Amid all the talk about the failure of the retail economy and the bankruptcy of department stores, San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria has discovered the irresistible lure of individual competition, and its fortunes may change because of it .
On Sunday, the mall was filled with shoppers looking for Christmas gifts. But there was something else going on there, and to find it you have to go down to the basement, into what used to be a Nordstrom department store.
That’s where you’ll find Round 1, a cavernous entertainment venue owned by a Japanese company that understands the American appetite for winning. Whether it’s blowing up “bad guys,” winning a car race, or throwing balls into a basket, the place has a competitive atmosphere that can be hard to resist.
“I really like arcade games,” said Sanna Su, 20. “My cousin introduced me to the first trick and since then I couldn’t really stop. Well, I could stop, but it’s a bit addicting when you don’t know when to stop.”
The first round opened in Stonestown in November and is the fourth location in the Bay Area. It offers family bowling, air hockey and even a full bar for adults. But it is in the center of the room that a page of Las Vegas takes place. Lined up like slot machines, there is a huge collection of claw games, in which people spend money to try to win a stuffed prize.
But as Ethan Wei discovered, it’s not exactly a game of skill.
“The strength of the claw is a little random,” he said, as a stuffed shark easily slipped out of the claw’s grip. “Sometimes you get a stronger claw, and you just grab it. It’s not really a trick, it’s just kind of like luck. Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy that than to buy it. just pay $100 to win these things I don’t you know how much they cost probably like $10?
So how much did he pay for the three prizes he had in hand?
“I don’t know, I’d say about $50, a little over 50,” Wei said.
Ivan Guillermo discovered the same thing when he and his son Dylan tried to win a sleeping cat stuffed animal, but it slipped away at the last moment.
“It definitely feels like a casino, that’s for sure,” he said with a laugh. “The house always wins. You spend more than it’s probably worth, yeah.”
“The claw almost always slips,” Dylan said in frustration. “You can’t get it.”
But then Dylan learned something about the game’s tantalizing appeal as the claw maintained its grip on the next trial, depositing the toy in the trash can.
“Whoa! He got it!” » said his surprised father, as Dylan collected his winnings, sure of bringing them back.
But for older kids, there’s another game that sparks intense competition. “Dance, Dance Revolution,” or DDR, has become an obsession for some and Jacob Saldageno, 20, said his love of the game brought him out of his shell.
“It definitely changed my life,” he said. “Now I go out with so many people. I go out with my friends more. It’s definitely a special place where my friends and I can all unwind from the stresses of adult life and have fun.”
On Sunday, Saldageno was thrilled to set a new record for the dance he had worked so hard to learn, what’s known as his “record.” And while it still performs at a basic level, in the evenings young people fill the DDR area with qualified dancers from all over the Bay Area to compete at the highest level.
Saldageno believes it’s good for everyone, including the mall.
“I think it makes the malls more vibrant now,” he said. “Since the pandemic started, people have been so cramped. But now that we’ve opened an arcade in a place like this, there are definitely more people outside. And I love seeing That.”
Perhaps there is a lesson here. People may have found new ways to shop from home, but nothing draws crowds like the thrill of victory, especially if it includes a stuffed animal.
