Quarter Pay Arcade

[deathtaker26]

**The Idea:**
Okay, so I've been talking with my friends and family about running a small local business in my town. The idea was thought of when coming across the issue of which my town has nowhere for teens between the ages of 13 to 18 to hang out and enjoy themselves. Most of the time teens hang out at the mall until it closes or until security kicks them out for loitering.

**Our solution: Open up an arcade.**
First of all, there is no competitors with us since there's no other arcade in the town. In addition the only other social areas in town are Skate station, more for middle school students, and Underground alley, which is filled with a bunch of overweight weird kids taking up all the computers.

**Game:**
The arcade machines will contain newer and older systems. We plan to get arcade machines that consist of games like the classic Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles (Which seems to be a HUGE hit in my town for some reason), and pacman, to newer arcade games that hold about 20 different games/system. My goal is to get mostly sega systems though seeing how sega seems to have more arcade games than anything else.
**Other Benefits:**
In addition to arcade machines I also plan to open up a small section full of indie arcade games made by my group for more marketing purposes. The arcade also has a planned DJ booth, a dance floor for the dames to show up, and of course, a concession stand. There would be no entry free seeing how the arcade is quarter paid. The idea is bringing arcades back!

Please rate and tell me what you think, also it's optional but it would also help if the age or age group is posted below. As the results of this and other polls I have going on are going to help me get information together because my family may or may not need to make a small business loan for this.

[crzyone9584]

My main question is where would you get the money to get the arcade systems? How would you pay rent for the place your putting the arcade and how would you even be able to afford anything else like coke/pepsi machine, food vending machine etc…

[Skillzalot]

dont forgetting water/electricity bills and maintenance of the machines

[deathtaker26]

The poll isn't for pricing, I understand it can be expensive but we have those kinds of things covered. In anycase we are seeing if people would like to actually attend this sort of thing

@crzy:

> My main question is where would you get the money to get the arcade systems? How would you pay rent for the place your putting the arcade and how would you even be able to afford anything else like coke/pepsi machine, food vending machine etc…

@crzy, Well like I said that's what the loan is for, it's going to be a family business so im not in this alone. However I do plan to talk to my uncle about the arcade as well. My uncle just sold an internet marketing business called pronetwork ads and opened another business. Pronetworkads had an office in africa and in the us, he still make money off of it, and good money at that.

[crzyone9584]

Well with that information my answer would be no. If you open up a gaming place, make more of a console place/pc gamer place. with a few arcades. The arcade in the mall near me hardly makes money during the week due to kids being in school and they have shitty games like your talking about. What you need to do is not ask us but ask your town in whole. See if they would come. See what they would like at the arcade.

[deathtaker26]

Like I said, I'm not talking about how much we are gaining from it, the poll is still to see if a teenager would enjoy attending this. Yes we do plan on having consoles as well but they won't be games like idk halo and stuff, I mean maybe 1 shooting game but most of them would be like score attack or puzzle games such as guitar hero, DDR, and what not (I know I don't like these either but for some reasons teens my age seem to enjoy competing at games like this)

In addition, I already have a 2 machines laying around and my neighbor has 1 he would sell cheap.

Location wise, our mall doesn't get visitors on weekdays, instead I'd plan to have it across from the highschool where most of the teens hangout at.

[crzyone9584]

Like i said. You shouldn't be asking us. Ask your town… They are the only ones who would be able to give you the right idea of what you should have, or even go ahead with this idea. People on the internet aren't the right people to ask for a local business. They can give some suggestion but ultimately its up to you and id make sure people would come before investing in something as big as this that can screw your credit up badly.

[deathtaker26]

In that case, let this be fore suggestions than. I still would not like to talk about pricing, not yet atleast. Because I still have some research to do on pricing before I settle on the idea yet.

[Wing]

An Quarter Pay Arcade doesn't catch me at all. If you're going to open a small business you need to be aware of three things. Time, Site and situation. Where are you? How will it effect your business? Then after that, why is it a good place to run your business?
You want to run a Quarter Pay Arcade, are you going to get a place near a area that is easily accessible? Will you be able to find a place where the right audience can be attracted? Even after all that is it really worth it in the end? From the customers point of view, why would you go there? Occasionally you may get that "Bored" or "Interested" customer, but what will that do in the long run?
It's nice that you want to start a business, but you should think a little bit more about it. Hope everything works out pleasantly.

[Lynxaria]

@Crest:

> In that case, let this be fore suggestions than. I still would not like to talk about pricing, not yet atleast. Because I still have some research to do on pricing before I settle on the idea yet.

You're going to come to the realization that this will cost far more than you're capable of (or even your parents unless you plan on borrowing every last red cent from them) and most likely quit. Of course it doesn't hurt to ask your town and see, maybe go door to door and do a proper poll, of the people actually in your town who'd actually visit or not (like crzy suggested).

I don't know. Most 17 year old teens don't start up businesses such as stores or whatever, unless they can fund it themselves and are fortunate enough to do so. I mean, it's not a bad idea really, I personally would love if there were an arcade down the street when I was growing up.

