The bartenders at Continue? make sure customers take a shot of hard liquor and fail a sobriety test before getting behind the wheel.
“We want to slow down your reaction time,” co-owner Jonathan Huang (黃上人) says.
Fortunately, the patrons won’t be driving real cars — the routine is part of the joint’s drunken Mario Kart challenge for free drinks and other goodies. Celebrating its soft opening with a New Year’s Eve bash, Continue? is Taipei’s first video game bar where people can sit on a couch and play the latest console games while sipping “Mana Potion” cocktails.
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
Similar establishments have existed in the US and Europe for years, but somehow the trend never spread to Taiwan — an online search shows one other gaming bar in Kaohsiung.
Huang says the Internet cafe culture is partially to blame — bring up public gaming and people will likely imagine hardcore enthusiasts wearing headsets, staring at a computer and furiously punching in commands. Many bars have installed retro arcade machines to appeal to nostalgia, but that didn’t do it for Huang and his friends, who wanted to play the most up-to-date games, drink and socialize at the same time. Their only option was a friend’s apartment, where they could not make too much noise or stay up too late.
After visiting France to observe video game bar chain Meltdown, they decided to start their own establishment just a stone’s throw away from the gaming mecca surrounding Guanghua Digital Plaza.
Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
“We want to get the gamers out of the house,” Huang says. “Many want to drink but don’t want to get dressed up and go to a club. Here, they can feel at ease and meet like-minded people.”
The first floor resembles a lounge with both private booths and public consoles, while the second floor is the bar. It is also where competitions and events take place. When I visit, several televisions are live-broadcasting professional video game tournaments. To prevent people from paying for one drink and hogging the public consoles all night, most games are round-based or require multiple players.
Co-owner Todd Chen (陳聿銘) says that they purposely did not install computers to steer clear of the Internet cafe atmosphere, as they want people to socialize as they would in a regular bar. Huang says the drunken challenges help facilitate interaction and aren’t meant to be taken seriously like a real tournament.
“Getting people drunk levels the playing field,” he explains. “It provides a chance for inexperienced players to beat the experts, and for the experts to loosen up and not focus so much on precise techniques.”
The menu is game-themed — food includes the Angry Bird (chicken) burger, Level Up Lasagna and the Stick of (mozzarella) Truth. Cocktails include Pikachu Thunderbolt, You Died and a Red Hadoken (a deadly Street Fighter technique) shot which consists of chili-infused tequila, cinnamon powder and Bacardi 151 which is set on fire. You then use a straw to inhale the evaporated 151 and leftover cinnamon that the bartender captures in a bag.
“We want you to feel like you got hit by a Hadoken,” Huang says.
Future plans include hosting regular theme nights such as Street Fighter Tuesdays or Sports Thursdays. And if you are the type who likes retro games, the owners say they plan on adding that option soon, too.
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