Posted: 5/21/2013 1:56:45 AM
By: Aaron Auzins
While many sources continually declare arcades as dead, Game Grid Arcade in West Valley City, Utah, is bucking the trend as it looks to put five candles on its birthday cake this June.
Adam Pratt opened Game Grid Arcade June 8, 2008, and, surprisingly, during this time he still had competition from multiple sources near his location. As Pratt entered unfamiliar territory with his new business, he admitted he had high expectations.
"Overblown expectations is probably a good way to describe it," he said. "I had read that it's very easy for new business owners to have rose-colored glasses on. They assume that they will do very well out of the gate, but that is rare. 'Build it and they will come' only takes you so far as they need to come back more than once. So even thinking I was holding back, reality was still far below what I expected. It was more difficult than I thought and I learned more after opening about what games people really wanted."
Pratt said understanding what the players wanted helped him build his first core playerbase.
"The most support I saw was from fans of fighting games," Pratt said. "I only had a couple of them and learned I needed more as it was what players wanted, it seemed. I also saw many teens coming into to play our PC network, which, at first, became one of the biggest draws for us, although that changed over time."
Still, Pratt said along with his support, came a little opposition. He said this opposition created an awkward initial location for Game Grid, making it harder to attract an audience.
"The only resistance I had was mall management," he said. "They were not really keen on the idea (of another arcade) since the mall already had an arcade run by Namco and the dollar theater had one too. But both were unmanned and smaller than my place, with older games. Still, they shoved us into a spot that was horrible - on the outside with no neighbors. Most people stumbled upon us accidentally, thinking we were a mall entrance."
Fortunately, Pratt kept his engine running and once he was able to climb over this roadblock, his location and growth continually got better.
"I couldn't survive another month in the spot I was in," he recalled. "After about a year of struggle I convinced the mall to let me inside. But they still weren't going to give us a prime spot. They shoved us down a forgotten hallway and almost directly across from that other arcade I mentioned. We did fine there for a while and brought in many new games including Super Street Fighter IV, which was a huge boost for a few months, Terminator Salvation and Pac-Man Battle Royale."
For the past year, Game Grid Arcade has been housed in its current location in Valley Fair Mall, which paved the way for the situation the arcade sees itself in now.
"We moved again in 2012 when that area was demolished to make way for a new movie theater and this time we got a much better spot in the main corridor of the mall," he said. "Being there combined with the movie theater opening and continually changing games, I think, has been key."
Still, a key location can only get an arcade so far. Without a dedicated playerbase, an arcade can't function no matter where it is located. Pratt said variety has kept his core playerbase interested in returning time and time again.
"We have a number of good regulars who usually come in for the fighting games, but there are some families that are regular too, who will play just about everything," Pratt said. "I try and keep our game selection current and varied so everyone can find a game they are interested in. Now we track high scores as a way to try and bring those people back. It's been bumpy, but I think it will catch steam eventually."
Game Grid Arcade has challenged players with rewards for accomplishments, scores in the arcade have been publicized and the location has even participated in scoring competitions with Galloping Ghost Arcade and Underground Retrocade. Although Pratt labeled the current progress as "bumpy," he feels scoring and competition are part of the lifeblood of arcades.
"(The engagement is) very important," Pratt said. "Arcades need to do more than just offer a place to play games, they need to make it an experience people want to seek out. I also think it shows that we care about what we do."
Pratt also commented on the variety offered by his arcade, which offers a mix of classic and current arcade titles. Classic standups mingle with monstrous deluxe cabinets such as Terminator Salvation and the arcade has featured a number of rare curiosities such as The Act.
"I try to keep up-to-speed as possible on all the releases out there, but I also do what I can to pay attention to what customers say they want," Pratt said. "If I get enough requests for a particular game, I work to bring it in. I also like games that are hard to find, giving me something unique over what you might find at one of the local chains like Chuck E. Cheese's and others."
To say Pratt tries to keep up-to-speed on the industry is putting it mildly. Taking the reigns from the previous owners of the web site Arcade Heroes and penning the book "The Arcade Experience," Pratt is one of the few online writers who actively focuses on arcades and gives them every bit of attention he can. He frequently addresses the claim of arcades being "dead," always begging to differ with that opinion.
"I've had to try and change how I give that message, but the basic answer is that they aren't (dead)," he said. "The best angle to present for that is why would any company like SEGA, Raw Thrills, Namco, etc., still be producing new arcade games if they had no one to sell them to? Chuck E. Cheese's and Dave & Busters don't hold 100 percent of the location market. There has been a retro-revival, too, of people wanting to play on original machines, but, ultimately, it is the new blood that will keep things going. As long as new machines are still released, there is a market they are being sold to, and it's not collectors' basements."
Moving forward, Pratt said he is continuing on with an ultimate goal of having a larger location with hundreds of games to offer players. To further fuel those who have interests in arcades, he offered a handful of pointers to anyone looking to start a location of their own.
"I could go on for a while about this subject, but have money and find a good location with great foot traffic," he said. "Classic games are great, but don't be afraid of adding a newer game or two to the mix. You may be surprised at how much earning potential they have. It also doesn't hurt to do demographic research and, if you can talk with any potential customers in the area, find out what they actually want to play."
Online: http://gamegridarcade.com/