Eh, Yo! Welcome to In The Scene. This week we are talking to the Community Manager of Up Down Arcade David Hayden. David joined the Up Down Arcade team when they started looking to expand. Up Down Arcade started in Des Moines Iowa and now has 7 locations nationwide. Up Down Arcade is a great example of how you can make an arcade bar work. Up Down Arcade has a clear focus on capturing the retro arcade vibe of the 80s but with Beer included. Up Down Arcade has also been a huge supporter of the indie arcade scene.   

Up Down Arcade was one of the earliest arcades to bring in Killer Queen. They have Deathball, Black Emperor, and Switch N Shoot in multiple locations. David is the first point of contact for Up Down Arcade when it comes to bringing in new indie games, now he spills the beans about what they are looking for. David gives tons of advice on how to get into an Up Down Arcade. All indie arcade developers need to hear this.  

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Up Down Arcade:  

Website: https://www.updownarcadebar.com/ 

Facebook MPLS: https://www.facebook.com/updownmpls 

Instagram MPLS: https://www.instagram.com/updownmpls/  

Indie Wave Arcade  

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/IndieArcadeWave 

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@indiearcadewave 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiearcadewave/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/indiearcadewave 

Discord: https://discord.gg/6GntJQN  

Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6dFWBTnIroJdBla3hi9SAK   

0:00 Intro 

0:45 Who is David Hayden? 

2:49 When did Up Down Arcade start? When did you join Up Down Arcade? 

5:00 What sets Up Down Arcade part from other arcades? 

7:45 Up Down Arcades business model? Arcade Economics 

10:30 What do you look for in indie games? What puts an indie game on Up Down Arcades radar? 

17:20 What indie arcades launched well? What did they do right? 

21:18 What do you need to see from an indie to justify the price tag? 

25:51 What is your holy grail? What are your top 3 games? 

31:24 Advice for now arcade bar owners 

35:18 Up Down Arcade layouts and unique floor plans 

38:16 Shoutouts to Up Down Arcade 

39:40 Outro