A San Francisco arcade bar opened in 2015 as Brewcade closed last month to expand into the adjacent restaurant space, building it into 5,000 sq. ft. and adding games and food service. It’s reopening as The Detour with a soft opening on July 15 and an official opening on July 19, according to the Bay Area Reporter. The business is owned by sister-brother duo Tiffny Vergara Chung and Shawn Vergara. They originally announced it would now be called District 8, in reference to the supervisorial district that includes their Castro neighborhood, however, it was too similar to a South Beach…
Author: Matt Harding
In order to share his love and knowledge of classic arcade games with the public, Antonio Nati has partnered with the ancient Italian town of Arzignano, near Venice, for a “Wednesday By Night” event with arcade games played outside in Piazza Liberta (a town square). A couple dozen video games and pinball machines, all a part of Nati’s collection, have been featured as part of the event. Galaga, Donkey Kong and Q*bert are among those games. Local retailers agreed to provide prizes for high scores on the machines, too, according to Arcade Blogger. Nati is already receiving inquiries from neighboring towns…
Production studio New Line is “back on the launchpad” with a new Space Invaders concept, a movie version of the classic 1978 Taito arcade game, reports Deadline. Warner Bros bought the rights to the game several years ago, and New Line recently hired Greg Russo to write the script, following his work on the reboot of Mortal Kombat for the studio that prompted a production start in South Australia later this year. Deadline noted that Russo has become a “go-to guy for these high-concept adaptations of branded games,” including Death Note 2 for Netflix and the video game franchise Saints…
A pop-up arcade based on the hit Netflix show Stranger Things recently made its way to the U.K. Sponsored by Coca Cola, which had just released its New Coke line around the same timeframe as Season 3 of the show went online, the event was a “great publicity vehicle for both brands,” reported RePlay contributor Kevin Williams. The TV show, based in the 1980s, has a huge following and the July 11 event generated interest from a young audience with its pieces of nostalgia.
Glenn Streeter just announced the sale of the legendary jukebox factory Rock-Ola to British games and jukebox entrepreneur Alexander Walder-Smith of The Games Room Company. Streeter had purchased the 91-year-old company in 1992. The new owner said he intends to keep the factory in its present Torrance, Calif., location and ensured employees not only that they will keep their jobs but will play a vital role in the continued success of the company. Those in the amusement business will be glad to know that the company will continue to build jukeboxes for the industry, Streeter said, with a keen eye…
This year’s annual meeting and gala for the American Amusement Machine Assn., to be held in Lombard, Ill., from Sept. 9-13, will include posthumously awarding ICE Games founder Ralph Coppola with the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. AAMA has set a $200,000 fundraising goal for their annual Souvenir Ad Journal, which they started six years ago as a way to honor the recipient. The funds go to AAMCF charities like KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now), Camp Sunshine and the Children’s Miracle Network. So far, more than $55,000 has been raised in Coppola’s name of that $200,000 goal. All of the ads…
“Unleash your racing spirit,” Sega boasts with its latest racing game, ATV Slam. The company released a new video yesterday, July 11, featuring the game, which they say “takes all-terrain vehicle racing to a whole new level.” The video also says, “Players will experience the most realistic ATV racing ever.” It’s a 4-player game whose cabinet features a life-size quadbike with huge back wheels, chrome engine compartment and LED lighting effects from top to bottom. “ATV Slam is right on the mark with what players are looking for nowadays,” Sega said. “They want a thrilling gameplay experience that’s off-track and has…
The 89-acre amusement and water park Alabama Splash Adventure recently chose CenterEdge Software as their point of sale software provider. The outdoor facility implemented a full suite of CenterEdge management features – not just the POS software, but access control, event reservations, and food and beverage modules. “We are thankful for all that our CenterEdge team has done and continues to do,” said Dan Koch, president of Alabama Adventure Splash. “We are up 25 percent in attendance and have already surpassed several records this early in the season.” Visit www.centeredgesoftware.com and www.alabamasplash.com for more information about the companies.
A Kennewick, Wash., arcade bar called Level Up is starting a Skee-Ball league – that’s not something you hear about every day in the industry. The summer league starts July 21, according to KEPR, and will play every Wednesday for six weeks, then start a round-robin tournament to crown the league champions. Owner Michael Miller said there will be prizes and giveaways on those league nights, too. An even greater bonus, registered teams will get half off their bar tab while they play. “I know a lot of people are looking for a way to get out of the heat, so…
If you’re in Bay City, Mich., for the upcoming Tall Ship Celebration (July 18-21), you’ll also have the opportunity to play some pinball machines for a good cause. A 4-day pinball event is taking place there at 917 Washington Ave., home to Electric Kitsch, which will have three music-themed pinball machines on hand at 75 cents per play, according to MLive.com. The pins will be provided by Crazy Quarters Arcade, located nearby. All proceeds during the event will go to Major Chords for Minors, a Saginaw-based nonprofit that provides free private instruction on piano, guitar and drums to kids in…