Gaming at St. Bonaventure University has gone from the residence hall to the Reilly Center.
A new video gaming room for students has opened on the second floor of the Reilly Center. The room will officially open during the spring semester but has been available for limited hours this week as students decompress for study breaks during final exams.
The room includes gaming furniture, fast internet/Wi-Fi access, multiple large TVs, a projector, and two each of the most popular video game consoles (Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch). There are also chairs, televisions and hookups for students to bring their own gaming devices. There are three games on each system, but students can plug in their own systems or log into their own accounts.
The new space in the Reilly Center was developed through a partnership between Student Affairs and Information Technology. The room was used last Friday by the campus Gaming Club to host a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament.
The gaming room was driven by student input, said Rob DeFazio, director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership at the university. DeFazio and Dan Donner from Tech Services gathered input from the Gaming Club as well as input from a student body survey to which more than 560 students responded.
The gaming room is provided free for students. The hours will be determined at the start of the spring semester in January, when the room will be open for general play and organized tournaments. A grand opening is also planned for next semester.