Ground Kontrol is a bar

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

 and video arcade

Video arcade

An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...

 in Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Recognized as one of the best arcades in the US, it is known for preserving games from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games. It also serves as a venue for DJs, live bands and Rock Band

Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

events. Also of note is its collection of 28 pinball

Pinball

Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...

 tables. Ground Kontrol is meant to be a social experience blending both hardcore and casual gamers with video games and pinball machines.

Notable events

A high score competition was held jointly at Ground Kontrol, Aftershock RetroGames Arcade in Madison, Wisconsin and the Houston Area Arcade Group Expo in Houston, Texas in June of 2004. Twin Galaxies

Twin Galaxies

Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...

 maintained the results of the competitions for world record consideration.

"Slugfest" is a fighting game tournament sponsored by and held at Ground Kontrol featuring a rotating selection of fighting games in a head-to-head elimination tournament.

On September 2, 2008, Ground Kontrol hosted a launch party for Rock Band 2

Rock Band 2

Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...

in conjunction with Liquid Development and Someday Lounge, a venue also located in Portland's Old Town district. Attended by developers from Harmonix Music Systems

Harmonix Music Systems

Harmonix Music Systems is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States...

, it provided a preview of the game ten days in advance of its official release.

On September 8, 2009, The Beatles:Rock Band was made available one day prior to the official launch in time for a special Beatles centric Rock Band Tuesday.

The second annual Portland Pinbrawl pinball tournament was held at Ground Kontrol on April 18, 2010. Contestant Jeff Gagnon won the tournament, with 2009's winner Cayle George placing 5th. The number two ranked player in the US, Keith Elwin, finished 9th overall.

The third annual Portland Pinbrawl pinball tournament was held at Ground Kontrol on April 17, 2011.

In 2010, Ground Kontrol was the winner of three arcades competing in Stride gum

Stride (gum)

Stride is a brand of chewing gum created by Cadbury Adams . Its packs usually consist of 14 pieces of gum.-Current Flavors:There are 17 flavors in total.* Always Mandarin* Eternal Melon* Forever Fruit 2.0...

's "Save the Arcades 2" contest. The owners have used the $25,000 prize to help fund a full remodeling of the arcade and to buy more games.

Remodel

On December 1, 2010, Ground Kontrol moved to a temporary location at 32 NW 5th Ave, and then to a second temporary location at 10 NW 5th Ave on December 10. The interior at the original location was stripped to the studs so that a remodel could take place. During the renovation, a kitchen and new seating were added, the restrooms were moved and the decor took on a Tron-esque vibe.

Local Portland firm Jessica Helgerson Interior Design worked with the owners of Ground Kontrol to design the revised interior space. Custom lighting systems featuring heavy use of LEDs and fiber optics were designed and constructed and added to the remodel. The new bathrooms feature Pacman tilework and translucent, backlit counter tops. Combined with hanging lamps in polyhedral shapes and fiber optic cable highlighting the edges of the interior arches a TRON

Tron (franchise)

The Tron franchise began in 1982 with the Walt Disney Pictures film Tron. It was followed by various film tie-ins, a comic series and the 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy...

 inspired interior was realized.

Music Selection

A sound system inside Ground Kontrol is used for background music. In the evening, local and visiting DJ's play different types of music varying by the day of the week. The sound system and stage is utilized for Rock Band Tuesdays which also serves to provide the music for that evening.

• Monday "Service Industrial Night", Industrial Music
  Industrial music
  Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
  
  
• Tuesday "Rock Band Tuesdays", Various
• Wednesday "TRONix", Electronic Music
  Electronic music
  Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
  
  
• Thursday "Second Variety", punk rock
  Punk rock
  Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
  
  /rock/garage
• Friday "Journeys by DJ", hip-hop, electro, dub, dance and more
• Saturday "Reaganomix" 80s new wave music
  New Wave music
  New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
  
  , pop and electro
• Sunday "Black Sunday", Heavy Metal Music
  Heavy metal music
  Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
  
  

Recognition

Ground Kontrol was recognized in the "Best of the City" list for 2008 in Portland Monthly Magazine for Rock Band Tuesdays.
In July, 2010, Sunset Magazine included Ground Kontrol in the "Best of Portland: Hotels, Dining, and Attractions 2010" publication calling it the "Old Hot Spot" in Portland's Chinatown. The San Francisco Chronicle listed Ground Kontrol as one of "Five places to revisit the '80s".

