BEARcade is gone
12:54 AM - February 3rd, 2006
I knew the ASUC (student government at Cal) was planning to replace BEARcade with a Gelataria Naia (gelato shop which has another location on Shattuck). I’ve known for awhile, but after not hearing anything about it for months, I thought the deal was blocked. Nope, Bigi informed me a couple days ago during work; BEARcade is gone. I guess like other governments I know, ASUC can’t be talked out of a bad decision.
Immediately after Bigi broke the news, I went searching on Google. I didn’t know what I was looking for. What day BEARcade closed? What attempts were made to try and stop the closure? I wasn’t sure until I found this: a goodbye piece by BEARcade-regular Pat Miller.
Reading it brought back all of my memories of BEARcade—going there after ATDP in the summer to play DDR, bumming around there for hours during my freshman and sophomore years of college, stopping by for my post-work-out beatmania during my junior and senior years of college, and entering one of the summer GGXX tourneys with Bigi and getting our asses handed to us. BEARcade introduced me to some of my favorite games: GGXX, CvS2, drummania, and of course beatmania (5-key, IIDX, and III). BEARcade was where I learned to use a joystick and appreciate well-maintained machines. BEARcade was where I learned to appreciate high-level play and to stop playing (and thinking) like a scrub.
I don’t want to believe that BEARcade is gone. I don’t want to believe that ASUC would so easily dismiss the importance of having an arcade on campus for those that don’t want to hang out at frat parties or ice cream shops. I don’t want to believe that an arcade as well-managed as and as well-regarded as BEARcade was allowed to fade away.
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:45 am
seriously, any of those other ideas (pearl milk tea house, LAN cafe, day-care center, etc.) would be better than an ice cream place — as if you don’t have enough of those already.
to governments, i guess money really IS everything. forget about the people.
they better open a new arcade somewhere else on campus that is bigger and brighter, otherwise this makes no sense. closing off pretty much the only arcade in north bay area isn’t a smart thing to do. and no, the emeryville one doesn’t count because the joystick on the cvs2 machine is broken for 99% of the days in a year.
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:34 pm
/CRY!
February 3rd, 2006 at 1:20 pm
BEARcade is definitely a Cal campus institution, and it’s shortsighted of the ASUC Store to have closed it down. Back when I was an undergrad, before the era of computer games, network gaming and the like, a videogame arcade was THE choice for gaming entertainment. I do remember it being a lot more popular in the pre-internet days. Perhaps that’s why it got closed down? Fewer people playing there, as there are many other options?
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Alright, if THIS doesn’t vault you right back to your videogame playing childhood, nothing will. ;p
(Cross-posting on the other side, which also has a relevant entry, coincidentally.)
February 3rd, 2006 at 1:41 pm
I didn’t post this before, but if you want to know how little chance ASUC gave BEARcade, here’s the story straight from Bihn, BEARcade manager that took over for Dan Chang (aka superdan). Search for “11-07-2005, 11:49 AM”; it’s the post by chicken.
As the post says, BEARcade has been doing well recently after struggling for years.
February 4th, 2006 at 2:11 am
I don’t want to believe it either. =(
February 6th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
/sob
/rude
Not happy bout this :(
/omg
February 7th, 2006 at 12:30 am
…NO WAY.
February 7th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Cindy referred this entry to me, because I wouldn’t believe her when she told me the BEARcade was gone. It’s so unreal. I was filling out my ATDP application the other day, and the thought of going back to the BEARcade with everyone put a smile on my face. Now, it’s like I don’t even want to go back.
/sob
March 1st, 2006 at 6:00 pm
The BEARcade really is gone… and so is the Boba Cafe. My friend got free gelato from the new place on opening night and then I got some after my ochem midterm the night after. It was a weird feeling…
March 2nd, 2006 at 8:27 pm
I was envelope hunting when I passed by the Gelato place. I was going to go in but I knew it was a disgrace to the memory of the BEARcade. If it makes you feel better, it’s very dark in there and looks like crap and also did not have many people in it :(
*secretly eats gelato*
Kidding kidding!!! I don’t even like creamy, super delicious, orgasmic gelato…