Las Vegas arcade with Dance Dance Revolution opens

Justin Kuret brings a towel when gaming at a recently opened Las Vegas arcade.

That’s because Red Note of Las Vegas is a rhythm game arcade that Kuret goes to regularly to fulfill his hobby of playing games such as StepManiaX and Dance Dance Revolution, which can cause a sweat if played intensely.

“I’ve been doing this since 2002, and I’ve met quite a few friends through the hobby,” Kuret said. “But I also enjoy the fitness aspect of it.”

Creating a niche for rhythm gamers is the point for Red Note, which opened part time in April but started daily operations in June. It’s an arcade with an array of games that test a players sense of rhythm such as the virtual reality game Beat Saber and the racing game Initial D.

“There’s a very specific community for rhythm gamers, and it’s different from going to a regular arcade like Round1 or Dave and Buster’s,” said Jennifer Wong, the owner and designer of Red Note. “So for people who are very interested in this genre of arcade games, this place is a great way for them to be able to try something they like or know, and then also get the opportunity to try out a lot of the different games that we offered within that genre.”

Las Vegas mainstay

While arcades are making a comeback across the U.S., they have been a mainstay in Las Vegas as many major casinos both on and off the Strip have long had some sort of arcade, David Schwartz, a gaming historian and professor at UNLV, said.

“The idea is to give people a lot to do,” he said. “First of all, some people might not be of gambling age, so it will help the gamblers to be able to gamble for longer if those people in the group have something to do.”

Red Note is about 5,000 square feet and has spaces dedicated to different types of rhythm games, including hand-to-foot-based games and virtual reality. There is a lounge area for players and others to rest.

“Being a lounge was also a really important part of it, where people can sit around, hang out, because at arcades, we would go to and we would find out that it’s hard for people to hang out there … since there aren’t many seating areas, or it’s really loud,” Wong said.

Jennifer Hertberg, the assistant manager of Red Note, grew up in Las Vegas and went to the arcades around town a lot because the entertainment options for kids are limited in Sin City. Hertberg hopes that Red Note can provide a space for kids and grow the community of rhythm gamers.

“Underage kids have a really hard time growing up in Vegas for the most part; it’s a much different city now than it used to be,” Hertberg said. “ Something like (Red Note) is really where the majority of the community that’s still around started, like we ended up in arcades, that’s where we spend our time with our friends.”

Red Note wants to operate differently than other arcades by focusing on the niche of rhythm games and bringing a collection of these games all under one roof, something that doesn’t happen at traditional arcades, she said.

“Rhythm gamers play all the different rhythm games, so to have them all in one place really gives them exactly what they want, instead of having to make all these different plans to go to different places too,” Hertberg said.

This collection of games in one area is appreciated by Kuret, a dedicated rhythm gamer who visits Red Note at least once a month or when he isn’t playing on his home system.

“I used to go wherever I could find them to play,” he said.

Hertberg said that the customers for Red Note are mostly dedicated rhythm gamers such as Kuret but they want to expand to anyone interested in the games, and the arcade is open to host parties for kids, families and businesses.

Experiental retail on the rise

Demand for businesses like Red Note and other places that offer people a physical experience has been on the rise in Las Vegas, according to Frank Volk, the executive vice president for CBRE Group Inc., who specializes in large mixed-use real estate projects.

“We started to see after Area15 opened, the numbers that their tenants were putting up kind of woke up a lot of people to the opportunity in Las Vegas,” he said. “We started seeing kind of an influx of interest in experiential or competitive socializing.”

A similar niche-focused gaming business called Sandbox VR is expanding its presence on the Strip by opening a second location last week of its virtual reality gaming center in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. Its first location opened in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian in 2021. Sandbox VR has 42 locations across the globe and is doubling down on the Strip because of its reputation as a travel destination.

“By positioning our locations in the heart of the Strip, those visitors can enter a whole new reality mere steps from the casinos, restaurants and shows that are mainstays,” said Sierra Lawerence, the VR retail marketing manager for Sandbox VR, in an emailed statement.

Volk said that the demand for these types of spaces is focused mostly near the Strip to tap into the tourist market but more of these businesses are being added throughout the valley because they can keep people in one spot for several hours.

“It adds value in the context of having a variety of offerings,” he said. “Having something that’s competitive socializing just adds to the offerings that you have for consumers, so might keep them longer on the trip, or it might bring them back for a separate trip.”

Both Hertberg and Wong are confident that Red Note’s location, which is off the Strip on Rainbow Boulevard and near the U.S. Highway 95 and restaurants, bars and coffee shops, can attract customers. They also hope to attract the tourist crowd by hosting tournaments for its different games at least once a month.

Hertberg said Red Note will make sure its Las Vegas location is operating properly before looking at opening a second location somewhere on the East Coast.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. or @seanhemmers34 on Twitter.