May, 2016 | The Central Coast's Premier Mobile Video Game Truck for Birthdays & Fundraisers

Here we are, nearing our 5th month of bringing our Mobile Game Theater to Central Coast families and schools, so we thought we’d let you in on some insights as to what our young (and young at heart) customers have been requesting! Without further ado, here are EZPZ’s 7 Most Requested Video Games!

7. Mario Kart

Mario Kart makes our list mainly because it’s a great game for the non-gamers! The controls are fairly simple, and the game is pretty straightforward. Go fast! Don’t run over any banana peels! Mario Kart is great for our kids in early elementary school as well as parents and grandparents who just want to join in the fun!

6. NBA 2K16

Let’s face it, this game may not have made the list if it wasn’t for a certain Bay Area team, with their MOST certain MVP point guard, on the threshold of winning their second consecutive NBA title (as of this writing). I would’ve thought that our customers would be fighting over who gets to be Steph Curry, but they’ve been pretty good about taking turns! Now, if they’d just learn not to try to make half-court shots EVERY time down the court…

5. Just Dance 2016

Our second Nintendo title on our list, Just Dance is mostly a hit with the girls, though it’s GREAT to see the boys show off their moves too! Our last party up near Watsonville also had some moms AND grandmas dancing away as well!

4. Halo

XBox’s venerable franchise is still a favorite for kids and grownups alike. And unlike most of our other games, Halo can be played with more than 4 players via system link! We had a birthday party near Toro Park last weekend where Halo was being played on 3 of our 7 screens at once! TONS of smack talk being thrown down!

3. Minecraft

I’ll admit it. Even though I consider myself a gamer, have been for eons…I just don’t get Minecraft. I’m glad kids love it, it’s GREAT for our family-friendly atmosphere…my son’s school even has an elective in Minecraft (they cover school subjects while doing so, like art and geography). Just not my cup of tea. Now I feel old.

2. Madden 16

Baseball may be America’s pastime, but football is America’s passion. Kids and dads alike love to head to the virtual gridiron! Often our game truck erupts with top-of-the-lungs SCREAMING after a long touchdown pass or a great interception!

And now…our current most popular title:

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

The latest installment of the CoD franchise, Black Ops III is a terrific first-person shooter. Even though it’s rated M for mature, its multiplayer mode is relatively tame, especially compared to story mode. I had two parties this weekend where the parents asked that this game not be played…it’s the only time where kids get sad in a game truck! Once they start playing one of our other great titles, they’re happy again. 🙂

Some of our honorable mentions would include WWE 2016, Star Wars Battlefront, Super Smash Brothers, Mortal Kombat XL and Street Fighter V.

With new games coming down the pike like Doom and The Division, this list will surely need to be updated! Check back with us in a few months!

So now that we have a few months of active business under our belts, we’re getting the gist of what our customers like, and what they’re most curious about! So this blog entry is a compilation of the most frequently asked questions I get (not to be confused with our FAQ page that addresses things like company policies, reservation requirements, etc).

“How did you come up with this great business idea?”
I wish it was my idea! Honestly, game trucks have been around for a while; they’re just new to the Central Coast. There’s a franchise called GameTruck that began in 2006 in Arizona…to my knowledge, they’re the first to come up with this unique service. Today there are a few different game truck manufacturers/franchisors throughout the country. Our truck was built (and briefly operated) by Rockin Rollin Video Game Parties in North Carolina. Their owners, Dana and Ed Gainer, are the most honest and down-to-earth of the whole bunch, build a GREAT game truck, and we’re honored to be associated with them.

“Why did you decide to go into the game truck business?”
It was really seeing a need in our community that wasn’t being completely fulfilled. I have a 12-year old son, and he and his group of friends pretty much do the same things over and over for their birthdays: roller skating at Water City in Marina, bowling at Monterey Lanes, pizza and a movie, etc. It used to be Jump-n-Around in Sand City before they got too big.

I had heard about game trucks before – I think there was a Games2U truck on the Big Island of Hawaii, where we once lived – and so I called a game truck business in San Jose. They didn’t return my message. It was then that I realized that a game truck would be a great fit right in here on the Central Coast! This was last August…we drove our game truck from North Carolina back home in December. Here we are in early May, with 4 months under our belt already!

“So your son must really love your new business, right?”
Well, yes and no. I put him to work! The floor of the game truck needs to swept, the controllers need to be sanitized, the TVs need to be unfingerprinted, the seats need to be cleaned and Armor-Alled, and so on. If I need to learn about a new game, then he gets to play with me. 🙂

“Are you a gamer? You must play all the time!”
Yes, I am a gamer, I’d play all day if I could. But…I hardly play anymore! There’s no time! All the things that come with running a business, like planning, bookkeeping, marketing, networking, social media, blogging, maintenance…I have less time for gaming!

“What’s behind that door (the one in the back)?”
I try to come up with something different each time I’m asked this. My office. The bathroom. The members-only club. The kitchen. Truth be told, it’s just a back door. 🙂 I was once asked “is there a downstairs?”

If you have a question that isn’t answered here or on our “real” FAQ page, contact us and ask away!