Last year a new arcade called Round 1 opened up by me. I was blown away by the selection of games: plenty of Japanese imports, rhythm games, UFO catchers, and candy cabs running arcade classics, along with more typical prize-redemption and lightgun games. They also have bowling, ping-pong, billiards, and karaoke. PLUS there's a bar! They support Japanese arcade-systems that keep track of your scores/progress on cards (ie e-Amusement, Nesica, Aime and Bana Passport), something that has long been unavailable to American gamers. I'm starting to get involved with the DDR scene, which has a more active group of regular players than I experienced even when DDR was at its peak. I've also been getting serious about Beatmania IIDX, which is the game I play the most.
Round 1 is a Japanese chain, which gives them access to all kinds of Japanese goodies that American arcades can't. It's really a phenominal place and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to see what a modern arcade can be like. You can look through their locations page and see if there's one within driving distance. They have 21 locations in the US at the moment (California has the most) but the company is planning on expanding at a rate of 10 locations a year until 2025; they're aiming to have as many locations in the US as they do in Japan (100, I believe). So even if there's none in your area now, there's a good chance of one popping up at some point.
I'm totally in love with this place and feel like it deserves its own thread! Has anyone else been to one?