I really doubt that anybody in WA state is ever going to get a IIDX cabinet, and I would caution them against it if they wanted to. Most Bemani cabinets are a few grand on e-bay if you get a good deal; IIDX cabs, AFAIK, still cost AT LEAST 10 grand, and that's not factoring for upgrades and whatnot. Further, even though everybody apparently loves them, Bill's attempt at having one was an abysmal failure in terms of people paying enough money to maintain it. It's just not really financially feasible.

Seems pretty sweet so far.  It'd be cool if someone had a IIDX cabinet eventually to put into this place, but I'm sure it would be better to invest that kind of money into upgrades to say the Pop'n cabinet down the line.

If you do put your Extreme cab in, I'd like to second having 4th Plus or 5th Mix.  I'm pretty tired of EXTREME, its good and all, but most of the stuff in it... sans the licenses is playable in SN2.  If Suko could get his ITG2 cab in there too, that would be really cool.

I'm happy about Mr. Driller G, always loved Mr. Driller.  If you have Puzzle Fighter, that would always be fun to have in there too, especially if someone were to throw a Puzzle Fighter tournament or something.

VO:OT > Crazy Taxi and DDR.

I may have to take back what I said about 4th+. People are coming out of the woodworks now saying they'd actually love to play it! I honestly didn't think it was that popular since back in the last days of IZ nobody touched the solo 4th+, but I'd be VERY HAPPY to be wrong.

We found a 5th mix around town tonight (Sky High Sports in Bellevue) and had a blast with it so that's always a good option too.

Edit: When are you going on Monday, Scott? I may stop by - I have the day off.

wtf is up with seattle area having a shit load of popn music and oregon has absolutely nothing.  :C:C:C:C:C:C:C:C:

Oh yeah, one more thing -- I got a couple more machines set up today. They're a Donkey Kong 3 and, in a New Astro City candy cab, Armed Police Batrider.

About VOOT, I don't have one myself but I do know who got the one from Illusionz. I believe they have it running at a place in Olympia or somewhere way out there. I could certainly inquire about it! I'll see what I can find out. Also I don't remember the specifics but I do remember that specific machine being some really rare and coveted revision.

I would really love to make it a 4th+, just because that was the last mix I played regularly and that I truly loved. I mentioned it to a couple of pretty serious players a while back, though, and they seemed to think the frame rate in that mix might be a problem for newer players. What do you guys think? We certainly never cared about frame rates back in the day, but maybe it's the kind of thing where once you're spoiled by the nicer new versions you can't adapt?

Bobby, it's nice to hear from ya. I plan on heading down there on Monday to check the place out. I, too have my own ITG dedicab, but my pals and I haven't found any great places to put it North of Seattle. If you feel like working with me to find a place I can put this sometime, please let me know.

As for the possibility of a 2nd DDR game at PG, I believe most of us here would kill to see a DDR 5th Mix or a DDR 4th mix PLUS. I'm also excited about the F Zero game, though from my experiences it's nearly impossible to win. I would <3 to see a Virtual On II arcade game anywhere. Unfortunately VO II is exceedingly rare in the US (VO 1 is what you always find in arcades). If somehow you have one of these, I will love you forever if you make it available for us to play.

That's all I got to say right now, I look forward to seeing your business flourish.

Hey guys! For those who don't know, I'm the one operating the games at Pink Gorilla, with the exception of a few of the classic games.

Just a few words about myself and the PG arcade. I've been collecting arcade games and playing BEMANI since 1998, though actually owning some newer games is a pretty recent development for me -- traditionally I've collected pinball machines, classics and JAMMA pcbs. I have never really aspired to open an arcade or be a game op, but over the years I've found that hoarding games in my basement/garage/friends garages/wherever leaves me feeling guilty -- here are all these cool games, and I'm the only one who gets to play them! When I heard Pink Gorilla was considering adding some arcade games, I thought it sounded like a cool opportunity to put a few of my games out there in a more respectful environment where they might be appreciated by the hardcore players without being trashed like they may be in a mall arcade or bar. I got in touch with them and they were excited by the idea of having my games in their store. So, the experiment begins!

Like many (all?) of you, I have spent a lot of years and wasted a lot of money playing games that have at times barely worked -- here's lookin' at you, Illusionz! So naturally, now that I'm trying to operate them myself, you can rest assured that I will do everything in my power to make them run at 100% as often as possible. That said, I am not much of a DDR player, and I'll definitely need input from you guys in regard to any issues that might pop up and the best ways to solve them. The sliding arrows issue, for example, was something I never would've noticed, and am now working to try to remedy. If you notice issues with any of the games you can post here, e-mail me (bobbyconover@gmail.com), tell me in person, whatever works. I will probably set up some sort of Facebook account or Twitter or something as well.

