Our revised liquor control plan has been approved! We are pleased to announce the following serving changes:

As of today, the bar now opens at 5PM every day. If you’re 21 or older, stop in for a brew and some video game or pinball action on your way home from work!

Ground Kontrol is still family-friendly from 11AM to 5PM on Saturday and Noon to 5PM every other day of the week. Show your kids what arcades were like when you were a kid!

We are also pleased to announce some major changes in our private rental policy: Private events may now include alcohol service at any time of day, and minors may attend private events where alcohol is being served if they are accompanied by an adult guardian or spouse. For more detail, see our Rental Rates and Information.

- Posted by El Ramos

Sunday, July 20th marks a momentous occasion in Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade history: we’re putting the call out to the Pacific NW’s greatest fighters to come down to GK and beat each other bloody… on screen.

It’s time for the Sunday Slugfest, GK’s first-ever fighting game tournament! Participants will compete in 4 games: Street Fighter III: Third Strike (PS2), Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2, special 2-on-2 battle), Soul Calibur 2 (Arcade), and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Grand Master Challenge (Arcade, special upgrade for the tournament!)

The battles will rage all day long, with pizza and soft drinks (a warrior’s diet) provided for all paid participants. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 players for each title, with more prizes given away to other winners (including a random drawing or two.)

The cost to play is just $5 cover plus $3 per tournament. Sign-ups start at 11AM, tournament starts at Noon (and will end by 6:45PM.) There is a 16-player cap for each tournament, except Tekken Tag Tournament which will cap at 16 teams of 2 players (with one alternate player allowed per team.)

For more details and discussion, visit the Shoryuken.com discussion thread or check back for any updates.

This event is produced in association with RayBladeX, whose dedication to the fighting game community has made this contest a reality!

Note: In order to keep this event all-ages, we’ll be opening the bar at 7PM on Sunday evening instead of 5PM! Minors will be allowed until 7PM when we’ll switch to 21+ only (with valid I.D.)

- Posted by Art

We took our racing games into the shop for a quick tune-up and, what do you know? We came out with all new cars. They’re real beauties, too: all-new titles, with two seats apiece for two kinds of head-to-head racing thrills.

Cruis’n Exotica (Bally/Midway, 1999)
Exotica is the third title in Eugene Jarvis‘ Cruis’n series. Originally debuting in 2000, players race in beautiful and, ahem, exotic locales like the Amazon, Ireland and Las Vegas.

Too every-day for you? Try speeding through Atlantis or Mars! Cars are all real-life rides, including a Corvette, Hummer, and an on-duty police car.

This new-school arcade game is easily the best of the Cruis’n series and is one of the more engaging racers you’ll ever play, thanks to its imaginative tracks and style.

San Francisco Rush: 2049
Fifty years later and, apparently, San Francisco is still a big racing town. The fan favorite of Atari’s Rush franchise, 2049 takes place in a high-speed future where cars grow wings and sail through myriad shortcuts.

Chances are you’ve cracked 200MPH in a Rush game before; this game is no exception, continuing the big air and crazy physics of its predecessors.

Released in 1999, Rush: 2049 was the final arcade game to bear the iconic Atari logo. From 1979’s Asteroids to Rush:2049 twenty years later, we’ve got your arcade history covered!

- Posted by dan

Ground Kontrol’s retro-rad T-shirts are back, black, and better than ever! This time around, they’re printed on American Apparel stock for a comfy fit, and selected sizes are also available in Asphalt, a deep gray with old-school flavor.

Order yours today from our online store, or pick one up at the arcade…in between games of Donkey Kong, of course.

- Posted by El Ramos

720° (Atari, 1986)

Before Tony Hawk spun a 900º onto the video game scene, 720° in the arcade was the true skateboard jam. A timewarp like no other, few games capture their era better than this seminal 80’s gem. So shred the gnar in 720°’s windswept streets, and keep on the move. Like the man says, “Skate or Die!”

Elvira and the Party Monsters (Bally, 1989)

Have a ball with Elvira, the 1989 classic designed by Dennis Nordman (White Water).This pinball table is built, just like the hostess with the mostest. And you can be sure Elvira will have something risqué to say about your pinball game. It’s monstrous fun!

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Capcom, 2000)

MvC2 is one of the most over the top, fast paced and zany fighting games to ever hit arcades. Pick from any one of 56 selectable characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes! Wolverine vs. Mega Man? Spiderman vs. Zangeif? All in 3 on 3 tag matches and turbo galore!

NBA Jam (Midway, 1993)
NBA Jam is the inventive title that slams regulation basketball into a flimsy glass backboard. The now classic 2 on 2 hoops-fest features actual rosters from 15 years ago, including Portland’s own Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter. “He’s on fire!!”

Red & Ted’s Road Show (Williams, 1994)

“Let’s wreck some road!” This widebody Williams table from design great Pat Lawlor (The Addams Family) follows the cross-country bulldozing adventures of Red & Ted, pinball’s most charming rednecks. As technical as it is hilarious, Road Show is all the rage at Ground Kontrol these days!

The Simpsons Pinball Party (Stern, 2003)

A seemingly endless string of memorable moments and characters make The Simpsons a perfect theme for this recent table from Stern. Mayor Quimby, Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel, Comic Book Guy, Professor Frink - you name ‘em, they’re here and they brought pinball jokes!

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Capcom, 1998)

Alpha 3 is the most technical and evolved installment of the greater Street Fighter series, and stands as one of Capcom’s best fighting games. If you enjoy 2-D fighters and prefer a bit more strategy in your brawling, SFA3’s refined gameplay could be your newest addiction.

WWF WrestleFest (Capcom, 1998)

WWF WrestleFest features many of the trademark moves and taunts of the featured WWF Superstars, four-player simultaneous play, and a new Royal Rumble mode. There are also voice samples of your favorite WWF stars, including commentary and pre-match introductions by WWF ring announcer Mike McGuirk.

- Posted by m_ron