Main > Main Forum
Mame Cabinet in the Public?
<< < (2/7) > >>
monkeychunkuk:
An arcade near me has a 5 in 1 style machine with pacman etc, i would love to open a arcade filled with my machines and let people know they are for sale and fill the place with retro merchandise to buy,I'd make all the machine token play and have a machine to dispense them.....well I can dream


paigeoliver:

--- Quote from: Rick on August 29, 2013, 12:12:42 am ---
--- Quote from: paigeoliver on August 28, 2013, 10:02:23 pm ---An Ultracade or Arcade Legends machine can't earn its keep on location anymore...
--- End quote ---

That's like ... your opinion, man. I'd waste serious money in an arcade, if a new one opened up.

--- End quote ---

When I say "On location" I generally mean when an operator has some games in a place, not a free standing arcade. It is nearly impossible to make money with games on location anymore. Games more than a couple years old are lucky to get $40 a month in coin/dollar drop. The new ones earn more but it is nearly impossible to earn back that $9000 new game price tag before the new game becomes an old game. Classics make essentially nothing on location. When you go into the pizza joint and see a claw machine, and two vids, you can be sure that the claw machine is making way more than both vids combined.

The logistics of a free standing arcade are completely different, however even there I have seen that there is never exactly a line to play the Ultracade.
Rick:

--- Quote from: paigeoliver on August 29, 2013, 11:52:25 am ---When I say "On location" I generally mean when an operator has some games in a place, not a free standing arcade. It is nearly impossible to make money with games on location anymore.
--- End quote ---

Well, colour my face red. That totally makes sense. Thanks for the clarification! (You wanna invest in my new arcade?)

On a serious note, it's sad when I do the research on Indiegogo and Kickstarter and see that more than a few people have actually tried to raise money to open an arcade, only to receive NOTHING by way of investors. Maybe it's their approach, maybe it's that the perks aren't interesting enough, or maybe there really is no interest. (In a parallel, it's similar to my thread asking for input on whether or not an 'arcade show' would bring people out. I hear the crickets in that thread, and wonder if maybe it's "just us" out here, and that there really is a fringe for people who like/love these games.)
yotsuya:

--- Quote from: Rick on August 29, 2013, 01:31:43 pm ---
--- Quote from: paigeoliver on August 29, 2013, 11:52:25 am ---When I say "On location" I generally mean when an operator has some games in a place, not a free standing arcade. It is nearly impossible to make money with games on location anymore.
--- End quote ---

Well, colour my face red. That totally makes sense. Thanks for the clarification! (You wanna invest in my new arcade?)

On a serious note, it's sad when I do the research on Indiegogo and Kickstarter and see that more than a few people have actually tried to raise money to open an arcade, only to receive NOTHING by way of investors. Maybe it's their approach, maybe it's that the perks aren't interesting enough, or maybe there really is no interest. (In a parallel, it's similar to my thread asking for input on whether or not an 'arcade show' would bring people out. I hear the crickets in that thread, and wonder if maybe it's "just us" out here, and that there really is a fringe for people who like/love these games.)

--- End quote ---

I think people would be more inclined to go to a one-off show than a regular arcade location. Or if it's a dedicated arcade, you either better have a bar, restaurant, store or theme park attached to it.
Rick:

--- Quote from: yotsuya on August 29, 2013, 01:33:57 pm ---I think people would be more inclined to go to a one-off show than a regular arcade location. Or if it's a dedicated arcade, you either better have a bar, restaurant, store or theme park attached to it.
--- End quote ---

I think you're right about the 'attachment'. I was thinking that having a fun little dive-y pizza joint (yeah, a "joint" that serves amazing pizza) where all the tables were free-to-play cocktails would be awesome. Sure, they may not be the money-makers, but I'm sure they'd draw in some customers.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page

Go to full version