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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.35.122.169 (talk) at 17:10, 21 May 2010 (Undid revision 363342212 by Zero1328 (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mana Bar
Map
Address420 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley
LocationBrisbane, Australia
OwnerGuy "Yug" Blomberg
Pras Moorthy
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
Shay Leighton
TypeBar
OpenedMarch 20, 2010[1][2]
Website
Official Website

Mana Bar is the first Australian cocktail bar and video gaming lounge located in Brisbane, Australia within its biggest night-life and entertainment district, Fortitude Valley.[1][2][3][4][5] The bar held its opening event on March 20, 2010.[2] The bar allows visitors to play current generation gaming console free or charge while enjoying video game themed drinks.[1][4][5][6] The bar is open seven nights a week and often runs special events such as prizes, giveaways, live entertainment and special guests.[1][6]

The Mana Bar is a collaboration between Guy "Yug" Blomberg, co-creator of Australian Gamer, Pras Moorthy, senior designer at The Creative Assembly, video game journalist Ben Croshaw, and Shay Leighton, creative director of local cocktail bar The Bowery. [7][8]

History

The idea was first conceived by Australian Gamer co-creator Guy Blomberg, in December 2007 after a house party in which Guy himself noted the successful combination of alcohol and video games made for an excellent social environment.[9] Guy was later joined in this enterprise by Ben "Yahtzee" Crowshaw, Pras Moorthy and Shay Leighton. [10] After years of planning and several pushed back opening dates, the Mana Bar opened on March 20, 2010, making it the first ever Australian venue allowing patrons to both consume alcohol and play video games.[11] It is also reported that there are only a handful of venues in the world that offer a similar experience.[10] Despite the 50 person capacity of the venue, the opening night saw over 100 line up, with the waiting time for some reported to be up to three hours long.[12]

The Mana Bar has received significant media coverage from prime video game and geek culture sites including Kotaku,[13] Destructoid[2] and Gizmodo.[14] and Joystiq[4]

Video game industry relations

The Mana Bar has strong ties with the video game industry, and has been used by developers and publishers as a promotional venue where they can preview or launch their games. This has included the launch of Blazblu,[15] the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta, Just Cause 2[15] and Raskulls [16] all being playable at the venue prior to the official launch of the games, the latter being a preview exclusive to the Mana Bar.

Politics

In March 2010, the Legislative Assembly of Queensland released a report into alcohol-related violence, suggesting a connection to violent video games. On April 20, 2010 the Mana Bar responded to the report, stating that there has not been a single violent incident within their present four weeks of operation, and encouraged the Queensland Government to include the Mana Bar in their future studies. [17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Mana Bar opening event on Saturday, 20th of March". Market for Home Computing and Video Games. March 3, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Mana Bar: Australia's first gaming destination". Destructoid. March 23, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  3. ^ Turi, Tim (January 11, 2010). "Australia Opening Their First Video Game Pub, Mana Bar". Gameinformer. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Gilbert, Ben (January 10, 2010). "Yahtzee and others to open Australian video game bar". Joystiq. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Australia's First Dedicated Videogame Bar Opening February 2010". IGN. January 11, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Cheer, Dan (January 11, 2010). "Australia's first video gaming bar opens". GamePlanet. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  7. ^ "Australia's First Video Game Bar". Mana Bar. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  8. ^ "The Mana Bar opens February 2010". tsumea. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  9. ^ "The Mana Bar". AustralianGamer.com. 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  10. ^ a b "Yug and some other guys are opening a bar in brisbane". AustralianGamer.com. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  11. ^ "Mana Bar is Australia's first". ourbrisbane.com. 2010-03-20. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  12. ^ "The Mana Bar: cocktails and gaming a potent mix? « OXCGN – Xbox Gaming News Reviews Views". Oxcgn.com. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  13. ^ Wildgoose, David (2010-01-12). "Australia's First Video Game Bar Opening Next Month | Kotaku Australia". Kotaku.com.au. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  14. ^ Broughall, Nick (2010-01-11). "Brisbane Gets Australia's First Video Game Bar | Gizmodo Australia". Gizmodo.com.au. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  15. ^ a b Toastfarmer20 Mar, 2010 (2010-03-20). "What's on at the Mana Bar - PALGN Video Game News - PAL Gaming Network". Palgn.com.au. Retrieved 2010-05-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Mana Bar opening featuring". Raskulls. Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  17. ^ "Microsoft Word - 100317_Final with Chair's signautre.doc" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-05-21.
  18. ^ "20 April 2010 - Mana Bar responds to Queensland Government Inquiry into Alcohol-Related Violence Report". Retrieved 08-05-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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