Arcade Games

• 1943 (in "Trigger Zone" Cabinet)
• 720°
• Alien Vs. Predator
• Area 51 (in "Area 51/Maximum Force" cabinet)
• Area 51: Site 4
  Area 51: Site 4
  Area 51: Site 4 is a light gun arcade game developed by Atari Games in 1998, and sequel to the original Area 51, picking up where that game left off. Though the graphics have been improved, they rely on the same FMV streaming technology as the original, and the gameplay remains largely the same as...
  
  
• Arkanoid (in "Multicade" cabinet)
• Asteroids
• Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja (in "Street Justice" cabinet)
• Battle Garegga
  Battle Garegga
  is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released by 8ing/Raizing in 1996.-Battle Garegga New Version/Type 2:It is a version without hidden fighters, Extended Mode, Harder Mode, Stage Edit, Special mode, and with different enemy bullets.-Story:...
  
   (in "Trigger Zone" cabinet)
• Battlezone
• Big Buck Hunter
• Bubble Bobble
• BurgerTime
• Bubbles
• Bust-A-Move Again (Tetris Multi-Game #2)
• Centipede (also in "Multicade" cabinet)
• Championship Sprint
• Cruisn Exotica x 2
• Crystal Castles (in "Multicade" cabinet)
• Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
• Defender
• Dig Dug (also in “Namco Classics” cabinet)
• Discs of TRON
  Discs of Tron
  Discs of Tron is the second arcade game based on 1982 Disney film Tron.-Description:While the first Tron arcade game had several mini-games , Discs of Tron is inspired by the Jai alai sequence in the original 1982 film in which Kevin Flynn is forced to play against Crom, leading to Crom being...
  
  
• Donkey Kong
  Donkey Kong (video game)
  is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady, from a...
  
  
• Double Dragon II: The Revenge
• Dr. Mario
• Dragon Blaze
  Dragon Blaze
  Dragon Blaze is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released in 2000 by Psikyo. It was ported in 2004 to the PlayStation 2 as part of the Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 3:Sol Divide & Dragon Blaze compilation...
  
   (in "Trigger Zone" cabinet)
• Final Fight (in "Street Justice" cabinet)
• Frogger
• Galaga
• Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
• Golden Tee 99
• Gorf
  Gorf
  Gorf is an arcade game released in 1981 by Midway Mfg., whose name was advertised as an acronym for "Galactic Orbiting Robot Force". It is a multiple-mission fixed shooter with five distinct modes of play, essentially making it five games in one...
  
  
• House Of The Dead
• Joust (also in “Multi-Williams” cabinet)
• Mappy (in “Namco Classics” cabinet)
• Mario Bros.
• Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
• Maximum Force (in "Area 51/Maximum Force" cabinet)
• Millipede (in "Multicade" cabinet)
• Missile Command
• Moon Patrol
• Mortal Kombat II
• Mr. Driller 2 (in downstairs “Tetris Multi-Game" cabinet)
• Ms. Pac-Man (fast)
• NBA Jam
• NFL Blitz 99
• Ninja Gaiden (in “Street Justice” cabinet)
• Pac-Man (fast) (also in “Namco Classics” cabinet)
• Paperboy
• Punch-Out!!
• Q*bert
• Raiden II
• Rally-X (in “Namco Classics” cabinet)
• Rampage World Tour
• Robotron: 2084 (also in “Williams Multi-Game” cabinet)
• San Francisco Rush 2049
• The Simpsons
• Sinistar
  Sinistar
  Sinistar is an arcade game released by Williams in 1982. It belongs to a class of video games from the 1980s called "twitch games". Other "twitch games" include Tempest, Defender, and Robotron: 2084. Sinistar was developed by Sam Dicker, Jack Haeger, Noah Falstein, RJ Mical and Richard Witt...
  
