Akihabara News (Tokyo) — While the official announcement is pending, a major entertainment facility named Namco Akihabara will open next to Electric Town in March.
As the name suggests, video game publisher Bandai Namco will be the owner and operator, though most details about what the facility will contain are not yet known. However, at least some cabinet arcade games have been seen being delivered into the building.
The location is quite prominent, just outside JR Akihabara Station’s Electric Town Exit. It is the same building which for many years served as Sega Akihabara Arcade Building 4. After Sega Sammy sold its arcades division to Genda Gigo Entertainment in November 2020, it became Gigo Akihabara Arcade Building 4. That arrangement, however, lasted less than two years. The arcade closed down last September.
Now Bandai Namco is taking over, trying to reenergize a facility which has suffered both from the general structural decline of the video game arcade industry, as well as the specific shock delivered by the Covid pandemic and the long closure of Japan’s national borders.
Bulletin boards make clear that the staff recruitment process for Namco Akihabara is currently underway for the planned March opening.
Recent Video Game Related Articles
JoJo’s All-Star Battle R Release
Sega Sammy Still Boosted by Video Games