Detroit's most renowned arcade closes its doors
Wizzards arcade, located on 8 mile, has, after 34 years of doing the arcade thing, finally decided to close its doors. When it started, it was basically a diner with some pinball games, but seeing where the money was, it quickly became a full fledged arcade. When video games started coming along, Wizzards was quick to pick up on the trend, and despite it's small size, they built up a following of hardcore regulars. Street Fighter II's arrival, however, was what truly made Wizzards great. It became THE place to go to if you wanted to play Michigan's finest at SF2, and during the Mortal Kombat 2 days, it was, simply put, the best place to play people. The employees and regulars tell stories of the MK2 machines lining a wall,with people on them all from open to close.
Fighting games fast became the cash crop of Wizzards, and they supported it with a vengeance. At a time when other arcades were dying or getting dance games, Wizzards kept going by picking up the latest fighting games from SNK and Capcom. It was one of the first arcades in the country to get Capcom Vs SNK 2, and one of the only ones to pick up Rage of the Dragons, KOF 2002, and Samurai Shodown V. Other fighters, such as 3rd Strike, Tekken, Guilty Gear X, MvC2, and SvC all saw runs of players. Huge tourneys were thrown there, such as the yearly May'n Event, or the 500 dollar tournament that had people across the country showing up. But ultimately, this single mindedness killed them.
Over the past year, regulars of the arcade just stopped showing up. The reasons were numerous-due to the arcade's reliance on fighters, there wasn't much else to play. Puzzle Fighter was HUGE there, yet it was shoved in a tiny cabinet in the back. Games that brought in alot of cash like San Francisco Rush and Guilty Gear X were rented out to other locations, or outright sold. Their single ultracade and Pac-man saw plenty of play, but apparently that never struck anyone to branch out. No rhythm games ever came to the place, which killed their demographic more, and as a final problem, the owners, who only lived a short distance away, took forever to fix broken machine parts (though the games in general had good controls, fighting fans are very meticulous). with these problems, the regulars just stopped seeing a reason to head up to the arcade. And for a place that depended on them, the owners were simply out of touch with the players. So, a couple weeks ago, it was decided-Wizzards will be closing. They're selling off some of the machines, and indeed the place will still be open for 2-8 more weeks, but, after that, it's gone. I've met alot of cool people through that arcade, and for many, it was a meeting place-a place to gather before heading off to do something, or just to see your buddies. Wizzards was the players, and this saturday, they're throwing one last hurrah, one last tournament, before it closes down for good. A fitting end to one of the biggest landmarks to a game player in Michigan. Though between Robotron's weekly Friday Night Gaming sessions, and another fellow's weekly Halo nights, the crew won't be falling out of touch, it just won't be the same without an arcade to invade.
Godspeed, Wizzards. You've given me some of the best memories of my life, and for that, I thank you.
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