NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A local man’s passion for video games has led to the creation of a portable gaming station.
Ever since he was old enough to pick up a controller, BJ Smith of Niagara Falls had a love for video games.
“I’ve been gaming since I was 3 years old,” Smith said. “Ever since I can remember, video games have always been an outlet for me.”
And he took that outlet and made it into a business opportunity. Inspired by his Facebook group, “Game Heads United,” in 2019 Smith decided to quite literally take his show on the road.
“Pretty much it’s something different,” he said. “Instead of getting a bounce house, you’ll call us and we’ll come and bring the game to you.”
He decked out a heated 20-foot trailer with seven 43 inch TVs, 15 different gaming systems and 8,000 games that can accommodate about 20 people, making it a mobile hot spot for those who take their play seriously.
“We’ve got Mario Kart going on here today,” Smith said. “And I have some old-school Atari. For the old school gamers, I have Pac-Man. Qbert. All that good stuff.”
Despite a small setback during the height of the pandemic, Smith says business has been booming and he’s glad he turned his love of the game into something he could share with the Queen City even during our coldest of winters.
“A lot of people think that because of the weather, but this is the best time to book something like me because you can do this in the cold,” Smith said. “It’s warm in here. It’s toasty!”
