Thinking of opening an arcade...

[saint]

You know, Chad brings up a good point I hadn't considered. One place where an arcade might thrive is at a tourist resort spot. Thinking of the arcades I've been to recently that were fun, they were in Downtown Disney / Pleasure Island in Orlando, and at tourist getaways like Myrtle Beach or Gatlinburg. Those places were always busy.

[mvsfan]

Hi everyone.

A friend and I are looking into opening a game room/arcade.  I've been looking online for information, and have already printed out a license application.  I figured this forum would be a great place to lay some groundwork in the brainstorming phase.  

I have a few questions pertaining to how things work exactly...

1.  I won't be renting arcade cabinets, I'll have outright bought them.  Do I still need to give a percentage of my profits from the cabinets to the copyright owners?  If so, is there any way to obtain copyrights or permission to use them and keep all the coinage?    

2.  I've built a MAME cabinet before, and it is still fully functional.  For something like this, would I have to be granted permission by every game hosted on the machine to charge patrons to use it?

3.  I was thinking of setting up kiosks for systems like the NES, SNES, Genesis, and N64.  (Like the PS3 kiosk at Best Buy where users can play, but the system is under lock and key).  I would like to put a PC in each kiosk cabinet and emulate these systems.  Does the copyrights to these games hold true with the above?  

What I'm basically trying to say is ; is this doable, and is it going to cost me a bagillion dollars?

Thanks in advance for anyone with knowledge on the subject.

dude if you open an arcade nowadays, you at least need a bowling alley with pool tables, food, and a Bar.

arcades just simply cant survive on their own anymore.

you couldnt run mame commercially because it is against the liscence.

you probably could run a 100 in 1 though, but you would have to have an original board of every game on the multi present somewhere in your bowling alley, in order to do so.

[mvsfan]

heres why and another point to consider.

I used to live within walking distance of one of the biggest arcades in florida. It was called funscape and it was about the size of wal mart, and it was 2 stories.

sometime, things got expensive for them to operate compared to the money they were taking in, so they started charging 50 cents for old games and 75 cents for the newest games, and the crowd that had always been there started to die down a bit.

so a couple years later, instead of raising games another quarter, they bought the old kmart next door and built a movie theater hoping that the movie money would offset the funscape tab. It didnt. the movie theater more than made enough money for itself, but funscape just kept on getting more and more expensive to operate compared to what it brought in. so then they went up to $.75, then $1.00, then 1.50 for all games.

shortly after it went to 1.50, they shut their doors forever. they had to. for the owners however, it was a labor of love to keep it open as long as possible.

the same people still own the movie theater, and they did manage to move a small chunk, about 20 or 30 of their machines into it. but at one point they had hundreds of machines.

[SirPeale]

Funspot is 4-5 hours north of me.  I take my kids there a couple of times a year and we spend several hours.  If it were half the distance we would go every couple of weeks.  If it were inside an hour I'd probably have to open a monthly payment plan to them.

4-5 HOURS?  You live closer than I do, and it takes us about two hours!

[Ummon]

Dude, yer gonna kill me with those kitties!  Love love love love love!

Its that old 'lure them back to your pad on the false hope of a game of Double Dragon' ploy 

Oh no, it's the villianous tie you up and have to watch Double Dragon be played for days! Then let you go, on your wasted way.


Um, I think this has been mentioned before: couldn't you do a restaurant/whatever thingie (maybe that had some cover for alcohol or something, like a dollar or two), and have a bunch of MAME cabs with no coin mechs/money/credit machines. People could just play 'em. How much up-keep, then?

There is an arcade museum/private beach 45 minutes south of me.  I take my kids there a couple of times a year and would more often if the beach part didn't make it a full day trip.

??  What does the beach have to do with it? If anything, just don't go on it.

