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Opening up arcade? Ideas?

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Negativecreep0:
Guys let me tell you a little something about my venture. I am 22 years old currently blessed with a good enough job that I have some cash sitting around not doing anything. So what I have done is bought a building next to a main mall in my area. There used to be arcades in every mall near me (Near Philadelphia area (suburbs)) but then the malls asked the arcades to close down because they didn't like the type of people the arcades attracted. This was an actual quote from an owner i talked to. So no arcades are around this area, and the population is lots of (not to sound like an ignorant ass) black people with lots of kids and poorer white people. But also high class people and middle class people frequent this area due to the mall's location here. What I plan to do is open up an arcade/family fun center that has arcades, those win tickets machines to redeem for cheap toys, food, and computer stations for email network game player etc., Do you believe that a venture like this would be succesful I know a lot of these old time family fun zones closed down a while ago like fantasy zone and a few others i can't remember. But i would like to know your guys opinions on this matter. Is it feasable to think that the arcade would make good business. I believe so because there is not a lot for kids to do around the area (legal anyway) and if it is open late night it would be the only place open for them to go. Thanks guys, also any other opinions as what to do with the place are welcomed too.


Almost forgot, anyone know a place that has lots and lots of arcade machines for sale of popular games that are realllllllll cheap. Or something like that like a surplus arcade store with used machines

StarChild:
Honestly, I've been seriously considering a very similar idea myself, but I'm not nearly as far along in the action plan as you, Creep :)  hehehe  Something inside of me refuses to let the idea die that an arcade (of any type) is always a failed business model.  Honestly though, I think in order to be successful, you'll need something different to either supplement the income or pull the customers.  That could definitely be the "net cafe" side you're talking about dropping in there because I certainly haven't seen that at all mixed with an arcade.

You're ahead of the game plan since in all of the old-school arcades I used to frequent, the owners never fixed their own machines or touched them more than to open up the coin door and dump the buckets.  The mere fact that you'd be more knowledgeable of the technical side is a big advantage right there.

Something else I've noticed about arcades (at least from my childhood) is they tend to carry a "word of mouth" reputation with your younger clients. Performing legendary acts of "coolness" goes a long way with the neighbor kids and will keep giving you regular customers.  On the other hand, I remember an arcade where the owner was fond of kicking kids out as soon as you ran out of money.  I saw that in action one day and I didn't go back there for a while, but he quickly gave up/lost interest/failed because it changed ownership shortly (a few months) afterwards.

Anyways...just tossing out some random thoughts.  I guess I'm more tagging this thread because of my own curiosity.  I've been tossing around the idea of something similar myself and I wanted to see the reaction.

Oh...anyone know the legality of having a MAME cab accessible to the general public, but not charging for it...just as an "attraction"?

-*

Xiaou2:

 Running an arcade isnt that easy as people would think.  I managed one from a namco chain for 3yrs.  

 we had 42 games in there... and every week.. there was like 3 problem games that were out of order - waiting for repairs.   I had trouble myself tring to figure out how to fix them.. esp while being inturupted with customers.   We luckily had off-site techs that we could call, and send boards in to them.  Otherwise... I couldnt have done it... as Im just 'basic mechanical knowledge guy'.    So... you will need a great repair guy as a staff member... or better be good at it yourself.
 
 A downed game can be a loss of 5$ to 300$ a week... depending on iits popularity.  

  However... games today are pretty stale.   There really hasnt been anything made new that will frenzy people into dropping loads of cash into it. (except maybe dancing games)  Classics are a cool idea... but youd have to bump the prices up to .50  a game to make a thing.. as many are experts on them and can last for hours on a single quarter.   We had a galaga and ms pacman... and they were both the lowest earning games we had... at like 10$ a week combined.

  Quality crew is also a thing to note.   Lots of workers will just start playing games on shift - and will piss customers off.   They will also steal merchandise, or give it away to cute girls or friends... or trade free games in exchange for something.   Threats do not seem to work too well... eventually, they keep at it.   So plan on making weekly random suprise visits 3 days a week on your off time to try to stop it. (tho they may have lookouts to help out)

  Money is also a factor.   Take a look at how much a new game costs.  It will make you cry.   Its a huge gamble... as if you buy it and nobody likes it... you lose thousands of dollars... if you could even afford it in the first place.   Its token intake will also start to fade in a few months... as people get board of it.    

 Old games are hard as hell to find parts for.  And parts in general are going to take a good deal of money.  Youll need a good stock of them, and lots of tools as well.  

 Security is also an issue.   If employees turn thier backs for 5 minutes... a games can be trashed, broken into, boards stolen..ect.   Change machines can be cracked open in 5 min as well.   And theres the 'inside' jobs - like employees selling tokens for cash directly.  Planned theft..ect.   At any one time, you will need like 500$ in your store for change...   So you need very trustworthy people under you to make sure they do not walk away with it.   If you do not plan on working 7 days a week... you will need a trusty assistent manager.

 Cleaning...  youll need tons of cleaning supplies, polishes, paints, ect... and be prepared to clean up spilled drinks and food constantly.

  Prize booths.   A nightmare in itself.   You sit there counting thousands of tickets for customer kiddies... and wait for them for 30 minutes to finally decide what they want... all the while listening to kids cry that they can not get the item they want, and arguing with parents... : (    

  Collection - every week, comming in very early or late, and emptying each games tokens - then getting meter readings to verify that there isnt too much theft going on per machine.  Counting all tokens in store, and moneys, and making sure that it all ballences out.  Making dialy deposits to the banks with the extra cash earned, and getting change needed for the day.  

 
 And since you are not inside a mall... then youll have to deal with things like snow removal, putting salt down, possible lawsuits, no super security nearby, parking lot maintnence?, landscaping?, and more.

 And finally... since youll be there like 9+ hrs a day, prolly 50hrs a week... you will start to dislike games.   You wont have time to play them anyways.  

 Phew- Im glad I got out before my mall store closed on me : P  
 

Gunstar Hero:
Legendary acts of coolness. Awwww jeah!

I hate to have to say this, but there's almost no way for a dedicated Video Game Arcade to survive these days.

There are too few arcade games released and the home consoles are just as good, so the kids don't go to the 'cade for the games anymore.

To succeed you need a sideline (or two, ot three!). I'm thinking an arcade/lan gaming center/net cafe/snackbar.

The snackbar makes the money. The other business act as "hang outs" and feed the snack bar customers. They all bring some income too, but they can't be TOO expensive, cause to be attractive to the younger crowd/players, they need to be "cheap" entertainment.

quarterstringer:
Do some research on video arcade game vendors. Go to bowling alleys and see which companies they are using. The advantage is that you won't have to waste your capital on games that become outdated. These vendors will split the revenues with you, around 50-50 and will rotate the games and repair them for you.

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