Page 6 - MidWeek Leeward - Nov 3, 2021

6 NOVEMBER 3, 2021
PC Gamerz Hawai‘i In ‘Aiea Levels Up By Growing Operation
at conventions such as Com- ic-Con and Kawaii Con.
“At one point we had two locations, one in Kāne‘ohe and one in ‘Aiea,” says co-owner Devin Wolery. “In 2014, our Kāne‘ohe loca- tion was closed to focus on expanding the ‘Aiea loca- tion. We continued to be the largest sports center on the island until the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. We were building computers and doing computer repairs on a very small scale for the past 13 years, but when COVID struck, it was clear we needed to pivot to focus on that side of the business.”
Wolery explains that the ongoing pandemic created a new need throughout the community as students and
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Over the last year, PC Gamerz Hawai‘i became a Tier 2 Nvidia partner, as well as EKWB water-cooling and Glorious resellers — nec- essary qualifications when dealing with high-perfor- mance computers. To meet that demand, PC Gamerz Hawai‘i expanded its oper- ation to a 6,000-square-foot warehouse at 99-1026 Iwae- na St. in Hālawa.
PC Gamerz Hawai‘i has taken its game to the next level, growing its operation from a video game-play site to a business capable of building and repairing com- puters that can handle the processing speed needed by the latest games.
Izzy Rodriguez (center) jams on a game of League of Legends between William Laurent and Jacob Reyes at PC Gamerz Hawai‘i in ‘Aiea.
ANTHONY CONSILLIO PHOTO
filling up,” Wolery says. “The larger space has al- lowed us to bring in more inventory and parts that are normally hard to get due to our location in Hawai‘i, like Vertagear gaming chairs. It has allowed us to stream- line our production and in-
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“Many customers come in after they’ve bought a com- puter from a mainland big box company, wishing they had known about us,” Wol- ery says. “We make sure the customer’s needs are taken care of. Word of mouth ad- vertising has been our big- gest success.”
The company was origi- nally founded as an esports gaming facility around 2008, and hosted tournaments at the original ‘Aiea location. PC Gamerz Hawai‘i built its reputation within the gaming industry by running events
The larger space has sepa- rate areas for the company’s computer building, software and administration depart- ments.
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adults had to attend school and work virtually, which drove the demand for com- puters sky high.
crease our output threefold. We’ve also been able to delve into building custom computer desks and have a full-size laser cutter for ul- tra-custom needs.”
While custom-built per- sonal computers are sought by the high-level gamer, a large part of PC Gamerz Hawai‘i’s business is re- pairing and upgrading old PCs that customers already own, which might not work anymore or not as well. By repairing and upgrading these computers instead of replacing them, the business drastically reduces e-waste headed to landfills and saves customers money that would normally be spent on brand- new computers. And, the business employs three staff
members who were house- less, and would rely on the store for a “safe haven” when they had nowhere else to go. The trio had a pas- sion for gaming, and Wolery and the team took the time to train them in new job skills that would make for a steady income that allowed the workers to “build them- selves back up.”
“We needed more space, as our current location was
For more information, vis- it pcgamerzhawaii.com.
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