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New Saskatoon pub mixes pints and pixels

Gaming enthusiasts in the greater Saskatoon area who’ve always wanted to down a barrel of their favourite brew while dodging them in Donkey Kong now have their chance at David Mah’s new video game themed bar on 20th Street.

“So we pretty much have every retro gaming system ever made,” Mah told CBC News, adding that the bar, called Bartari, does have some physical consoles available with software for true nostalgia, "If they want the real experience we can provide that as well.”

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(Batari Video Game Bar Facebook)

Bartari also has a couple of pinball machines, individual televisions for for each table, and a gaming lounge set up at the back of the bar with more comfy seating arrangements to play Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and PlayStation.

Mah got the idea for the place after discovering many other video game bars during his time travelling internationally for martial arts tournaments, and has invested $60,000 into Batari with high hopes for its future.

Patrons pay a flat $5 fee to get access to unlimited gaming from the over 3,000 game catalog available through a game emulation program, with five percent of total sales going towards upgrading the library of titles.

“We did the best we could,” Mah told the CBC News, “You’re never going to make everybody happy but we have a little bit of everything for everyone… They just get into the games and before you know, two beers later and a poutine they’re happy.”