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

[Balasubbie]

Not to be the carrier of bad burden, but the only way my local arcades have managed
to survive this long is by relagating their gaming stock to barely visible niche items tucked
away in the corner, and their former place taken by rows upon rows of slot machines.

Whatever of the old community that remains satisfies its craving for gaming action
with weekend tournies (which utilize modern consoles as opposed to old machinery)
and club nights. It's a shame, I believe this kind of thing can work wonders if done
properly and marketed well enough.

[Anayo]

I haven't read the entire topic, just the first post.

My only suggestion is to find a compromise between profitability and something the folks at Racketboy would actually want to show up for, even though we're in the minority.

That means you'd probably have to have a lot of casual claw machines and "Big Buck Huntin' 2000" stuff to draw in the masses, but if there's a Neo Geo MVS and Centipede there too, I'd personally show up for it.

[Jrecee]

Didn't read the whole topic, but if your location is going to be in a mall I'd say tokens are better. There is more of a chance that a kid with parents will walk buy and be allowed 5 minutes to play a few games. They won't be willing to pay $10 for that amount of entertainment.

There were some good ideas in the other topic about arcades made in the last couple weeks. (some of them were mine)

i would think an arcade's primary goer would wouldn't be a kid, but would be actual adults. if the arcade had good enough machines, i bet people would want to go and make a day out of it, which is why i said earlier to have a flat out fee for unlimited game play. the company probably wouldn't make too much money if it was based on people dropping in for a few minutes to use their one dollar they have in their pocket or dropping in because they have 5 minutes to kill.

I agree, but my suggestion was if he put it in a mall with a lot of people walking back and forth past it. They might be curious to check it out, but aren't going to do so if it costs $10 to even enter.

I don't think a mall is the right place for that style operation.

[skyknight]

There are lots to things to consider, but what demographic would you like to attract to your arcade? If its near the college, then maybe focus on being 18+, since I doubt any grade school kids could be near by.

With alcohol, man, that can get nasty, there could be drunk fights, or pukers in your place, you found a crew willing to take care of those accidents?

[elmagicochrisg]

[the7k]

Okay, I think I may have just hit the mother load. Found a guy who wants to get rid of all the arcades he has accumulated over the years for $600. These include:
Marvel vs Capcom 2 Kit
Capcom vs SNK Kit
X-Men vs Street Fighter A & B Boards
Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter A & B Boards
Street Fighter II: Championship Edition
Tekken 2
Time Killers
Plus More, although the rest is stuff that I wouldn't really care to run. They'll just make for places I can put those kits/boards.

Only problem is that it is quite a drive and I'd definitely need a truck. Luckily, there's a storage rental place that has a promotion where you get a free truck rental when you sign up! Is climate control at all necessary if I'm just storing arcades?

[skyknight]

I am sure you would want a cool and dry environment to store any electronics, as moisture can do damages at the micro/nano scale, and heat could deform some plastics.

[the King]

Okay, I think I may have just hit the mother load. Found a guy who wants to get rid of all the arcades he has accumulated over the years for $600. These include:
Marvel vs Capcom 2 Kit
Capcom vs SNK Kit
X-Men vs Street Fighter A & B Boards
Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter A & B Boards
Street Fighter II: Championship Edition
Tekken 2
Time Killers
Plus More, although the rest is stuff that I wouldn't really care to run. They'll just make for places I can put those kits/boards.

Only problem is that it is quite a drive and I'd definitely need a truck. Luckily, there's a storage rental place that has a promotion where you get a free truck rental when you sign up! Is climate control at all necessary if I'm just storing arcades?

I had my games out in my garage for 2 years, no issue. It's pretty common for collectors to store their games in a storage unit.

[Retro]

Oh would I love to go to a arcade here in the UK. (A real one, not one of these effortless ones you see in cinemas and some shopping centres)

I haven't been to the seaside in a while, but I do hope the arcades are actually still there, (it was the main reason we went there as kids).

I'd love to run an arcade (but its a shame I don't have any sort of money to fund such a venture).

(I will admit I haven't read the rest of this thread...)

Now this may seem a bit mad, but couldn't one intergrate a prize system with the games themselves.

So long as the scores aren't reset frequently, could a "player" be rewarded if they set a high score with a prize depending on where they score on there.

I guess that would be almost impossible to implement, but it could work if you had some kind of membership scheme to compliment it.

Say someone pays a small monthly fee for a membership. They get some extra perks like bonus tokens, certificates when they complete a game, a newsfeed when new machines are in stock or old ones being put up for sale (maybe at a slight discount), a small discount on merchandise.
They have a registered 3 letter tag (or 6, but 3 would cover most games) that only they can use, and so long as they enter it in the game, when the scores are checked at a certain period, any members that score on there get a prize.

That could encourage people to come in regularily, supplement that with tournaments, support for the local community, (so try to arrange some events with other businesses, schools/colleges/universitys), sales, good advertising, and events, it may just work.

EDIT: Speaking of events, maybe one could have some sort of free play day for members on certain machines, peferably ones just released. I could imagine if you get a decent community running, a chance to get to grips with the latest fighting or racing machine might get people back in and socialising.
A communty forum/chat could be good as well.

[fvgazi]

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.

Here in NY we not only have baby castles, but...... BARCADE! My friends have been a few times, but I haven't. Basically it's a bar with a few games set up.
http://barcadebrooklyn.com/

What city are you in that this wouldn't work?