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12:58 PM on 05.27.2007

22 comments
Ground Kontrol; the evolution of the traditional arcade (now with booze and sex)
Nex

Ground Kontrol; the evolution of the traditional arcade (now with booze and sex) screenshot

For years, the traditional arcade has been dropping steadily off the map. Where once you couldn't swing a dead joystick without hitting kids ripping off their parents wallets for a bag of pot and an afternoon spent playing Robotron 2084 (with accompaniment courtesy of Geddy Lee and the boys), you now have an entire generation growing up without having ever even been to an arcade!

To combat the menace of shrinking returns and to capitalize on the new-found substance fondness of a generation raised on ironic Voltron shirts and the music of the Spin Doctors, many arcades have metamorphosed into a sort of hybrid club/bar/arcade. Recently, I sat down with Anthony Ramos, co-owner of Portland's Ground Kontrol, for an interview as to why the arcade scene has fallen apart, and why booze (the cause of, and solution to all of life's problems) is such a handy cure.

Hit the jump for more. 

Nex: It’s been said that the fall of traditional arcades throughout the last decade was a result of more powerful gaming consoles bringing the arcade experience home. Do you agree with this?

Anthony Ramos: Technology becoming cheaper and more widespread had a lot to do with it, sure. Up to about the mid-80s, you HAD to play these games at the arcade, department store, bowling alley, or some other public place just because they were too expensive for anybody but Ricky Schroeder to have at home. Now, home games are just as sophisticated, if not moreso, in both technology and design, and the original arcade games are on home computers, cell phones, websites...

I wouldn't say any of these alternatives provides "the arcade experience," though; only a real arcade can do that. I once set up real arcade cabinets and old-school consoles at home, installed night lighting, played '80s music, everything. But, as they say, it just wasn't the same.

The "arcade experience" is all about social interaction. It doesn't really matter how new or fancy the games themselves are. The game of billiards is hundreds of years old, but people still get together in pubs to play it.

Nex: Why, in the age of utter arcade decline, does GK do as well as it does?

AR: Ground Kontrol survives because we constantly adjust it to provide an experience people can't get any other way. This was easy for the original arcades: they had a monopoly on the game technology. With all the alternatives available now, the niche of opportunity for an old-school arcade is tight, and shifts as the gaming landscape grows and changes. We work hard to find new elements people want, and religiously preserve features that make it unique.

Nex: Will arcades, in the traditional sense, ever make a comeback? If so, how?

AR: I would personally enjoy seeing independent "next-generation" arcades spring up around the country. A few bars around town have become GK-like by adding home gaming to the bar experience.

Opening another GK would require an incredible amount of sacrifice on the part of anyone who attempted it, though. There would also be little chance of financial return. If Ground Kontrol had to pay for all the labor and expertise its owners sink into it, it would cease to exist pretty much immediately.

Nex: How many people have fornicated in the Pole Position machine?

AR: 1,334, judging from the ones we've caught on camera.

Nex: Booze; good for arcades or preventative measure against 
obsolescence?

AR: Adding alcohol service was just the next step in a natural progression. Our customers asked for it, and our building had the fixtures in place to provide it. Good thing we preserved them during the initial renovation!

It's good from a survival standpoint, too. Making money in multiple ways means we don't live or die on the popularity of any one feature. 

It's not 100% secure, though; we have to compete with other bars for the public's time and money even more than on the arcade side. Fortunately, our live show and DJ lineup is solid enough now that people are taking Ground Kontrol seriously as a place to see a band, not just play games.

Nex: If you had to choose a Corey; Feldman or Haim?

AR: Feldman, no contest. A better challenge would be Corey Hart. Don't switch the blade on the guy in shades...

(Editor's Note: You can find Ground Kontrol at 511 NW Couch St, here in apathetic Portland, OR. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.) 

 



MORE IN OUR Worth thinking about SECTION

Latest comment by Itowedin |view all 22 comments
Had a couple of bad experiences there. I have driven there more than once to find out that it's rented out for the evening, which is something they don't make mention of on they're website. Kind ......

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Dtoiders have posted 22 comments:

David Houghton 's Avatar
David Houghton at 05/27/2007 13:31

Right Nex, that's it, I'm moving to Portland. I don't care if you rule the city with an iron fist.

After spending the weekend trying to search out good arcades for part 2 of Arcade Perfect and the resulting spiralling depression that brought, that place sounds like blessed nirvana.
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 05/27/2007 13:32

thats a sweet idea, I really miss the arcade in my town...
nightmareci's Avatar
nightmareci at 05/27/2007 13:45

I need to go there with some friends, when I'm 21. I wouldn't drink the alcohol though, I have no intention of ever drinking it, but being there for everything else would still be great.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 05/27/2007 13:56

Fun interview, but it saddens me to think about how many readers are probably too young to get the Ricky Schroeder reference. That bastard had his own train he could ride around in his house!
Nex's Avatar
Nex at 05/27/2007 13:58

