Remember running around the local arcade as a kid, jumping from cabinet to cabinet with friends, blasting aliens, guzzling Coca-Cola and begging your mom for more quarters? Replace the Coke with a Deschutes Mirror Pond Ale and your mom with a bartender, and you have Ground Kontrol, a barcade in Portland, Oregon, where the clanging pinball bumpers, flashing neon and well-trodden carpets colored like whirlpools of graffiti are all intact.
And the games, too. Whether childhood meant Asteroids and Pac Man or Area 51 and the monstrous six-player version of X-Men, they’re all here, just as you remember them.
We meet up with Ground Kontrol owner Anthony Ramos and manager Art Santana to discuss the history of the barcade, how they go about choosing which games to populate the floor, and more recently, how Ground Kontrol got into the running for a $25,000 prize from Stride Gum’s Save the Arcades contest.
Interesting in helping Ground Kontrol cinch the prize and expand its collection of classic arcade games even more? Start whiling away the work hours with some Cowbots 2010 and be sure to donate all your points to send your points their way!
http://savethearcades.stridegum.com/savethearcades/cowbots.php?from=/index.php
I’ve been playing once or twice a week, seems like people love GK the best, cause last time I checked, they were kicking ass in the points.
That's what I was figuring here as well. It takes a lot for someone to go out of their way to post something like that I would think.
“gadgetguy56″ posts that same diatribe on every site that mentions the Save The Arcades 2 promotion. Maybe he got Stride gum in his hair at school and is having some anger issues– or more likely is one of the losing arcades from the first promotion…
I thought so too. Any arcade that wins should be good enough. I think Stride is doing a GOOD thing here.
Why does this comment sound so bitter?
The Save the Arcades campaign was initiated to bring attention to arcades in general disappearing, not that the participants are necessarily having financial problems. In fact, one of last year's arcades opened up a second location after the campaign without the money from Stride. At least Save the Arcades 2 – Cowbots 2010 is based upon a real, classic arcade game, unlike last year’s Zapataur game. Too bad flash player games are so easy to cheat/hack, especially this one. Stride and their advertising company know this, too. I'm not sure if Kraft Foods, owner of Stride gum, knows anything about this yet. Why isn't Stride posting the scores for Save the Arcades 2 – Cowbots 2010? Could it be they don't want you to see the scores jump by unusual numbers that could indicate cheating? Don't they realize that showing the scores could increase competition? It would also let players verify their points are awarded appropriately. Want to save an arcade? Go to a real arcade and play! You can find many locations at web sites like http://www.aurcade.com. The name of the campaign should be “Save AN Arcade, that doesn’t really need saving.” Interesting how there are only three arcades, compared to four last time. A barcade does not seem like the “classic” arcade that Stride is hyping. There are plenty more true arcades around that could use the publicity and money. Also, why only one winner instead of tiered awards? Seems like anyone wanting to help would do so for as many arcades as they could. Home consoles or on-line gaming is convenient, but it’s not the same experience. Don’t just save the arcades, celebrate the arcades and be social in person.