It's just a lot of responsibility, and if you're relying on your parents/friends/family, it's not really YOUR business, get what I'm sayin'?

[deathtaker26]

Thanks, I understand all that. Which is why I made this post.
The location would be right near the highschool, walking distance, students can go there afterschool. Times to be open will be around 2pm - 9pm weekdays, saturday: 8am to 12pm most likely, The reason for this: High school gets out at 1:40, no reason to waste money and run up bills on the business if no one will be there for it.
As to prevent the customers from getting bored, I am asking suggestions before I even open. I had requests like "there should be live bands" and "there should be competitions" these are things that will want people to keep on coming. taking weekly events is seemingly a great idea. But I do agree that I need more research.

@lynx, I understand that prices for this can be VERY harsh, so I'm doing research on it I'm not going to debate this until I can achieve proper facts down to the last cent! And make sure I can afford it with being able to pay the bank back in the interested required in a timely manner. My family isn't too poor, so don't get us wrong there.

[Keebler Elf]

With advent of computers and emulators there are no reasons for me personally to go there if i lived in your town. Internet kills small bussiness that deal in gaming on site. ( atleast from the ones iv seen people try to start around where i live)

[renzo]

Arcades aren't good business because nobody goes to them anymore.  If you want a hang out for kids you're going to need to make it more than just an arcade.  A lounge/arcade might be able to survive, maybe even offer burgers, nachos and pizza to make rent.

Just a suggestion, but ultimately I think this would be a huge waste of money and time and will just leave you and your family a huge pile of debt to deal with.

[deathtaker26]

@renzo:

> Arcades aren't good business because nobody goes to them anymore.  If you want a hang out for kids you're going to need to make it more than just an arcade.  A lounge/arcade might be able to survive, maybe even offer burgers, nachos and pizza to make rent.
>
> Just a suggestion, but ultimately I think this would be a huge waste of money and time and will just leave you and your family a huge pile of debt to deal with.

Yeah I was pondering this too, I deffinately want a lounge area as well. It would be more than an arcade. The idea also included a dance floor and a stage as well. A burger joint is a pretty cool idea, I'll definately keep that in mind and another suggestion I've heard for some reason is a graffiti wall, basically a place for locals to get there band name out, or for people to just right fun messages. The reasoning behind this suggestion was "It will give you a cool recognition saying that the staff isn't too strict and is like the cool kind of employees that conversate with customers.

[Justn]

I go to arcade auctions every few months and let me tell u every little thing u will need is very expensive…. I have bought 2 machines in 3 years and they were Hellas expensive and not even that top flight of games.. and judging by the number of auctions each year arcades don't do that much business unless its chuck e cheese or something like that good luck but beware it takes money to make money

[deathtaker26]

alright, I'll keep that in mind, thanks. But I just thought: My dad's a contractor and can easily make the frame work of the machine. I'm more of a computer tech person and can easily install a joystick and stuff into a computer with roms  would it be possible to make my own Arcade machines? and If so is it possible to install quarter slots?

[Justn]

Yea its possible I think people do that as a hobby i forget what its called… You should look into that seems like it would cheaper than buying the older ones.. Also try to find auctions to attempt to find some deals.. my friend just bought some casino stuff and a pool table at an arcade auction for pretty good price.. I bought nfl blitz and some airplane shooter game for cheap (only things i could afford)

[evilbunnie]

No one plays that shit anymore. Our generation has moved on to the now-mainstream games. Internet cafe is your best bet.

[Gwen]

Having grown up in the tail end of the glory days of arcades I can tell you that an Arcade is no longer viable. Console gaming has killed the arcade.

First off, as its been said an arcade game is very expensive. Unless you can find one in at a liquidator be prepared to pay a high price. Not only were they expensive before, but many arcade games are now falling into the collectors realm. I have a Street Fighter II arcade cabinet, and had to go to an arcade store to buy parts. They had a bunch of games in the back warehouse, and i was all excited. I thought maybe i could buy a new game. Even a cabinet that was totally beat up, and was an ancient game that I've never heard of was minimum $800.

Now lets look at existing arcades. There aren't any pure arcades left anymore. Any place that has an arcade has other things that drive people in, and the arcade games are the last feature to be promoted. They are really more of a time waster while waiting to do something else. The only real places with arcade games are Chucky Cheese, miniature golf, bowling alleys,and pizza places. Bowling alleys only have the arcade to keep the kids happy while their parents have league night. There is a bowling alley by my house that is a lounge/bowling alley and it has a few arcade games, and some pool tables, but no one ever goes in that area really.  I know you said that you are planning on having a dance floor and other stuff, but those should be your focus.. not the arcade section.

Next we have the games that are in most arcade places. 98% of the games have been switched over to ticket based games, where you cash in your ticket for a toy. Go into any Chucky Cheese and you'll see what I am talking about. You will probably find 3 or 4 true arcade games, and the rest are the games of luck to get a measly ticket, and chances are the actual arcade game will not have anyone playing it.

