Don's Arcade - Torrance

A staple of the South Bay for fighting games for a couple years now, Don's Arcade is not what you would expect when you think of an arcade, but it's pretty close. There aren't any tokens or quarters to disappear from your pockets, but instead a $5 bill is all it takes to play all night- until 4AM to be precise. You won't find little kids running around looking for a claw machine, but you will find some workout equipment and Christmas decorations. Water or soda are $1 a "pop" but bring your own snacks (eating inside is welcome). No, it's not a department store but it's his home garage in the nice part of South Torrance. On one side there are 4 console setups, 2 Xbox and 2 PS3 to satisfy the players who are used to the subtle but important timing differences between the systems in Street Fighter 4 and Marvel 3. Go through the door to the other side and now we have what looks like an arcade (minus the 70's era Corvette) - 7 or so cabinet machines all featuring fighting games from years past and present.

One side of the garage.

If you're reading this, then you are probably aware of Shoryuken.com and its regional forums for places to find other players looking to compete; casually or in a tournament. That's how I found Don's in early 2010. At that time I couldn't get enough of SF4, going to Rowland Heights to the now closed Arcade Infinity or even San Diego for tournaments. Every weekend I would be at some fighting game event grinding away, sometimes 3 days a week for several hours into the early morning. Good thing playing these games is inexpensive. A quarter or two may only get you a game of 3 or 4 minutes if you lose, but as long as you're winning you get to hold your seat as champion of that little timeframe. I needed to find something closer particularly after AI closed. Don's was a good choice since it is physically closer to my location now, but also close to home figuratively speaking because I grew up in that area so it was comforting in a way to make my weekly trip down there. So to this day I still attend every Friday night for a few hours, but not as many as I used to.

I don't know too much about the history of his arcade, but it seems Don had been collecting arcade cabinets for a few years and the popularity of SF4 for home consoles had brought a dedicated bunch of players together looking for a place to practice. Don may have been hosting events prior to SF4 for SF3 and Marvel 2 so there may be another era I'm unaware of - I'll get the scoop from Don soon. In fact, I would like to interview Don for a feature article, hopefully he's up for it.

In 2010 and most of 2011 you could easily walk into a crowded garage, sometimes too hot for comfort from all the calories being burned by fingers tapping away and elevated heart rates from the stress of trying to achieve a win. You'd hear moans of frustration, or screams of excitement and cheer while watching an intense match. You can still hear and see some of that but with less intensity. Some of California's best players (like Shizza and Sanchez - sorry if I'm forgetting anyone else) were regulars and provided a setting for the aspiring player to challenge himself. Lately there's a less of that to the dismay of the remaining loyal players. You may overhear others, and at least once in my own  thoughts question continuing to attend weekly because of the lack of competition (and waining interest in SF4)- not necessarily in skill but in number of opponents to test yourself against. I was fortunate to be there one week with the most guests, around 40, but also one of the worst nights with 5.

So why has attendance dropped off? The recent shift of fighting game player's attention to Marvel 3, the current state of character balance in SF4 (many aren't happy with), the re-opening of Super Arcade in Walnut, and simply people's ventures into other things in life has tilted the player base away from Don's. There doesn't appear to any fault in Don's approach to keeping players that has caused this. I'd assume that because of some of the above factors that other arcades like Family Fun have decreased attendance-in fact there is strong evidence of this since AI and Denjin Arcade in Simi Valley closed this year.  And what can be done? Unfortunately I don't have a solid answer to either of those questions, however Don has entertained a few options to get people coming back: one being a two day event with the same hours but with a discount ($8) for the second day if you paid up front for both days. Don tried this for a couple weeks earlier this year but attendance was still low and it seemed it was unfortunate late timing at that point and it wasn't as effective as hoped. Again in no fault of Don's. I've always been a supporter and when possible brought friends and my brother to play. But Don hasn't given up-there may be some distant idea of moving to a location outside of his home in a typical arcade environment. But until that happens (or not), the recent release of King of Fighters XIII and moreso SF4 2012 looms near with it's wide range of changes to each character and there's sure to be renewed interest.

The regulars like me keep coming back, week after week. I bet I've attended about 40 weeks of this year. For myself, there's something intimate and casual about the environment. There's also the possibility that someone new (or from the past) will be there to challenge. You'll also find Don's hospitality to be great. A visitor will find he's excellent about rememering people's names and their stories. You can also discuss and debate movies with him on a different level - not just a good or bad debate. If you're nice and a regular, he might even hand out a free Coke or water bottle, but always, always make sure you pay the $5 entrance fee before you sit down and get started. He's also very involved with his "Don's Arcade" thread on SRK and his Facebook page with the same name. So if anyone is curious, check those links out and take a trip to Don's. If for some reason you forget, Don always sends out a text message to let everyone know if his garage will be open or not. There are some good friends to be made and a casual environment. Tomorrow I'll be there as usual with my Red Bull in hand to kickstart the button mashing, command grabbing, winning part of my brain.

(Hopefully I can put together some questions for Don and get a full length interview soon)