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| Arcades | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 22 2010, 07:22 PM (204 Views) | |
| Dino Dan the Dinosaur Man | Jul 22 2010, 07:22 PM Post #1 |
What is a man?
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Coin-operated, video game arcades, I mean. Most are long dead or pathetic husks, but what do you think of the arcade concept in the current era of gaming? Does the idea of gaming in short bursts in such a public space appeal to you, or does the comfort of home-gaming (and services like the Xbox Live Arcade) mean that arcades are absolutely obsolete? What would it take for a new arcade to succeed now, and is it even possible to have a dedicated arcade rather than something as part of a larger whole (like the few machines that feature in cinemas and Megabowl)? I've often thought into the concept of what it would take to open a successful arcade business, and a small part of me wants to do so, though the other 90% of my mind says I should get a job in museum curation or archaeology, and that people wouldn't respond like in my idealised fantasy. Nonetheless I (through my current boredom) feel like outlining my ideas, if only for my own amusement. Layout There are 2 floors. The ground floor is spacious, featuring many machines in some undecided arrangement, but sorted by genre. The front of the arcades mostly a large window with a glass door so people can see inside. The walls are designed with some sort of arcade gaming-related mural. Upstairs, a bar (how else to get students in :p ), possibly designed on a videogame theme (like the real-life Luida's Bar in Japan, it could be designed as Lilly's Sea Cat Restaurant, or Tifa's 7th Heaven, or something less copyright-infringing). Featuring the appropriate Zelda shop theme and other such background music, the bar floor also has some game machines, games on screens built into the bar surfaces and tables themselves, and a stage for live music. The house band covers videogame music, of course. Games Back to a classic arcade setting, the games are what you'd expect. Shoot 'em ups, fighting games, retro machines, light-gun shooters, and the obligatory Dance Dance Revolution feature here. We also work with amateur developers to ensure we have exclusive content (that's the most unrealistic part I guess, because said developers of any real skill would be aiming for XBL or iPhone applications). Regular competitions are held, and new games are brought in regularly to freshen the selection (recommendations and requests are taken and considered). Prices This is the biggest issue, I think. Do people really want to put a couple of quid into a machine for such a short experience? I don't know. Would a personal subscription service work on machines? Most likely people would share their subscriptions with friends to cheat the business out of money. Revenue would also come from the bar and music. I'd have to get some advertising revenue in as well, realistically. That's it really. Thoughts? Improvements? ...Business partners? :p Really though it's more of a fantasy than a viable business plan. Edited by Dino Dan the Dinosaur Man, Jul 22 2010, 07:23 PM.
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| Blaze | Jul 22 2010, 08:28 PM Post #2 |
 
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When I was younger I used to go to the Arcade every night on holiday. I loved it, the games, collecting tickets for prizes, everything. Sure, it is quite expensive to play on the machines, especially if you want to win on the Simpsons Arcade Game, that was evil. Oh, and I became really good at DDR. XD I'd come to your arcade Dan, if you had Air hockey of course. :p Your ideas are great, I'd love a video gamed theme bar, itd be great to just hang out in. :) |
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| sqeak | Jul 22 2010, 09:14 PM Post #3 |
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Dont forget guitar hero arcade, thats always a crowd puller. It's really a shame arcades aren't as big as they used to be, and like Blaze said, have some traditional games too, air hockey, maybe pool and there are probably others. Also, f*** yeah, business partner. As for money, a membership fee or something?
Edited by sqeak, Jul 22 2010, 09:14 PM.
