Arcades

[importaku]

the main problem they have is arcade club exists, compared to that they are going to struggle, i'm still loving that they are opening a 3rd site in blackpool. The place is a vile ****hole but all those crappy arcades on the seafront are gonna get destroyed by it, as who in their right minds is gonna pay £1 a go when you can freeplay at arcade club all day for £16.

Andy has some crazy arcade inventory the 4 player massive mission impossible experience pod is one of his most recent adittions.

[dataDave]

Blackpool deserves an Arcade Club. That's where most of my arcade gaming took place '89-'99.

I know it's a ****hole, but I've had nothing but great days out there throughout my life and I've nothing but happy memories of the place - other than the later years when the diminishing arcade presence became depressing.

I can't wait to relive those days out with my family. The fact that we have to drive over from the Netherlands to experience that is going to make it a bit more special. I already know the best take-away joints and which spots to avoid, so now it's just a matter of finding a decent B&B for a night.

[Neon Ignition]

"A decent Blackpool B&B... the one mission I can't beat"

[Hirst]

The only time I went to Blackpool was in the early 2000s and I played Wild Riders (and completed it on my first go - it's very easy!). I was surprised at how rundown the seafront was and I'm not a snob about this kind of thing, I've been going to Scarborough and Skegness for years.

Have to say I was very disappointed by my last trip to Scarborough though, the only arcade cabinet I could find was Sega Rally 3. Hope Arcade Club comes there.

[Neon Ignition]

There's barely a surviving arcade presence in Blackpool now and they're all the most rundown buildings. Coral Island is the one holding it together now but the proper arcade area is small now and god knows the toll COVID has had on it as to how much longer it lasts.

[Asura]

blackpool. The place is a vile ****hole but all those crappy arcades on the seafront are gonna get destroyed by it, as who in their right minds is gonna pay £1 a go when you can freeplay at arcade club all day for £16.

I knew someone who tried to run a business in Blackpool in the 90s, and he said that he pulled out early because he had organised crime knocking on the door when he started doing too well. I hope Arcade Club is okay if they genuinely do put other people out of business.

[wakka]

the main problem they have is arcade club exists, compared to that they are going to struggle, i'm still loving that they are opening a 3rd site in blackpool. The place is a vile ****hole but all those crappy arcades on the seafront are gonna get destroyed by it, as who in their right minds is gonna pay £1 a go when you can freeplay at arcade club all day for £16.

Andy has some crazy arcade inventory the 4 player massive mission impossible experience pod is one of his most recent adittions.

I think there's room for both Arcade Club and Joypolis - not least because all of the Arcade Clubs are in one cluster in the northwest!

Joypolis in Japan has indoor rides, too. Ideally they'd have a big enough premises in the UK to do that here.

Completely agree that the pay-once, all-you-can-eat model of Arcade Club is unbeatable though. Living in London I'm well jel of it!

[samanosuke]

Completely agree that the pay-once, all-you-can-eat model of Arcade Club is unbeatable though. Living in London I'm well jel of it!

I think lease costs in London make it an unworkable model. Las Vegas seems to be doing well - when I popped by the other day there were queues to play games - but it’s a crying shame it’s the only proper arcade left in London. I feel a token system barcade could do well, so your £10 or £15 lasts an hour or two maybe and then you top up, plus food and drinks at the bar. That could be the most sustainable model. Who’s with me to form a startup? (I’m semi-serious!)

[wakka]

I think lease costs in London make it an unworkable model. Las Vegas seems to be doing well - when I popped by the other day there were queues to play games - but it’s a crying shame it’s the only proper arcade left in London. I feel a token system barcade could do well, so your £10 or £15 lasts an hour or two maybe and then you top up, plus food and drinks at the bar. That could be the most sustainable model. Who’s with me to form a startup? (I’m semi-serious!)

Yeah, definitely central would be a no go, but there are plenty of railway arches and disused warehouse spaces that are being converted into breweries and restaurants and coworking and all sorts out in zones 2 and 3. It would be great to see Arcade Club open a premises somewhere like that.

Las Vegas is a good spot but far from the only arcade in London. My local in Peckham is Four Quarters, and they've got two other spots - one in Stratford and one just about to open in Elephant and Castle which will be their biggest yet.

You've also got Freeplay City up round Finsbury Park which is undergoing refurbishment at the moment I believe, VEGA, which is a dinky little place with a few Bemani cabs round Angel way, Namco Funscape (which is a bit of a hole but has Time Crisis 5 and other bits), another barcade in the shape of Four Thieves in Clapham, and other bits and pieces I've forgotten about/don't know about.

It's not Tokyo, to the say the least, and of course we don't have Arcade Club, but the scene is a thousand times better than it was ten years ago - and most importantly, it's growing now rather than shrinking

[Arashikage]

I like Arcade Club but it’s a shame that the top floor in Bury is overlooked in favour of the Bemani floor, I’m sure that nothing gets fixed up there. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade has had a busted trigger on the controls for ages now and X-Men is in dire need of a reset switch as no-one can play it after some kid has put a million credits into it. The main reason for me going there is getting less and less the greater the faults mount up.

[samanosuke]

My favourite part of the Bury venue is the top floor, specifically the bit in the middle with all the Golden Era games such as Asteroids, Tempest, Tron and Galaga. I can - and do - spend entire nights in that section alone.

[Paddy]

I was surprised that my recent stay in Whitby and side trip to Scarborough didn't involve me going in the arcades at all (I walked by them but didn't have a look inside). In the past it would have been a guarantee but I guess age and time changes things.

I might ask my friends if they're interested in going to arcade club again. It might be too premature but if we can find the right time (I'm not sure if the Leeds one is still keeping Thu/Fri night adults-only) it'll be good to check it out again as I've not been since Covid landed in early 2020.

[eastyy]

Found out this place exists here in ireland http://leveluplimerick.com/

[Lebowski]

I knew someone who tried to run a business in Blackpool in the 90s, and he said that he pulled out early because he had organised crime knocking on the door when he started doing too well. I hope Arcade Club is okay if they genuinely do put other people out of business.

As a gamer its very easy to overlook what is bringing in the money in most of these seaside arcades, its not video games, its coin pushers, crane games, ticket machines and casino style gambling. Arcade club isn't going to take that business as they don't traditionally carry these machines and these machines don't work with their model of one fee to play everything.

Think of the cost factor too, £15 a person to play for 4 hours so £60 per family, or you give your kids a fiver each to play on the penny falls for an hour then back to the beach.

[Neon Ignition]

I take it the existing ones are doing well for themselves, it always sounded more like an enthusiasts thing thanks to the limited interest modern gamers have in arcades. You visit places where an arcarde in the traditional sense exists and they rarely seem that busy. To be honest, the idea of one in Blackpool sounds nice but given the businesses there and what it's like it feels hard to imagine that the machines etc won't get trashed in quick order.