RetroGaming

Outside the major cities, at least, video arcades in Japan are still hanging on in 2025 with a mix of games. There are a lot of pseudo-gambling token games (think prize tickets), crane-style prize games, and simple, highly physical games (big buttons and levers, controller and body tracking) aimed at the 5-to-10-year-old segment.

In terms of things we'd recognize as "real" games, almost everything is groups of locally networked terminals with some kind of physical gimmick that doesn't translate well to a home experience. There are still some racing games, music games, and the like, with uncommon controllers and layouts, but the most common format right now is probably a flat table with an embedded screen that has some way of scanning and tracking collectible trading cards. The cards aren't just scanned in once for use and then put aside, but actually moved around the table as tokens within the game. Obviously there are "Magic" style games, but also RPGs (both turn-based and action), MOBAs, real-time strategy, and more. Horse racing games are also popular, but to be clear, the players don't "ride" the horses; they raise, trade, manage, and "bet" on them, and watch simulated races.

And these days almost everything uses player profiles saved to IC cards, ranked across the country and sometimes even the world.

Occasionally you'll see four or six of the old sit-down "city" style cabinets (like the ones pictured in the article) in a corner, running 1-on-1 fighting games, but those are mainly found in the specifically "retro" arcades.