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| Shoegazer:
You know, I also thought about this idea too, with great interest. I am not sure if I want to dissuade anyone from doing this for my own personal, selfish reasons (I want the 80s back!!! oh...sorry). However, I'd like to give some practical advice that may be heeded or discarded to anyone seriously considering it, for whatever its worth... To those of you who have thought of a "pay-per-game" model, here's another angle to look at this situation: plain and simple, 25 cents isn't what it used to be worth. According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation in the U.S. averages somewhere between 3-4% per year. It doesn't take a math whiz to realize 25 cents basically amounts to nothing these days. However, these old games play exactly the same length of time, on average, as they used to back in the 80s (e.g. the average Asteroids game lasts 2.8 minutes, or whatever). So, demand issues aside, arcade operators are getting increasingly LESS value from their games with each passing year. Over a 25+ year span, that really adds up! Of course, you could always ask for more money per game, but nobody remembers putting in a dollar to play Pac-Man, and few probably would. In fact the whole quarter-per-game idea is part of the nostalgia to begin with! So it appears the highest value proposition with arcades is the "pay-per-visit" model, which of course is unfortunate since it ruins some of the nostalgia AND is probably not going to net the operator as much income on these merits alone. So this would almost certainly necessitate being augmented by another source of revenue, such as food-and-drink. Someone brought up the idea of the 50s diner concept and then shot it down, but actually the way I see it there IS value in the model if you look at it the right way. What if, for example, you franchised the 80s with a restaurant that featured 80s music, movie posters, old-school MTV on the 25" tube, and guaranteed at least five standup arcade games on free play, just to attract visitors? I'd think that idea alone would allow the operation to compete fairly well against other family-oriented restaurants. Toss in a free meal offer to anyone who can beat the local high score on any of the games? Host local tournaments as well to generate occasional surges in demand? Maybe its farfetched, but then maybe somewhere in there is an idea... "Food" for thought. Shoegazer |
| More Cowbell:
Does anyone know how much a broker generally rents games for on a monthly basis? |
| knave:
--- Quote from: More Cowbell on September 13, 2007, 10:01:44 am ---Does anyone know how much a broker generally rents games for on a monthly basis? --- End quote --- I don't know about rentals but the ops I've dealt with in the past split the take. For us it was 50/50 they provide the games we provide the loc and the power. Some of the popular games in the early 90's would generate ~300 or more in a week. I'm pretty sure it would be cheeper in the long run to own your own games. Who wants to give away half of your income all the time. At least repairs and upgrades are periodic. I think tournaments are an interesting idea. I could totaly see groups of college kids or 30 somethings having a MK tournament (or SF or any other game.) Have a ladder and a small entry fee, leading up to some prizes and a sign on the wall announcing the greatness of the top three. Again I think this works best as part of a restauant. Personally I might hit up some local places that might want some arcades. Give them a percentage and buisness. Might work. |
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