Like telephone booths and dial-up, internet cafés seem like nothing more than remnants of a bygone era. In a time were the majority of people have the internet at their fingertips, it seems silly to have dedicated cafés. But the idea of internet cafes might not be so dead after all.

Internet gaming centers, or gaming centers, are like internet cafés dedicated to gaming. They usually have the highest internet speeds, dozens of top-notch computers and/or game systems set up, and they charge by time.

To begin with, the idea might feel like a novelty. It’s cool in theory and might be able to sustain itself in a few different cities around the world, but it’s probably not the kind of thing that could thrive around the country or around the world.

If you just think about gaming centers as an evolution of the internet café, their status as novelties is understandable. But what if gaming centers were more like gyms, yoga studios and the like?

Internet cafes went virtually extinct because the internet became a necessary utility, not just a casual luxury. Gaming is still a luxury and unless we all start living in a simulation, it always will be. Therefore gaming centers should be thought of just like gyms, yoga studios, movie theaters, tennis clubs and of course, arcades.

Plenty of people own their own workout equipment just like plenty of people own their own gaming equipment, but there are limiting factors for both. People choose to buy gym memberships because they don’t have room for home equipment or because they can’t afford it. Likewise, if gaming centers offered top of the line equipment with all the necessary amenities, for some people, it might be worth it.

There’s also the social aspect of it all. Plenty of people go to gyms to hang out with and meet like-minded individuals. With the slow downfall of arcades, gamers haven’t had a real dedicated ‘hang out’ place like that for quite a while.

Elite gaming centers could also act as a training ground for gamers looking to get into the professional gaming world. They could house local tournaments and practice sessions for teams. Traditional sports have scouts that travel the world looking for great talent. They regularly visit elite gyms, courts and training fields searching for missed talent. If the trend of gaming centers was to take off, professional esports scouts could very well search popular gaming centers for the next great talents.

This is all to say, gaming centers have more potential than what one might see on the surface. Could they amount to nothing and disappear into tech history like so many ventures before them? Of course. But to write them off without a second thought might be a mistake. The gaming industry thrives off of ideas that people once thought were ridiculous. Why should gaming centers be any different?