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Comment by TulliusCicero | Hacker News Reader

On the upside, Round 1 is steadily expanding throughout the US.

For those who don't know, Round 1 is a Japanese arcade company that also has US locations, and they import many only-intended-for-Japan arcade cabinets to said locations, including some that are only in Japanese. Their rhythm game sections in particular are basically unsurpassed by American standards, it's like stepping into a slice of Tokyo.

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I thought the Koreans took over the rhythm game arcade business for the most part? All the surviving arcades I’ve been to in the states in recent years have only had Korean rhythm games on hand. I hope Konami hasn’t given up on the genre, or maybe the future is just beat saber (now owned by Meta).

Gonna be honest, I've never heard of Korean rhythm arcade games. I thought Koreans were mostly just into PC (and mobile) games. I would've thought I'd heard of this considering I read about Korean gaming culture, but apparently not enough.

Rhythm games are huge popular in Korea, probably more so than Japan right now. Units in the USA are often mistaken for Japanese, but the use of Hangul and the K-pop tunes should be dead give aways.

Pump It Up is a Korean DDR-style arcade. Round1 also seems to be bringing Chrono Circle to the US. Same manufacturer but different mechanics, it looks like maimai + Wacca.

Ah, I didn’t realize that game was Korean.

Not only US. They've opened one location in Russia, in Moscow.

So long as I can at Wacca while unable to travel back to Japan, I am so delighted by Round1.

Round 1 is way more than an arcade though. Most have bowling lanes, billard tables, ping pong tables, darts, food, box style karaoke rooms, and tumble rooms for small kids. Much more that just an arcade.

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