I have a friend of mine who wants to build an arcade/import game store in the Atlanta area and wanted to get some opinions from others. Below are some questions so please answer even if you live too far away and wouldn't be able to go. Thanks ^^;
1.) How far would you travel to go to an arcade with all Japanese fighters, shmups, and rhythm games?
2.) How much are you willing to pay per arcade game type newer and older?
3.) How much would you spend per visit?
4.) How often would you visit?
Japanese Arcade
my advise would be to make is an arcade/slash something else like a cafe or a bar. unless you have a huge local gaming community or its near a college your job getting by week to week is going to be a hard one. I cant really answer your questions since i live in the UK but best of luck to the plan 

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shmups members can purchase here http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21158
shmups members can purchase here http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21158
That's what I was thinking too. I don't think the cafe would work, because of the loudness of the arcade unless there was some sort of sound proof section for it. The bar doesn't sound too bad though. That might actually be a good idea minus the fact that he would have to get a liquor license. Thanks for the ideas. Keep them coming ^^;Lordstar wrote:my advise would be to make is an arcade/slash something else like a cafe or a bar. unless you have a huge local gaming community or its near a college your job getting by week to week is going to be a hard one. I cant really answer your questions since i live in the UK but best of luck to the plan

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Zebra Airforce
- Posts: 1695
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:10 pm
I would definitely travel around 10 - 30 miles to go to a nice arcade (that's about how far I travel now.)
Here's some ideas I've had in creating a successful arcade:
-Keep Equipment in top condition
-Advertise
-Hold tournaments as often as possible. Tournaments will help create a community of gamers. You can add incentives like half price on games for players who are participating in the tournaments, or maybe 25% off of food or drinks (if you have a bar). Getting more players interested in a wider range of games will help you secure revenue.
-Have a wide variety of games
-Make your arcade as friendly as possible so that people will want to stick around for a few hours.
Here's some ideas I've had in creating a successful arcade:
-Keep Equipment in top condition
-Advertise
-Hold tournaments as often as possible. Tournaments will help create a community of gamers. You can add incentives like half price on games for players who are participating in the tournaments, or maybe 25% off of food or drinks (if you have a bar). Getting more players interested in a wider range of games will help you secure revenue.
-Have a wide variety of games
-Make your arcade as friendly as possible so that people will want to stick around for a few hours.

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GaijinPunch
- Posts: 15853
- Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:22 pm
- Location: San Fransicso
I'd have to say no to that one, seeing as a local arcade here was recently drug searched by police .. everyone there got frisked, questioned, etc. To be fair, there really were drug dealers hanging around. 3 people got busted.GaijinPunch wrote:Selling drugs out of the back won't hurt.
And yes the arcade is a dark, cig-smelling hole in the wall.
the trick is not to get caughtUdderdude wrote:I'd have to say no to that one, seeing as a local arcade here was recently drug searched by police .. everyone there got frisked, questioned, etc. To be fair, there really were drug dealers hanging around. 3 people got busted.GaijinPunch wrote:Selling drugs out of the back won't hurt.
And yes the arcade is a dark, cig-smelling hole in the wall.


Follow me on twitter for tees and my ramblings @karoshidrop
shmups members can purchase here http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21158
shmups members can purchase here http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21158
Yeah dude.... get smoked up before you head there, be responsible!! I do it all the time.
Damn Tim, you know there are quite a few Americans out there who still lives in tents due to this shitty economy, and you're dropping loads on a single game which only last 20 min. Do you think it's fair? How much did you spend this time?