Neko Clawww arcade’s fair winning practices make sure everyone’s a winner

by Kinsey Gade — Community Reporter (gade0032@umn.edu)

The bright flashing neon lights of Roseville’s Neko Clawww stand out among the nondescript storefronts of the  Lexington Plaza strip mall. In this little shop, customers focus on prizes stuck behind a glass exterior, carefully moving the joystick to their ideal position. They have bags of prizes hanging from their arms, hoping to add another to the collection. Here, winning is not just luck— it’s inevitable and expected.

Hong Wan, owner of Neko Clawww, opened the arcade in September 2024, wanting to combine his Japanese travels with his own Chinese culture to create a unique “clawcade.” The term refers to the Asian-influenced trend of arcades featuring claw machines with plushie prizes of popular characters, such as Hello Kitty and anime heroes.  

Wan said his goal is to bring happiness to the community and for customers to walk away satisfied, which he aims to achieve through unique arcade practices. 

“We encourage our employees to reposition or fluff up the plushies in the claw games if they see any customers struggling,” Wan said. “If they see a customer who spent like $10 or is unhappy, they are encouraged to give the customer a plushie or something for free.” 

The number of clawcades has been on the rise, with more than four coming to the Twin Cities in 2024 alone, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. These arcades appeal to the American public not only because of their kawaii appearance and nostalgia factor, but also because of the fairness in prize winning. 

Neko Clawww’s business motto, “no customer walks away empty-handed,” combats the claw machine rigging that’s common in American-style arcades. In 2015, Vox released an article exposing the deceptive programming of many claw machines in the United States. 

Neko Clawww also has a trade system in which customers who are unsatisfied with the plushies or prizes they received are allowed to trade for prizes they do want, according to Wan. The claw arcade also has monthly promotional events, rewarding customers who win games at these events with credits or prizes. 

Wan said he hopes to add more machines to the shop in the future, continue its monthly promotional events, and possibly open a second location.

KT Branscom, a shift manager at Neko Clawww, said the arcade is impossible not to have fun in, regardless of the age of customers. 

“A lot of times, parents or grandparents come in with kids, expecting that just their kids are going to have fun and they’re just going to sit and watch,” Branscom said. “But I often see them participating by the end.”