Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Opens New Gaming Lounge
If you’re the kind of traveler who keeps looking for newer ways to spend time at airports while waiting for your flight, then Seattle–Tacoma International Airport has something for you. The airport now offers a chance for passengers to play retro video games for free. The aim is to attract not just travelers of a certain age who grew up playing these games but also to spark curiosity about them among the younger generation.
Sky Gamerz
Travelers who are planning to fly out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) now have the option to play retro video games at the recently opened Sky Gamerz gaming lounge.
The area stays true to its retro video game theme with dark interiors accompanied by pink and green neon lights. Seattle is the first airport to have this gaming lounge that also features beverages and snacks for passengers to enjoy while they play games. Joe Pucci, Director of Operations at SEA Airport for SSP, commented,
“I’m looking forward to guests and travelers coming and just being blown away, by not only the concept of Sky Gamerz, but the food at Sky Gamerz. The food is made fresh every day in the restaurant, and on top of that we have really cool drinks that our beverage team has come up with that are a perfect fit.”
Retro Games
The lounge is the brainchild of H. Lamar Willis and Jonathan Ford along with SSP America. It is located at N Concourse and offers a fun experience of mixing games with food and drinks.
The business idea appealed to Willis, who noticed passengers glued to their phones at airports playing video games. With millions of people buying video games every year, there was potential for such a product at an airport.
As far as the selection of the games is concerned, Willis chose a selection that would appeal to a wide audience. He certainly had business travelers in mind who form a substantial portion of the crowd at airports and who have likely played Atari, Ms. Pac-Man, or Donkey Kong. A blog on the Port of Seattle website quotes him as saying,
“Retro is always a safe bet because what we find is that even children like retro video games. Donkey Kong, Ms. Pacman, and Frogger are all games kids are not familiar with but are excited by. And the greatest thing is that at SEA, we don’t charge you to play. This lowers the stakes and also creates that opportunity to try something new.”
Willis was also mindful that games and food would go very well together and that “good food and beverage combined with gaming hasn’t really been done anywhere in the airport space.” He’s happy with how this combination has turned out at Seattle Airport.
For this, he partnered with SSP America, which operates restaurants at several US airports. The fact that he worked there for a few years and was aware of their work ethics made the decision a little easier.
Popular Trend
Gaming and recreational lounges at airports are becoming quite popular. Denver International Airport has a golf simulator called the Golf DEN. Located at Concourse A Center Core Mezzanine Level, West, it is operational daily from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and offers multiple pay-as-you-go sessions.
The simulators aim to provide an immersive golfing experience and use cameras, sensors, and projectors to create these effects. Participants have to hit a ball into the screen, and the simulator calculates where it will land by calculating the speed of the ball and its trajectory.
Last year, it was also reported that Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport will soon offer gaming options in a new state-of-the-art facility. Gameway Inc., which specializes in video game-themed lounges, will construct the facility at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the project has been approved by the Metropolitan Airports Commission.