Get Your Game On: Petoskey‘s izone Online Gaming Center

Feb. 16, 2005

Petoskey resident Jerry Christin and his son, Jerry (the third), were in Florida visiting relatives when the older Jerry found out that the younger Jerry had been spending much of his time decamped to a video gaming center in Fort Lauderdale. Wondering just what the draw was for his son, Jerry senior went along to take a look - and quickly said to himself, “Now this is just what Petoskey needs.”
According to Christin, gaming centers are still a growing business in the United States. With a higher concentration in California and Florida than in other parts of the country, Michigan is one of the states that, perhaps because of the long winter season, is becoming more and more open to the gaming center idea; meanwhile, in Europe and Asia, gaming centers are an accepted feature of most cities. In South Korea alone, there are over 26,000 online gaming centers, many of them so popular that people wait overnight in sleeping bags to secure a spot in line in order to play.

GAMER DESTINATION
Petoskey’s izone Online Gaming Center - although not seeing too many backed-up lines just yet - is nevertheless becoming a popular destination for the region’s gamers, and for those just looking for something fun and different to do.
“The kids don’t have a lot to do around here,” Christin muses, “so it’s definitely good for them, and we’re always glad to see them. But it’s not just kids that we get in here; there are really several markets of videogamers. Of course there are the regular gamers - kind of our core audience - which includes kids as young as nine, young adults, and adult videogame fans. And it’s not just guys, either - about 10 to 15% of our gamers are female, and that’s an audience that is growing. We also welcome people from out of town, and companies.”
Companies? Christin explains, “Yes - we have a lot of games where you have to devise strategies and work as a team - so the idea is to have companies bring their employees here to work on team skills and get away from the day-to-day grind.”
Now that would be a company perk that just about everyone would enjoy. And there’s room for plenty to play in a real gamers’ atmosphere.

PURPLE HAZE
You won’t catch any of that retina-burning department store lighting here. Christin has painted the izone Online Gaming Center walls varying shades of purple, navy blue, and black, and installed blacklight bulbs in all of the overhead fixtures. It’s still modern, clean, and friendly, but appropriately dim, so that gamers can really lose themselves in whatever game environment they’ve chosen.
Comfortable chairs sit in front of each PC, and a series of “TV rockers” await the XBox players. And there are snacks available, too - popcorn, various candies and chips, Sobe drinks and sodas - so that hardcore gamers don’t even have to leave to make a run to the corner store.
“We’re trying to make this a true gamers’ hangout,” Christin enthuses. “We’ve got 18 PC stations available, and three XBoxes - all of the XBoxes can be linked together. And, with a gigabyte ethernet, there’s virtually no lag.”
Christin set up all of the computers and connections himself, with the help of friend and izone Online Gaming Center staffer Leif Kolt, a fellow computer enthusiast and gamer.
So just how does the izone Online Gaming Center work? Well, according to Christin, it’s almost as simple as turning on your videogame system at home. “You just come in and set up an account,” he chuckles, “it’s a no-brainer. Then you buy time, normally in hour increments. You can set up local games or play on our LAN - play just with your friends, or with people around the world. It’s pretty great.”

AGE OF MYTHOLOGY
The izone Online Gaming Center, a member of www.igames.org, offers a host of regular games on a speedy SDSL connection - including the likes of Halo, Age of Mythology, Star Wars Battlefront, Neverwinter Nights, Command and Conquer Generals, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Battlefield 1942, Men of Valor, Doom 3, America’s Army, and Unreal Tournament 2004, all on PC. On XBox, they’ve got Grand Theft Auto, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, Fable, and Halo 2, along with Tiger Woods 2005 and Madden NFL 2005 for the sports fans. They hold fairly regular tournaments, too, which adds to the gaming excitement (a Halo 2 tournament is coming up in February). And you can keep up on the latest available games and tournaments on their website, www.izoneogc.com.
Regarding pricing, there are several options - a mere $4.75 per hour gets you your choice of PC or XBox games (just compare that to the amount of quarters you’d dump into an arcade game, and you’ll see the real deal you’re getting), or you can take advantage
of their special “Play All
Day” rates or discounted
gaming memberships. On College Night, $12 lets you play from 6 p.m. to close. And keep an eye out for their various promotions and specials, too.
With all that izone Online Gaming Center has to offer, this place is definitely several steps above the typical videogame room. “We’re not an arcade,” Christin explains, “and we’re not just for kids, either. Everyone is welcome - we offer a safe, clean, fun, friendly environment. Those are my key beliefs for this business, whether you’re here to compete, try out a new game, or just hang out and socialize. And, most of all, we know games!”

The izone Online Gaming Center is located at 446 East Mitchell Street in downtown Petoskey, across the street from the old public library and in the small plaza next to The Inkspot. Open Mon.-Thurs. to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday until midnight, Sunday to 9 pm. Telephone 231-487-0667.