A lot of people ask me how and why Timm and i came up with the game castle.
I always tell them the same story......
In 2001 Timm and I were just a couple of friends that were really into gaming.
We worked in an arcade and also played games such as magic, D&D, Mage Knight, various video games, so you could say we were "hardcore" gamers.
Well, We went to quite a few game shops in the area (and some outside of the area) but there was always one common theme: a seperation between the retail section and the gaming areas (if there was any gaming space at all.) Some stores you had to go into a basement or a seperate small room, some you were limited on time, some we just didnt feel comfortable. So finally after leaving one store dissapointed, we started fantasizing about having our OWN store! It would be perfect, tournaments, gaming space where you could play with the owners, and the gaming community would be a little closer together.
By november of 2001 we had secured the buisness permits and information we needed to begin our dream.
We looked at locations near our homes, and where we thought our kind of buisness would do well.
It would have to be a nice neighbourhood, have low crime, busline access and near schools.
We found our location in december in Wauwatosa, on 116th street. It used to be a pharmacy, was aprox. 1500 square feet, reasonably priced and within walking distance of mayfair mall, two schools, and a police station only blocks away.
We opened for buisness on the 15th of january 2002.
Looking back now, we can see a few mistakes we made. First, we had more gaming space than we knew what to do with, which impacted sales since no one knew we sold anything, Second, we were uneducated on many codes and statues for the city of wauwatosa, and third, We had no clue how to run a buisness.
We knew what gamers wanted, but weren't positve on the whole buisness side.
Four months or so later, we found our groove, we picked up a used Dance Dance Revolution Machine. (a game where you step on arrows to the beat of the music) This got our name out VERY quickly, and spread like wildfire within the gaming community. People loved the idea that Timm and myself played all the games we sold, knew what wer were talking about and didn't take the job too seriously.We weren't (and aren't) in it to make a million dollars, we did it because It's what we love, its what keeps us going and we know that many others feel the same way.
During the summer of '02, we experienced the popularity of a card game called "Yu-Gi-Oh' and began running tournaments.We had been carrying the product since february but the company had just started authorizing tourneys in may or june.
Now because of this we would have kids from all over the state (and some other states too) coming to our tournaments, and seeing our store!
Many still come and are loyal friends and customers. Typically most gamers would stick to one game, what they knew. Magic players played magic, Pokemon players played Pokemon, and DDR players played DDR. but something happened......
DDR players saw the Yugioh players having so much fun, they asked to learn about it, and began to play. Some magic players saw the fun on the DDR machine and the potential for a good workout at the same time, and started playing that. soon we had gamers from all walks of life playing games they never thought they would....
This showed us that if we were willing to take the time to teach, they were willing to take the time to learn.
We were seeing gamers crossing over constantly to try new things. We had kids coming in for help on their homework, people just coming in to meet, have birthday parties, create games, and just enjoy themselves. We knew we were a success.
Around fall of 02, the yugioh tournaments became huge, over 100 people wanting to play in the tourneys, and an additional 20-40 wanting to play other games.
This all went ok, toeing the line until shortly after our first year anniversary. We were notified that because of the structure and facilities inside, we could not have more than 25 people in the building.
This was a major blow to us.
Shortly after, we had to cancel our tournaments, as well as events we had been having monthly for the players.
Other measures we took to make sure we never exceeded our limit was to shorten our hours and close on nights that people wouldnt leave.
In the meantime we were looking for another location, preferably in the same city or a neighboring one.
There was a huge outpouring of concern from parents and the kids that came to our store.
"what can we do?"
"why is this happening?"
"How can I help?"
and so forth.
Now, we are looking for a new place for the game castle to reside in, somewhere permanant, somewhere safe.
As Timm and I talked about plans for the new Game Castle, we realized that the Game Castle had become more than just "a store"
it was reffered to by many kids to their parents as "The Shop", "The Store", "Castle" or even "JP and Timm's Place"
We saw that it was not just a simple "buy stuff and leave" store, it was something that in such a short time had become part of our community's life.
People of all ages came in to work out, learn, play, win, lose, and just be.
It was somewhere safe that parents could trust their kids to be when they got off school.
Police were glad for the fact that many of the kids that would be on the street being bored (and probably getting in trouble) were having a good time at the Game Castle.
People from New York knew of us as a great place to play games.
Timm and I became recogized all over the place, and are regularly called by parents who want to learn the games with their kids.
The store had become more than a game shop, it became a community center of sorts.
Now while we look for the perfect location, we look for the same things we did before.
But this time....we want to do it just right!
The 116th st. location was too small for our needs, so of course we need a larger location.
We need to be in a community that will embrace what we are doing as something benificial to the people instead of a go in get out buisness.
We need to be in a city that will help us grow into something even better than what we are now.
There has to be dedicated gaming space for the gamers, more retail space and a true arcade area.
We need to be somewhere that is ready for the Game Castle, somewhere that can handle dozens people coming from out of city, even out of state, each week to participate in events, touranments, and the oppourtunity to play a few arcade games that are nowhere else.
We need to make sure the community knows that we are willing to hold events, birthday parties, club meetings and small social gatherings if need be.
Most importantly we need to be somewhere that will help the game castle be everything it WILL be and in return, help the community become part of something unique!
No matter what, we will make the next game castle the best it can be!
Thats what our dreams about.
Thanks for listening.
JohnPaul Cupertino
JP/Jypsy
co-owner
Zajal & Jypsy's Game Castle
jypsy@gamecastleonline.com
