What better way to start the month of June and our Summer with news on upcoming or new arcade locations!
Today’s Latest Arcade Locations
Ctrl+V VR Arcade Opens Today In Waterloo, Ontario (thanks to Kevin Williams for the tip on this one) – Let’s start with an arcade opening their doors today, called Ctrl-V in Waterloo, Canada. While there are no coin-op arcade cabinets to be found, they created 16 “stations” featuring games powered by the new HTC Vive VR hardware. Given it is out-of-home entertainment, it fits the bill. I wonder if any venue like this will end up using an arcade-designed VR setup anytime soon as there are a few out there as we see at IAAPA every year and there are some in development from what I have been hearing. Their official website can be found here.
Pixel Blast Arcade Opening In Lisle, IL This July – Another retro arcade is coming to Illinois, this time in the city of Lisle which is out East from Chicago. They are following the ‘entry fee w/games on free play’ type model and the line-up of games will include: Choplifter, Commando, Crystal Castles, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Gyruss, Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Popeye, Qix, Space Zap, Toobin’, Xybots and more. You can visit their official website here and their Grand Opening will take place on July 1st.
Boxcar Bar + Arcade Expanding Into Greensboro, NC – If you are in North Carolina then bar+arcade expansions are hitting your area as well. Opening in Raleigh back in 2014, the Boxcar Bar + Arcade has signed a lease for a 9000+ sq. ft. location in Greensboro, NC with the intention to convert a former lounge in the downtown area into a full-blown retro arcade. The venue plans on opening the doors this fall so it is too early to know the games list yet but you can visit the official company website here.
Bar + arcade concept coming to downtown Greensboro (subscriber story). https://t.co/GFXdSWRDX0
— Triad Business Journal (@TriadBizJournal) May 26, 2016
Game Nest Open In Las Vegas, NV – Las Vegas is well known for being a place where you can find arcades among all the casinos but it hasn’t been common to find the entry fee/free play games model there. That changes slightly with the opening of the Game Nest, a venue that offers old and new games plus a lounge for console gaming. They did open last year in November, I just caught wind of it now. Among their arcade offerings you can find: Bishi Bashi, BlazBlue Continuum Shift, Blitz/Showtime combo, Dance Evolution, Daytona USA, DDR X3, Initial D3, Mai Mai, Marvel Vs. Capcom 1 & 2, Magical Drop 3 and more including some pinball machines and “custom 8′ cabinets” for certain games. Check out their official website here and they’ve put together a commercial you can watch right here:
That’s all I’ve found for now. If you find yourself anywhere close to these venues, give them your support and check them out!
