Many many moons ago when I was still a teen, one of my favourite things in the world was having a LAN party with my friends.
For those generations reading this who grew up in the always online era who might not know what a LAN is, since it might be hard for you to imagine a time where you couldn’t just hop on Discord or Teams or whatever and talk to your friends and play online together, but back then, bringing your computers and consoles together and hooking then up to a local network was the way to go.
And when we couldn’t get together at someone’s house, there were a few internet cafes with bring-your-own-computer (BYOC) policies which we would frequent, and I loved that so much that I always dreamed about running my own one day.
That dream died as I got older and the realities of adulting set in, and because internet in SA sucked back then (we had 10 Mbps ADSL while the rest of the world already shifted to fibre) and there was basically no eSports scene (or hopes thereof), and you could count streamers and content creators on one hand.
The dream I had was also much more akin to the PC Bangs you see in Korea (which back then, I never even know existed), rather than the standard check your email and print something cafes we used to have here, but I couldn’t see it working, and growing up in an era where all this was very new technology, it was hard convincing people that the idea will work.
Jump to 2026, we have gigabit fibre across large parts of the country, thousands of local streamers, more gamers than ever before, and events like EnterLAN showing a hunger for community and being able to play together in person.
All of this had lead me to wonder: how well would a proper PC Bang, with high end computers, dedicated streamer rooms, good food and great community do here these days?
As a kid I would spend my nights gaming, and if my parents complained, I told them I could always go out with my friends to the raves and drink and do drugs if they prefer, or I can stay here and play games. I don’t know how they felt about that, but I feel like I made the better choice at the end of the day 😏
I’m not involved with any youth organisations, but I do have a lot of friends with kids, and friends who are involved with our church youth groups, and I see how troubled a lot of them are. Also just on social media, the things young people today value and spend their time on, it worries me. I also feel like every time I come back from the small towns in the Northern Cape, my wife and I can’t help but think if people there just had more access and more guidance, how much better off the kids and families would be. It’s not always just about needing more money, but opportunity. The chance to get online and learn and grow and reach people and places they can’t otherwise when stuck in a town in the middle of nowhere.
I have to wonder, would something like this not also give those kids (and maybe even some young adults) a safe space to find community, and perhaps more importantly, learn some valuable skills through events and competition? The thing that sets PC Bangs apart from “traditional” internet cafes is that they’re not just about access, they’re about community, competition, and creating a space where people can connect and grow. There’s food to be enjoyed together, which creates another layer of connection. Hosted competitions and events create structure and purpose, and give people something to work towards. You can pair young hopefuls with experienced mentors, and create a supportive environment where they can learn and grow together.
You could even go beyond gaming; have hackathons where you teach kids to code, or edit videos for YouTube to learn content creation and marketing skills. Get the kids involved in the kitchen, which can, thanks to the growing popularity of Korean food places in South Africa, actually be authentic Korean street food. Get local content creators involved to teach kids about the industry and how to get started, and do it with the right mindset and purpose.
I don’t know, it’s just been on my mind a lot recently. Would it work with the challenges we have in South Africa? High cost of getting started, loadshedding ever looming, 70% of the population unable to afford the services, many provinces that don’t have the infrastructure needed… Yeah, I really don’t know.
But I just can’t get this thought out of my head.
Maybe it’s time I stop letting my dreams be just dreams.
Would you be interested in something like this? Would you let your kids get involved? Am I just a crazy old man getting all nostalgic, or is there an idea here?