Summer Drives Sports Indoor

It's holiday time. But, the heat is killing. And with a lot of time on hands due to summer hols, young sports buffs who haven't escaped to cooler climes are flocking to games parlours instead.

"Video games are gaining popularity with soaring temperatures. People can't play cricket or basketball in such heat. So, they prefer the cool interiors of such fun places," says Murlidhar Rao, manager of Prime Time.

Prime Time, one of the biggest video games parlour with more than a dozen games including Sega car races, fighter plane shootouts, speed hockey etc, is doing brisk business, selling around 2,000 to 3,000 of Rs 5 coins a day.

Video Games were originally conceived as a way to keep occupied the extra crowd coming in for other games, as a filler for the time spent waiting for a chance at other games. But, now they are catching on as games in their own right, says Piyush K Dak, managing director of The Alleygator.

"They are part of complete family entertainment, and can be finished in a short duration and are cheap. Thus, an important part of any entertainment parlor," he says. The Alleygator has about half a dozen games, including demolition zone, shooting games, air hockey, Wild Wild West -- a pinball kind of game, Slam n Jam throw ball, besides WillyBStinky, a smaller and cruder version of bowling. The centre averages about 500 to 700 games a day.

Most of the equipment and machines are imported from the US, Japan and Singapre. At most centres, the coins are priced at Rs 10 each. But, some games require two or more coins, even for a single player.

At Lucky Video Games, however, each game costs only one rupee for a 10 minute game. Md Naimuddin, owner, says he has five machines, where people can play any game (all timed) by inserting a casette, which may contain anywhere upto a thousand games. At least a 100 people visit his parlour a day, he claims.

The games are popular not just with children and teenagers, but also mothers and grandfathers, says Malik Lakhani of Krazi Chicks. The range of games include the usual fare of car and bike racing, adventure games and balloon shooting, at its two outlets in Tilak Road and Lumbini Garden.

And, parlours are trying innovative ways to keep their customers happy. Take for instance, Thunderbowl, one of the oldest and popular parlours in town, which has car and bike racing, adventure games, virtual snowboarding, speed hockey and other such games. "We are planning a tie up with Stop Over, Shoppers' Stop, for exchange of video games, so as to give customers some relief from the same games," says D V Sunder Krishna.

Other centres such as The Alleygator have redemption games or instant gift games, where after accumulating some points or tickets, players can redeem them for gifts ranging from chocolates, soft drinks, free coins/hours to even free lunches. The Alleygator is even offering a 14" color Sony TV for 75,000 points.

So, this summer, have a chill out time at the video parlours!