New Arcade in NorCal (interest check)

Regional Matchmaking Pacific North
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UPDATE: Check http://forums.shoryuken.com/showpost.php?p=7787794&postcount=269 for the latest developments.

Hello there. I have lurked these forums for a long time, and now I want to ask for your help. I am planning to open a new arcade in the San Francisco bay area. I have a majority of the financing lined up and I have a few locations in mind. But in order to really pull the trigger on this, I need data. A lot of it.

First, a little on the goals of the place I envision. I want to make this a player’s arcade. That means no ticket games, no cheap trinkets, none of those thinly veiled versions of slot machines for children. I want to offer entertainment that will stick with people. Just like a good movie stays with you and makes you think about it throughout the week, I want to offer games that will “stay” in much the same fashion. That means the games have to be substantive and offer a unique experience for the people who come and play it. The list of games is as follows:

*Street Fighter 4 (4 linked hi res cabs)
*Blaz Blue (2 linked hi res cabs)
*Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion (2 linked hi res cabs)
*Gundam vs. Gundam (4 linked cabs)
*Marvel vs. Capcom 2
*Capcom vs. SNK 2
*Street Fighter 3 : 3rd Strike
*Ikaruga
*DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu
*Super Puzzle Fighter Turbo
*Neo Geo multi (King of Fighters 98, Garou Mark of the Wolves, The *Last Blade 2, Metal Slug 3, all of these of course variable)
*Possibly 1 or 2 large dedicated cabinets like Dance Dance Revolution or Initial D or the like.

As I mentioned before, I want this to be a player’s arcade. So this list will change with the wishes of the players. As well, for the players there will be weekly tournaments and prizes for things like single credit clearing the various scrolling shooters, posting videos online of tournaments, ect ect.

So in order to get an idea of what is important to you, I am asking for no more than 2 mintues of your time in filling out 6 questions in this survey:

NOTE: SURVEY UPDATED

http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=NCIDK_a21042b0

But perhaps just as important as catering to the already established players, this place will only thrive if it can bring in NEW gamers, and show them that the arcade can offer unique things that the home experience cannot. Any ideas concerning that would be very helpful. Some ideas I have are:

  1. Hold “clinics” for various games where a number of people could pay a set amount, the particular game would be turned to free play, and the people who signed up could play on it for a block of time (both winner and loser would have to get off, increasing rotaton and playtime for everyone).

  2. Keep games updated and rotating, so that the same crowd doesn’t just rule over the same set of games. Everyone will have to learn something new once in a while.

I am also considering secondary sources of income such as:

  1. Snacks and drinks, really a given.
  2. Offering a small showcase/shelf space for people who make custom sticks and the like
  3. Offering arcade parts.

Please keep any ideas you might have coming along. And please circulate the survey to as many people as you know who might be interested. The more data I have, the better I can know if this can (or cannot) work.

Sincerely,
Myung Kim

P.S. Check out post(s) #77 and #161 for additional discussion of points.

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hoooooooly shit yes

nothing to add sir, I just hope this actually pans out :o

edit: maybe KOF XII B)

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INteresting

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put it in berkeley and i will work the night shift everyday for minimum wage.

hell, i’ll work for arcade tokens

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You know there have been an handful of people who have posted saying they are going to open a arcade but never do. Not trying to get down on you or anything because I would love for there to be a arcade in the city. Just kind of skeptical on how you plan on keeping an arcade running with just fighting games in this kind of economy.

And as for which games to get, you should add guilty gear in there also.

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location: san jose.
den ur set.

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don’t do it. san jose already has golf lands with cabs

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WOW, I would definitely stop by here once a week or so(depending on the location). How big would the venue be? SVGL big? MGL big? I dont think you need a real huge spot as long as you have a place where the smokers can take their hit of nicotine. Also i think using the card system(like SVGL) would be way more efficient than tokens. would be convenient for us gamers and less messy for you.

make sure each cab has a mechanism or rule that helps keep some kind order of “putting your coin up to get in line”. from my experience remembering line-ups get a little hectic when there’s a bunch of people wanting to play on the same cab.

also would be a nice place to start running ranbats.

