Read from Soranews24:
As the biggest mecca in the world for anime and video game fans, Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood has an unabashed affection for new technology and fresh content. And yet, perhaps because of the wonderland-like atmosphere for fans, there’s also a lot of nostalgia for the most recognizable examples of Akiba architecture.
Unfortunately for everyone who wants Akihabara to stay as it is in their memories, one of the district’s most iconic video game arcades has announced it will be closing down, and with very little advance notice. The Sega Akihabara Building 2 arcade, located along the southern edge of Akihabara, will be shutting its doors on August 30.
Sega has not issued a statement as to why the arcade is closing. The obvious culprit would be a downturn in business due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has vastly decreased the number of visitors to Akihabara, and even among those who are making the trip, the prospect of sitting in an enclosed space while grabbing joysticks and mashing buttons without the machine having a thorough disinfection before the last person vacated it probably isn’t the most appealing prospect. Sega Akihabara Building 2 had been temporarily closed during the spring as the Tokyo municipal government declared a state of emergency in response to the health crisis, and though the arcade reopened on June 12, the reunion will be short-lived.
As the biggest mecca in the world for anime and video game fans, Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood has an unabashed affection for new technology and fresh content. And yet, perhaps because of the wonderland-like atmosphere for fans, there’s also a lot of nostalgia for the most recognizable examples of Akiba architecture.
Unfortunately for everyone who wants Akihabara to stay as it is in their memories, one of the district’s most iconic video game arcades has announced it will be closing down, and with very little advance notice. The Sega Akihabara Building 2 arcade, located along the southern edge of Akihabara, will be shutting its doors on August 30.
Sega has not issued a statement as to why the arcade is closing. The obvious culprit would be a downturn in business due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has vastly decreased the number of visitors to Akihabara, and even among those who are making the trip, the prospect of sitting in an enclosed space while grabbing joysticks and mashing buttons without the machine having a thorough disinfection before the last person vacated it probably isn’t the most appealing prospect. Sega Akihabara Building 2 had been temporarily closed during the spring as the Tokyo municipal government declared a state of emergency in response to the health crisis, and though the arcade reopened on June 12, the reunion will be short-lived.
