Game store offers cure to boredom

By Evan Riddell

Western Herald

When returning to Kalamazoo this fall, students may notice West Michigan Avenue looks a lot brighter than last year.

Titan Games opened just before the spring semester ended, and got on its feet just as the bulk of the student population left Kalamazoo. 

Now, with school back in session, owner Marcus King is quickly making the construction-zone-orange building the coolest place to find whatever pop culture oddity one needs.

The shelves are brimming with used video games, DVDs, CDs, graphic novels and monthly issues, Dungeon Master Guides, familiar and strange board games, and if one looks hard enough, a Sega Dreamcast, and Thor’s vaunted hammer.

But the store wasn’t always so open to so many different kinds of entertainment. The original Titan Games in Battle Creek was first devoted solely to board games and card games. Many video-oriented gamers were disappointed in the non-presence of their beloved game-systems.

“The customers would come in and stand in my huge store, completely surrounded by over $150,000 in merchandise, and say to me, ‘Where are your games?’” King said.

For a time, King’s fondness for old-school entertainment outweighed his business sense.

“Early on, I thought it was a hoot to say, ‘We only carry games for people that have friends to play games with,’ but it occurred to me we were turning away so many customers who come to the store to spend money and that’s f—ing stupid. I wised up a bit.”

Now, used video games are among Titan Games’ top sellers.

With the influx of new students, King sees his little shop as not just a place to pick up the newest “Amazing Spider-Man,” but as a hive of activity Every night of the week. He gives anyone interested something new and entertaining to do. 

Mondays through Thursdays, the back room hosts anime, sci-fi, and comedy films

“We teach board games Thursday nights 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., it costs nothing to participate; just come in and learn a game,” King said. 

With any board game on tap, one can join a game of “Risk” or “Monopoly,” but the real fun is learning rarer games like “Puerto Rico” and “Settlers of Catan.”

Friday nights are devoted to the popular card battle game, “Magic: the Gathering.” From 6 p.m. until 12 a.m., gamers can pit their decks against one another or pick up new cards and trade with other players.

If a “Magic” player purchases four or more booster packs, they can participate in the Titan Games booster draft.

Saturdays at Titan Games plays host the popular table-top strategy game “Warhammer 40,000.” From 12 p.m. until 12 a.m., the back room gives “40K” fans a meeting place to show off newly painted models, play a game, or to pick up tips and tricks. 

King encourages players to make a purchase while they play. Luckily, they carry plenty of miniatures and equipment for the discerning customer. 

The shop also boasts three gaming tables for maximum playing time.

“People come for six or eight hours and get in two or even three games,” King said. “I haven’t had anyone come in for the full 12 hours yet, but they’d certainly be welcome to.”

With all the time spent in the store, customers don’t even need to leave to eat. King and his family employees have it covered.

“We offer a few snacks here, my daughters make hot dogs and hot pockets and we sell a good selection of sodas and other drinks,” he said.

With all the different merchandise in the store, King can only describe his wares one way: “What I sell is fun in a box or a book format,” he said.

He understands his customer base has a short attention span, and is constantly shifting his shelves to maximize profits.

“A year from now, I don’t know what we’ll be carrying,” he said. “I’ll be carrying whatever my customers really want us to carry. I’m a retailer, whatever my customers demand is where we’ll head.”

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Posted by heraldstaff on Sep 16 2009. Filed under Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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