When we started the month of March, we did so with various posts covering new arcade amusement locations that are opening their doors out there. So it is fitting as we reach the end of the month that we bring the same spotlight to even more venues that are jumping into the business. There are a quite a few new locations to check out here, ranging from locations in the States to Ireland to Japan. There’s a strong focus on bar/arcades once again, showing that the trend continues. Let’s jump in:
Cidercade Opens In Dallas, TX
Thanks to Kent for sending this one our way. This one opened up in January so this is a “better late than never” entry. I was just in Dallas for Amusement Expo and actually did a tour of some local arcades (that post is coming soon, promise). I wasn’t able to visit every venue in the region with an arcade in one night but had I known about this it would have been nice to at least drop in. Cidercade follows what has become the traditional bar/arcade model of charging an entry fee while having the games on free play.
From this amusing video (that as far as I can tell is only on Facebook) you can see a bit of their game selection which includes newer titles like Aliens Armageddon, Guitar Hero Arcade, Pac-Man Battle Royale and Street Fighter V along with classics like Asteroids, Centipede, Cyberball 2072, Galaga, Space Invaders, Tempest, X-Men and many more. They also have upgraded their pinball selection to at least 8 units which includes some newer titles like Metallica. You can find them on Facebook here or on Twitter over here.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/cidercade/videos/1535280693157341/” bottom=”30″]
Ready Player One Bar Opening In Detroit
Up North in Detroit, MI, another bar/arcade is prepping to open their doors by the name of Ready Player One. The name of the bar comes from the popular book of the same name where arcade games play a prominent role. With an aim to open around April/May of this year, they plan on having: “… around 40 machines — 10 pinball machines and 30 arcade games. The space will offer seats for roughly 65 patrons with a much larger standing capacity to accommodate gaming.” A list of those games isn’t available from what I am seeing but I am sure we will find out soon enough. Link to the news article is found below through this tweet:
https://twitter.com/ryancravens/status/844943308078100486
The Rage To Open ‘Token’ In Dublin, Ireland This May
Another bar/arcade that plans on opening their doors this Spring is called Token, operated by The RAGE retro gaming store. This one is across the pond in Ireland and will offer a restaurant & bar along with video arcade and pinball machines. They have published a list of expected games on Facebook, which includes: Crazy Taxi, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Funhouse pinball, Mario Kart GP, Mortal Kombat 2, Pac-Man, Street Fighter II, Space Invaders, Superman, Tetris, The Addams Family pinball, The Simpsons, Theatre of Magic pinball, X-Men and more. Their official Facebook page can be found here while a Kickstarter to raise funding can be found here.
https://twitter.com/7Ten/status/845332694615703552
Round1USA Opening This Friday At The Fox Valley Mall, Aurora, IL
As a part of my trip to Dallas, I made my first visit to a Round1USA facility that is found in Grapevine, TX (again, article about that is coming soon). It was a very impressive arcade that they had setup so I would expect the same thing from their second location in IL.
Round1 Fox Valley (In Sears Wing) Grand Opening this Friday, March 31st, 4PM! More info: https://t.co/JR1nlkDndd pic.twitter.com/tj8QPTnOjx
— Round1 USA (@Round1USA) March 28, 2017
Nijigen No Mori Anime Theme Park To Open In Hyogo Japan This July
Ok so this isn’t entirely a new arcade but it is still out-of-home amusement so it can apply. At the Awajishima Koen park on Awajishima island in Hyogo Prefecture (that’s a little bit of a mouthful), a theme park dedicated to anime and manga will open this Summer. With three main attractions, it will make use of ziplines and projection mapping to wow guests. They also hope to draw in tourists from abroad. Read more about this project here.
Whew, that’s all for now. We wish these locations the best of luck in the business but better than that, if you come across one out there, be sure to drop by and spend some coin!
