega Amusements.
Arcade Warehouse No. 4 — Doncaster, United Kingdom
Arcade Warehouse has reached four locations with its Doncaster opening. The freeplay venue combines original 1990s cabinets such as Daytona and Virtua Racing with 2010s releases including Sega Rally 3 and MotoGP, plus newer Chinese-manufactured games.
Merrivale Model Village — Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom
This new arcade forms part of a miniature village attraction and represents a substantial investment by its owners. Its fully retro presentation contrasts with the redemption-heavy seaside arcades commonly associated with Great Yarmouth. The BBC report provides additional background.
Jod Park Games — Agrinio, Greece
Jod Park Games is a small new venue in Agrinio, where an early-2000s law severely restricted arcade operations and damaged the local industry. Its lineup includes redemption and sports games, Chinese video titles such as Zombie Crisis, Speed Track and Pirate Adventure, plus an upstairs room with table tennis. Apparent discrepancies between cabinets and screens on some games suggest bootleg or repackaged content.
European openings and closures
- Harbour Lights Amusements in Fleetwood is closing after more than 40 years. Another long-running family arcade nearby has also announced closure.
- Tenpin opened a new venue in Chester, while Golf Fang added an arcade to its Sheffield location.
- S’pace Bowling Alley opened in Malmedy, Belgium, including a StepManiaX machine.
- Highscore Kijkduin opened in Kijkduin in the Netherlands.
Asia, Oceania and the Middle East
This region had fewer reported openings, but several developments stood out, including a significant Japanese reopening and two new TimeZone locations in the Philippines.
Game Center Betty — Nanao, Japan
Game Center Betty is reopening rather than launching for the first time, but its recovery is significant. The independent venue is known for its cats and broad rhythm-game selection. It suffered ceiling leaks and cabinet damage during Japan’s New Year’s earthquakes, although the cats were safe. With support from fans worldwide, the site was nearly fully operational again less than three months after the disaster.
TimeZone — Quezon City and Las Piñas, Philippines
TimeZone continued its expansion with venues at SM North EDSA in Quezon City and SM Southmall in Las Piñas. The openings were reported by InterGame.
Regional updates
- Round1 Japan has introduced card-only payment at selected locations, a model previously attempted there without lasting success.
- Bandai Namco is opening another Taiko-themed Cross Store, while a new Ariake facility combines gachapon machines with Pokémon Trading Card Game activities.
- Australia has seen plans for a Perth sports bar and duckpin bowling venue featuring 50 arcade games. A futuristic Paradigm Zone arcade is also planned for Adelaide, and TimeZone is preparing another Australian FEC.
- New Zealand has further ninja-themed FEC news, while China has reported several crane-focused venues, including Youzi No. 6 and a site in Guizhou. Other Chinese updates show additional video games, although the venue names and locations are unclear.
Coming soon
- F1 Arcade is planned for Boston and Washington, D.C.
- Up-Down’s seventh venue is planned for Birmingham, Alabama.
- Elev8 Fun is heading to Miami after winning the AAMA 2024 FEC of the Year award.
- Superbowl UK is preparing a Bishop Auckland venue with a Sega prize zone.
- Funbox Arcade and Gravity Max are planned for Westfield Stratford in London.
- Butlins is developing a multi-million-pound immersive entertainment centre at Bognor Regis.
- Funstation is planned for Belfast’s Odyssey complex, while Galaxy Park No. 2 is expected in Málaga around mid-May.
- A new Plaza Capcom location is planned for Oyabe City, Japan.
New venues depend on paying visitors, not just online attention. If one of these locations is near you, visiting is the most useful way to support the local arcade industry.
For a smaller home setup, RETROCADE’s bartop arcades offer a compact alternative, while larger rooms can explore upright arcade cabinets.
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