Which city/town is the Gaming Central?

Where in Japan is the town/city known for having a buch of arcades, video game stores, retro stuff and all the game related stuff? If such a place exists.... Or is it pretty much the same all over Japan?

 

Err, every city I live in Shmonoseki which isn't such a big city with a population of 301,097 and we have 2 Sega Worlds (one next to my place), 1 Sega Hightec Land, 1 Sega Amusement place (more of a family arcade) and a few independent arcades. If I go to Kokura (the next city where I work) there are 3 BIG arcades within a few minutes walking distance from each other.

Yakumo

Shimonoseki official page in English - http://www.city.shimonoseki.yamaguchi.jp/seisaku/kokusai/english/main.php?page=contents

 

In my hometown due to a law about illegal gaming [paying to play slots through internet] all the arcades were closed down and now we don't have any arcades and you have one every three blocks, i want to get over there.:die Well not enough money

 

Always thought it was tokyo

 

Obviously, the bigger cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka will have more arcades. However, unlike here in the US, arcades are not quite dead yet in Japan, as they are in abundance in every city you visit. I've found great arcades in dead areas of Nara, which is pretty small and country-like, when compared to Osaka. Japan is an amazing place, especially if you're a hardcore gamer like me. Some arcades even had a whole large section devoted to the retro stuff we all love so much. It's a damn shame to, since NYC used to have plenty of arcades back in the 80s and early 90s. Now, they're as good as dead. It's sad, really.

 

As for stores and arcades, Akihabara is the place to go
Sure... you can find stores and arcades everywhere, but they are just everywhere there...

However arcades in Akihabara can be a bit pricey (200yen po'n music :/) so if you wan't to game cheap then look for the smaller ones in Shibuya/Ueno... lot's of quality stuff there.

 

W/ the exception of Hey!'s 2nd floor shooting frenzy (for shooting fans, no doubt, the best arcade in the world), Akihabara is really not that special in the arcade area. For high level fighting game play (at least for VF), Shibuya and Shinjuku are both better (Shinjuku having the hotspot on Friday nights). There are also more arcades in Shiubya (10, all within a 5 minute walk of each other) including a nice All 50 yen arcade, than Akihabara.

 

I think that Try! tower was a lot of fun in Akihabara also.
Especially the retro-arcade at the top floor.