[clok]

late to this party. Freind opened an Arcade in a small Midwestern town (pop 23,000) aprox 4 years ago. Post Office got a new building and he got great rent on the old Post Office. Great location, great parking, etc. Even got City to cut him a deal as it was a YOUTH activity. it actually went over very well, lots of business. Finacially it worked out great. But the one thing nobody saw comming (but should have) was the clients. Kids nowdays cant cunduct themsleves around others there age group. They simply could not act like normal people. there where fights non stop, smoking in a non smokeing building, machines where abused consistantly. he had kids breaking Plexi on the front of machines for "fun". I personally watched a male try and break a joystick, he was actually totally supported buy it, both feet on front of cab yanking. the first thing that was tried was a rules list. If you where breaking any rules, you where out. Great idea.... he had  a  single person there at all times, change, and a small ara with some tables and vending machines and hot dog makler and a pizza oven. When started he had a 22 year old girl, lets just say nobody listened to her, we where there to observe how well the kids acted. No fualt of the 22 year old girls she was fine, its just kids dont listen. We then tried haveing an adualt Male (34 i beileve) and big (yes he purposly picked a big guy), this worked sorta, they listend a tiny bit better, and he removed a grand total of 2 male boys.. BOY DID THAT BACKFIRE.. the kids where cronic troublemakers (on video even) in the arcade. Both where removed by physicly removeing them as they wouldnt leave when asked. niether where harmed in any way ( was specific about that with guy who removed them). Parents of said children where Up in arms, local police came and viewed tapes, city council had meeting, etc.. We where told we where correct, nothing done wrong.  2 boys whre told they could not enter the place by police. Guess what, in arcade less then 2 days later (nobody watchs door, sorry its not a prison. Police where simply called and both boys removed. Well after doing this 5-6 times in a few weeks the police where getting pretty bored with the whole deal (um, my question, charge them with something maybe? but they didnt do anything but remove them). So about this time it was turning into "arcade is to much trouble" for the police and city. Mostly becuase of 2 boys. Dont get me wrong, about 25% of them i wouldnt let near me or anybody else if i had any say. so instead of actually dealing with Kids who cant follow rules (isnt that the Police's job?) the city just Changed his rent (it was raised almost 400%). My friend ( i had helped him with some of the setup and so on) decided it was just far more BS then it was worth.

My friend is not a games person, he was looking for a legit way to make a small dime ( he idd have other jobs, this was an attempt at somthing new, he didnt think it was going to make him rich, just maybe make hims some coin. he also had some thouhgt it would be something for the kids.

So it seems, at least around here, Arcades as i remeber them are not possible..

sorry for the long story. its a bit negative, I do not think it would be the case everywhere, but maybe my age has made me a bit jaded.. Kids nowdays seems to really not give a crap out anybody but htemsleves (some of them at least)..

[ChadTower]

4-5 HOURS?  You live closer than I do, and it takes us about two hours!

You know what, you're right.  We tend to hit Funspot on our way up to the White Mountains area so I'd forgotten the exact point where we get to Funspot.  Mapquest puts it at 2.5 hours.  The whole drive to where we are going is 4 hours, I guess.

And for Ummon... when you have a family you don't get to drive 45 minutes and not stay at the beach.

[EightBySix]

I suspect the market is for 30-40 something men (most of us, I'll bet!).
I have a friend who's wife works on Saturdays. He gets together with a friend who is in the same situation at an indoor soft play venue - they turn the kids loose and have breakfast/read the paper.
Perhaps places like that would be a good pitch - all the kids are accompanied by adults who would have misspent their younger days at arcades....
I'm taking my son there this w/e for a party. If they had galaxians etc there, I would certainly feed it some coins. I bet you would get the "come here boy, and see what real video games were like" factor....

<edit>
Or even in women's clothes shops - by the men waiting patiently near the changing rooms. you could even mod the cabs with a button that says 'That looks lovely, dear' 

[wp34]

But the one thing nobody saw comming (but should have) was the clients. Kids nowdays cant cunduct themsleves around others there age group. They simply could not act like normal people. there where fights non stop, smoking in a non smokeing building, machines where abused consistantly. he had kids breaking Plexi on the front of machines for "fun".

