Results tagged “metreon” from The Daily Nugget

An Oakland teen was shot an killed tonight at the Metreon after getting into an argument with other teens. Apparently the altercation happened between the front entrance on Mission Street and the ticket counters where he was shot at around 7:00pm. The Metreon and Yerba Buena Gardens is teeming with extra police because of the Oracle OpenWorld conference so the alleged shooter was caught a block away. The scary thing is that Melissa and I contemplated going to the movies today and would have been at the Metreon around that time if we had decided to go. We didn't.

I took a picture of these fanboy losers guys at 2:45pm today. They were about 50th in line to buy a new shiny PS3 at the Sony Store at the Metreon and were passed out sleeping in the rain. In total, there were about 500 people in line in the rain to buy the systems and the Sony reps were setting up a professional lighting rig at the West entrance to Metreon (and the store). It's going to be a circus atmosphere when the doors open at midnight. I wouldn't be surprised if they had real honest-to-goodness fanfare with a brass section and everything!

It amazes me that our economy can sustain people that have stood in line since last night (i.e. no production), will do nothing all day today but sit or sleep in the rain (i.e. no production), and then shell out $600 plus for a gaming system when it goes on sale tonight (i.e. consume). Sadly for Sony, about half of these guys hope to sell the PS3 on Ebay for $1,000 or more. They are not even real fanboys! Still, all publicity is good publicity and the Sony marketing reps are taking photos in full force.

Don't these guys know that it's all about the Xbox 360and your Gamerscore!?

When the Sony Metreon opened in 1999, it promised to be the first urban entertainment destination complex of its kind. However, it turned out to be a movie theater, a mediocre arcade, a food court, and a small mall. The Microsoft store and the Discovery store fled when they realized that people that came to watch movies hardly bought anything. And several restaurants that have opened on the second floor, next to the arcade, have come and gone. The latest victim, LJ's Martini Bar & Grill, has already announced that it will close but is being asked to stay for reduced rent.

Sony has announced the sale of the Metreon to the Westfield Group, the same company that owns the San Francisco Shopping Centre and the new Bloomingdale's development that will extend the mall from Market Street to Mission Street, just a half block away from the Metreon. Maybe Westfield will finally allow Lowes Theatres to expand into the fourth floor, adding another nine screens to the existing fifteen. After all, the theatres and the food court are the only things that make any real money at the Metreon.

It's sad to think that Sony's experiment to build a mini-Disneyland failed, but it is still a beautiful building in an urban setting nonetheless. The city coaxed Sony to spend money upgrading Yerba Buena Gardens just outside the Metreon, and it's my favorite park in the city--it's walking distance from home. I enjoy the theatres and the food court as much as everyone else and hope that Westfield can add more screens and more food establishments to satisfy the South of Market residents who still consider it an entertainment destination.