No offense but AiaB pictues look like pure shit. I wouldn’t want to be sitting on fold up chairs in a dimmly lit room. Also there has been many “LAN Centers” in Jacksonville with the same concept, a console center would be even cheaper, but same problems arrise, why have a pay for play service when you can do the same at home +GameFly or now Redbox?
Now if you added alcohol thats a different picture altogether. a la http://www.insertcoinslv.com/
you actually get to play against other people irl.
Trust me I am strongly considering beer and wine because getting licensing for that is easy. A liquor license on the other hand is a pain in the ass to get in Jacksonville. It’s also much more expensive than beer and wine.
When I say I’m using AiaB as inspiration it’s in reference to how he is keeping the arcade feel alive with his venue. He’s doing a great job and the community is supporting it. I only wish to provide the same type of experience as he is, of course with my own ideas and style thrown in the mix. I would just hope for the same support from the community here in Jacksonville.
Also I agree with King-Sun. I already made my point in my previous post that at home play whether being with a group or just you and a friend having a first to ten buys tacos session. (Shout out to my boys in Tally!) can never replace the spontaneity of that “arcade” experience. There really is nothing like it IMO and that is why I am passionate about starting this gaming center.
I appreciate all the feedback guys. Please keep it coming.
[FONT=Helvetica]
Yo what’s up Jax? Went to high school here but headed out to FSU for college and started getting serious about fighting games. Back in town for a couple months in between semesters and wanted to know what’s good with the scene. Was hoping there were some gatherings or events I could make it out to so I can level up before heading back to the Tallahassee scene and blowing those guys up in AE and maybe Marvel (if any Tally guys are reading this. . . haaaaaaaaaa). Would love to get involved with the great players of Jacksonville for what little time I’m here! Gamertag on XBL is RobJarv if anyone wants to get at me online too.
Rob Jarvis
@Priest, that sounds like a pretty neat idea and I hope that you can make it profitable however you can. I know Henry Cen’s Next Level Arcade started doing stick/console modding, maybe repairs and modding could be a factor to make more money? Also, are you Priest as in DDR Priest? I think Mike G/Miyomei might have mentioned you when I was out in Tally, and I think I caught your tag on the X2 machine at Lat 30!
[/FONT]
If you’re directing it towards serious players, you would definitely need some ASUS monitors so we have what’s used to practice on. Bottom line is, I’m one of the people who is actually serious about getting better, and would love something like this. If you sold an all day pass for like 15 bucks, I’d go at least once a week.
Another thing is, I haven’t seen a lot of these guys in awhile and I miss em so, the fact I can just go hang out with my friends is also fantastic. People are just too lazy/broke these days to want to get up and do anything about it. If I had the money, and/or the time, I’d have casuals at least once a week at my place.
@Jarv yes I am DDRPriest. That is an excellent idea to have a modding service. I didn’t think about that at all actually.
@Luke Yes I had planned on using Asus monitors ala Evo and Spektrum. One question I’m having a hard time with is should I run 360, PS3 or both?
i would run a mix of 360 and PS3s. even if everyone had every console, one of them is gonna be an outlier so its best to cover your bases as some people arent gonna be interested in 360/PS3 converters. also, i agree with Luke’s idea of day passes (or even monthly passes…maybe). its easy money and keeps people in your center. i still think the biggest things though are gonna be tournaments and leagues for different games provided you keep them on consistent days so EVERYONE knows thats the day to come to play so and so game.
and as an addendum to the reason why these arcade/game centers are preferable to your house…unless for whatever reason you allow EVERYONE in your neighborhood in your house at any given day (im sure if you do we can all guess why.), these places are about the best we have at networking with other people who may not post on SRK or TYM or 8 Way Run or VFDC or Mishima Zaibatsu or any other big fighting game community board. so theres always a good chance you might find people you havent met on here and maybe yall go to each others house for practice when you cant go to the center that day in anticipation of the next tournament.
[/FONT]
50 million dollar money match when you get back. In Marvel AND AE.
Just popped in here to remind you guys that we have a tournament on July 9th! Marvel, AE, MK9 - $2 venue fee, $10 per game. Only a couple hour drive away!
You have to use PS3 and 360. You would need each fighting game for both systems because some people have just one system sticks or play on a certain system. Like Tekken is mainly a ps3 game. Have me ever met before?
Also, I would be fully behind you if you were to start something like this. Any idea on the location?
I had the same thought regarding systems so I’d be running both.
I don’t know if we have ever met.
I appreciate the support. I’m getting great feedback from everyone about the idea.
As far as location I was looking for something in the area of Town Center. That location has less to do with Town Center itself and more to do with the area being close to 9a and I95 as well as UNF. I feel it’s a pretty central location, but nothing is set in stone. I’m still looking at everything available. Cost is a huge factor as I know I’ll only be able to bring in so much revenue and I don’t want to get in over my head. Keeping it as minimalistic as possible is my gaol right now. Get a place opened up that we can all gather at that is open to everyone and is guaranteed to be open at specific times to ensure reliability and help community growth. From there it can become bigger and better offering more to the community.
there used to be a internet cafe spot In that shopping center where jea is off jtb. Considering that shopping center looks like a wasteland now maybe you should liook at some places there. And maybe heres Idea too it doesn’t have to be just a arcade it could be a lounge of some sort where people could come and watch the game on a big flat screen/paper view on certain nights.
as long as its near blanding and not really out of the way like in regency or some shit im cool.
face it man everything that was tired In the op area is done. Hopefully karma would start hosting stuff again for the westside people. If downtown wasn’t so f’ed up I would say to host them there but who wants to leave there In the evening only to get heckled by 10 crackheads?
