i’ve been gathering some news online and would like more info from those who know what’s really going on. not a gamer (anymore at least) here, just a hobbyist and businessman. but this looks like a so-cal fgc turf war.
so last summer, mike watson of super arcade was able to crowdfund $50k to renovate his arcade. at the time he was hosting fighting tournaments with level up… something happened, the parties split, super arcade shut down last december, level up no longer has a venue to host weekly tournaments, and mike’s sponsors were basically taken for a ride. i mean come on, $50k for a paint job, new toilets, and linoleum floors. seems like he stole the kids’ piggy banks, made himself to be a victim, took a long vacation, and now has plans to re-open in azusa at a larger venue (with other people’s money). dude couldn’t even deliver on a pizza party ($500 tops) for his top sponsors.
I really wouldn’t call it a turf war. Watson and Valle spilt over business reasons, not personal reasons. Watson felt like he was getting the short end of the stick and he try to struck a new deal. They couldn’t agree on something, so they spilt.
As for Super Arcade closing, blame the landlord for that one. As Watson was fixing Super, the landlord decided to up his rent. He up the rent since Watson was adding new things to the building. Watson try to fight it, but he couldn’t it. Rather dealing with the bullshit, he left. Imho, this was the better choice since now; he found a bigger venue, it is not far from the original location, and cheaper rent. As for the Kickstarter’s reward, I want to say he can’t deal with them until Super is actually 100% done. I can’t see Watson as this scummy guy and I do believe he will get to do everything he has said once he settles down.
Also, here’s Watson’s blog. Here you can get the real meat of everything that has happen in the last six months: http://superdojo.blogspot.com/
i read mike’s blog and most of it sounds like bs, like he is trying to explain away all the crap. also caught a few minutes of the “press release”… couldn’t last more than a few minutes.
i grew up in arcades too, it’s too bad there isn’t a single decent one left in so-cal. dave n buster’s is pretty good but they don’t have any fighting games and charge over $1 for pac man.
did someone challenge someone to a duel (the old fashioned way)? i mean everyone’s saying there no beef but my nose is telling me porterhouse
it’s like that scene in back to the future 2 when mcfly was playing hogan’s alley. crowding around sf2 at 7-11 or circus circus, there’s nothing like it
so m. watson just kicked level up and iebattlegrounds out?
Super and LU split because Watson publicly aired some grievances with some of the big names in the community and LU had to sever ties so it didn’t look like they were associated with him.
Super moving was the result of their rent being raised as soon as they renovated the arcade.
that’s the official story. whether you believe it is up to you. but I haven’t heard any alternative narratives floating out there.
i wasn’t part of the crowdfunding, though his arcade did squeeze about 20 quarters out of me last summer. either way i’ve seen him around, seen his work, and generally just don’t like the guy.
Watson made the correct decision IMO. Staying at the current venue with a scummy landlord who was raising the rent for renovations that Watson (and the community) paid for would have been a shitty decision.
Believe me dude. There’s no beef to be found here. There was no duel or showdown for anything. If you want beef, here you go [details=Spoiler]https://youtu.be/R6_eWWfNB54[/details]
No one got kicked out. Level up and Watson were both fine with Level up leaving and iebattlegrounds is still there, since Mando of iebattlegrounds, helped Super stream their weeklies and 37 reloaded.
i didn’t say that. what i did say was i don’t like the guy. it’s the sf of life, i’ve been around a lot of people and a lot of places. after a while you just get a sense of character style and skill level. and i don’t like the guy.
have you checked out James’ Games or Alex’s Arcade? There’s a few folks that host garage arcade sessions too which is a nice approximation or the glory days. Don’s Arcade is one such session that is hosted weekly and seems to get a consistently good crowd.