4 Costco Finds That Will Upgrade Any Home Arcade

Whether you try to build your own Raspberry Pi arcade cabinet from the ground up, hunt for vintage models, or craft unique setups for your modern consoles, there's no wrong way to build a home arcade. So long as you have the games you want and the space and money to build it, the sky is the limit. At the same time, there's more to this type of space than just games. You likely want it to look and feel the part of the arcades of old, or at least evoke a feeling of excitement and fun. Fortunately, Costco can help.

Even though it's known best for things like groceries and automotive care, Costco has numerous items that can benefit a home arcade — not counting gaming consoles themselves. Some of them are intended to improve the aesthetics of the room, while others could go a long way in making it more comfortable. There are even items that can help get you in the zone as you prepare to lock in for some game time. As it turns out, there are plenty of items from Costco's catalog that can upgrade a home arcade. 

For those who remember the classic arcade experience, it goes without saying that lighting was key for setting the mood. Arcades were often somewhat dimly lit, with plentiful smaller, colorful lights around to create a thrilling, otherworldly atmosphere. If you want to emulate this look for your home arcade, Costco has some lighting options to consider. For example, the Philips Hue white and color ambience recessed lights can replace light fixtures and bulbs that lack customization options. The color and brightness can be changed via the Philips Hue app, with a single device able to control up to 10 lights. They have a 4.3 out of five-star rating on Costco's website, with most reviewers praising their brightness, functionality, and overall clean look.

Alternatively, if you want lighting that improves room visibility while being visually interesting itself, there's the Enbrighten UltraBrite hex lights set. This kit consists of 24 light bars that form a honeycomb-like pattern, though more bars can be connected should you buy multiple packs. As far as powering them, they can be wired into the ceiling directly or plugged in. These, too, are Costco customer favorites with 4.4 out of five stars, garnering praise on multiple fronts. They're repeatedly commended for their surprisingly high level of brightness, easy installation, and the amount of customization to best fit one's space.

While some gamers prefer listening to in-game audio or wearing headphones to listen to their music, some like to fill their game room with their jams as they play. If you want more than just to play your music from your phone's speaker, a Bluetooth speaker could be worth buying. Costco has numerous speakers for sale, with one of the most popular being the Sonos Era 100 wireless smart speaker set. This set connects through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB-C, can be used with the Sonos app, and is designed to be relatively unobtrusive. It has a 4.5 out of five-star score on the Costco site, with reviewers praising its sound quality, easy connectivity, and more.

Alternatively, if you don't need two speakers' worth of sound, you can opt for one of Costco's smaller yet still widely-appreciated offerings. Case in point, the Bose SoundLink Flex SE portable Bluetooth speaker, which promises deep, clear sound, runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and can get up to 12 hours of life per charge. It's designed for mobility and to withstand falls, water, dust, and more. It has a 4.7 out of five-star rating on Costco's website, with thousands of customers vouching for it. Common points of praise include the sound quality for a relatively small speaker, its long-lasting battery, and the ability to use it outdoors as well as indoors.

Whether you're going it alone or have friends over for a gaming marathon, odds are you'll want some refreshments along the way. Ordering out or making a quick kitchen run can do the job, but if you really want to upgrade your arcade, why not add somewhere to keep your food and drinks close by? A Costco mini fridge, like the Danby beverage center, could be what you need. It features a glass door, adjustable shelves, and 3.1 cubic feet of storage, with room for 117 drink cans. It has a 4.3 out of five-star Costco rating, too, and most buyers are satisfied with the coldness, amount of storage, and they appreciate the look of the transparent door and blue LED.

If you're not big on the look or size, there are other favored choices to think over. Another model that the majority of Costco buyers seem to like is the Danby compact refrigerator. This one is a bit smaller at 2.6 cubic feet, but it does include a solid stainless steel or black door, depending on your preference, multiple shelves and door compartments, and an interior white LED light. It has a 4.2 out of five-star rating and, naturally, numerous Costco customers have expressed their happiness with it. As one would hope, buyers say the temperature gets appropriately low, it doesn't make too much noise, and there's plenty of room for snacks and drinks.

When it comes time to play some games, standing on your feet in front of an arcade cabinet can be tiresome. If you're especially good, you may end up in the same spot for a while, potentially leading to back and leg soreness. That's why game seating is essential, and Costco has options that can support you while you're working toward high scores. The Fletcher counter height swivel stool could be the way to go, as it has a seat height of just over 2 feet and a backrest to discourage slouching. With a 4.5 out of five-star rating, most Costco customers approve of them. Reviews frequently highlight their sturdiness and comfort as some of their best qualities.

If you want seating with a slightly different look, the Grace counter height swivel stools appear to be viable options, too. These seats have a similar wood appearance, albeit lightening the color palette to a brownish-beige or full-on white, depending on which you prefer. They also have a backrest and are just over 2 feet tall. At 4.4 out of five stars, they're also popular with Costco shoppers. They're praised for their sturdiness and comfort, as well as their easy assembly.

If you happen upon one or more of the coolest vintage arcade cabinets ever, or build a collection of modern cabinets and gaming consoles, a properly decked-out game room could be perfect for them. Evidently, a trip to Costco or its website could cover a lot of bases as you build your dream gaming environment.

We selected these home arcade-enhancing Costco items by looking at a few different criteria. For one, their necessity for a game room was considered. Things like sound, lighting, and more are essential to building an arcade atmosphere, so we determined these items were worth including. At the same time, they had to look the part, going far beyond their most generic and uninteresting versions to better match the arcade look. Functionality was important, too, ensuring they could be easily used by pretty much anyone once brought in.

As far as price, this wasn't given as much weight. Not only were these broad categories generally pretty expensive across the board, but this is a fun, luxury-focused assortment of items first and foremost. At the same time, user assessments were important to keep in mind throughout the research process. The number of reviews and the prevailing attitudes toward these items were key to their recommendation-worthiness. Even if they're on the expensive side, they should justify their higher price, and according to most, these items do.