I’ve spent a bit of today in one (for a job), and it’s… Honestly just kind of sad.
Everything is “branded” and based on some commercial IP. All the “independent”/quirky things I grew up with are gone, it’s fully cashless, much more expensive, and just generally… Super underwhelming. I’ve seen one pinball machine in the entire place. 😔
And still, the place is nearly empty. So if they’re trying to “appeal to different demographics” by pivoting to branded shittiness (fidget spinners! plants vs zombies! Fucking rabbids), it clearly ain’t working, lol…
Ah, I miss the 2010s, even compared to this shit…
You were just at a bad arcade. It's really sad how much console gaming culture has been told arcades are dead by the media.
In the Orlando area we have several, but the one I love is called Arcade Monsters. It has a full set of Maximum Tunes and Initial Ds. There are 20 pins near the eating area. The classic arcade games are on the second floor. They worked really hard to get the atmosphere just right. Also, people in the games history circle hate it because you can hire girls to play games with. They intend to expand to a much larger area soon.
In Seattle there are a few arcades close enough that people arrange pub crawl walks to see them all. I've done it and enjoyed the experience all the way. The arcade I love is in the mall in Tukwilla.
Bremerton has an arcade pub crawl ability as well. The one I love is called Quarters, and even the other owners love it as well. It's across the street from the comic and TTRPG hobby shop.
Portland has some small arcades, but the big names are Quarter world and Ground Kontrol. They are similar to Arcade Monsters in size and design. The new and old mix together really well.
When I talk about these places to console fans, they act as if arcades are rare. When I take them to an arcade, it dumbfounds them that these places exist. Arcade fans know about them though. Heck, VR is doing way better in the arcade space than the living room. I battled zombies with my wife the other day. Everything was set at tourist pricing, so I probably won't do it often.
I seriously wonder why arcades get the treatment from the media that they do. If anything they're expanding not shrinking. There's the crappy places like your experience and then awesome places like I just named.
There's an arcade at the movie theater, and a few geek bars or bar cades nearby as well. Check out Tick Tock as well. The owner helped all the arcades and is still the fix it guy for most of them. The hobby shop is partially owned by a Proff over at the local university.
The library is cool looking at OC. I like some of the other architecture. It's a nice little town that has gray metal towns right next to it.
The brownies at the bookshop between the bar and the bank are good. I honestly wonder if the nearby bakery/restaurant is still there. They make their own meats, so it's all fresh and tasty.