Post #1 · Posted at 2020-11-16 04:53:09am 3.4 years ago
California itself is a pretty multiculturally diverse state, with no shortage of amazing tourist attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I wish to pay a visit as soon as the pandemic is over and flights to and from the US reopen and whenever the time and financial situation is right.
But aside from tourism, I was wondering if a good majority of the dedicated US BEMANI fandom reside in California compared to all other states. Because if the chance ever comes, I'd like to make connections and socialize with those who's just into BEMANI games (especially SDVX) as much as I am.
But aside from tourism, I was wondering if a good majority of the dedicated US BEMANI fandom reside in California compared to all other states. Because if the chance ever comes, I'd like to make connections and socialize with those who's just into BEMANI games (especially SDVX) as much as I am.
Post #2 · Posted at 2020-11-16 06:22:04am 3.4 years ago
It used to be the biggest state that had a dedicated scene during the Sunnyvale Golfland/ Arcade Infinity era. Then Round 1 came in with official network support for IIDX and other BEMANI games which has spread out since all over the country. I used to live there and if you're in a major metropolitan or even a moderately sized one, you should be able to find a Round 1 and meet people there.
If you want to hang out with SDVX players the mother Round 1 US location is on a really crappy mall in Puente Hills. In my time there I've never seen the SDVX cabs empty it's always being played. Same crappy mall has a McDonald's in the food court with a 2 BigMacs for 5 dollars deal lol.
If you want to hang out with SDVX players the mother Round 1 US location is on a really crappy mall in Puente Hills. In my time there I've never seen the SDVX cabs empty it's always being played. Same crappy mall has a McDonald's in the food court with a 2 BigMacs for 5 dollars deal lol.
Post #3 · Posted at 2020-11-16 12:40:26pm 3.4 years ago
I can't say much regarding the LA area, since I rarely go there to begin with, but the Inland Empire has had its fair share of DDR cabinets! I wanna say in the late-90's/early-00's, Pharaoh's Lost Kingdom in Redlands was the go-to place (at its peak, anyway) because they seemed to have the newest versions at the time, and even had a ParaParaParadise and a DrumMania cab at one point. If you were good at the game, 9 times out of 10, you would easily draw crowds.
And, of course, Gameworks in Ontario was a super popular hangout in its prime; they had a good amount of DDR cabinets (I think they had a couple Extremes and a USA?) and even had a HipHopMania Complete Mix 2 cab (The last time I was there was around 2005-ish?).
The area sort of had a lull once we reached the mid-2000's; DDR Freak was the only resource for finding local DDR cabinets in the area, and most of them in the area only had a DDR Extreme, even as we started getting later versions.
Round1 then opened in Moreno Valley Mall, and it changed everything. We didn't have DDR X3 like Puente Hills Mall had, but we had the distinction of having the first IIDX cab in the I.E (that we know of), and as we started getting games like SDVX and the other contemporaries, I'd stumble across more people whenever I went on the weekends, and it felt like being a kid at Pharaoh's during its peak again.
And, of course, Gameworks in Ontario was a super popular hangout in its prime; they had a good amount of DDR cabinets (I think they had a couple Extremes and a USA?) and even had a HipHopMania Complete Mix 2 cab (The last time I was there was around 2005-ish?).
The area sort of had a lull once we reached the mid-2000's; DDR Freak was the only resource for finding local DDR cabinets in the area, and most of them in the area only had a DDR Extreme, even as we started getting later versions.
Round1 then opened in Moreno Valley Mall, and it changed everything. We didn't have DDR X3 like Puente Hills Mall had, but we had the distinction of having the first IIDX cab in the I.E (that we know of), and as we started getting games like SDVX and the other contemporaries, I'd stumble across more people whenever I went on the weekends, and it felt like being a kid at Pharaoh's during its peak again.