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| Leo | Jul 22 2010, 09:43 PM Post #4 |
James May is MY lookalike
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The issue is always if you suck at a game, you've just wasted £1.50 for 30 seconds. Of, course, this can have the effect of you thinking "Dammit, I'll beat it this time..." and trying again (I wasted £6 of Ghost Squad a few weeks back) As you've mentioned, Alcohol always helps. :P |
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| Takoa | Jul 22 2010, 09:51 PM Post #5 |
Merry
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Arcades are great fun! I completed House of the Dead 3 at an arcade on holiday once. :smug: About £20 of money that my mate's dad put in since he was watching me and was seemingly entertained by it. The last boss was very odd. Reminded me of the silver surfer. The shotguns were great fun to use. You should include one of those machines that have loads of coins in where you put in a coin and hope that it pushes a load of coins out. :p And how about some retro games like Donkey Kong and Space Invaders? I love the idea of 7th Heaven with the shop tune playing! :D If I ever win a load of money I'll donate some of it towards making that arcade possible. :) Maybe the price could be fifty pence a pop, opposed to the usual quid. More people might come in more often for longer if that were the case. |
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| Dino Dan the Dinosaur Man | Jul 22 2010, 09:52 PM Post #6 |
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What is a man?
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I can't come up with a way to manage that effectively though. If people are members, that's their payment - that would let them use unlimited machines for the membership period. Fine, but how does that work? A code to put in the machine? That could be shared. No membership, no entry? That deters less frequent customers and first-timers. I guess we're back to simple coin-operated machines - membership is unmanageable because it seems hard to police. |
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| Col | Jul 22 2010, 10:44 PM Post #7 |
Not Poodle
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I know a set of twins who have old, working arcade machines in their garage, purchased off of Ebay. Good fun! |
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| sqeak | Jul 22 2010, 11:48 PM Post #8 |
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Member cards that swipe, but also coins so you dont have to actually be a member? |
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| Dino Dan the Dinosaur Man | Jul 22 2010, 11:52 PM Post #9 |
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What is a man?
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Could you not pass a card around a group of friends, or lend it out when you're not going? This is all lost money. Also my double post would like deleting, please. Edited by Dino Dan the Dinosaur Man, Jul 22 2010, 11:53 PM.
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| Pokemaniac John | Jul 23 2010, 12:18 AM Post #10 |
Piranha Plant
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I understand that thumb prints are now used for shopping in some countries. Given that should this plan ever come to fruition it would not be for some time, perhaps that would be a viable alternative to membership cards by then? |
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| Dino Dan the Dinosaur Man | Jul 23 2010, 12:57 AM Post #11 |
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What is a man?
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Perhaps that would be the best membership solution, if the machines could be fitted with such scanners. But again you'd maybe get people attending in groups and using the finger of one individual to unlock the machines. That would probably happen on a small scale though because it is a lot of hassle for the... erm... designated fingerer.On top of that, there are people who wouldn't want to give their fingerprint to a private business, I'm not sure how widespread that is though. The plan will not come to fruition, at least not by my hand. I don't think there's a market for it, nor do I think it would be a rewarding career (well it's not a career at all). It's just my idea of a place I'd like to hang out really. |
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| Cieran | Jul 23 2010, 12:29 PM Post #12 |
Celebrate with cake!
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The real difficulty you'd have is overcoming the stereotypes. When I think of arcade, I think dingy, smoky (as the last time they were popular you could smoke in them :p ), drab pub carpeting with chewing gum in it, horrible wallpaper. You need to make it feel light an airy, like 2010, not 1985. Again though, an issue WOULD be pricing. Perhaps better would be a bar with an arcade attached for free, rather than the other way around. Charge an entrance fee like at a club, then free machines but costly drinks. I guess that wouldn't be a proper arcade though, it'd be a bar with a gimmick... |
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| picollo no. | Jul 24 2010, 09:02 PM Post #13 |
Screw the rules I'm Yuri Lowell
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Ah I remember the good ol' days on my way to Wales for whatever reason/holiday and stopping off at a service station and keeping mysefl amused on Time Crisis, House of the Dead and Virtua Fighter with their blocky graphics of awesome :x Hastings peer also used to have an arcade room dedicated to Tekken units which looked a lot of fun and Swansea peer if i Rember correctly from my last visit still had a reasonably lively arcade but sadly it seems you need to be somewhere by the sea nowadays to be able to enjoy a good arcade :( I don't see much of an issue by just having an entrance fee so people just pay at the door and stay for however long they want. Though pricing may be an issue as a balance will need to be struck between profit and not robbing an innocent gamer. |
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