SF Bay Area Shmupmeet: Sunday June 26th - San Mateo

[Dave_K.]

I've got some good news, and some bad news. Bad news is I won't be able to host this coming shmupmeet. Good news is a NEW ARCADE will be opening in San Mateo and WILL be able to host our next meet!

So remember a year ago, this guy - totoroslayer (Myung) posted on several boards (including here) about his dream of opening an arcade in San Mateo, and then proceeded to fall down the rabbit hole of scoping out building locations, city permits, and all the legalities of opening an arcade. Well his plans have finally come to fruition, and Game Center is gearing up to open its doors in the next month or so.

I went up there last weekend to pay him a visit, and check out the location. It will primarily cater to the fighting scene, but also have lots of console setups, and at least two cabs dedicated to shmups. I'm planning on helping him out with the shmup selection, so expect them to be switched out on a regular bases to keep things interesting.

More details to come later, but lets see if there is any interest in an early June shmupmeet, to celebrate the release of Akai Katana!

[6/5 UPDATE!]

I received Akai Katana for XB360 and it turns out to be pretty good. I especially like the original 4:3 arcade mode, but the newer modes in 16:9 look pretty sweet as well. So lets get this shmupmeet rolling and pick a date!

I'm proposing the weekend of June 25/26th and want to find out if this works for people, and which of the two dates is preferred. I'm assuming this will be primarily day time, but might also be able to accommodate night (have to ask Myung what hours he will support).

[6/7 UPDATE!]

Sunday June 26th looks better for the arcade to host us, as well as being in line with the last few meets we've had on Sundays.

[6/25 UPDATE!]

Here are the final details, see you all tomorrow!

Date and Time: Sunday June 26th, 3pm - 10pm
Location: Game Center Arcade - 47 South B Street, San Mateo, CA 94402 (map)
The arcade is located right behind Bow Tai Cafe (in the alley). Parking is free on Sunday anywhere along B street street. There is also parking garage on the other side of 1st ave.
Entry fee: $7 (this is the standard fee for an all day wristband)

Here is an updated list of what will be available at the shmupmeet.

Fighters (all are PS3 versions on Namco LCD cabinets):
- SSFIV AE
- Tekken 6
- MVC3
- Arcana Hearts 3

Shmups (will be swapping these in/out..we only have a few cabinets):
- Akai Katana (XB360)
- DDP DFK Arrange (XB360)
- Deathsmiles (XB360)
- Otomedius Gorgeous (XB360)
- DDP
- Ketsui
- Muchi Muchi Pork
- Espgaluda 2
- Mystery Shmup

Other
- Aqua Rush
- Jamma Genesis

There are also four linked cabinets playing Gundam v.s. Gundam Next, but those are 100 points to play via a gamecenter card.

Attendees:
-----------
gs68
BER
Kitaru
antron
hedorah
louisg
mdl
dunpeal2064 + 1
Mikhail, Ish
stormS

[BER]

But...it wouldn't be a Dave shmupmeet without the customary surprise power outage... :>

Just kidding, I'm interested.

[Dave_K.]

Heh, good times. I did finally replace the GPF outlet in the garage, but wouldn't have guessed a fuse in my windy would be next to go.

[antron]

I'm there.

And if this falls through we'll have it at my place.

[hedorah]

Count me in as well

[dunpeal2064]

Oh hell yea, the lady and I should be able to make it to this as well.

[louisg]

Awesome!! I'm down.

[NOAH]

Would love to go. With my luck I'm sure it'll be during one of the three weddings I have to attend this summer.

[scrilla4rella]

I'll be in the Bay for a bit, I'm getting married on 6/25 so as long as it's not on that weekend I'm down for sure. It'll be my first shmupmeet but I'm totally stoked for this!!

[Kitaru]

I'm interested.

[gs68]

I'm down.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Wow, a shmupmeet held inside a real game center. Does totoroslayer plan to stock more Cave arcade PCB titles in the nearby future?

And will all the games take quarters,tokens or yen?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Dave_K.]

Sorry for the late follow-up on this, I'm still working out the details.

Yes PCEFX, it will be in a real arcade. I believe he is setting up some machines to take quarters (or nickels), and others will be card reader credit based, at least that was the plan last I herd.

More info soon.

[TigerCraneFist]

hey thats pretty cool. I had no idea about this arcade... will try to make it out... But you know how my track record is Dave... forever busy. In similar news, did you make it to the new arcade in SF near Chinatown?

[Dave_K.]

Haha, yeah your track record hasn't been great, but I always have hopes you'll join us one of these days! This place in San Mateo hasn't officially opened yet, or will soon be opening...thats why there hasn't been much publicity around it yet. I know about the Southtown Arcade opening in SF last month, and have been meaning to stop by there next time I'm in SF...just haven't had the occasion yet. Dan (the owner?) was at my last shmupmeet in March!

Anyway, I just updated the title and first post with a proposed date. Lets get some feedback on which date works best for people.

[gs68]

As I mentioned on Twitter, I'd prefer the 26th. I'm going to a cosplay gathering on the 25th.

(Besides, I'm getting used to shmupmeets being on Sundays, haha.)

