Ideas for my upcoming commercial arcade.

[TOK]

Actually, I think the idea of a 1980's retro style diner/arcade/museum would be pretty cool.  Have 1980's music playing in the background, have movie posters from the 1980's, classic toy's and "gadgets" from that time gracing the walls, and a side section with classic arcade games.  It would be like a Hard Rock Cafe, but with the 1980's as a theme.  (And maybe early 1990's as well).  I think that would do VERY well, especially if you were to have simple meals and whatnot on the menu.

Of course, the licensing fees and rapings for all that muic and other stuff would eat into your profits.   

The problem with that is there are, at least in my area, plenty of 80's style diners that aren't that way on purpose. They haven't been remodeled since the 80's. The diner near where I grew up, in the very lobby where I played Gyruss and Front Line when they were new, has a Ms. Pac Man and a 3 slot Neo Geo.

[danny_galaga]

I used to manage an arcade owned by Namco America.   We had 42 games, 
Galaga and Ms Pacman as our only real classics.

 If I recall the figures correctly...   Tekken III  made about  $500  in a weeks time
in the busy mall location.   Galaga and Ms Pacman were lucky to hit  $6.00  a
week. 

 

although coin_op has clarified his thoughts, id id just like to remind folks that a 'retro-themed' arcade is viable because it is aimed at a demographic that cares about those games. put a tekken III in a reto arcade and it will be the one to only make $6 a week.

took me a while to find, but i knew id seen someone post here about their retro arcade:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=42319.msg411620#msg411620

http://www.1984arcade.com/

as you can see from their site, theyve lasted 3 years so far. cettainly seems viable to me...

[Boz]

We never said this was going to be all classic arcade.

All we were asking for was some suggestions.

IMO, the incentive for those who truly *lived* the arcade era as a teenager to open one as an adult stems more from the fondness and great memories we have as kids about a magical time, and less about it's viability as a business. It's also why there's a handful of people here who build and restore machine after machine and stuff them in basements or garages trying to "get enough" of them to resemble a real arcade, like they remember from 25 years ago, with the full knowledge that it'll never make a dime in return.

It's valid to ask for suggestions. But it's a topic that's been ridden hard around here for years and years.

[mhermann]

The diner near where I grew up, in the very lobby where I played Gyruss and Front Line when they were new, has a Ms. Pac Man and a 3 slot Neo Geo.

Blue Fountain?

[RayB]

Again though, we never said this was only a classic arcade.

Have you priced newer equipment? 

DDR ($3k) is borderline old news now and kids hate pinball machines ($4k).

Put that inheritance into mutual funds and keep your day job.

Even those estimates are conservative.