This is the same reason our last arcade closed a couple of years ago.  Too many troublemakers.

[Blanka]

Kids nowdays cant cunduct themsleves around others there age group. They simply could not act like normal people.

More important: kids dont understand joysticks. They know touch screens, gamepads, even wiimotes, but no joysticks. If you see kids playing on them, it's like they have brain-hand-coordination malfunction.

[mvsfan]

late to this party. Freind opened an Arcade in a small Midwestern town (pop 23,000) aprox 4 years ago. Post Office got a new building and he got great rent on the old Post Office. Great location, great parking, etc. Even got City to cut him a deal as it was a YOUTH activity. it actually went over very well, lots of business. Finacially it worked out great. But the one thing nobody saw comming (but should have) was the clients. Kids nowdays cant cunduct themsleves around others there age group. They simply could not act like normal people. there where fights non stop, smoking in a non smokeing building, machines where abused consistantly. he had kids breaking Plexi on the front of machines for "fun". I personally watched a male try and break a joystick, he was actually totally supported buy it, both feet on front of cab yanking. the first thing that was tried was a rules list. If you where breaking any rules, you where out. Great idea.... he had  a  single person there at all times, change, and a small ara with some tables and vending machines and hot dog makler and a pizza oven. When started he had a 22 year old girl, lets just say nobody listened to her, we where there to observe how well the kids acted. No fualt of the 22 year old girls she was fine, its just kids dont listen. We then tried haveing an adualt Male (34 i beileve) and big (yes he purposly picked a big guy), this worked sorta, they listend a tiny bit better, and he removed a grand total of 2 male boys.. BOY DID THAT BACKFIRE.. the kids where cronic troublemakers (on video even) in the arcade. Both where removed by physicly removeing them as they wouldnt leave when asked. niether where harmed in any way ( was specific about that with guy who removed them). Parents of said children where Up in arms, local police came and viewed tapes, city council had meeting, etc.. We where told we where correct, nothing done wrong.  2 boys whre told they could not enter the place by police. Guess what, in arcade less then 2 days later (nobody watchs door, sorry its not a prison. Police where simply called and both boys removed. Well after doing this 5-6 times in a few weeks the police where getting pretty bored with the whole deal (um, my question, charge them with something maybe? but they didnt do anything but remove them). So about this time it was turning into "arcade is to much trouble" for the police and city. Mostly becuase of 2 boys. Dont get me wrong, about 25% of them i wouldnt let near me or anybody else if i had any say. so instead of actually dealing with Kids who cant follow rules (isnt that the Police's job?) the city just Changed his rent (it was raised almost 400%). My friend ( i had helped him with some of the setup and so on) decided it was just far more BS then it was worth.

My friend is not a games person, he was looking for a legit way to make a small dime ( he idd have other jobs, this was an attempt at somthing new, he didnt think it was going to make him rich, just maybe make hims some coin. he also had some thouhgt it would be something for the kids.

So it seems, at least around here, Arcades as i remeber them are not possible..

sorry for the long story. its a bit negative, I do not think it would be the case everywhere, but maybe my age has made me a bit jaded.. Kids nowdays seems to really not give a crap out anybody but htemsleves (some of them at least)..

this absolutely reminds me of where you are from. I grew up in the big city and i do remember arcades being rowdy places. yes, kids did punch glass, etc when they lost and no they wouldnt listen at all.

The funny thing is this. i remember almost everyone thinking that the glass on top of the monitors were plexiglass so nobody actually thought they could get hurt and thus, the assholish attitudes.

i never believed it until i bought my first cabinet, that those idiots were in fact punching real glass that could have shattered with each whack.

[Ummon]

clok: give them rednecks virtual access to the world, and they just don't know how to deal with it, huh? They used to be such good christian folk, alas.

