Game On: Hobby Arcade Supports Community Fundraising

Mitch Rhode (B.S.E. 1994, M.S. ’96, M.S. ’97, Ph.D. ’00) wears many hats: tech entrepreneur, lecturer for the U-M College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship, and recently, vintage arcade owner.

The Rackham alum recently turned his passion for collecting and restoring vintage arcade games into an entertainment destination in Saline, Michigan: Otto’s Arcade and Club.

A hobby enterprise, Otto’s is only open for special events and monthly public openings. Those who visit experience the nostalgia of approximately 70 restored arcade games, including classics like Pac-Man and Centipede, as well as rarer finds like Computer Space, the first arcade video game, released in 1971.

As the venture grows, Rhode hopes to use the space to fundraise for community causes such as the Saline High School Science Olympiad team, STEM education initiatives, the Saline marching band, and local social services. 

“One kid got hooked on Missile Command and didn’t come up for an hour,” Rohde said, reflecting on Otto’s events to-date. “It proved what I’ve always believed: You don’t need fancy graphics or supercomputers for a great game—just good design.”

Prior to his time as an arcade proprietor, Rhodes co-founded Quantum Signal AI, whose specialties included algorithm development, modeling and simulation, and robotics. In 2019, the company was acquired by Ford Motor Co. Rhodes returned to U-M to deliver a talk as part of the U-M Center for Entrepreneurship’s “E-Hour” speaker series and was invited to co-teach a class. He is currently a lecturer for the U-M College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship.

“[Otto’s] helps my students see the difference between a business and a hobby. A business makes money; a hobby costs money. Otto’s is definitely the latter,” he said, laughing.

Learn more in this feature article for the University Record.
Explore Otto’s Arcade.