It has been a little more than a month since we had our last look at new arcade businesses opening their doors out there in the world and as it so happens, I’m going to have to split this latest round of such news into two parts. Let’s get started with locations that have opened already while the next post will focus on locations opening up in the near future.
Neon Retro Arcade Opens A Second Location (Northridge, CA)
(Thanks to Michael Louie for the tip)
We first reported on the opening of the Neon Retro Arcade in Pasadena, CA back in 2014 and now I’m happy to share that today, the company is opening up a second location. I once met the owners at an Amusement Expo and had a great conversation about the industry; they were very passionate about the business so I’m glad to see that they’ve done so well. The new location will cater to customers that have been coming into the 1st location from Northridge, offering about the same amount of space (2000 sq. ft.) and of course, plenty of retro games to enjoy. That games list spans to about 50 games, including what you see in the picture below. They’ve gotten some coverage over at Daily News.com; it’s also worth noting that the second location opens today! Visit their main website here.
Appalachian Pinball Museum (Hendersonville, NC)
While pinball museums don’t generally fit into the typical definition of a museum (i.e., they fall along the lines of retro arcades), pinball fans in North Carolina won’t have room to complain thanks to this new venue that opened up in December. Operated by the same team that runs the Asheville Pinball Museum, this new business charges a $10 entry fee and allows users to play any of the 35 pinball or 25 video arcade games inside to your hearts content. Some of those games include: Battlezone; Dig Dug; Captain Fantastic; KISS (the original pin); Gorgar; Ms. Pac-Man; Space Invaders (pinball); World Series; and much more. Check out this article+video about them at wlos.com.
The Arcade (Wichita, KS)
Fans of classic gaming in Wichita have a new place to gather as The Arcade opened their doors in December. From what I can find, their line-up includes: Journey; Joust; Mortal Kombat 4; Paperboy; Pengo; Pole Position II; Q*Bert; Spy Hunter, Tapper, Tempest; TRON; Xevious and much more. They also have pinball titles like Austin Powers, Baby Pac-man, Bride Of Pinbot, Cyclone, Star Wars Pro, Street Fighter II and others. They are housed in quite the distinctive building thanks to the historic district location, making them hard to miss if you are in the area. You can visit their Facebook page here.
Keg & Coin (Jacksonville, FL)
(Thanks to Michael Louie for the tip)
This one brings the bar/arcade concept to Jacksonville, offering a good starting selection of video games and pinball to play. Those games include: Demolition Man (pin); Fastbreak (pin); Gauntlet Legends; Killer Instinct 2; Maximum Force; Mortal Kombat; Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga; NBA Jam; No Fear (pin); Rampage World Tour; Target Terror Gold; Tempest; The House Of The Dead; Trog (that’s one you don’t see very often) and several others. Check out their Facebook page here; here’s a news article about them as well.
Pinz (Hadley, MA)
Opening in the Hampshire Mall in Hadley, MA earlier this month, Pinz offers everything you would want out of a big FEC that is focused on bowling, including a modern arcade. Of the 45 arcade games on hand, most are newer redemption titles but you can spy a few videos (Crossy Road Arcade, Ice Man, Injustice, Jurassic Park, MotoGP, Pirates Hook, Terminator Salvation, The Walking Dead). Read more about this location at MASSlive.com.
State Of Mind (Los Altos, CA)
(Thanks to Michael Louie for the tip)
On the opposite side of the country is a bar/arcade/pizzeria that ‘soft’ opened their doors back on Jan.10th. Offering pizza & beer, the arcade isn’t massive but it has the kinds of games that tend to do well in an bar/arcade setting such as multiplayer beat ’em ups (Captain America & The Avengers, Rampage World Tour, The Simpsons, TMNT), multiplayer sports games like NFL Blitz & NBA Jam (I’m surprised that they don’t have a Golden Tee) and light gun shooters like Area 51 Site 4 and Big Buck Hunter Pro. You can check out their website here; read more about their food menu at this article by paloaltoponline.com.
The Game Works (Klamath Falls, OR)
Last but not least for this batch of new arcades is a retro arcade by the name of The Game Works has re-opened their business in a new location. This one is not fully operational at the moment, with the venue open during the weekends for now. The owner has his eye on a grand opening in March. This video from the Herald and News gets into more detail as they interviewed owner Brian Houck while showing his collection of titles that also covers both video (the newest of which appears to be FnF Tokyo Drift) and pinball machines (from a 70s Star Trek to somewhat newer Rollercoaster Tycoon).
As mentioned, that is not all in the world of new arcades! Stay tuned for another post that focuses on upcoming venues (Spring, Summer, Late 2018).
If you find yourself anywhere near these locations, be sure to pay more than lip service to what they are doing – stop in, buy a pass or tokens and help them keep it up!
I used to live right near another PINZ location, and I can tell you they’re great- at least bowling and food wise. The arcade kinda sucked, the only thing worth playing there was Namco’s Dead Heat.