Now lets talk about the price of the games at these places. Unless the arcade game that this place has is an old game the price to play it will be expensive. Most of the fancy arcade games ive come across are at least 75 cents to play. Only the old games are a quarter. Then as you walk around these places you'll notice that 2 of the 4 arcade games are broken. The establishments dont fix them because they dont make money off of those machines. Only the games that bring in money will get fixed.

You can build your own arcade cabinet, and use an emulator called MAME. You can use a coin door, and everything… but if you use this in an arcade that collects money you are breaking the law. Unless you actually own the PCB of the game you are emulating it is 100% illegal! Even if you own the PCB you are in the same gray area with the backing up the console games you own and playing them on your console. There are only like 5 arcade games that are public domain which you can legaly have. I have over 300GB of arcade roms, cabinet plans, and other stuff for building a cabinet so if you have any questions i can direct you in the right place. Those multi game cabinets that you were talking about are glorified mame cabinets, and If i remember correctly from when i was in the arcade emulation sceen are purchased from the black market, and are not necessarily legal.

Your best bet is to run a business of the other stuff you were talking about... but even those are really risky. We used to have a lounge near my house when i was in HS, that we would go to, but it only stayed in business for a few months. Really a lounge experience will only work well if there is alcohol. You might be able to pull off a lounge for kids, but Im sure there will be kids that will try to sneak in alcohol, and you would be held liable if anything happened. You mention that you will serve food. Are you a good cook? Offering just hotdogs, or your burgers that you make for Tuesday night dinner wont cut it. Unless you are a good cook, and can offer something special, people wont go to your place to eat. And since the arcade truly should be a second thought they definitely wont go there for the arcade. The dancing would be a good idea for a little bit… but unless you have a high percentage of single people I don’t think the dancing will last long. Most people go dancing to meet other people. Sure you have those couples that like to dance, but most of the time its just a place to hook up.

TLDR;
Focus on other aspects to bring people in, and have an arcade as a secondary option to keep people there. If they have something to do while waiting for their food, or space to clear out they might stick around and drop a few dollars into the arcade game.

[Lynxaria]

@Captain:

> Internet cafe is your best bet.

I agree with the Wabbit. This could turn out to be more profitable for you in the long run. This strangely was an idea I have had floating around in my own head for a long while now, a lounge/internet cafe place for people to play games (perhaps trade or barter as well), buy games, coffee, and relax. We don't really have anything like that here, unless sitting at Tim Hortons counts (which is lame!).

[Anna Comnena]

Gwen pretty much covered it. I'd love to see arcades come back, but they aren't commercially feasible anymore. I don't know why the cabinets are overpriced but they are, and there are so many other stupid expenses that they will entail.

A few years ago a group tried to remake an old arcade type of store, they only lasted maybe a year (that place was fun, they had a lot of the classic games like Rampart for real cheap). But pure arcades have no draw anymore; pure video gamers have their babby's first console systems now.

The only places offhand that have arcades anymore are places that have other things. Dave & Busters which is a chain (and overpriced), has it's bar and grill as the main pull; another closer to pure arcade, is a side room at a bowling alley (obviously the bowling is their main pull). Another recent place that started around the time of that arcade I talked about before, was a lazer tag place; they had a couple lazer tag arenas to play at, and then an arcade on the side – mainly to play games while you wait for the next match.

So pretty much, you'd need to do a lot of different stuff than just an arcade to make such a business commercially feasible. And if a business is not commercially feasible, all the expenses and insurance for running the place will just be a drain on you and your family's (and any other investor's) resources.

[Gwen]

Internet Cafes are going the way of the dinosour too. Unless you live in Korea, and have nonstop star craft tournies, you wont make much with an internet cafe unfortunately. We used have a bunch of those around here too, but now i only know of one, and I dont think anyone really goes in there except for maybe the owner's friends.

You have to have some other gimmick other than "Arcade", "Internet", "Lan games", boring generic food. Unless its different for some small town business where there isnt much existing technology, or anything to do ata all… the times for this type of buisness is long gone unfortunately.

[Anna Comnena]

Oh yeah that's true too. Internet cafes still worked when the average home still had dial-up internet. Now there isn't too much incentive to pay money to play on a strange computer when you have the same accessibility from home.

With entertainment based businesses, unfortunately they are high-risk because they have to provide technologies or experiences that are not commercially availible to the average home. The only reason cinemas are still hanging on is generally because they are large franchise chains, and that they have a year of legitimate screening before the films become availible to the home.

The OP's motives are nice though, giving a place for teenagers to hang out and something to do is socially beneficial to the community. It might be better to play the community outreach card and see if you can get any local non-profits for support or ideas. Maybe donations and improvement to parks, or if the weather is fair, outdoor theatres or something.

[deathtaker26]

I actually like this idea, I might try that instead, I just really want a place for people to hangout for once, our town SUCKS

[Kusy]

Arcade won't really do… but as said, you should make a social hub for gaming, that's what I always wanted to do. Some comics on the side and other geeky stuff won't hurt to sell too...

And with the arcade thing... you could always put a PS3 inside and give new fighting games an old school cabinet cover, it would look awesome and could end up being popular.