Here are some of the plans/ideas for the future, some more immediate and confirmed than others.

- More space. Behind the door/curtain where Supernova 2 is, there's another room that we're going to open up to essentially double the amount of space for arcade machines. That will allow us to move in more cabs, such as:

- More BEMANI! I have a DDR Extreme cab ready to go. We can also swap in other oldschool (any system 573, basically) mixes if they're preferred. I would love to get ahold of a DM cab for the arcade -- I DO own one, but it's very dear to me and because the pads get so obliterated I would greatly prefer to buy a second cab to devote solely to the arcade. I also have a GF cab that I wouldn't mind putting out there to link to it, and even a KBM if there was any demand for that. 5-Key Beatmania as well. If things happen to do really well and the cost can be justified, I'll definitely consider buying other cabs. Anything is possible, really.

- 4 (so far -- minimum) candy cabs with various PCBs. More as I can find them! I really want to try out some CAVE and other hardcore shmup PCBs to try to see if I can draw out members of that community. So far I have Batrider, Dangun Feveron and Espgaluda (in transit) confirmed, hoping to try to get some newer ones as well. I'm also looking into something from the TGM series and will definitely have at least one puzzle game of some sort, probably Mr Driller G to start. I have a LOT of oddball Jamma pcbs I could swap in over time, and as a big fan of stuff like that I would love to really mix things up and showcase some cool obscure games from my collection.

- Pinball! I love pinball and hate that it's so hard to find machines in good condition and in all-ages venues. I'm hoping to have at least a couple of machines out there.

- Other random stuff that is definitely coming: F-Zero AX DELUXE. Oh Bakyuuun (awesome Namco light gun game, a spinoff from Point Blank), various classic cabs like Marble Madness, Robotron and Stun Runner, a cheesy photo sticker machine, and more.

Basically my dream is to have an arcade with as much cool stuff in it that you can't play anywhere else as possible, especially if those games happen to have a hardcore following. I/we are open to any and ALL ideas about every aspect of the arcade, from the game selection to pricing, physical placement of cabs, volume, operating hours (I'm trying to push for late-night hours on weekends at the very least), and anything else you can think of. I see this whole thing as a sort of joint venture, so if you have ideas and want to get involved, I'm listening!

One last thing -- I am not a Pink Gorilla employee, and I get the feeling that the higher-ups look at the arcade more as an experiment than a sure-thing. The best thing you can all do if you want to see it succeed is to come out and play, spread the word however you can, and maybe even buy a few things from Pink Gorilla here and there if you're in the market for anything. Anything we can do to show them that having an arcade is worthwhile will go a long way, guaranteed.

See you guys at PG!

wow what the fuck thats tight. this shit came out of nowhere

Couple photos on facebook...





I'll have to check this out next time I'm in the U-District.

Rated!

I have high hopes for this place because the guy who sold me my Pop'n machine is involved, and he knows his shit. He has also said that he is going to keep in touch with management about the possibility of letting me run a tournament. 8D

For those who think that this thread is worthless without pics... I will be there taking them in an hour. <3

That rating is only based on 2 scores so far, so it hasn't aggregated an average yet.

That's why if everyone can, PLEASE RATE all the locations you've been to, and update them if your score changes, so we can know where the good places are / aren't.

Wow, this place is rated a 5? Is it really that great to play at? I'll definitely check it out sometime soon. Probably this Mon since I get work off. It's the closest place to my house with an awesome machine.

Ohhh I see. You guys should take pics when you do go!

I think I can do 2pm.

Laura, 2:00 sounds great! hopefully everyone can meet up then!

Pics or I don't believe it.

It's in the new U-District one, not in the old store in Chinatown. This one has a lot more room.

Should we plan a time for this meetup? Maybe 2PM?

wow I think Seattle just got a new #1 location hahaha (for DDR at least)
I can't imagine where in Pink Godzilla they're gonna put this though. in the lobby area?

I'll go play

edit: wait oh my god double premium means i'm going to visit a LOT

I was the first one to play on it in its current venue. I'll definitely be in here a lot between classes.

Kevin (Keby) and I are. (He posted on Facebook)

So who wants to go check this out tomorrow afternoon?

Pop'n FEVER TOO! JUST ADDED