Gamers! Questions regarding a business idea.

[Rich 12]

May be a better idea to have the venue as simply an internet cafe, maybe based on West / Divison Street in the student areas. That way you'd probably get regular business, and you could have the LAN parties in the evenings or specific nights etc.

 

Internet Cafes don't work nowadays, most people have got the Internet at home, and can make a coffee without paying £2.50 for overpriced coffee that's 3 times stronger than it should be.

[L00b 441]

You (OP) need to think about getting your USPs (Unique Selling Points) right, i.e. do/provide what punters can't get/do at home.

 

The comments in the thread about the fact that average Joe has a PC/console/web etc. at home are valid, to an extent.

 

So what can your place provide, that average Joe can't get at home? Me thinks, state of the art game "stations" or rooms, e.g. networked driving games with bucket seats and steering wheels à la arcade (Sega Daytona etc.), regular competitions with really good prizes (not just game discs or drinks vouchers, but ... mmm ... I don't know, some rare retro gaming stuff, full Rock Band kit, concert tickets with VIP passes, things like that), playing host to local clans with incentives, etc, etc.

[steev 10]

Damn, what L00b said would be sweeeet, I'm one of the many who'd rather do online gaming from home, but networked driving games from something that was set out properly would be fantastic!

 

There's more than 30,000 students in Sheffield in term time, market it right (flood around the Octagon with vouchers around Freshers' Week etc) & you should be able to get enough business in from that to make a decent go of it surely? A place I used to work did such a voucher blitz & quadrupled it's footfall for the next 3 months, until the vouchers ran out. Grab their attention enough when you get them through the door & they'll not forget so easily after the short-term memory loss has kicked in

[Gethical 10]

hehe, this idea came about because i want my own arcade. But there is no way we can get the capital for something like that.

 

A bit of a re think is going off after seeing a (famous) economics guy yesterday. Gave us lots to think about but overall I am positive. Thanks for all the input guys, it has been most helpful.

 

Fudging problem is that my computer has sparked and died which has ****** me off, think its just the psu but I'm not very mobile cus I've hurt my ankle and can't really drive or walk, grrr...

[L00b 441]

hehe, this idea came about because i want my own arcade. But there is no way we can get the capital for something like that.

 

You'd be surprised how cheap arcade cabs can be obtained for these days. Very often vastly cheaper than a state of the art PC or a 360/PS3.

 

Have a neb' at the FS section on the Jamma+ Forum (you'll need to register) for old skool, and the Arcade Otaku Forum (no reg required, I believe...) for newer/candy stuff, for some pricing intel.

 

That could be an interesting additional 'anchor' to your outfit.

[Gethical 10]

cheers L00b (y)

[Rich 12]

If I had the space, and the money, I'd love a Street Fighter 2 Arcade machine... I used to ROCK on the SNES version.

 

Shame the controls on the XBLA version on 360 are crap, but that's more down to the fact that the 360 controller is crap for SF style fight 'em ups.

[Gethical 10]

ah man, I'm sure a street fighter 2 machine would pay for itself in a day! They'd be queues round the block for it!

 

Maybe.

[mrknish 10]

If I had the space, and the money, I'd love a Street Fighter 2 Arcade machine... I used to ROCK on the SNES version.

 

Shame the controls on the XBLA version on 360 are crap, but that's more down to the fact that the 360 controller is crap for SF style fight 'em ups.

 

You can download Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD on PS3 now. Still an awesome game and the PS3 pad works great with it.

[jl-heating 10]

there is a net cafe on the wicker called patriot games they have competitions very regularly.

 

seem to remember being 1 pound an hr.

 

http://www.patriotgames.ltd.uk/store/

[ChrisTodd 10]

I used to have a client who did this, well something very similar.

 

The business closed after just over two years having lost a lot of money.

 

Although costly to get all the equipment you need, there is very little second hand value in it, add to that the cost of constant upgrades, repairs and games and all you seem to do is spend money.