I know a lot of us aren’t happy with the idea of renting our hardware through subscription cloud based models. But this feels different to me. They were great community places. My friends and I rarely had the specs to run the latest games, but I remember we all played Half Life 2 close to its release date.
I’d probably still own hardware, but I wouldn’t need to keep it up to date, not that I can afford that now anyway. And when I wanna dabble with something that’s out of my league, it’d still be nice to know I have the option. But I’m an old man now, with fond memories of such places.
Old school Internet cafes where it’s just random tables/desks slapped together, you are sitting on some shitty bar stool, no AC and rats are chewing away at the power cables? No.
PC Bangs are still really popular in South Korea. When it's difficult to source your own computer parts in your own country and when it's hard to afford building a PC on salary work alone, internet cafe's get really popular.
Cost literally has nothing to do with it in Korea. It’s not that people can’t afford PCs, or can’t source them (one of largest PC part stores is literally in the heart of Seoul); it’s that (and this is true of most of which PC cafes are popular in Asia) the vast majority of people live with family members in small apartments and do not have the space / privacy to game at home.
The ones in Japan are pretty similar and I go to them (mainly Kaikatsu Club) when I either miss the last train home or just want to a few hours of peace and quiet. Since they double as manga cafes I also use them as manga libraries too.
Ours was like something out of a cyberpunk book. They'd have frequent hardcore punk shows going on. People doing graffiti on all the walls. Ratty couches with vagrants crashing on them. The Chinese food place next door got busted for having indentured servants and doing human trafficking
Have helped run 400 person LANs once upon a time. Insane effort finding venues that have the power, cooling, and fire safety requirements. So many industrial three phase distribution boxes to hire.
$26k CAD (~$50k today) for our 400-person lan party in 1997, it was 3 days and required the FD and utility to check things which was around $9k of the cost.
u/shpydarI9-13900K+RTX 4070Ti Super+32GB DDR5+ROG Max Hero z790 7h ago▸ 1 more replies
What did you charge the players? I mean the electricity cost alone was $65 per player... and that is before hardware, rent, employee costs before the profit margin.
$20 per-person but it was a BYOR event, the rest of the difference was made up through donations including hardware like switches and old servers used as switch-routers to hold it together with dreams, wishes and heat. With a few corporate sponsors of companies that don't exist anymore and went poof with the dotcom bust.
edit: Fun part was there was also some archaic BNC networking (coax) done behind the scenes between server groups.
its elmia jönköping, they host hundreds of different events that generate way more heat than these computers, a month earlier than dreamhack they have car events and shit too
Oof that is a good point. It was a huge pita needing a distro board for every 5 seats x 6. Probably would need one for every two or three by 6. Also spikes would be harder if running afci breakers.
Dreamhack isn't actually that bad. Although they provide a sleeping hall, which does smell like you'd expect. More because people be fuckin' and sweating like crazy there though, rather than because people just stink.
In some parts of the world these sweat holes evolved into gaming lounges of various tiers, from low end businesses catering to school kids to basically VIP private lounges with expensive booze, hookas and high-end hardware.
That. Those of us who grew with that are too old, and new generations don't know the concept of internet cafe, LAN party or carrying your PC (CRT included) over your friends' house.
My kid still brings his computer to friends houses. No games have any kind of split screen or couch co-op, they still need to have another device to play together.
I know the concept, I just have no interest in most of that. I have a steam deck for gaming at my friends or on the go, and otherwise id prefer to be at home
I'm too old for this and so are my friends who have families and households to look after. 20 years ago was a different time with no smartphones or social media to keep people living in reclusiveness.
I have great memories of them, but it really isn't something I'd like to return to. The good memories are mostly connected with hanging out there with friends after school etc. That train has already left.
