Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Lepsch.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At 39 years old, I experienced what some might call a mid-life crises. It was not so much a crisis but a realization that in my current career of 20 years, I felt no more fulfillment. I had conquer my careers mountains, slayed the giants of my competitors, and the charted all that was uncharted. As ancient history tells us about Alexander the Great, “For Alexander wept for there were no more lands to conquer.” Boredom set in as I began to make more recreational time for myself and did what I could to work less due to my lack of passion for my industry. Being a product of the 80s and 90s, I grew up playing video games both at home with Nintendo and Playstation as well as the great arcades such as Tilt located in Vista Ridge mall in Lewisville, Texas. I enjoyed modern gaming on my Playstation 4 but astounding graphics seemed to take priority of the gameplay of the classics. I began looking for retro video games as at each discovery, memories of my formative years began rushing in.
What started as a curiosity became a hobby, which then became an obsession. I remember as a young teen that one day, the arcades seemed to disappear overnight. I never knew why, which led me to learn the amazing history of what was called the Golden Age of video games, which started in 1992. I was 13 years old at the time and had no idea at the time that I was entering my teen years in what would become a historical moment. Looking back, it makes sense. The “console wars” existed as my friends and I debated constantly who was better, Sega or Nintendo. We played video games at home but there was a who different experience at the Arcades as we played games such as Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more. We saw the internet become publicly available as we used our personal computers to log online on dial-up modems to play multiplayer on games such as Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Quake and more. Looking back, I can see how this was indeed the golden age of video games. My collection continued to grow and included full-size arcade cabinets that I remember playing, such as a Mortal Kombat 3, which was my favorite arcade game.
I also found a Super Mario Brothers arcade game from 1986 that was the first video game I every played at a gas station near the apartments my family lived at in Tulsa Oklahoma. What started as a collection in the corner of a room eventually took over the entire room and was renamed, “The retro game room.” Soon that room was not enough and the garage conversion began. During this time, I did what anyone would do and made a point to show off my collection to all my friends and neighbors. One day I watched friends, family and neighbors play in my makeshift arcade garage and it hit me. This is bigger that me. It was a kind of adult therapy which briefly took you away from the burdens of an adult and bask in the glorious nostalgia and simpler time. I needed more than what a garage could hold and I needed to make this experience available to as many people as possible. Less than a year later I had secured 4500 square feet in Historic Downtown McKinney and we opened our doors on Black Friday 2019.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wish I could say it was a smooth road and everything was fun and games the whole time. As much as I loved retro video gaming and was passionate about the history behind them, I knew very little about running a bar and a restaurant. When I played in my make shift retro arcade in my garage, it was pretty much understood that you had a beer in your hand or sipping on an Old Fashion. I was accustomed to being an entrepreneur so I had no problem with jumping off the cliff and building a plane on the way down. In a twist though, everything I thought would be hard was easy but inversely everything I thought would be easy was hard. Thankfully all it took was finding the right person to talk to and they had a to do list and script for you. Finding a location for the arcade had some surprising obstacles.
We had several landlord laugh at us and tell us that the idea of a place for adults to play video games was absurd. I kept running into this brick wall until I realized the ones who were saying this were the ones who were over 50 years old. Those in that age group missed it! By the time video games became a popular pastime was not until the late 70s and early 80s. If they were grown up and in the workforce, then they would have no idea how glorious the concept truly was. Vindication came the first few months we were open. Everything in my design anticipated 1500-2500 people coming to the arcade per month. Fir the first month we had 5500 people at the arcade. Thinking that was maybe a fluke and maybe it was just because we were new, we thought the next month would wind down. For the next couple months we held those averages and showed no sign of stopping. That is until March 17th 2020. The arcade and the world would have to press pause.
We’d love to hear more about Arcade 92.
Arcade 92 is a retro arcade, bar and restaurant. We have 100+ video games to play at the arcade including, 70s retro arcades, 80s retro arcade, 90s retro arcades, modern arcade games, retro pinball and modern pinball, retro consoles such as original Nintendos, Sega Genesis, Atari, gameboys, etc. We specialize in nostalgia but we also embrace the entirety of the history of video gaming including modern video gaming. You can play Space invaders from 1978 then walk across the room and compete in a Mario Kart tournament on the Nintendo Switch. What makes me the most proud is when I see the multigenerational experience play out before our eyes. We often see parents bring in their kids. The parents introduce Pac-Man and Galaga to the young ones and then the kids show the parents Fortnite, Smash Brothers, and Mario Kart. We have the original Mario Brothers from 1983 and then we have the most recent Super Mario Brothers released by Nintendo.
We have Tetris from 1986 and Tetris 99 released in 2018. During this whole experience the parents are able to order from our 12 craft beers on tap, 40+ beers, wines and ciders plus we have 15 signature cocktails inspired by the classic games. The parents grab a beverage of their choice and the kids grab a bottle of Jarritos or root beer. We are not the only retro arcade in the DFW area and honestly we are okay with that. Even with 4500 square feet there are only so many retro arcade titles we can offer at one time. We rotate out our games and we are always on the hunt for new ones but we realize that with so many titles from the span of 30+ years of video gaming, there will always be games that we don’t have that other arcades do and vice versa. I will say that we do have the unique offering of retro plus modern gaming. The other arcades in DFW specialize in retro only but I wanted from day one to include all aspects of the full scope of video game history including the home consoles. Further the “eSports” industry is growing faster than the music and Film industry combined and we see a bright future in the video gaming industry. We want our patrons to experience the history from before plus the history that is being made today.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Community. Arcade 92 promises a nostalgic experience but also the comfort of the modern entertainment in gaming. Video games were designed to be played with someone. Looking back to the original home gaming systems such as the Nintendo Entreatment System from 1985, the outside of the box shows the entire family playing together. Video games were supposed to be the next evolution in board games. A single player game was as odd as playing a game of Monopoly or Scrabble by yourself.
Arcade 92 does not merely exist to give our patrons nostalgia but also an environmental to easily participate in community. It is not uncommon for adults to enter as strangers, share a memory over a retro arcade game we have as well as a pint, and end up playing together. We offer a pinball league, Mario Kart Tournaments, high score competitions for retro arcade machines, a Killer Queen arcade game community, Super Smash Brothers tournaments, Fortnite and Call of Duty tournaments and more. One things we seem to be really good at, is creating this environment that gaming was intended to be.
Pricing:
- $12 per person. All day pass to Arcade and all machines are freeplay. No quarters, tokens, cards needed
- $4-$8 beers $5 – $8 wines, $7 – $10 signature cocktails
- $8-$12 entrees, $3 – $12 desserts and appetizers
Contact Info:
- Address: 305 e Virginia St
Suite 103 McKinney, Texas 75069 - Website: arcade92.com
- Phone: 214-455-6159
- Email: arcade92mckinney@gmail.com
- Instagram: @arcade92
- Facebook: @arcade92
- Yelp: Arcade 92
- Other: Trip Advisor: Arcade 92
Image Credit:
All photographs taken by Owner of Arcade 92
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