[BER]

I'm free on either June 25th or 26th, but I prefer the 26th so that I can spend the Saturday warming up my skills. :)

John's preference depends on when his fiance goes to work over the weekend, but he'll find some way to attend regardless.

[Dave_K.]

Looks like Sunday the 26th is better for the arcade as well, so I'm changing the title.

Lets get another role call going. Looks like BER and gs68 are down.

[antron]

I'm there.

[hedorah]

Count me in

[louisg]

Yeah, 26 is better for me too..

Any way to get a Genesis on one of the cabs?

Southtown arcade in SF??! Why didn't I know about this? And they have Ikaruga!

[Alec]

He actually did it!!?!! I have to come out and support this! I'll be saving my quarters until then. Do you guys like Mark of the Wolves?

[Dave_K.]

He actually did it!!?!!

No this isn't Bigtime. I thought it was danox574, who was at the last shmupmeet. I could be wrong, as I'm not sure if http://southtown-homebrew.com/ is related to http://southtownarcade.com

[gs68]

I'm down.

[Alec]

He actually did it!!?!!

No this isn't Bigtime. I thought it was danox574, who was at the last shmupmeet. I could be wrong, as I'm not sure if http://southtown-homebrew.com/ is related to http://southtownarcade.com

Oh sorry, I didn't mean Bigtime, I remember toroslayer's posts from way back in 09 or something. I'm glad he opened his arcade! Speaking of Bigtime, he's having another meet up coming up. It will be in his warehouse where he has way more games, including Virtual On and Initial D 3 (I think). You should head out, it sounds fun!

Dan doesn't own Southtown Arcade, but the owners are big Fatal Fury fans too.

[totoroslayer]

Hey all,

I figured I'd chime in here. Yes, I am finally open. My first opening day was this last Thursday, and I just got home after a pretty busy Saturday night (it's 2 am ). We are up, running, and generally put together. Our cabs are running card readers and we have a selection of Namco Noir cabs running PS3s in them. We also have a back section of tvs mounted on walls (32" low input lag Toshibas). I even found a rotating mount for one of them! It's great because I've been getting a few customers taking a shining to Espgaluda, and generally interested in checking out a shmups meet.

Any other questions, just ask and I'll answer them as best I can.

Hope to see you all soon,
Myung

[mdl]

I'll be there.

[BER]

On a whim, I checked out Gamecenter. I wasn't very tired and I was going down Highway 101 anyway, so why not. At first, I felt like a salaryman fresh off a long day's work at some faraway place. But as soon as I settled in, I felt like I was in the UC Berkeley BEARcade all over again.

Okay, back up a bit. This arcade is truly tucked in the streets of B Street. I drove up and down the street a few times looking for the Gamecenter to no success. But I remembered a few things: a two-digit street number and a picture of an alleyway. I parked somewhere remote, walked around, and eventually turned the corner opposite from the Bow Thai Cafe. Oh, there it was!

As a timid guy, I was expecting some sort of machine that spits out cards to play the machines. But nope, you walk up to the friendly Myung to pay. It's a refundable $2 deposit for a card plus $1 for every 100 points with bonus points for committing $10, $20, and up to the card. (Sorry, no 6-token dollar nights on Tuesday!) If you want to see why the Gundam vs. games are so popular in Japan, a credit is worth 100 points. ESPGALUDA was there at 25 points. And everything else...I didn't pay attention.

I knew that ESPGALUDA was there. Sure, sure, you can play the game on MAME with on a small 17-inch monitor and a mushy keyboard. But as most of us know, it feels so right to play the game on an actual PCB on a big monitor with a very responsive joystick and buttons. You're assured that all slowdown is accurate, you can see gaps you never saw, and you can shake off bullets very quickly.

But there was one more thing that I really wanted: to amaze the unsuspecting arcade goers. It was BEARcade all over again. The one guy who's decent at a game and could use some demonstrations from a seasoned player. The credit-feeders who enjoy watching lasers and shields go off.

A part of me really wants to be more active in cultivating the arcade scene. Back when the BEARcade had Giga Wing 2, I eventually found some guy mimicking the milking I did with Chery against the Stage 1 boss. I liked watching a few regulars make progress in these games through the months. That's something that's hard to capture in something so occasional as a shmupmeet.

You know what's funny: Myung also graduated from UC Berkeley, and he played some Giga Wing 2 when the BEARcade was there, too. I remember coming across the initials MYU occasionally... Hmm...

Anyway, I remember the eventual closing of the BEARcade, and I don't want to see the same thing happening to the Gamecenter. I'll stop by again to raise my high score in ESPGALUDA...and maybe inspire the locals to keep playing shmups in the arcade!

[Dave_K.]

Right on Bernard! Perhaps you should open a shooting clinic!! Combined with regular HS competitions (assuming Myung is willing to record the scores before powerdown) we could build a nice following there.

[TigerCraneFist]

Well Dave, looks like I'll be sitting this one out. Shocking eh? heh... actually I am having pretty major knee surgery on the 24th so I will be down and out and going nowhere except from the couch to my bed. Hope you guys have a blast though!