Last updated: July 15, 2026
This page explains how we research, write, and maintain the content on RetroArcade.com — our encyclopedia of Golden Age arcade games, our console database, and our national arcade & barcade directory.
How We Research
Facts on game, console, and hardware pages are cross-referenced across multiple public sources — including manufacturer documentation, established gaming history references, and contemporary reporting — before we publish them. Every page lists the sources we drew from. We do not copy text from other sites; our write-ups are original and simply cite where the underlying facts came from. Where sources disagree on a detail, we say so rather than guessing.
How We Synthesize Review Highlights
Directory pages for arcades and barcades include a “What Visitors Say” section. We do not republish full reviews. Instead, we read publicly available reviews for a venue and summarize the recurring themes — things like game selection, pricing, crowd levels, or family-friendliness — into short, attributed highlights. Any direct quote fragment is kept short and credited to its source. We aim for a balanced picture, including a fair caveat when reviews consistently raise one, rather than cherry-picking only positive comments.
We do not claim to have personally visited every venue listed in the directory. Where our content describes a venue’s amenities, hours, or game lineup, that information comes from the venue’s own website, public listings, or synthesized review data — not from a staff visit we didn’t make.
How We Choose Product Picks
Buying guides and product recommendations are based on publicly available specifications, pricing, and reputation research — not on which retailer pays the highest commission. We prioritize products that are actually relevant to the retro gaming and arcade-collecting audience we write for. Some links in our guides are affiliate links; see our Affiliate Disclosure for how that works. A product’s inclusion in a guide is never for sale, and affiliate relationships do not determine our recommendations.
Corrections
We’re a small team covering a lot of ground, and we will get things wrong from time to time. If you spot an inaccuracy — a wrong release date, an outdated address, a closed venue we haven’t marked as such — please contact us. We review every correction request and update the page promptly once we’ve verified the change.
Content Update Cadence
Encyclopedia pages (games and consoles) are revisited periodically as new sources or corrections come in. Directory listings are checked and refreshed on an ongoing basis, since arcades and barcades open, close, and change details more frequently than historical game facts do. Pages that have been substantively updated will reflect a new “last updated” date where applicable.
Questions about our editorial process? Get in touch.