It seems like video game clubs are a growing social phenomenon. It was not long ago that a video game bar opened in Kansas City. Now, a video game social center, called Game Haven, has opened up at 10 Cross Street in Norwalk, Connecticut. Game Haven is a place where gamers can unite together to play their favorite games while enjoying food and drinks. Game center owner, Brent Goren, believes centers, such as these, are popular. He says, “It isn’t as much about the engaging of the game as it is the social experience.”
The game center is enjoying a respectable measure of success in spite of opening only a few weeks ago. “We’ve had birthday party requests, we’ve held charity events and we plan on getting linked up with pizza places,” states manager Nick Parker. Game Haven is open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Thursday from noon to midnight, Friday from noon to 2:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Sunday from 10:00 to 10:00. Seems like a lot of random hours.
Game centers, like Game Haven, are only going to become more common as business owners and entrepreneurs begin to realize that the majority of gamers, even the introverts, enjoy gaming with friends in the same room. They would rather play among friends than play alone. It isn’t so much that gaming has evolved into a social experience, rather than a solitary one, as technology has allowed the social aspect to flourish and reveal itself.
The very basis of playing games is founded on living and social skills, which can be dated all the way back to primitive cultures who invented their own sporting contests. Connecting to the internet and communicating through headsets is one thing. However, anyone who has ever been part of a team can attest to the advantages of being in close physical proximity to each other. Video games became the norm long ago, and game centers are the natural progression of the medium.
