Robotron Jon
Well-known member
Just curious...have you ever been to Koreatown?
Blipsy Arcade in LA (Koreatown)
- Thread starter Robotron Jon
- Start date
Just curious...have you ever been to Koreatown?
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
TAF = The Addams Family
AFM = Attack From Mars
AF = nothing
I don't even own a pin and I know that. Come on, get with the program...
A better acronymn for the pins there would be POS = Pieces of Shit. The owner said he had a quote of $500 to fix the TAF. There, I said it, TAF.
I still think this place has some potential. Plus it exposes people to the old games. Most of the people in this place are 21-25 years old.
savit4l8r
Well-known member
Yeah about 8-10 years ago a close friend lived on the border of Koreatown and went to school at some chiropractic school downtown. We used to get together often and would walk from his place to the greatest Korean BBQ place EVAR about 6 blocks away. He would point out the places where people had recently been mugged, assaulted or killed along the way. I never gave too much thought to it because if your number is up, your number is up, right? That food was worth dying for anyway.
But you're right, who am I kidding. I'd make the same joke about practically anywhere in (hel)L.A.
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
Yeah about 8-10 years ago a close friend lived on the border of Koreatown and went to school at some chiropractic school downtown. We used to get together often and would walk from his place to the greatest Korean BBQ place EVAR about 6 blocks away. He would point out the places where people had recently been mugged, assaulted or killed along the way. I never gave too much thought to it because if your number is up, your number is up, right? That food was worth dying for anyway.
But you're right, who am I kidding. I'd make the same joke about practically anywhere in (hel)L.A.
It's not the best area but compared to a lot of other places in LA, it's not bad. There is street parking right in front of the bar if you are lucky enough to grab a spot. If those spots are taken there is a side street right there, which is part of a residential neighborhood. Overall, I'd be cautious when in the area but it's not that bad.
Plus there is a super raunchy strip joint nearby.
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
I was there last weekend.
They have a Double Dragon but it's not working.
The Joust is working again but the screen is way too bright.
The Robotron reset and the high scores were lost.
The Spy Hunter is not working.
The Asteroids has vector issues. Might just be a connection issue.
The pinballs are still in poor shape. Most of the lights are out. This is a problem in a very dark bar.
Pretty much every game needs to have the plexi removed and cleaned on the backside, and the monitor glass cleaned.
By far the most popular game is Rampage and Punch Out, at least for the times I have been in there.
They have a Double Dragon but it's not working.
The Joust is working again but the screen is way too bright.
The Robotron reset and the high scores were lost.
The Spy Hunter is not working.
The Asteroids has vector issues. Might just be a connection issue.
The pinballs are still in poor shape. Most of the lights are out. This is a problem in a very dark bar.
Pretty much every game needs to have the plexi removed and cleaned on the backside, and the monitor glass cleaned.
By far the most popular game is Rampage and Punch Out, at least for the times I have been in there.
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
I was at Blipsy Barcade over the weekend. All games were good working order except for the Galaga which was out of order, and the Donkey Kong which has monitor issues.
They also have fixed the pinball machines, and the playfield bulbs are now working on both. They are adding a Stellar Wars widebody pin to the lineup shortly.
I noted that the Joust now has a high score of 9,999,999 and the Robotron has a high score of over 6 million. Rats...I will never beat 6 million. I played it once and managed a little over a million.
They also have fixed the pinball machines, and the playfield bulbs are now working on both. They are adding a Stellar Wars widebody pin to the lineup shortly.
I noted that the Joust now has a high score of 9,999,999 and the Robotron has a high score of over 6 million. Rats...I will never beat 6 million. I played it once and managed a little over a million.
Lon
Well-known member
The Joust score was from player 2
LON
LON
shertz
Well-known member
I've been there a few times. Use to be called Miss T's Barcade and they moved to a bigger place. Most of the games need major TLC.
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
I was at this place for the first time since last December.
They added a Stellar Wars pinball and got rid of the Playboy pinball. The Stellar Wars was in decent shape. It's a widebody game. The TZ was working but a few bulbs were out so the playfield was kind of dark. Those are the only pins they have.
The only vid not working was the Spy Hunter cockpit. The other vids were all in great shape. They finally fixed the Donkey Kong monitor.
I managed about 500k on the Galaga and under a million on Robotron (my skills are rusty after not playing for a few months). Lons score on Joust is still there, as is the 6 million point game on Robotron. I am a distant second place on Robotron.
It's always interesting to watch young people play these old games in a real arcade. The games where two people can play at once always seem to be the most popular - like Joust, double dragon and Rampage.
