Are Gaming Cafes a Dying Business? Gaming Cafes in the Fight Against the Gaming at Home Boom

Recall the days when PC Cafes were the go-to destination for most gamers in the Philippines. The scent of a warm cup of noodles fills the air as you enter a small cubicle filled with rows of computers stacked side-by-side, people bantering at each other and the sound of keyboards crackling like ambient noise.

You pick your PC number, pay the cashier, sit down, and wear your headset. You proceed to load up your game of choice, be it DOTA 2, League of Legends, Crossfire, or any other multiplayer games - one thing is for sure, you are in for a great time with friends or strangers you are about to meet online.

However, as technology evolved and personal high-speed computers and internet connections became much more accessible, the once vibrant PC cafes now stand as relics of a bygone era. 

The vibrant symphony of mouse clicks, keyboard strokes, and loud chatter now echoes only during peak hours, a nostalgic reminder of the bustling energy that once filled these spaces.

The status of Internet Cafes in 2024

Back then, business owners could set up a 12-PC internet shop with just around $2,604 USD ($150,000 Pesos). Jonathan Rossel, a former owner of the now defunct R4T Cyber Cafe in Cebu City Philippines, converted a portion of his house into an internet cafe. “Our internet cafe started in 2010. The internet was still not fully accessible to most people at that time.”