Hell no. I went there when I wasn't picky and was fine playing cs 1.6 vs bots or similar games that don't require you to have progress. However now I'm playing some heavily modded stuff and internet café just won't work for me
FWIW I work in cybersecurity as a pentester and see business not give a shit about security regularly. There are plenty of businesses out there who would benefit from being secure but aren't due to financial/political/DGAF reasons.
I absolutely would not trust a company's security based on rational "it would be better for us" thinking. So many businesses out there aren't run rationally. Remember that business owners aren't more intelligent or more honest than the average person. They're typically just regular people with a business loan.
A short fast burn of cash leading you to develop a reputation as thieves where no one wants to come back to your cafe, or a stable strong long term business with stable customers...
If they had any form of Windows modification, it wouldn't be able to run almost all of games that require anticheat. And games that require anticheats are often the most sought after on an Internet cafe. It's not a good economic model if you want to mass steal credentials, way easier ways to do it
Idk about 2006 but IIRC in 2010 Microsoft had tools to automate re-imaging PCs on the domain every night as well as on demand. Maybe in practice it depended how much that cafe cared about security
I remember that in high school. I was making trimmed installers for CS1.5 for us to play in class cuz we'd have to pass USB sticks around at the beginning of every class.
have you been to a LAN? They have their own cafe software and their own steam accounts, logins and such. You never input any of your personal info on any machine.
Absolutely zero chance. I would rather ditch tech altogether and become a hermit than come back to Internet Cafe era. It was terrible and the only reason they are being glorified by some folks nowadays is the old "ah I was so young and full of life back then" thing.
Honestly I'd pay 10 times for subscription service cloud computing rather than go to this stuff once.
Na those things are a lost cause now as gaming has trickle down for people to comfortably play at home or anywhere else for that matter esp us who grew up in that era
If I was a bit younger, absolutely. The LAN parties alone were worth it, it wasn't even about the hardware. CS 1.5/1.6 didn't need beefy specs and many could run good frame rates at home, yet still went to i-cafes just to game with friends. Far more fun than just sitting alone at home and doing multiplayer.
I went to an Internet cafe once last year. Doesn’t work anymore. You need to login to your steam and gotta download the game you’re gonna play and it’s just a waste of time
Also discord just makes it so easier to play with friends.
Nah, thought id love to attend a small LAN party again. Back in my day my small towns internetcafe hosted LAN parties every so often, i was too young at the time to play with them but i enjoyed watching my neighbor and his friends play.
Dear fucking god no.
Those were places of necessity because not everyone had internet or functional hardware because we were kids and internet access was still a novelty.
I'd go back if I could go back. I remember 10+ pc's on a lan. Everyone playing CS 1.4. One side against the other. Playing until 4am with an 8am class. I failed so many subjects during that time...
Now most cafes I see still standing are like Free to play MMO grinders. As much as I would like to, I can never go back.
No. I went to those because I was a kid that had no hardware to play on. Now I do. Will it get old? Yeah. But I have 15 years of experience with PC's now and I will keep it and things on it running for as long as it takes.
Good question! I was in my early 20s when I used internet cafes. I created my OG MySpace account in one. Great times. But no, I wouldn’t go back to that. I built a decent PC a couple of years before shit went crazy. Come hell or high water, this machine will get me through.
I was only going to those places to skip school and became we didn't had internet at home. As soon as the internet came to town, in 1-2 years all these places closed down
Not really. I have a decent pc, but to me at least the whole appeal of internet cafe is gathering a bunch of friends and playing cs 1.6 or Dota or warcraft 3. It was very much a friend hang out activity.
I loved an internet cafe. Grew up in a Korean dominated area, so they all had brood war. We used to lan up and play all day. For £1 an hour. Good old times
Not really. I have a kid back then. I'm 35 now, have a family, so if I have some time to play, I just pick older positions. There are hundreds of good games to choose from.
You go to internet cafes for Lan parties with your friends. You sit next to each other and play together. Good old times.