[danny_galaga]

Katuuuz, I haven't read the whole thread yet, but i think a really easy in for you is something you've already mentioned- Get a couple of machines in your barber shop. You already pay rent, and you don't have to share the profit with anyone. Do that and then you can gauge how you would fair

[katuuuz]

Well I figured I'd let this pan out a bit and then come back and read it once everyone got their 2 cents in.  (Thanks to everyone for that).  I could throw a machine or two tops in the barber shop, but it is a small shop, and it wouldn't really be profitable.  (Would be nice to play some games during slow times though)).

I agree with kids being assholish.  Ever since people weren't allowed to beat their kids, children progressively got more and more disrespectful lol.  Even my generation starting out in the early 80s had it's fair share of assholey envelope pushers.  My friend's cousin lit a joint in a bowling alley when we were about 14 and I was scared S-less.  Today, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary.  Basically, nowadays, forget it.  I'd wager 7 out of 10 kids under 15 years old today are problems.  No respect for other people's property, or other people in general.  When the kiddies walk by the barber shop on Main St. after school, I see the poor quality of American children first-hand.  More or less, if I invest my money into classic arcade games, I'll be damned if a 13 year old punk is going to punch it or try to snap a joystick off of it.  Then I'd be going to jail for kicking him in his face. 

Now, that said, why can't an adult-themed retro barcade make it?  Granted we are in an economical crisis.  I purchased a Double Dragon upright which will be in my basement this Tuesday.  This is cabinet number one.  By the time I buy/restore enough cabs, the doors of this presumed barcade won't open for 3 - 5 years from now or maybe more.  If I were to manage/maintain the machines myself, it couldn't be too costly.  Arcade parts are all over Ebay for cheap enough.  Full-length bar, maybe 20-40 CLASSIC arcade machiens.  No Dance Dance Revoloution, or Tekken 12.  I'm talking about DK, Frogger, Tempest, Gauntlet, Tron, Double Dragon all the way up to the early 90s like Golden Axe II and Mortal Kombat.  Ages would be 21 and up.  Kids under 18 are practically untouchable by the law, adults have a lot more to lose.  Sure there will be a few fights here and there, and some asses, but what bar in your town now doesn't put up with that already?

If done right, and styled/themed correctly, I think it could be big.  Profitable enough to pay for itself at least, if not make some ching along with it.  Sure you can sit home and play your Mame machines, and a bunch of you have your own home arcades, but I'd say the majority do not.  Plus as an example, I personally would rather play a game of Double Dragon on an orignal dedicated Double Dragon cabinet - not a 10,000 game generic arcade cabinet, or a converted q*bert cabinet turned mame machine.  Nostalgia will be the hook.

Just a few ideas I'm tossing around that have no place even being thought of this early in progress... promotions on top score holders on specific games.  I.E.  Top score holder on the Galaga machine for the month of February gets a $50 voucher.  Each pitcher of beer comes with 2 quarters... tons of possibilities.         

[nox771]

IMO, dedicated arcades were killed by Nintendo, Sony, and the day PC games got to be better quality than the arcade ones.  Your comment gave me an idea for you though:

I could throw a machine or two tops in the barber shop, but it is a small shop, and it wouldn't really be profitable.  (Would be nice to play some games during slow times though)).

Just an idea, but even with one or two cabs you can give people incentive to play - simply tell them if they beat the high score they get a free haircut.  Let the score accumulate over a week, and reset the high score on your slow day (maybe more people will come in to try...), or just reset it once a month (or never, whatever works for you).  Of course if you are good at the game yourself you can reset the score and play it once to set a target over the default.  If you have multiple machines in storage just put one in the shop and rotate it with another when you get bored with it.   Just an idea...

[katuuuz]

If you have multiple machines in storage just put one in the shop and rotate it with another when you get bored with it.   Just an idea...

Yeah, I guess if all else fails, I can do this.

[IG-88]

Just a few ideas I'm tossing around that have no place even being thought of this early in progress... promotions on top score holders on specific games.  I.E.  Top score holder on the Galaga machine for the month of February gets a $50 voucher.  Each pitcher of beer comes with 2 quarters... tons of possibilities.         

See, now you're talking!