So, I'm thinking about opening an arcade...

[Niode]

I've thought about doing this on a few occasions. I've been tempted to invest and own my own bar, but have a lot of video game themes/events with quite a few pinball and arcade machines. Something like the Mana Bar in Brisbane, Australia. We have quite a big gaming culture in my town, as well as a lot of young craft beer enthusiasts not to mention A LOT of great laptop/electronic musicians who I could get to play at the drop of a hat. It's all a pipe dream of course, but I wouldn't dream of opening something like this without having alcohol on tap. Of course that limits you to 21, but thankfully the drinking laws in this country aren't retarded.

Perhaps instead of taking a console and turning it into a cabinet which takes up a lot of room, just have flat screens and the console in the wall, it would take up way less space, allow more of them and you can organise your seating around it. If space is at a premium this would be your best bet.

You're going to need to combine this business with something more stable, such as it doubling as a bar. If you can get the people in (the draw being the video games) then you will make a killing off drinks. Especially cocktails, they're massively profitable, the ingredients cost practically nothing compared to the huge mark up you can put on speciality cocktails (£5 upwards in this country). This gets around the console licensing as you're not charging for them, plus it gets rid of any clunky pay to play systems. Just make sure you have house rules on them (maximum of 2 matches per person depending on the game) the punters will make sure they're being followed, believe me, they'll tell you when somebody isn't playing by the rules, and you can just get your staff to ask them to move on, if they kick up a fuss, kick them out. I've ran retro gaming nights at my friend's pub and the house rules were clearly defined and they were followed flawlessly, we had a few sore losers but it was all good in the end.

Honestly, I can only see this really working as a bar/arcade. I just don't think there is any money in the traditional arcade set up. You need to get people in and you need to make as much money from them as possible while they are there. Charging for entry isn't a good idea, you'll lose more money in repairs/maintenance than you would profit per head. You have to make sure you hit the sweet spot of not having machines that are too expensive per credit but also maintain profitability. You have to factor in that these machines cost money to just sit in attract mode. You've got to stay on top of the minutia to make sure you're being profitable.

If it was me, I'd have a few arcade machines that you rent out to other businesses, basically you give them a flat sum to have your machine in their business and you take home the profit. That way you have a way of rotating your machine inventory so if one machine starts to dip in popularity/profitability you can bring in a different machine to keep the interest. If you have a facebook/twitter (hint: you will) you can get punters in by stating you have a new machine. The best thing about doing that is you don't waste money having machines sat in storage. They're constantly earning money for you and you can vary your repertoire consistently. When the machines start getting too costly to maintain, sell them and get new stock.

You're definitely going to want the big hitters. Defender and Street Fighter II are musts. You WILL get repeat visits with these machines. They're impossible to ignore. You'll get people in that wouldn't normally go in purely because you have a Street Fighter or a Defender cab. There is a bar in my town that recently got a Street Fighter II machine and they get a ridiculous amount of repeat trade from it. Get a good classic pinball machine in there, something like The Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Indiana Jones, Attack From Mars, Star Trek: TNG. However be aware that they get very costly to maintain if you don't know how to fix them yourself, and they will break. It's inevitable. Stern tables are a bit more sturdy than the old Bally/Williams tables, but that's because they're newer.

Sorry for the epic post I just got a bit carried away because it's something I've thought a lot about.

[GSZX1337]

Of course that limits you to 21, but thankfully the drinking laws in this country aren't retarded.

Our drinking laws aren't retarded. They're just... special.

[aaron]

there are SO many arcade games on the central indiana craigslist right now. i just saw a street fighter II pinball machine too. crazy.

[the7k]

A gaming bar would be cool, and a much safer investment - only problem is, it couldn't work in my city. I'd have to look into moving it to another place.

Honestly, I would like to keep kids out of my arcade, but I just know that in this town, I'd need to rely on getting families in there. There is a fairly large university, but it is located far from the commercial hub. While college kids may be the type that would want to play - they are also the type that is usually broke.

Perhaps I should look into renting out some storage and just buying machines when I can without going broke. Perhaps I could test to see if this is a worthwhile idea by renting the machines out to other businesses? We have more than a few restaurants out here who rent Golden Tee machines - maybe I could see if they'd be interested in a different flavor. The money made or lost might be a decent way to find out if this area really would want something like this.

[JordanPlayer]

There is a place I have been to with some friends in downtown Houston called Joystix:
http://www.joystixamusements.com/

The arcade is also connected to a bar; so it brings in a varied crowd since you don't have to be over 21 (they are separate businesses). I believe it is once a month they have a special where you can pay $15 to play all the games you want; they give you one of those paper bracelets to wear. Has a ton of pinball machines (even has one of those new Avatar pinball machines), old arcade games, some newer arcade games, and some others like basketball, air hockey, etc. I can't remember how it operates on a normal day, if you pay full price to play when it's not a cover night or they have a different system.

[elmagicochrisg]

[JordanPlayer]

I was just putting an example out there of an arcade that is doing good business these days. I would agree that a lot of the success you would have in the early month/first year depends on how much you can invest; which in turn determines a lot of other factors such as location/size and how many games you will have at opening.

[elmagicochrisg]

[TheFuzz]

Just a though, but you could include a museum section, with a bunch of older consoles available to play. Bring in a new game for each every week or so. If you include a game store, allow a person to try before they buy.

If you are able to find a larger space in the future, you could include a store and play area for non electronic games. Magic the gathering, D&D, Warhammer etc., are all fairly popular. It brings people to your location and you'll probably find a lot of people with interest in both. Basically, try making it a place people come just to hang out with friends and meet new people with similar interests. If they're there, they'll be tempted to spend money.

[joehero]

A couple of things to keep in mind. The youth are your future customers. Completely cutting them out, in my opinion, would be a bad idea.
Also, Im not sure how much a liquor license is in your area, but here in Idaho Ive seen them as high as $70,000.00. You may want to start with just a beer & wine license. Also if you sell food, then its not considered a bar.
Best of luck.