Old-school Lakewood arcade recreates classic gaming era - #lakewoodnews

Tucked away in Lakewood's 40 West Arts District is rarity in a world of mobile video games and virtual reality headsets --; a legitimate, old-school arcade.

Hyperspace Arcade, 1601 Reed St., No. 100, recreates the classic arcades of the '80s --; dark but full of lights and sounds, featuring games everyone will know, like Pac-Man and Street Fighter. There also is pinball and more than 3,000 games on classic consoles like Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis.

Hyperspace is the brainchild of Xyla Duval, a lifelong aficionado of arcade and video games.

"We're trying to recreate this era for people who love games," she said. "I grew up in arcades, and wanted this to be the kind of place you don't see often."

A vintage business like Hyperspace fits right into the eclectic mix of creatives in the district, said Bill Marino, chair of 40 West.

"I played all these games as a teenager and played some of them with my kids," he said. "They're an integral part of the district, another destination for people here. They add a special glittery panache to 40 West."

The 40 West Arts District follows West Colfax from Sheridan to Simms and includes arts-oriented enterprises like the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and galleries.

The arcade caters to young people and families, and is open to midnight or later, every night but Monday. Hyperspace charges a flat fee for play. Customers pay $10 to play any of the games all day. There is also an unlimited play, month-long pass for $45.

This setup is different from the original model for Hyperspace, which actually opened in July 2014. At the time, Duval structured it as a more adult-oriented arcade that was only open during weekends and featured DJs and other entertainment.

"We weren't very successful, and we actually shut down for a while," Duval said. "When we decided to reopen, we went with a more family-friendly model, and have been growing by leaps and bounds since."

Hyperspace reopened in February and just announced plans to double its square footage. The game selection has grown from about 70 to 112, and the new space will allow for much more.

"We will be knocking down the interior wall of Hyperspace Arcade, which currently occupies the next door unit of the same building, to create an opening into the adjacent business property in the coming months," said Drew Purkett, one of Duval's business partners, in a statement. "We are dedicated to building the largest and the best mecca of arcade gaming in Colorado. As such, we will continue to listen and respond to our customer feedback."

The expansion includes adding a building sign, installing dozens of new pinball and video arcade games, as well as two additional bathrooms, a separate console room, a kitchen, a cocktail arcade machine lounge and more.

"We've already been doing pinball tournaments and are looking to start up video game tournaments as well," Duval said. "We're definitely busiest during weekends, and see customers of all ages come in."

The arcade's reputation is even pulling people from farther away than the metro area.

"I read about this place, and even though I live in Wyoming, I've been here twice," said Shawn Meline, who happily makes the more than four-hour drive for what he calls a real arcade. "I just like how retro it is here."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Old-school-Lakewood-arcade-recreates-classic-gaming-era,234770?branding=15