This Is It! bids proper farewell to Arcade-in-a-Box

Over the weekend, players gathered from around the state to Tucson in order to pay their respects to Ed Farias as he bid adieu to his establishment, Arcade-in-a-Box. The arcade, proclaimed one of the last retro arcades in the city, was celebrated over the weekend in style with a massive five-tournament event.

Players new and old participated in the competitions with a sense of community and fun that made the arcade such a staple for gamers in the past. Indeed the event served as a reminder to Farias of the good times he had running Arcade-in-a-Box during its seven-year run, but also an affirmation of his decision to leave the arcade.

This is It! happening this weekend!

If you somehow missed our initial reports, the event commemorating Ed Farias’ departure from Arcade-in-a-Box dubbed ‘This is It!’ will be happening this weekend in Tucson.

The event will draw some of Arizona’s greatest players for several tournaments, including Latif and several other guests. If you’re unable to attend, there are still some gaming opportunities closer to Phoenix available this weekend as well.

Ed Farias says goodbye to Arcade-in-a-Box with ‘This Is It!’ event

Courtesy Arcade-in-a-Box.

As the days of online competition progress, more and more small arcade venues are struggling to get the same pull of players they used to. Sadly, Tucson’s own Arcade-in-a-Box has suffered the same plight, leading the owner and founder Ed Farias, to say goodbye to the arcade this November.

Arcade-in-a-Box is one of Tucson’s biggest gamer arcade hangouts that officially got started by Farias in 2005. Since then, the venue has hosted scores of fighting game tournaments, seen the creation of the popular web series Retro Rumble, and helped groom top level Street Fighter IV players such as Latif, second-place SSFIV: AE winner at EVO 2011.

Truly, Arcade-in-a-Box is an Arizona arcade with history behind it and Farias described the decision to step away from the venue as a difficult one. In an email interview, Farias explained that after multiple attempts to pull players in, he decided to celebrate the arcade’s ending with the This is It! event, rather than try to bolster up followers in attempts to “save” it:

Finale Friday!

The absolute 8-bit blast known as The Retro Rumble finished off its second season today. Once the pixelated dust cleared, who was left standing?

Euphoria and Retro Rumbles This Weekend

This week is a bit short and sweet on events but none the less awesome. Euphoria Gaming and Arcade-in-a-Box will both have big bouts going down over the weekend.

It’s Finally Here! Street Fighter x Tekken Crossing into Competitions in AZ

After months of hype, sneak peaks, and reality TV shows, Street Fighter x Tekken has finally made its landing (alongside Mass Effect 3) on Tuesday. While the game is still fresh off the presses and in the hands of gamers, there are a few opportunities to test newfound skills and strategies for the game in Arizona this week.