GAMELAND Is Bringing the Arcade Back to Tokyo: Our Interview with Creator Scott Popular

Remember when playing games meant going somewhere? Pockets full of quarters, a crowd behind the cabinet, and a stranger who suddenly became your rival, then your friend. That feeling is exactly what one Tokyo crew is trying to bring back, and they're doing it with a simple rule printed right on the flyer: "You bring it. We play it."

It's called GAMELAND, a monthly community gaming meetup, and the next one lands Saturday, October 10 at Impact Hub Tokyo. We caught up with its creator, Scott Popular, to find out what GAMELAND is, why it feels like a trip back to the arcade, and why you should be there.

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The Interview

We asked Scott to tell us about GAMELAND in his own words. Here's what he told us.

What is GAMELAND?

"Simply put, GAMELAND is my team's idea of what a makeshift arcade/community gaming space could be in Tokyo."

What are your goals for it?

"We wanted to create a monthly event where people could come in, relax, play games, discover something new, meet people, and just hang out including me. 😂 There isn't a huge agenda or pressure to participate in a certain way. Our goal is to create a space for social gaming and community, where we can play whatever comes across the horizon."

What do you love most about it?

"The biggest thing I love about GAMELAND is seeing people actually interact with each other. People come from different backgrounds developers, artists, players, friends, curious people and everybody can bring something into the space. One person might bring a game they're working on, someone else might bring an old console, someone might discover a game they've never heard of, and suddenly everybody is playing together."

Why the retro, old-school arcade feel?

"That's also where the retro feel comes from.

When I think about the arcades I grew up with, gaming wasn't just something you did alone at home. You had to go somewhere to play. You saw other people. You watched someone play a game you didn't know. You challenged somebody. You talked trash. 😂 You made friends. The arcade was a social space as much as it was a place to play games.

I miss that. I like seeing people.

So GAMELAND isn't necessarily trying to recreate an old arcade literally. It's trying to capture that feeling of being somewhere together, discovering games and sharing experiences."

And the philosophy behind it all?

"And that's really the philosophy behind GAMELAND:

YOU BRING IT. WE PLAY IT.

Whatever you're working on, whatever you've discovered, whatever crazy idea you have bring it to GAMELAND. We'll play it, talk about it, and see what happens."

The official October flyer. Look closely and you'll spot the games on the bill, including Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls.

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What to Expect on October 10

GAMELAND runs for five hours, and you can drop in whenever you like. Here's what's on the schedule:

• 🎮 Indie games, shown by the devs. Play games that are still being made and talk to the people making them.
• 🕹️ Arcade station. The spirit of the old cabinets, right in the room.
• 🥊 Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls tournament (2PM, PS5). Single elimination, best 2 out of 3 (best 3 out of 5 in Grand Finals), and the loser can switch teams. Register at the door and bring your own controller.
• 🎤 Dev community presentations (4PM). Hear from creators in Tokyo's indie scene.
• 🛋️ Chill Zones. No pressure to compete. Grab your included drink and meet people.

And of course, the golden rule: if you've got a game you're building, an old console collecting dust or a weird discovery you can't stop playing, bring it.

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Our Take: Why GAMELAND Matters

Here at What If Visions, we spend a lot of time talking about the biggest games on the planet: the $80 blockbusters, the trailer drops, the release date countdowns. But some of our favorite gaming memories never came from a launch day. They came from a crowded room, a borrowed controller and someone yelling "one more round."

That's why GAMELAND caught our attention. Online lobbies connect millions of players, yet gaming has somehow never felt more solitary. GAMELAND flips that. There's no stage separating creators from fans and no pressure to be good at anything. A developer can watch a stranger play their game for the first time, a casual player can stumble onto their new obsession, and a tournament rival can end up as a friend by the end of the night.

What we love most is that Scott isn't selling nostalgia. He's not building a museum of old cabinets. He's chasing the feeling the arcade gave us, and that's something no download can deliver. In a city as packed with gaming history as Tokyo, a space built around simply showing up and playing together feels both fresh and long overdue.

If you're in Tokyo on October 10, this is the kind of event that reminds you why you fell in love with games in the first place. And if you're a developer with something in the works? We honestly can't think of a better room to put it in front of real players.

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GAMELAND at a Glance

Date	Saturday, October 10, 2026
Time	1:00 PM – 6:00 PM JST
Venue	Impact Hub Tokyo, 2-11-3 Meguro, Meguro City, Tokyo
Tickets	¥1,500 online · ¥2,000 at the door (1 drink included)
Tournament	Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls on PS5, 2PM (bring your own controller)
How often	Monthly
RSVP	GAMELAND on Meetup

A huge thank you to Scott Popular and the GAMELAND team for taking the time to talk with us.

What would you bring to GAMELAND? A game you're making, a retro console or a hidden gem nobody's heard of? Tell us on our Discord or Instagram.

Event details come from the official GAMELAND flyer and Meetup page. Interview answers are from Scott Popular and appear as he shared them with us.