what up fellows…im thinkin about opening an arcade joint somewhere in the US (probably in an area that the scene isnt so big but still has alot of fighters desperate seeking players. i make fairly enough to pull this off…What i need to know is…
Where would a good spot to put one where players could go locally and the out of towners could go and it wouldnt cost them an arm and leg to get to.
Whats the average price for renting a building.
Whats the usual cost for buying cabinets, games, etc.
Would anyone else be intrested in running it with me.
Just make sure to maintain your machines. Our local arcade didn’t give a shit about stick maintenance back when it had Marvel. If it wasn’t DDR or Initial D, it wasn’t top priority.
I mean we all reallllllly love playing, and we all have dreams of running our own arcade and having the best of times while everyone from all around joins in the fun, but as an actual business it is pretty damn futile. There are exceptions to this of course, but I can count those on one hand. Otherwise I’ve seen FOUR such places (arcade / console centers) close down in the past year alone, three of which were in NYC.
If you’re going to do it, go for somewhere in the tri-state area that isn’t out in the MIDDLE of FUCKING NOWHERE like TGA, which to me seems to be it’s only real problem ;p.
its kinda like if i spend so much money in it i dont wanna go bankrupt…i have a good job now…kinda like the justin wong of it. Its kinda slow at times…for instance all of my post i do on shoryuken are at work!! Im thinkin of NC as one…or somewhere that doesnt really have a big arcade but has alot of teens/college kids.
I’ll give you the same advice I gave the last guy. Take the cash you’d put into getting your arcade started. Invest in teleportation research. Demand in return that you get the first working model, and put it’s counterpart smack dab in the middle of Tokyo, Japan.
Mostly I want to have fighting games like street fighter, tekken, etc. I wanted to do this is in the cheapest way possible but also effective as well. I had a few ideas . My first idea was that maybe somehow could you put a playstation 2 inside the cabinet and make it where when a coin is inserted inside the machine it is just like you hitting the start button on the controller. For example…if i were to have an arcade machine and had a PS2 inside when I put in a quarter it would play but when I lost i would have to insert another one. My other idea I was thinking is that I could load an emulator onto the cabinet and use the same method as above. Get emulators like KOF, old school streetfighters, and whatever else. I have no experience in programming the machine to do this. Where is a site I can go to to learn this skill and a site that sells used cabinets and game roms that I can buy to make my plans work. If I can buy cabinets for cheap and if there is an actual way of programming the machines to do the above then i think it would be a lil bit easier to run the business…
while this would seem t o be cheaper financially, if the companyes such as SNK, Capcom, etc find out you are using emulators to make money, they will take you to court, ASAP. I think even Sony would, for using their PS2 as a way to make money for yourself.
Emulation is great for home use, but for profit-making you will need real arcade cabs.
Yeah you may do better trying to go consoles rather than arcade cabs, since it’s a whole lot less money involved. Having a hybrid is quite possibly better than just straight arcade, though only if you have crowds that mix well. (So perhaps not a Cafe, cause people who sit and sip coffee aren’t necessarily the type to want to sit around a bunch of teenagers howling at videogames.)
There are pros and cons of putting it somewhere where there isn’t any other arcades around. Of course the pros being there isn’t much competition, but one of the cons maybe that you’ll quickly find out why that area doesn’t have an arcade, as they are hard to support.
In the end it may be easier to buy some cabs, set it up in your basement and just meet people and invite them to your house, haha.
It’s not worth the investment. The reason arcades generally still operate is because they don’t have to pay for new machines they payed for years ago when Arcades were financially stable in the early Marvel era, and then they just had to pay upkeep fees and for a few new games here and there. That and old arcades are likely paying less for real estate since they’ve been around for so long.
You could try a Dave and Busters route, or open up a lan/console cafe (although both aren’t exactly the most sound of investments either, but less of a risk on your pocket).
There is a really cool new/used game shop in my area that has several arcade machines. Since several people have proposed a hybrid traditional arcade/console arcade, maybe this approach could work for you. A game shop where players can both buy games and play console/arcade games would be like an oasis… theoretically, you could build a scene in your place simply by attracting walk-in customers.
Of course, that might be a case of trying to be all things to all people. But it’s just an idea. Personally, I’d love such a place.
Mm, that doesn’t sounds like a good idea, starting your own arcade and all.
We all know the scene has been dying a slow, miserable death and it’s just no use anymore, like others have stated. Plus, you don’t want to be opening up shop on the colored part of town where murders and graffiti would sully your business in the worst possible way.