Rumour: GAME UK Looking to Open Retro Arcades - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 04 December 2017 / 2,796 Views
An industry source has told VGChartz that GAME intends to bring not just retro gaming cafes to the UK, but also old school arcades.
Speaking at a recent event our source said the following:
“Head office are 100% looking at retro gaming cafes. It makes sense when you think about it, Belong is doing well so why wouldn’t they look at different ways to monetize on that?”
“They are also considering full size arcade machines. I’m not sure if they want to go the full arcade route, but it’s likely we’ll see them show up in Belong soon. The issue is the size of the Belong areas, but due to how lucrative it is, I imagine they’ll look at creating whole shops based around it. Think internet cafes but with VR, upcoming games, competitions - that kind of thing.”
GAME remains the UK’s largest video game retailer, despite posting a large loss recently and the Multiplay division being eaten up by Unity Technologies. Which could potentially affect this, because Belong is part of both GAME and Multiplay.
The UK currently has no real arcades, unlike the USA, apart from the Arcade Club in Bury, and numerous minor pier-style arcades.
Our source is verified but has requested to remain anonymous, which is why we're running this story as a rumour.
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Hey there! Don't forget about Las Vegas Arcade in London, Soho! It's on the same street as Belong lol. https://www.facebook.com/LasVegasArcadeSoho/
I'd say Arcade Club in Bury, is as good as any retro arcade I've seen, and that's Worldwide. Not only is the place huge and absolutely packed with cabinets, it has atmosphere!
I agree. It's actually alright. Been to Amsterdam and there are some really fun Arcades there too. Not just in Amsterdam though, there's a big one I think in Utrecht called Gamestate. I think it's more oriented to American style arcades but I'm not sure.
Arcardes were cool because they were face-to-face experiences. There was respect and people didn't call each other gay slurs every time they lost because there was real consequences for their actions. No hiding behind mommies internet for little Johnny.
£50 per play knowing those rip off merchants.
I'd love that. I've always thought that VR would make for a great arcade experience, as long as costs are high and people living spaces are too limited for proper room scale VR.