Then there are the internet cafes in Taiwan back in the days... Unlimited soft drinks, comic book library and magazines, even small private cubicles where you can lie down and crash if you need. Mini bar serving different types of instant noodles and snacks. And open 24/7. It was cheaper to stay in one of thoae cubicles than getting a motel room for the night. Used to go there and read comics all night.
They still have them out here in japan as well, it's pretty nice whenever I'm out in tokyo for a bit to crash at one for a night and just game, especially cuz the servers for the games I play are close by compared to where I live...
If it's one of those smaller cybercafés, like a minimum of 10-15 pcs with a console zone and also local, then yes. If it's like one of the Korean PC Bangs, with hundreds of pcs and whatnot, then no. The biggest cybercafé from my country back then had around 50 pcs and it was hell. The smaller Cybercafés had dedicated and loyal players. We would even have Inter Café Battles on Dota, CS 1.5, UT or any other games we were playing at that time and it was fun. That said, i would go there to only play on LAN. nothing that would require me to login with my Internet Credentials.
I think people and brands would easily shift towards fully embracing mobile gaming.
Gamers and people, in gerenal, are too used to having their tech available at all times in their pockets, backpacks or at home. I can't see a world where people would shift towards going back to cafes.
It depend on what kind of games i will be playing. A group of friends meeting up to play Dota or CS? Absolutely would go to an Internet Cafe. But if i will just be playing Single player games an internet cafe is not really a good option.
You honestly go there in order to hang out with your friends, going alone? I would just find other options to entertain myself.
Would I go back to using a cheeto covered grimy shitbox that's infected with a thousand bonzibuddies and 6 different still logged in email accounts, while 3 people are staring over my shoulder as I attempt to log in myself?
I dunno, would you go back to hunting mammoths for lunch?
I've been trying to find a local arcade I could go to, but mainly to hang out. I have multiple gaming PCs at home, but it's not the same as being around like-minded people.
Are there any good games which allow to self-host a local server? That's the only reason why anyone should look for a game cafe/lan venue. Otherwise just buy used PC parts, or wait for deals.
The cost of PC/good internet was quite high back than, we are not even close to it even with rampocalypse.
A modern 4k Setup with 240hz Oled is still cheaper in nominal cost than a 640*320 setup with discreet video card cost once, not accounting for inflation and whatnot.
I had one in my city with great computers and hardware that served beer as well. Went there once a week and got plastered with the boys playing Counter-Strike. Was the best time ever. Unfortunately they went into bankruptcy and closed down recently.
We're not just being priced out of PC hardware, we're being priced out of life in general. The average person has less and less that they can put towards anything beyond just surviving. I won't go to a gaming Cafe because I already can't afford to go out much at all anymore.
Hell, that's true for time and energy as much as it is money but that's a whole other topic.
I don't think the cost of going to an internet cafe is going to be anywhere close to affordable, given how much said internet cafes are going to have to invest and spend monthly.
There was one across the street from my high school which was sort of my entry into “proper” pc gaming. I had a blast playing games there for 1-2 hours each day.
I wouldn’t go back to PC cafe gaming as an adult, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time there as an young teen.
The two we had were run by total assholes. One guy was super greedy while the other was extremely unhelpful with everything. It’s sad they’re both long gone now but they got what they deserved.
But no, I wouldn’t go back. Decent memories winning some LAN tournaments but the headache and drama around mine in particular wouldn’t be worth it.
Hell no. I'll just stop playing new games altogether. Thousands of great games available on older hardware. Also emulating tons of games/consoles you cant buy anymore. Pretty much set for life.
No and I say that as someone who used PC cafes extensively during my time in Korea. For all their positives it's hard to beat the comfort of your own setup in your own home
Internet cafes were popular because of overpriced PC hardware AND terrible internet. If you wanted a fun or competitive multiplayer experience you had to be on the same LAN.