  
• Smash TV
  Smash TV
  Smash TV is a 1990 arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams. Home versions were developed for various platforms and most were published by Acclaim Entertainment.-Description:...
  
  
• Soulcalibur II
• Splat!
• Stargate
• Star Wars (1983, upright cabinet version)
• Street Fighter III: Third Strike
• Street Fighter Alpha 3
• Strikers 1945
  Strikers 1945
  Strikers 1945 is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released in 1995 by Japanese company Psikyo. It was followed by two sequels, Strikers 1945 II in 1997 and Strikers 1945 III , as well as a version for SNK's Neo Geo called Strikers 1945 Plus Strikers 1945 is a vertically scrolling...
  
   (in "Trigger Zone" cabinet)
• Sunset Riders
• Super Street Fighter II: Turbo
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Tekken Tag Tournament
• Tempest
• Tetris
• Toobin
• Track & Field
• Tron (upright cabinet version)
• Two Crude (in "Street Justice" cabinet)
• Vampire Savior
• Virtua Cop 2
  Virtua Cop 2
  Virtua Cop 2 is a light gun arcade game, released in 1995 and developed internally at Sega by their AM2 studio. It was ported to home systems on the Sega Saturn in 1996. It was released in PC in 1997 and Dreamcast in 2000...
  
  
• World Class Bowling Deluxe
• X-Men
  X-Men (arcade game)
  X-Men is an arcade game produced by Konami in 1992. It is a side-scrolling beat 'em up based on the characters of the same name under license from Marvel Comics. The animation of the X-Men and the supervillains are based on the 1989 X-Men pilot episode titled X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men...
  
   (six-player version)
• Xevious
  Xevious
  is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1982. It was designed by Masanobu Endō. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. In Brazil the arcade cabinet was printed with the name 'COLUMBIA' for the game, while the...
  
   (in “Namco Classics” cabinet)

Pinball Machines

• The Addams Family
  The Addams Family (pinball)
  The Addams Family is the best selling pinball machine since the 1930's, having sold 20,270 units. Manufactured by Midway , it is a solid state electronic game...
  
  
• Attack from Mars
  Attack From Mars
  Attack from Mars is a 1995 pinball game designed by Brian Eddy, and released by Midway .In this game, Martians began to invade the Earth, and it's up to the player to destroy the Martian fleet, save all the major cities, and then head off to Mars to destroy the Martian empire and conquer Mars.Among...
  
  
• Batman Forever
  Batman Forever (pinball)
  Batman Forever is a pinball machine released in June 1995 by Sega Pinball. It is based on the motion picture of the same name.- Features :Uses the 192x64 "supersize" dot matrix display with Motorola 68000-based 16-bit controller...
  
  
• Cirqus Voltaire
  Cirqus Voltaire
  Cirqus Voltaire is a 1997 pinball game, designed by John Popadiuk and released by Midway Games . The theme involves the player performing many different marvels in order to join the circus...
  
  
• Demolition Man
  Demolition Man (pinball)
  Demolition Man is a Williams pinball machine released in February 1994. It is based on the motion picture of the same name. It is part of WMS' SuperPin line of widebody games....
  
  
• Doctor Who
  Doctor Who (pinball)
  Doctor Who is a pinball machine designed by Bill Pfutzenreuter and Barry Oursler, and released by Midway in September 1992. It is based on the television series of the same name...
  
  
• Fish Tales
  Fish Tales (pinball)
  Fish Tales is a 1992 pinball game released by Williams. It is one of the top 20 most produced pinball machines of all time, selling more than 13,000 units.-Overview:...
  