@ Mxy:
I know! I was almost enraged I didn't come up with it first. This is what I get for interviewing clever people...
Kick_Facery's Avatar
Kick_Facery at 05/27/2007 14:02

<img src="http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20070223.jpg">
Kick_Facery's Avatar
Kick_Facery at 05/27/2007 14:04

Ah, crap. Just a url then. http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20070223.jpg
Topher Cantler's Avatar
Topher Cantler at 05/27/2007 14:05

Kick ass. I've been waiting for you to do this article.
ClarenceBoddicker's Avatar
ClarenceBoddicker at 05/27/2007 14:51

*sigh* oh how do I miss old arcades,filled with smoke, games EVERYWHERE with no space to walk because of all the people around machines
Moon Jump's Avatar
Moon Jump at 05/27/2007 15:40

Nice looking place. I love how the bar looks just like an old Toys R Us from the 80s. For you folks on the east cost, if you want to get your classic gaming on, then visit FunSpot in Weirs Beach New Hampshire.

They have THE BEST collection of classic games and next week is their classic gaming tournament. Check out their website at www.funspotnh.com and check out my site, www.pressstartcomic.com for pictures, videos and a written review as well.
Bard's Avatar
Bard at 05/27/2007 15:40

Is there anything like GK in Chicago? I mean, Dave and Buster's isn't quite what I'm looking for.
Nex's Avatar
Nex at 05/27/2007 15:57

@ Bard:
Honestly, mate, the only place that I've seen (or heard of) that combines all the hip indie/techno/rock club-ness of GK with their vast selection of classic games is Barcade in NYC.
Wedge's Avatar
Wedge at 05/27/2007 16:36

I was so sad when they had a 8-bit concert here a while back when I was down in Portland and I wasn't 21 yet =/
deanhatescoffee's Avatar
deanhatescoffee at 05/27/2007 18:01

@ nightmareci:
I don't drink at all either, but Ground Kontrol is still a ton of fun. Like Anthony Ramos said in the interview, there's just something about the arcade experience that you can't get anywhere else. What's great is that just about every game takes quarters (not stupid tokens) and they only cost one per play. There's a huge pinball gallery upstairs, too (some/most of those cost 50c, but they're still awesome). Oh, and they have Mappy. Yeah - MOTHER FUCKIN' MAPPY, BITCH.
psychopathic's Avatar
psychopathic at 05/27/2007 18:32

I spent wayyyy too much time in the arcades when I was younger, my dad even tried to buy the original "Mortal Kombat" cabinent from the attendant at Aladdin's Caslte when I was younger because he figured it would be cheaper than bringing me back daily. We kinda have an arcade/bar here it's called Dave and Buster's. It's a pretty lame place but the fact that I can drink and stomp my friends is great.
Detry's Avatar
Detry at 05/27/2007 20:37

I want to fornicate in the Pole Position machine.
j0cs0n's Avatar
j0cs0n at 05/27/2007 21:29

I think $1.25 a credit time-crisis and driving sims killed the arcade coupled with the bloom of snes to ps.
delsantos's Avatar
delsantos at 05/28/2007 12:56

My friends and I used to go to Ground Control back in the day when I lived in Portland. It's fun.
Ninjajuice66's Avatar
Ninjajuice66 at 05/28/2007 15:48

Soul Calibur. That is all.
Zac Bentz's Avatar
Zac Bentz at 05/29/2007 10:36

This is EXACTLY what I've wanted to do in my own hometown for a few years now. The only problems are not knowing if it will be able to sustain itself (I've mapped it out, down to the $.25 piece), convincing my wife (who also thinks it would be awesome but is rather more practical), and my general lack of funds due to writing for free. FREE I TELL YOU!

That aside, it really is a dream of mine, and it WILL happen. In time. Good luck Ground Kontrol!
PetiePal's Avatar
PetiePal at 05/29/2007 11:33

I think the concept it awesome. It's sad Arcades no longer exist, but imagine updated arcades with Halo, Wii Sports...I think it'd be cool.
Itowedin's Avatar
Itowedin at 10/17/2007 01:23

Had a couple of bad experiences there. I have driven there more than once to find out that it's rented out for the evening, which is something they don't make mention of on they're website. Kind of dissapointing to be turned away at the door more than once. But I returned be confronted by an employee saying he caught me on camera pushing a machine...Which I wrongfully did, and I did not argue. But the employee kept coming twords me and yelling like he was trying to start a fight. Saying he would throw me out, and he caught me on camera. I put my ipod back on to de-fuse the situation, and he walked away. I have done business with that employee several times, and even tipped him generously. I went there long enought to where they stopped ID'ing me, so I know they recognized me. I have ofeten seen people, including owners brutalizing those machines, and never seen anyone confronted. So I'm not sure what happened there. I've noticed like any other business as it gaines popularity especially in Portland, that the crowd, and the employees become somewhat eliteist. That's exactly what's happening there now...There is almost a dress code that you have to where a tiny round military cap, and drink those tiny Jamaican beers. So I go during the weekdays when it's dead. But this last episode has me shaking my head.


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