A neat video game themed bar in Sydney: Spawn Point Video Game Bar
winechatty.com/2015/07/20/spawn-point-video-g...
winechatty.comPosted Jul 19, 2015, 10:57 PM UTC
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winechatty.comIt's good, but suffers the same issue the Mana Bar had in Brissy, namely that it's fairly small and easily cramped.
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Why's this shit always Nintendo? Never any good old PSX/Xbox/etc games.
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There's an Xbox in one of the photos, and a rift. Seems like they have a lot of different stuff.
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I somehow mustered up the courage to go in alone a while back and get a drink. It's not a bar to go to alone- the people there are not engaging or willing to include strangers. Not sure what I was hoping for to be honest.... Overall it was ok but I won't be back. Good to grab a single drink with a friend on a week night after a long day shopping just as a way to round out the day and say you've done it.
As dorky as this is, I'd like it more if they had quick table top games (hello Munchkin) and an app or message board you could use to sign up to play at an appointed time. Maybe have a 10$ reservation fee that covers your first drink.
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the people there are not engaging or willing to include strangers.
I've never been to a bar in Australia where people are more willing to engage with strangers than spawn point, though I assume it's easier to socialize when you're with friends.
They have Cards Against Humanity if you're into tabletop games, but I wouldn't be surprised if the owners are open to suggestions, so it might be worth sending them an email and see if they'd consider getting some munchkin decks for people to play with
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I didn't want to include this in my original post because I generally dislike being all "WELL AS A GIIIIRL" but I'm willing to admit my experience might be tinted by being a female. Guys can be awkward about including women and vice versa. I could've just as easily been like "Hey dudes, room for one more?" but I didn't do that so a bit of the fault is on me.
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If you're nervous about asking to play with people, bring some friends, find a game that no one's using, then wait until people come and start playing with you
None of the girls I go with seem to have that issue, though none of them seem to have a problem with asking to play with strangers either so I'm thinking you'd probably enjoy yourself a lot more if you had friends with you to help break the ice
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I went in hopes of making friends and did indeed grab a game and start playing ;-;
Everyone was all wrapped up in their own games and the bartenders with talking to each other so it wasn't really a situation that made socializing with strangers possible.
Edit: but yeah, maybe I'll pregame next time so I'll feel more social and less dorky.
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Or every one could come over to my place play video games, drink beer and order pizza!
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Are you secretly a nerdy axe murderer?
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Of course not.
No one uses axes any more.
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I think the main question here is will they stream TI5?
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Do you know what time the stream is kicking off? If it's within our the hours we are legally able to open we might be able to arrange something.
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2am Sunday 9th is the best guess Which means no dice for the lockout laws Unless you want to open in the morning ...
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I asked the bartender if they were going to host a pubstomp for TI5, he mumbled something along the lines of "yeah sure, if it's within operating hours and they did a LoL one before". Didn't give me the impression they follow Dota2, I don't think they care much about it.
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That's a good call. I mean all major aussie cities have pubstomps, but Sydney has none? What is this!
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Well that sucks.
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Sydney TI5 Pubstomp @ Cheers Bar Join your fellow Sydney-siders in watching the TI5 Grand Finals at one of Sydney's best sporting venues: Cheers Bar.
With plenty of screens, a big projector, good Dota and drinks to go around it'll surely be a great way to spend Sunday morning.
Unfortunately due to the lockout laws in place attendees will have to arrive BEFORE 1:30AM or AFTER 5AM. Any time between you will sadly be waiting in the cold.
With a big enough attendance we'll even have the chef in to cook us some brekky.
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Some of the staff were pretty rude 2/2 times I went there. And not sure if they're even legit because both times (saturday nights) there was no security/bouncer checking id's.. just walked straight in.
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PM me about rude staff, not the impression or experience we want to give. We are a fully approved Small Bar.
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Every single employee I've talked to in the 9 or 10 times I've been there have been incredibly friendly, and judging from the conversations I've had with friends who have also been there, that seems to be the standard opinion. Also, I've never seen the front door without a bouncer next to it, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.
The only complaints I've heard is that the venue can get a bit cramped and some of the drinks can be a little bit pricey, but this is Sydney and you're a small capacity bar so in my opinion, people really shouldn't be expecting super cheap drinks in the first place
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Fuck, do you guys just spend your time on the net looking for when people comment about your bar? It's a little intense!
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5% of the population of the planet use Reddit. It's not surprising that a video game bar uses the internet...
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I've also seen them arguing with people on Gizmodo.com.au when people made comments they don't think it will work or that the bar is too small.
Every time I see the place spoken about online, I see them defending the place.
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Probably more likely they're just subbed here?
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Nothing is worse than rude staff. No matter how good a place is if the staff are rude it ruins in completely.