I dabble with about half of the games on your list. i also play GGxxAC and KOFXI. Maybe add those if you get enough requests? GGxxAC might be dead but i know that KOFXII is garbage and know a couple of people who’d rather play KOFXI instead.

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Yeah…location is very important. SFSU has a great selection of games, but it’s just too hard to get there/park there for most players. Good location = lots of players will come and play.

It might be a recession, but some people still have the cash; it’s not impossible or anything :lol:. I’m pretty sure before he pulls the trigger he’s looked up all the necessary information for running an arcade and all that.

That said, if this does happen (trying to be the optimist here) somewhere close, I’d definitely be there pretty often! :tup:

Edit:

Fixed that for you :lol:

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Ramin: I’m sure a lot of people have said they were going to open one only to back out. I can’t convince you that I’m any different other than to assure you that I have the cash to back my plan up (but I’m not about to post any bank statements :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: ).

I understand that the game list is kind of limited, but that’s why I’m asking for ideas and edits. I don’t know how or if something like this will survive. That’s why I’m asking all of you. :slight_smile:

LPN: Yeah, I know there’s a big old crowd in San Jo, but then I’m competing with all the Golflands and such that in the Sunnyvale/Milpitas/San Jose area. I’m looking to spread the love. :slight_smile:

masa: I’d love to open near my alma mater. :slight_smile: I still remember the sadness of the bearcade closing. But one of my main concerns is the tough regulations they put on retail there and the sketchyness of a lot of it. Crime + heavy cash businesses = trouble. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: But I do plan on running promotions, like discount tokens for Cal people, or SJSU people or the like.

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Arcades are more social and are not just a video game den imo. Make it like starbucks in that people will want to go there just to hang out since you’re probably not gonna get much profit from the cabinets.

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Unfortunately you will need the bullshit ticket games as well, you need to make it family oriented if you want it to be successful.

Good Luck

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Honestly though, without some major source of supplemental income I don’t think the place will be able to sustain itself. Golfland has minigolf, D&B has a bar, etc etc. How does Chinatown Fair do it :looney: I think that the cafe idea is a pretty good one, actually.

As far as arcade machines go, IIRC the big moneymaker for arcades these days are the DDR type games. Maybe you should look into getting one of those?

When SF4:CE comes out, though, I bet this place (and any other arcade that has it) is gonna make some major bank.

edit: Bearcade 2 :smiley:

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I know, San jose is a little far for me since i live in fairfield. at least in the city(SF) its closer for me lol and maybe a better chance of reeling in passerby’s and slowly transition them into the fighting game community.

I wonder how all the recent Online play will affect your arcade. Makes being lazy even easier =P. personally i like arcades more than home consoles. Can’t really put my finger on it, but i do.

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Host ranbats.

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wow this arcade sounds nice.

i hope you can find a place that can be easily accessed by bart.

edit: initial d is kinda dead. wangan is the new shit.

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ok ok. i concede that berkeley is too ghetto. they’d bust up the machines ghettofabulously. put it one city next to berkeley and i’ll work weekends for tokens.

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i heard some stories, but one thing i actually got to witness first hand was a misguided high school kid scratching up the initial D screen. the cops had to get involved, unfortunately.

anyway, glad to see another berkeley dude thinking about the arcade scene. i was also thinking about it back in the winter, but eventually realized that it’s just too hard in the U.S. to have the kind of arcade i’d want.

but hey, if this thing works out, i’d love to get involved in some way.

looking forward to hearing some good suggestions from people. i liked the cafe idea. you gotta have some kind of revenue. :tup:

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karaoke for Tyram

seriously tho, cafe sounds good.

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Or DDR for AfroCole :bgrin: [media=youtube]3RcoN3xqY6M[/media]