While some may find it strange to see grandpas and grandmas waving Wii joysticks around with exuberated excitement in the middle of a crowded shopping mall, this is no surprise at St Games, a video games care located at the Cathay.
St Games founders Lee Ming Wei, Gan Chia Huey Gary and Lee Teck Hou believe that video gaming is a fun and wholesome experience that can be enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Since St. Games was first set up in February 2009 at Novena Square 2, it has built a loyal base of gamers who come to hang out with friends, relax and unwind after a hard day’s work or to spend time with their grandchildren. The business got popular with so many that the team decided to shift to larger premises at The Cathay in January 2011, which saw tremendous reception from both old and new customers alike.
From ideation to execution
The trio met while they were serving their military service ten years ago. Coincidentally, all of them landed at the Nanyang Technological University and kept in touch by meeting regularly on campus. During which, they realized that their ambitions to start a business were similar and began participating in business plan competitions together. The result was to put their ideas into action upon graduation.
The concept for St. Games was shaped through some trial and error. “Our initial idea that didn’t work out was an online video games rental website, where subscribers would pay a monthly fee to rent video games,” recalls Gary. Fortunately, they were also successfully managing events by using video games and providing video game entertainment for company functions, such as family days and Dinner and Dance.
As they amassed more gaming equipment, it soon became clear that it would be a waste to not fully utilize them. So they started a video games café to generate additional revenue and keep things going. Gary explains, “We came up with the idea of a video games café when inspired by board games cafes. We figured that since we loved playing social video games such as Guitar Hero, Nintendo Wii and soccer games with our friends, why not adopt a similar approach and start a video games café so that more people could enjoy playing these games together?”
And that marked the birth of St. Games.
An inclusive space of all to have fun and play games
Stepping into the space is every gamer’s dream come true. The spanking new outlet at the Cathay boasts a wide range of gaming equipment, the latest and most popular games and content. Much thought has been placed into making the space as conducive as possible for long hours of joystick waving, body swinging and butt kicking good times.
Making full use of the given floor space to ensure that it is suitable for social gaming is a crucial aspect that the founders looked into. “We carefully calculated the exact space needed for enjoying certain games. For example, the precise space needed for a whole band with guitars, drums and singers and giving adequate space needed to comfortably play Kinect games. This ensures that customers get to fully enjoy their gaming experience, in their own rooms, without having to move too much furniture around or squeeze too much,“ Gary explains.
Long, comfortable sofas with soft cushions span across the areas in front of the gaming consoles. With an emphasis to make the space cosy, inviting and fun with larger open spaces, St. Games is a home away from home for customers who want to relax and unwind while enjoying a game with friends and family.
The space has evolved to become a melting pot of people who come in all shapes and sizes to have a good time. While most of their customers are tertiary students, St Games sees a lot of young working professionals who enjoy the same kinds of games and the occasional grandpa and grandma playing Wii and shooting games with their grandchildren. Gary jokingly tells us that the place even transforms into a part-time childcare center at times, when parents deposit their young children here so that they can go shopping.
On top of their steady stream of customers, companies also regularly engage St. Games to hold team-bonding events. Company staffs enjoy a specially tailored competition with additional game-masters. These events are easily the most entertaining to witness, as it is not often that employees gets to see their senior management mimicking the most demanding of actions while playing Kinect games. Typical moves include sprinting on the spot, throwing javelins, or even grooving on Dance Central to the latest RnB hits.
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