16-Bit Bar + Arcade Aiming To Open Their 3rd Location This Spring

[Thanks to George Arbogast Jr. for the tip]

Expansion is generally going to be a positive thing in business and the 16-bit Bar + Arcade that first opened in Ohio back in 2013 certainly has their eyes on that goal. The first location opened in Columbus, OH, followed last year by an opening in Lakewood, OH(pictured below) and this year they are aiming to soon open a new location in Cincinnati.

According to the article on Soapboxmedia.com, it sounds like the setup will work just like the first two locations – a few dozen classic games from the 80s and 90s combined with a bar area and the games on free play as long as you purchase a drink. Among the games name dropped in the article it includes ” Frogger, Galaga and Ms. Pacman, as well as late ‘80s and early ‘90s fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II. There will also be four-player games like The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men.” along with “Capper” (pretty sure they meant Tapper) and Omega Race.

The new 4000 sq. ft. location will also host an area dedicated to game consoles from the 80s until today, from Atari (the article incorrectly lists the Atari 7200, which should read 7800)to Xbox (doesn’t specify 360 or the Xbox One, another win for Microsoft’s lousy naming conventions /sarc). That selection will also include Nintendo based systems for competitions on their popular titles like the ever-loved Smash Bros. While not the first location like this to offer console gaming as an additional attraction, I always wonder how this part for arcades contributes to the overall draw to a location. There isn’t a lot of hard data on that to be found since these are usually setup as free-play deals behind a paywall of some kind, so quantifying interest becomes a little more difficult to pinpoint.

The 16-Bit Bar+ Arcade website has a teaser space for the new location, at the moment they are only mentioning that it will be opening this Spring. Either way, we wish them the best of luck in this latest endeavor and if you find yourself in the area, drop by and give them your support.