I’m hearing bad things about the independents. Even Sega is shutting shops. Akiba 2-kan – iconic! – is gone. Photos of staff bowing outside in thanks for years of patronage from also-bowing, clapping crowds.
The 2D fighter: as a genre, perfect. Almost nothing pushes the edges of the concept: everything’s definitely a fighter or definitely not.
Gitadora: Guitar Hero and DrumMania. True companions – the point of each other. (Since 1999, so Rock Band didn’t invent the rock band.)
This arcade isn’t retro – just old. Bet their Mr Driller’s been cycling attract mode since 1999.
So you’re a Naomi Universal cabinet in 1999 and you’re running all the coolest stuff: Crazy Taxi, The Typing of the Dead…
Anata No Warehouse in Kawasaki is themed to look like Kowloon’s walled city, the famous Hong Kong slum.
Out of the office, pop your umbrella. Hide your eyes and shuffle with the crowds: synthetic-mix suits are both the camouflage and the background.
The Versus City is a two-faced cab, smiling innocently at the player on each side.
Despite my obsession with the arcades, I’m not really good at any of the games. However, the custard-yellow Naomi Universal cabinet that houses Sega’s 1999 Crazy Taxi is one I always find friendly.
A day at work in suit and tie and shoes. A night away in dreams on music games.
Every DrumMania regular has their own sticks. Not everyone is foot-tapping the doorstep when the arcade opens.