They added a Stellar Wars pinball and got rid of the Playboy pinball. The Stellar Wars was in decent shape. It's a widebody game. The TZ was working but a few bulbs were out so the playfield was kind of dark. Those are the only pins they have.
The only vid not working was the Spy Hunter cockpit. The other vids were all in great shape. They finally fixed the Donkey Kong monitor.
I managed about 500k on the Galaga and under a million on Robotron (my skills are rusty after not playing for a few months). Lons score on Joust is still there, as is the 6 million point game on Robotron. I am a distant second place on Robotron.
It's always interesting to watch young people play these old games in a real arcade. The games where two people can play at once always seem to be the most popular - like Joust, double dragon and Rampage.
wonderpuddle
Member
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wonderpuddle
Member
I went by to check the place out tonight. It was empty at 9 pm (my friend and I were the only customers in the place). When we left a little after 11, there were maybe a half dozen customers there. Sadly, it doesn't look like the place is doing well. I would be shocked if they took in more than $100 during the two hours we were there.
Most of the games were playable, but the pins were a mess. Stellar wars was beat up but playable. Twilight Zone was beat up, dirty, had reset issues, most bulbs out, etc. It was borderline unplayable.
Most of the vids were at least playable, though Galaga froze up on me and became unplayable. They were all decent, though as Robotron Jon suggested, most could use a little cosmetic maintenance.
I want places like this to thrive, but this business model can only work if you keep the games in good shape. I have trouble seeing how customers would frequent a bar with an arcade gimmick if the games aren't really nice and playable.
Most of the games were playable, but the pins were a mess. Stellar wars was beat up but playable. Twilight Zone was beat up, dirty, had reset issues, most bulbs out, etc. It was borderline unplayable.
Most of the vids were at least playable, though Galaga froze up on me and became unplayable. They were all decent, though as Robotron Jon suggested, most could use a little cosmetic maintenance.
I want places like this to thrive, but this business model can only work if you keep the games in good shape. I have trouble seeing how customers would frequent a bar with an arcade gimmick if the games aren't really nice and playable.
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
The games are just an afterthought...if there was no booze served there would be nobody in there. Those games are older than 99% of the people who go there. It's amazing that 30 year old games even work at all after being on 10+ hours a day, every day. When I was there the Stellar Wars was working fine but obviously it being in constant use can take a toll.
One thing I have noticed is that a lot of people smoke weed right in the bar.
One thing I have noticed is that a lot of people smoke weed right in the bar.
Sir Kongsalot
Member
Weird Donkey Kong cab in that place. As in, the physical cabinet itself. Color is wrong, texture is wrong, t-molding is wrong, and (apparently) monitor is wrong! Perfectly functional though. I love the Spy Hunter cockpit! Never saw one back in the day, so it was nice to finally witness it in person. The Gun Fight was neat also.
As for viability, they've now survived a year-plus, so they're probably alright.
If I lived in LA, I would make it a haunt.
As for viability, they've now survived a year-plus, so they're probably alright.
If I lived in LA, I would make it a haunt.
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XXI21
Well-known member
Ho-Oleee crap! How did I miss this?!! This sounds like a coming-back-from-CAX stop for sure! Too bad they don't have a Missile Command. I'll challenge someone to a game of Gunfight
Robotron Jon
Well-known member
Went over to the Blipsy Barcade last night around 11pm. Place was packed, I guess this is probably he busiest time of the week there. Most of the people there looked to be 25 years of age or less, and about half were female. Those games must do pretty well during the peak times, most of them were being played the entire time I was there except for the Williams games, which never seem to be played except for the Joust. I played Robotron twice and managed a little over a million points, which was good for 3rd all time (not many good players play this machine obviously). I did not see anyone else play it.
They got rid of Gunfight and replaced it with Xenophobe. I did not see one person play it while I was there. They also took out TZ and brought back the Playboy. Maybe TZ is being shopped out. They also added an Off Road. All the games were working except the 720. It appeared that they swapped out the board in the Asteroids because the game used to play really SLOW and now it's speeded up.
All in all, a good time.
They got rid of Gunfight and replaced it with Xenophobe. I did not see one person play it while I was there. They also took out TZ and brought back the Playboy. Maybe TZ is being shopped out. They also added an Off Road. All the games were working except the 720. It appeared that they swapped out the board in the Asteroids because the game used to play really SLOW and now it's speeded up.
All in all, a good time.
Havent been since they changed the name from miss t's to blipsy, heard they did a bit of remodeling. Its more a dive bar joint and doesn't really get busy till after 10 or so, but they have a neat collection of old cabinets, bizarre quirks and all.
