GLASGOW’S gaming community is set for a treat this New Year with the announcement that the city’s first arcade bar is to open.

‘Super Bario’ will officially open its doors to the public in February and offer patrons the chance to combine enjoying locally and internationally sourced craft beers with playing an extensive range of classic arcade games such as Pac-Man and Mortal Kombat on fully restored gaming systems.

Now the King Street bar’s owners are appealing for help to kit out the premises with the launch of a new campaign on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter and are offering retro-inspired gaming prints as a reward for those who choose to donate.

The owners are looking to raise £5000 in 30 days to help pay for a new refrigeration system, electrical work to help run the games safely and upgrades to the current décor, provided with the help of local artists.

George Black, one of three-man team in charge of the project, said the concept behind the bar is about reconnecting gamers with some of their old favourites and inspiring a new generation to switch from online gaming to the old classics.

He said: “It’s about tapping into that nostalgia for older gamers.

“They will have played and loved these games before but it’s also about introducing them to younger fans who might be playing them for the first time.”

Glasgow already has a booming trade in gaming venues with the likes 1LevelUp and MEGAbytes giving gamers the opportunity to plug in and play in a café setting but George believes Super Bario has a format that sets them apart from the competition.

“There’s nothing quite like this around at the moment,” he said. “It will be the first of its kind in Scotland.

"We’re going to be open from midday to midnight so you can come in by yourself for a coffee during the day and then come back for a beer with your mates in the evening. That in itself sets it apart.

“We’ve already been overwhelmed by the response we’ve had and we can’t wait to share a drink and a game with our new customers.”

Gaming blogger Jamie Harkin said the new bar would help bring gamers back together at a time when most spend their hours playing online.

“We’ve already seen this kind of idea work in other countries with the success of projects like Barcade in the US and Canada,” he said.

“It’s nice to see a social emphasis being put back into gaming and bringing gamers back together to enjoy their favourite titles in a new setting.”

The games currently advertised to appear at launch include Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Pac-Man, Marvel vs Capcom, Mortal Kombat 2, Sega Rally, Ridge Racer and Super Mario Bros. All run on original hardware and appear in full size gaming cabinets.