Update []:
On Sunday, May 18th, Nakano TRF officially closed its doors for good after over 20 years of serving both the Japanese fighting game community (and foreign tourists intent on experiencing the authentic Japanese arcade experience).
Posting a series of tweets to social media, the competitive Fist of the North Star player K.I documented the sad occasion on behalf of the arcade (reportedly due to the main Nakano TRF being shadowbanned on the platform).
He revealed himself to be the winner of the last ever Fist of the North Star tournament to be held at the venue and also captured the emotional moment in which the machines were powered down for the final time at the iconic location.
If you're wondering what will happen to these arcade's machines now that the location is closed, it appears that Rak, the owner, has made it clear he has no intention of selling them but has instead expressed plans to open another store in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, which is where they will eventually be situated in time.
As K.I states, the arcade's YouTube channel is also set to remain and will be used for the new store that is set to open. So be sure to subscribe if you want to stay updated.
Original Story: The owners of the legendary Tokyo game center Nakano TRF (Nakano Tokyo Ranking Fighters) announced yesterday that it will be closing its doors for good later this year, in yet another blow to Japan's struggling arcade scene.
Nakano TRF first started operating in 2004, and over the decades since has become a pillar of Tokyo's fighting game community, thanks to its wealth of 2D fighting cabinets, hosting tournaments for games like Samurai Shodown and serving as a hangout for fans of Psychic Force 2012, Aquapazza, and Cyberbots.
However, since 2020, the business has found itself struggling, thanks to the impact of COVID-19 (and declining profit margins), forcing its owners to turn to the Japanese crowdfunding site Camp-Fire on multiple occasions to ask for donations to help it weather the increasingly difficult climate.
These funds allowed the owners to continue operating for a short period of time, but seem to have only prolonged the inevitable, with the proprietor recently posting a blog on the Nakano TRF website announcing its upcoming closure.
In this brief statement, the owner thanked visitors for their patronage "over the last 20 years" and announced that Nakano TRF's last day of operation will be on May 18th.
This sad piece of news follows the closure of the Kyoto-based arcade A-Cho earlier this year on January 31st — another event that was considered a tragic loss for Japan's fighting game community.