Arcade Block Review: February 2015

By the time my Nerd Block, Arcade Block, and Horror Block gets here every month, the next one is about to ship. It's tough because I have known what was in these boxes for weeks before it was here, thanks to Instagram and social media. I do wish that Nerd Block would ship their boxes that need to go through customs a few days before shipping them within Canada, since their 4-6 day window is nowhere near accurate. I could drive to Nerd Block headquarters in about 12 hours and it takes at least 12 days to get here.

Anyway... Arcade Block has not been a hit for us and this was our last month of our subscription. As I mentioned last month, I needed something special to consider continuing. This box was certainly an improvement and I did sign up for March, but I don't think it's going to be something I want long-term. I just find their emphasis is far too kid-focused and I'm not really interested in nostalgically recalling games I played as a child. I would like to celebrate the games I play now.

With that said, this is entirely a personal preference. (I have been attacked for saying this, which is just asinine. I am not saying this is a bad subscription; it's just not one for me.) This box was significantly better than last month's and I am going to get the March box on a month-by-month subscription, but I don't plan on going past that. They have hinted at double shirts and Double Dragon in March, though. I do really like the shirts, but I decided to spend the money I would put into these boxes into just buying shirts instead unless the box itself looks awesome.

Speaking of shirts, this month's was really, really cool. We haven't really used Nintendo since the days of Game Cube, but it's hard to deny the importance of The Legend of Zelda in gaming history.

Arcade Block Review: January 2015

Theoretically, Arcade Block should be the perfect subscription box for me. My husband and I are both hardcore gamers and between the two of us, we play a really wide range of games. However, this is the second month we've received Arcade Block and this month is even more disappointing than last (which was one of the biggest disappointments as a whole, but we gave it the benefit of the doubt).

My biggest problem with Arcade Block, besides the fact that I think the value is pretty weak, is that the people putting it together appear to subscribe to the mentality that video games are for kids. That's pretty ignorant, and honestly, it's a stupid philosophy that is insulting to gamers. There has been so much progress in gaming in the last decade, but looking over Arcade Block, you would think we were back in the days of NES with cartoon games for children. With such a rich gaming culture to pull from, including an incredibly diverse and comprehensive indie game culture that could be tapped into for this subscription, this is basically product marketing. Something really amazing has to happen next month or I am definitely canceling this subscription.

Arcade Block Review - December 2014/January 2015

I love geeky and nerdy things in general, as does my husband, which is why Loot Crate started this addiction for me. When we decided to get Arcade Block, it only made sense. We're both gamers and here was a box focused only on gaming. Although there were some really great items in this month's block, this was probably my first slight disappointment in a box. However, I think it's also because I have higher standards for this subscription than most of the others. It should be a rare month when there isn't at least one item I love - and this one was one of those months.

The box looks like an NES :)