A Brief Tour of the Chinese Arcade Scene

Play King of Fighters with a minion, win an Eevee for your sweetie, or just play a tiny round of bowling — the choice is yours

For all the fame that Japanese arcades have acquired over the years, I think that Chinese arcades are even more significant. The government banned the importation of arcade machines along with all other video game hardware in 2000, but arcade machines were welcomed back into the country years before home consoles. This made the arcade an important part of the reintroduction of video games into China, and they remain popular to this day.

Arcades come in all shapes and sizes here. A few are standalone businesses — usually found in entertainment/shopping districts nestled among milk tea shops, clothing boutiques, and food stalls — but most are found in shopping centers and malls. Some of these are no more than a few machines in a nook or lining a walkway, while others can be quite sizable and elaborate. There’s a lot of variety in the decor and naming as well, which ultimately signals if a particular arcade is meant more for young children or for teenagers and young adults.