NOBODY thats who. but yeah, downtown area is shit. i couldnt tell you what else was there besides some bank buildings and maybe a sandwich shop or two. and
as for anyone trying anything in the orange park area, i havent really heard anything since what went down in Suncoast Comics. of course their problem is theyre really more of a miniatures and comic store than anything else. and while i like the people at Underground Alley, nobody is going to f’n middleburg to play anything unless its something Tyger does.
I hope you didnt take my comment the wrong way. I am all for the idea, and would support the concept at least once a week, more if the ball and chain would let me.
Anyways, back to the booze, sometimes its easier/cheaper to buy a license off of a failing business. (Cheaper not by much, but cheaper nonetheless. Think poolhall but with games…
Also it may be taboo to say on these forums but you may want to open it up to other games FPS, Wii’s et al. Although you are opening it up to the COD crowd, snot nozed brats that they are, its still money.
I think you have a good set of ideas, PM me if you are in need of some seed money 
I didn’t take it the wrong way at all. I just wanted to clarify what I meant when I said I was inspired by AiaB. Trust me I’m taking all feedback as constructive criticism. Listening to any and all advice will make this work better as it’s all about the community. If I don’t deliver something worth while to you guys then I am sure to fail. Thank you for the support and offer.
As far as other genres I had them in mind, but later on and only as a possibility at best. I feel fps is rewarding enough online that it doesn’t require a gaming center. Unlike fighting games where critical timing and execution are crucial and impossible to recreate online. Add to that the already mentioned arcade atmosphere that fighting games were born into and you can understand my hesitation to add other genres.
However, if it’s a fighting game and people want to play it then it will be there. I can’t stand Smash, but I know there is a large following for it here so I’d have it on hand. If a demand for FPS grows than I’d get it.
There’s a gaming center out in Tallahassee called Gamescape: you pay by the hour or for a pass and you get to play on one of their 25+ 360/Asus/Turtle Beach headset setups. It’s designed for kids who don’t have an Xbox but want to game online for sure, but a lot of FPS dudes head there for gamebattles matches and stuff like that. I know there have been some fighting game tournaments there (and one coming up on July 9th! AE/Marvel/MK9!) and they’ve also expanded to CCG guys with Magic and YGO.
They’ve expanded their setups to have more 360s, more PS3s (they originally had 2, basically for the 360 kids that wanted to play PS3 exclusives like god of war), some gaming PCs and now they have a couple 32 inch lcd TVs for Wii and Kinect games. They seem to be doing pretty well but I think their demographic isn’t exactly what you’re aiming for. However, having a couple non-Asus-monitor TVs in there for Wii/Dance Central/Kinect games could bring more people in there but only if that’s what you’re going for.
I like King-Sun’s idea of just having some TVs for watching sports/PPV stuff like that. There might be some public performance laws regarding PPV though I dunno. Just some ideas. The fact that you’re interested in making something like this is really awesome/exciting; when it comes together any time I’m in jax I’ll hit it up!
Sorry about the late post, but Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there. Keep your children close and keep doing what you do, as long as you have yours!!!
To post to the topic at hand, Brandon, do what you do and I am sure you will get support from the FGC. Just know that most of these style places are not catered for the FGC, they just do things to let them feel welcome. You seem to be going full out for the FGC which is cool and all but, you have to look at your community to see if that would even be a good idea. If we are not playing to get to a very high level then this place might be empty all the time. Meet up’s once a week is not going to help you much, but if you can get a weekly going on with decent numbers, that means that you would have people in there the rest of the week (when the time was available to them) trying to prepare for the weekly’s.
Arcades are close to gone and that would be what these types of places are trying to replace. I do not know about the rest of the posters here but, I spent the most of my “Arcade Time” in my adolescent years, (12-17) it could be where I grew up and how popular arcades were back then, but, I still do not see Arcades/Lan-centers pulling in the older crowds, and that is what the FGC is, the older crowd (hence why having beer/wine is a good idea).
You also have to think about the demographic you are aiming for. (if the FGC is the aimed demographic) Not just our current one, but, are there the kind of people in our town that want to take advantage of a place like this. You are looking at people 16-28 years old who have passion about hobbies. Not to be rude but they are just not around this area that I have seen. (Music, Sports, Cars, Shopping, Outdoors etc…) Not many popular night clubs either in our town and no kids clubs for our youth . Really we just do not have enough people in that middle range that continue to live in and around this area for much, because there is not much here for them.
I am not saying it would never work, but I am saying that it will be hella hard to stay open. I support Underground Alley every week because I want something like that place for my children when they are ready to take advantage of it. But in the reality, they are empty most of the time and I am just going to move back to So Cal when my in-laws are cool with it, because I want more for my children, and I believe that is what most people our age is/should be thinking about because there is not enough in this town for us.
After all that is said, just be open to all kinds of gamers, (console and PC if you want) and know that the younger crowd is where your money is at, (Just like in arcades) because they will go there just to not play at home and have a more game friendly environment than their house provides. Weeklies/bi-weeklies/monthlies are going to have a nice ammount of people there because we have no other place really, but to rely on us to keep the doors open is like saying that arcades can survive no-a-days without DDR/ITG/Pump It Up or some kind of car/gun games in them. It just does not happen, but we will be there for you man!!
Good Luck, as I know you are very serious about it and hope it at the very least come to fruition for you!!
I will play TvC every time I get a chance up there, and bring my computer so we can play Vampire Savior/EFZ!!
Things actually happen in this area wtf where have I been? Apparently there’s nothing in OP though, man being jobless/car-less sucks.
So, any sessions going on? If not I may have a small one tomorrow at my house or at my friends house because his parents are out of town.