  
• Funhouse
• King Pin
• The Lord of the Rings
  The Lord of the Rings (pinball)
  The Lord of the Rings is a 2003 pinball game designed by George Gomez and distributed by Stern Pinball. It is based on the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which was first released in 2001...
  
  
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest
• Red & Ted's Road Show
  Red & Ted's Road Show
  Red & Ted's Road Show is a 1994 widebody pinball game designed by Pat Lawlor and released by Williams. It is part of WMS' SuperPin line of widebody games....
  
  
• Revenge from Mars
  Revenge From Mars
  Revenge from Mars is a 2000 pinball machine manufactured by Midway . It is the sequel to Attack from Mars, that also has the same theme....
  
  
• Scared Stiff
  Scared Stiff (pinball)
  Scared Stiff is a 1996 pinball game designed by Dennis Nordman and released by Midway , featuring horrorshow-hostess Elvira. It is the follow-up to 1989's Elvira and the Party Monsters, also designed by Nordman.-External links:*...
  
  
• Tales Of The Arabian Nights
• The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot
• The Shadow
• The Simpsons Pinball Party
  The Simpsons Pinball Party
  The Simpsons Pinball Party is a 2003 pinball game released by Stern Pinball.-Content:The Simpsons Pinball Party is based on the animated sitcom The Simpsons that airs on the Fox network...
  
  
• South Park
  South Park (pinball)
  South Park is a 1998 pinball game released by Sega. It is based on the Adult animated TV series of the same name.This game was Sega's last pinball game; production would be continued by Stern Pinball, the successor to Sega Pinball.-Differences:...
  
  
• Spider-Man
  Spider-Man (pinball)
  Released in June 2007, Stern Pinball developed a Spider-Man pinball machine that encompasses all three Spider-Man theatrical releases .-Game details:...
  
  
• The Next Generation
  Star Trek: The Next Generation (pinball)
  Star Trek: The Next Generation is a widebody pinball game, designed by Steve Ritchie and released in November 1993 by Williams Electronics. It was part of WMS' SuperPin series , and was based on the TV series. It is the only pinball machine that features three separate highscore-lists...
  
  
• Stargate
• Judgment Day
• Theatre of Magic
  Theatre of Magic
  Theatre of Magic is a pinball machine produced by Midway .-Gameplay:Main mission is to get to the "Grand Finale" by finishing:...
  
  
• White Water
  White Water (pinball)
  White Water is a 1992 pinball game designed by Dennis Nordman and released by Williams. The theme is based on White water rafting, which is reflected in the game's 'wild' ramps and very fast gameplay.-External links:***...
  
  

History

Since opening in 1999, Ground Kontrol has undergone several changes. The arcade was originally created and opened by Betty Farrier, and Kneel Cohn

Kneel Cohn

Kneel Cohn in The Bronx, New York is the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist for The Dead Stars On Hollywood, known for the songs "Prozac Smile" and "Flaunt it Like This"...

 of the band The Dead Stars On Hollywood

The Dead Stars On Hollywood

The Dead Stars on Hollywood are an American rock band based in New York City, that incorporates elements of glam, new wave and goth into their alternative rock sound...

. In March 2003 it came under new ownership by Timewarp Incorporated. Also of note is the September 2004 move to a new location and the addition of a beer and wine bar in May 2005. Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...

nights began in the summer of 2007 and switched to Rock Band on November 20, 2007, that game's release date.

In the 2005 film The Comedians of Comedy

The Comedians of Comedy

The Comedians of Comedy is an occasional stand-up comedy tour featuring alternative comedians Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford that was documented in a 2005 film and 2005 Comedy Central television series of the same name, both directed by Michael Blieden...

, Brian Posehn

Brian Posehn

Brian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...

visits Ground Kontrol's original location on SW 12th Ave in Portland, OR.

The 2006 documentary film "High Score" features an interview with co-owner Anthony Ramos at Ground Kontrol.

External links

• Ground Kontrol (official website)
• Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade (Facebook)
• GroundKontrol (Twitter)