Five huge computer clubs – what they look like and what you can do in them

The history of the largest computer clubs in the world

The first full-fledged internet cafe appeared in Korea in 1988. At the time of its opening, it had only two 16-bit computers. Only later, in the mid-90s, such establishments will begin to appear everywhere and people will finally have the opportunity to use the Internet for personal needs, play cult titles of those years online and socialize in a new fashionable sphere. The number of cars in the clubs gradually increased, but for a long time the Internet could only be on one or two devices in the hall. All the rest had access only to the good old LAN. And although not everyone had access to the Internet, you could always “twist” games and music, and also talk about geek culture with like-minded people.

With the advent of multiplayer games, the number of cars in computer clubs has become important. Basement rooms or apartments on the ground floor converted into Internet cafes were visited by whole classrooms, student dormitories or courtyards. It was sometimes difficult for everyone to sit in a small hall, and there was never any talk of putting the whole suffering crowd to play.

The entrepreneur Stelios Hadji-Ioann was the first to volunteer to solve this problem, in 1999 he opened a club in London for as many as 400 cars called easyInternetcafé. Initially, both ordinary people who wanted to use the Internet as a public library and hardcore gamers felt equally comfortable in it. However, the club did not stay popular for long, even a certificate from the founders of the Guinness Book of Records, received for opening the largest Internet cafe in the world, did not help.

There were many computers in easyInternetcafé, but their power left much to be desired – technology developed so quickly that it was difficult to keep computers up to date, and the needs of people grew. The room was also too uncomfortable: wooden chairs, too small a distance between workstations and the lack of group events left the visitors with the impression of office work, not leisure. By the mid-2000s, the club was closed, but the franchise remained: there are still many small establishments in the world called easyInternetcafé.

The second computer club that managed to delight the Guinness Book of Records commission was the ChamsCity Digital Mall in Nigeria, which was born in 2009. The facility numbered 1,027 computers and was created jointly with the government under the National Identity program.

#DYK the largest Internet café is ChamsCity Digital Mall in Abuja, Nigeria, offering 1,027 computer terminals! #InternautDay

– # GWR2023 OUT NOW (@GWR) August 23, 2016

And although this project managed to attract the attention of residents of the country to the Internet and introduce them to the virtual world, including explaining how valuable the opportunity to gain endless knowledge through simple surfing can be, in 2016 the club still had to be closed. For some unknown reason, they stopped using it corny, and the founders announced that they had lost about $ 9.2 billion. After the book of records was closed, all references to the Nigerian club disappeared.

At the moment, the official page of the Guinness Book of Records dedicated to the largest club is empty, since all the past awarded the title of self-most participants have already been closed. It is not known if anyone has applied to register a new record, but several worthy contenders have already emerged since the closure of ChamsCity.

Helix eSports – an esports oasis

Representatives of the Helix eSports brand position their project as a rethinking of traditional Internet cafes and no longer focus on surfing. According to the founders, in the current realities, one of the most interesting aspects of gaming is esports, and not all gamers can feel part of it. Helix is ​​designed to break the line between “casual gamers” and “esports players”.

Helix has three locations in the United States, each with over one hundred vehicles and 550 sq. m. of space. The club has both traditional PCs and consoles, VR devices and arcade machines. As controllers, you can use not only mice or gamepads – there are joysticks, and steering wheels, and even dance mats with sensors.

Helix is ​​also home to the headquarters of Boston Uprising, a professional Overwatch team. In a special zone, players can train and hold fan meetings, including show matches.

Arena COLIZEUM in Oryol – this is how the modern present looks like

The largest computer club in Russia and one of the largest in the world is the COLIZEUM arena in Orel. 800 sq. There are 106 computers, ten consoles and a stage for LAN tournaments. Especially sophisticated gamers can head to the virtual reality zone, equipped with two top-of-the-line car simulators and VR devices. Already wanted to live in Oryol?

Professional players can train on devices with i9-9900K, RTX 2080 Super and 240Hz monitors. Even the most “ordinary” gaming machines in the club are equipped with an RTX 2060 Turbo – not everyone can afford such a video card at home. In the club, you can also rent a streamer room with high-end equipment to test your strength in this profession without buying microphones and lights yourself. In addition, professionals will help you with broadcast settings, so that for viewers, the sound, picture and scene switching will not seem like noob even from the first minute on Twitch and YouTube.

Inferno Online – open tournaments for all visitors

Scale is not the only thing about Inferno Online Computer Club in Sweden, although 500 PCs in one room can also surprise. The club holds daily competitions for the most popular video games, you can register for participation right at the box office when paying for playing time.

The system is similar to the one that was practiced in the most ordinary clubs of the 2000s, only then the battle of Lyokha’s team from school # 36 against Sani’s friends from Avtodor was registered by the almighty odman. In Inferno Online, you can also compete with professional players, and the prize money is paid not with Emelya croutons with cheese, but with real money.

TNC Cebu – Apple has nowhere to fall

Conventionally, this computer club could be put in the first place, but it is only slightly ahead of others in terms of the number of devices. Filipino entrepreneurs housed about 600 cars in one room. Thanks to the sponsorship of Acer, the devices are also of high quality, however, judging by the photos, when the hall is 100% full, the players will sit like herring in a barrel. It’s even scary to think how powerful the ventilation system should be there!

For many Southeast Asians, such an organized space with high-quality networking equipment and machines is still the only way to play well. And although it is not known whether such large clubs are profitable in principle, there is a demand for them. It is especially important to note that such establishments are mainly intended specifically for gaming, and the concept of “Internet cafes” fades into the background. Or even the third, since many are ready to come to such establishments to watch streams or esports broadcasts, but not to search for information on the network.

New reality – a look into the future

At the moment, all the largest clubs in the world boast several hundred personal computers, dozens of consoles and VIP rooms, VR headsets and soft sofas. Many clubs can literally live in and have already begun to resemble hotels. However, entrepreneurs from China have gone further and announced that they are indeed planning to build a huge esports club that will combine stages for esports events, lounges, halls for gamers and even hotel rooms and an indoor skydiving complex.

It is planned that by 2024 an e-sports arena with an area of ​​500 thousand square meters will be built in Shanghai. m. This cannot be called a classic computer club, since, first of all, the site will be focused on holding events and will receive about 6 thousand spectator seats, but according to the plan of the authors of the project, most of the spectators will subsequently be able to play their favorite game in the same building. The scale is impressive!

I think esports arenas with computer rooms as part of one large complex is one of the organic options for the development of this industry. After all, the opportunity not only to play, but also to watch other gamers, relax and have fun with teammates outside the virtual space is priceless.

The world will not return to the old computer clubs, we can only do something cooler to compensate for the nostalgia. You do not have to look for the largest premises for this, it is enough to choose a club suitable for yourself – there is a convenient map for this on Cybersport.ru.