RESPAWN ARCADE

STORY BY BREANNA MANLEY PHOTOS BY AUDRA SPEARS

Jessica Duncan and her husband, James, had a space problem before they opened Respawn Arcade, Pinball and E-Sports in September at 148 Calhoun St. in Alexander City. They had filled their entire basement with a massive arcade collection. They had designated their basement as the video game hub before the collection outgrew a spare room in their home.

Duncan, a proud Wetumpka native, and James, an Alexander City native, married in 2014 and decided to settle down in Alexander City, James’ hometown. Along with their new business arcade venture, both Duncan and James hold full time jobs in the area.

“I teach in the EMS department at Southern Union in Opelika, and my husband is a firefighter and paramedic with the Alexander City Fire Department,” Duncan said.

The couple started collecting arcade machines in 2015, and their collection is still growing. They already purchased a pinball machine just this month.

With encouragement from friends and family, the couple opened the arcade in town, where their collection is not only on display but also is operational.

“Every person that ever came over to our basement to hang out and play games said we needed to open an arcade, but we weren’t sure because we have full time jobs and kids,” Duncan said. “We’re just busy. We started talking about it though and kind of looking at the future. We just happened into this place, and it worked out,.” Duncan said.

Before opening the arcade was even on the couple’s radar, they played the games with their son. According to Duncan, instead of flipping a coin as others might to settle a question, in this family, they will often challenge each other to a game or two.

“We’ve always liked to play games. We’ve collected standard video games for pretty much our entire lives, and we played arcade games growing up. We always assumed they were really expensive; and then, one day, my husband was scrolling through Craigslist looking for something else when he found an arcade game. It was broken, but it was in our price range. He’s very mechanically inclined. He’s good with fixing stuff, so he started researching. We ended up buying it, and he was able to fix it,” Duncan said.

After their first arcade machine purchase, the couple continued to shop arcade machines online on platforms like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. “We just started looking from then on out. We thought they were thousands of dollars, but we found that they were more in the price range of a few hundred dollars. Little did we know that there were lots more for lots more money, but we started looking for ones that were broken or messed up. We would purchase them and fix them up. We got to the point where we filled the room that the machines were originally sitting in, so we cleared out the basement,” Duncan explained.

When coming across machines on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, the couple found they had to move fast to snatch up the machines. With a growing number of collectors, moving fast is key in obtaining a new piece.

“Back when gas was a lot cheaper, we wouldn’t think anything of hopping in the car and driving to the Atlanta area and pick one up. It wasn’t a big deal back then,” she explained. Through time spent searching for games, they connected with other collectors and sellers. These connections have proven a good thing for them, leading them to even more games.

“A friend of ours actually vends them still. He gets lots of machines from all over the country. He’s from Goodwater, and there are sellers all over,” Duncan said. “Nowadays, it’s a lot harder than it once was to come by these types of games. People are more interested in it, and prices have gone up a lot. There’s a pinball machine we bought for $4,000, an excellent price for that type of machine; now, its value is nearing $6,500. The value of these machines has gone up, which makes it hard to find a cheap machine. This hobby is not for the lighthearted. If you’re patient, deals can be made, but you have to be ready to go right then,” she explained.

Opening Respawn seemed like the perfect way to display the couple’s collection. With endless games at their fingertips, visitors could find a variety of great ways to spend some time with friends and family.

In addition, the Duncans hope to host e-sports competitions as the business grows, reaching an even bigger crowd. E-sports are electronic sports competitions wherein multiple players battle it out on some of the most thrilling games. With a growing popularity surrounding e-sports, this global audience continues to grow as a fun way for gamers to compete against each other. Some e-sports competitions are even live-streamed, which has only attracted more gamers and audience members alike.

The growing popularity of e-sports competitions is known to draw crowds from all over. With plans to host these events in the future at the arcade, tourism numbers in the area could increase.

The arcade operates from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays; and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays. Respawn is closed on Sundays.

When Games are Your Hobbby

Previous Pages: Respawn Arcade occupies a former pawn shop on Calhoun Street; Clockwise from Above Left: Jessica and James Duncan have been collecting pinball and video games for more than six years; They hope to host and stream e-sports game competitions; pinball machines are as popular today as they were 50 years ago.

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