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…
There are still pubs were you can rent/borrow gaming systems with games, even Nintendo games other than that, been around for a while. Don't remember it being more DRM than what is usually included in the console/steam.
And if you worry about system being stolen/amount of req drm, hmm perhaps setup the bar were people bring their own consoles/systems and just support with good infrastructure and beer :D
So once more this idea would only work in a society which is more stable.