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That's a shame, we went on Thursday and it was relatively quiet. Had the staff change games for us without any fuss and shared a few chuckles on the oculus rift station.
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I went there on a Friday night with some friends, beer selection was okay. Rocks in bottles and I think it was Coopers Vintage on tap, could be wrong.
It's fun, but it was very uncomfortable sitting on those stools. They'd just setup an occulus rift which was fun. The Marvel vs Capcom machine was my favourite though.
I don't remember those N64 and Gamecube games looking so blurry, my friend seemed to think it was how they setup the input into the TV though.
Personally I'd have dinner and a couple of beers next door at Redoak and hit up Spawn Point a bit later in the night.
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How much were the games? Pay by hour? I imagine OR was more expensive than a wii or something?
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Free.
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All the games were free to play. It's a bar so the money is from the drinks.
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NICE! thanks
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I went there for the 1st time on Thursday last week, pretty cool little idea - the space is a little small for my liking, but they had a Wii U on a projector with Super Smash playing.
The beers were all $5 when I went as per happy hour, they don't stock shitty beers which is a bold move and one of the only places with Peroni red (imported), u/randimarch mentioned $8 minimum on a normal day which I agree is a little pricey, especially since iconic places charge about that much.
But any more than 20 people in there and I can imagine myself not having fun.
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great concept but looks average
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Interesting they've got a Rift DK2 in their promo photos. Oculus aren't really crazy about that stuff happening in a commercial 'arcade like' setting without explicit written permission.
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I went there, but I was as drunk as hell already and I'm not a big fan of gaming anyway.
cool story, I know
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Then what happened? :o
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everything was very foggy after that
I assume I went home
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There's this weekend's plans sorted.
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Arcade or pinball would be better.
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You need to check out Barbarello's!
They've got about 5 or 6 pinnies & at least one cocktail cabinet with a bunch of old school classics. They've also got buck hunter (but with zombies!!!) daytona/car thing and a pool table.
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This place looks heaps better.
Do you know any pubs near Waterloo that have any arcade / pinball? I would like to find a place in walking distance.
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The Courthouse Hotel in Newtown has about 8 or so pinball machines as I recall. Couldn't speak to which ones though.
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Roxbury in Glebe has a couple of pinnies.
Underneath George St Cinema there's something with a whole bunch of pinball machines, I played Star Trek but one flipper was a bit rough.
Off Broadway Hotel has a couple.
Also, check out the top floor arcade of Market City, they had a few last time I was there, but that was a while ago now.
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And the Henson in marrickville.
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Lord Raglan Hotel on border of Redfern/Alexandria might be just a bit over walking distance depending on where you are in Waterloo but they have 4 or 5 pinball machines and good craft beer.
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Ooo looks interesting. Thanks for sharing. Going to mark that down as the next place for us to hit after work. Will post our review and photos here if anyone is interested.
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They have one arcade machine (running various ROMs I assume) but they are too cramped to host more arcade and pinball machines. I was hoping to see some old school flat-top arcades used as tables.
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I was hoping to see some old school flat-top arcades used as tables.
Cocktail cabinet.
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What's the cheapest food or drinks in their menu?
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Went there a few weeks back with some friends, Was a pretty neat place albeit a tight fit once filled up.
Shared a few intense games of Tekken, Downed a few drinks, generally had fun.
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I had been looking forward to going to some events here. A friend of mine went to suss it out. No wheelchair access sadly, which means I can't go.
My friend enjoyed it. Said it got a little crowded and the drinks were a little pricy.
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Is it anything like Ground Kontrol in Portland?
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So its a bar where you go and play video games? Sounds like a sausage fest!
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Been there, nice concept, but the fact that their cheapest beer was $8 means that I won't be going there again.
Gotta have at least something for $5.
I wonder though, how profitable are they? People may stick around longer than the average bar but they would be drinking at a slower rate (due to playing games instead of just drinking and talking)? Higher drink prices partly make up for this.
I went during happy hour so beers were cheaper. What it did lack was some beers on tap. Their selection was a little limited but they did have stuff off the menu as well.
I thought they had Red Peronis for $5 but I could be wrong about that.
That's the thing I was wondering why this hadn't happened ages ago. Pissed bogans mixed with delicate hardware and computer game rage. Not a business risk I'd take. Not saying you're a bogan, just that the $5 beer would get more bogans.
I love when Australians get a little too obvious in substituting 'bogans' for 'poor people'
Well I don;t know when to be a pretentious little bitch or down with the rool people on reddit. It's a gamble that usually pays with the former.
Well whatevs. People who get drunk and cause shit. They're certainly not necessarily poor given the left's love for paying people $150k to hold a lollipop sign.
Who the hell gets paid $150k to hold up a stop sign? I'm in the wrong industry clearly! /s
"the left's" haha