Over the past few years, many fans have become upsetr news about the closure of several historical passages in Tokyo and especially in the otaku-focused city of Akihabara, but today Bandai Namco announced the opening of a new one.
On March 1, Bandai Namco will open its Namco Akihabara store, the first arcade owned by the company in Akihabara in the 68-year history of its arcade business.
Those familiar with the location may recognize the building pictured in the layout attached to the press release. The most obvious difference is that it used to be red. The location, sandwiched between one of the main exits of the local train station and the popular Radio Kaikan store, used to be home to the popular Sega Akihabara Arcade 4 before it was renamed GiGO. acquiring the home of the Sonic arcade business in 2020. Last September, the store was finally closed.
Now, Bandai Namco is giving it new life, offering fans plenty of ways to have fun on the property. Above all, the new facility promises one of the largest arcade machine collections in the region, promising to help shape a new gaming community with events and promotions. Among them we will find as many as 46 Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. 2 XBoost units on the first underground floor. Bandai Namco plans to offer the game’s thriving community a new place to gather and enjoy special events.
On the first floor, there will be regular UFO hunters at the official Ichiban Kuji store in Akihabara (Ichiban Kuji is a form of lottery very popular among otaku. Customers buy tickets and win an instant prize, usually a figure or gadget from anime or games) and a Banplayer showroom Akiba Figure Collection, where Banpresto will display their figures.
The second floor will feature more UFO hunters, while the third floor will feature arcade machines, including the following popular games Taiko no Tatsujin and more.
The fourth floor will house the Gashapon Bandai Official Shop Akihabara, which will specialize in the famous random toy vending machines (not everyone knows that the Gashapon brand is owned by Bandai). It will include a whopping 800 machines and will be one of the largest in the Akihabara area.
Finally, the fifth floor will provide a new venue for trading card game fans with DeckSta, short for Decks Stadium, where Bandai Namco will host events and tournaments dedicated to its TCGs.
By the way, from March 1 to 12, the institution will hold a trial event of the new one Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. 2 OverBoost The official launch of the arcade game is planned for the summer of 2023.
While we don’t know if the new Bandai Namco arcade could mean a revival of the arcade industry in Akihabara, it’s certainly nice to see clear signs of the city’s recovery after the difficult years of the pandemic.