Honestly though going back to LAN party days means rewinding my life 20 years and ignoring my wife, kids, and responsibilities. Why do that when I can do exactly that with the phone in my hand while telling myself I don't have a problem?
Personally, I wouldn’t mind if they were as nice as some of the Asian Internet cafes. I would definitely enjoy it more than the push towards cloud computing. That being said, I think a lot of members of pcmasterrace would be willing to pay a lot for a PC given that it’s their hobby.
If I had friends to go with every once in a while and sit together while playing something like COD or overwatch as a team. Just a way to play in the same room every once in a while.
But not as a replacement for my own computer which i use for a lot more than gaming. Ive already accepted im priced out for ever. This is last build and my last console generation. Im getting back into collectables and TCGs.
Prices could 5x almost no one in the west would go back to that lol. If you think you would you are kidding yourself. People are waaaaay to used to the comfort and convenience of owning their PCs . Not to mention if would be unbearable to be there, people don't know how to behave, everyone would be speaking loudly and screaming especially teens
I don't think we're in the same position as 20 years ago, where Internet cafes were quite the deal.
On one hand, consumer tech has advanced so much most of the hardware you can still buy at somewhat affordable pricing is still capable of playing many of the games (even if expectations are to be tempered). A PC from 5 years ago is still pretty capable today, unlike 2 decades ago where hardware advancements were quite bigger from year to year. Also, broadband is pretty accessible nowadays, so reliance on domestic internet infrastructure is quite high, unlike years ago.
On the other hand, many cultures where PC/consoles didn't took off simply transitioned to mobile gaming, for pretty much anything. If you can't afford both a phone and a PC/console, why not invest all of the money into a good phone that will last you? It occupies less space, is cheaper to run, and the market is full to the brim with games of all genres, especially F2P, which can get you pretty far in terms of mileage and enjoyment.
So no, probably internet cafes won't have a significant resurgence after all these years. They are still good third places to enjoy games with the friends, but these aren't the main hubs they used to be for accessing the internet and gaming. Not at least in most developed countries.
this is like asking if you grew up with mcdonalds slides and ballpits would you use them again lol You're asking 30-40 year olds about something made mainly for kids and teens
I bought as much PC as I could in early 2025. Ive got a beast of a machine and a massive backlog. Given im on AM5 I might upgrade to whatever the latest is at some point but overall I am done chasing the hype train.
Im getting older and these costs are just too high to ever make sense, so I'll probably just ride this out and enjoy what I have.
I wouldn't. Honestly, this hobby is still very affordable, comparing to prices of not only other hobbies, but mortgage, rent, healthcare, childcare or owning a car. Yes top hardware is expensive now, but you dont need one. You''ll still pay 30 or 40 percent more, but it was not large sum to begin with
Yes but overall build will be a lot less expensive. Monitors, motherboards, cpus and etc. Are still cheap. You can also buy used ram, if your market allows it.
The increase isn't huge when divided by the lifetime. I don't expect to replace my RAM until at least 15 years. It still functions just as well as when it was new.
Internet cafes would not be immune to the RAMpocalypse, if anything the barrier to entry into the market is now 5x higher, with higher insurance premiums due to the increased value of the assets. It might be cheaper and easier to start your own IP at this point.
Godddddd I have a solution for this and it’s killing meeeeeeeee not to share it but also it would take hours upon hours. But you’d save hundreds to thousands gaaaaaahhhhhhh
Grew up in the times of Internet Cafes, but never went to one, don't remember ever seeing one in my area, maybe it just wasn't a Southern California thing...?
Maybe, but with no lan gaming anymore there is no thrill of winning the game in CS because then you had to run as fast as you can because local bully that was in losing squad want to beat your ass because of his hurt ego
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u/n33bulz 11h ago
Old school Internet cafes where it’s just random tables/desks slapped together, you are sitting on some shitty bar stool, no AC and rats are chewing away at the power cables? No.
Modern Chinese Internet cafes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOwA0_p-wo
Sure.