Arcade in Dublin

Reanimemmett

How frequently would you visit an arcade in Dublin?

It would have these games at least:

• Street Fighter IV
• Third Strike
• KOFXII
• BlazBlue
• Capcom Vs. SNK 2
• Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
• Hyper Street Fighter 2
• Tekken 6

Location: In the city or a within 15 minutes walking distance.

Price: Would be as reasonable as possible. 50c would be the aim.

Cunny-Funt

Does also depend on the price though, not been to an acrade in years but knowing this country, I doubt its 25c a go... prob a euro at least :mad:

Monkeyto

Well I'll happily go to an Acrade but the prices have to be reasonable too! I pay nothing more than a Euro at the most (considering I'd find a Euro expensive as it is!).

Dreddybajs

There's no possible way to make money out of this venture. :pac:

Red350

If it was close to trinners, and you managed 50c, I'd be there everyday :pac:

Dreddybajs

Trinity had (probably still have) a mame cabinet in the arts block or wherever the place with all the couches in it with some SF2 version on it...last time I tried it though, the 2P side was broken. :pac:

Xinkai

I'm still a regular goer to Dr.Quirkeys to play DDR & Tekken 6 I'd welcome a new arcade with fighters. 50C a game would be perfect. Just as long as this new arcade has DDR Xtreme

chopperbyrne

Not that often to be honest.

The gaming centre offers far better value for money.

Reanimemmett

Xinkai wrote: »

I'm still a regular goer to Dr.Quirkeys to play DDR & Tekken 6 I'd welcome a new arcade with fighters. 50C a game would be perfect. Just as long as this new arcade has DDR Xtreme

Forgot to mention T6 up there.

Xinkai

Reanimemmett wrote: »

Forgot to mention T6 up there.

Nope, just DDRX

K.O.Kiki

Make it 3 or 4 coins for €1, 1 coin/game.

And I'd move to city center to play.

I'm dead serious.

*edit*
Oh, and MAINTAIN the machines -- I'm talking regular replacement of buttons/sticks, BEFORE they're worn out. Maybe sell the 2nd-hand parts for cheap.
Hell, hire me & I'll do it for you!

ironictoaster

I'd go all the time if you could keep out scumbags hanging around outside it and around the cabinets.

Kirby

creggy wrote: »

I'd go all the time if you could keep out scumbags hanging around outside it and around the cabinets.

We live in Dublin....thats impossible .

Its not profitable anymore. Arcades are from an era where most people could only afford maybe one console and a couple of games....so it made sense to hang out there and play games you couldnt afford.

Nowadays, everone has their own consoles and internet connection. The market just isnt there.

Dreddybajs

Seriously agree with Kirby. This can only be a money losing venture if you are seriously thinking about it.

chopperbyrne

Unless you also get a gambling license and put in lots of gambling machines, an arcade is simply a money pit these days.

The cost of a few SF IV, T6, KOF XII and BlazBlue machines would be over €100,000 and there is no way you'll make that back off a few dedicated fighting game players.

Reanimemmett

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Unless you also get a gambling license and put in lots of gambling machines, an arcade is simply a money pit these days.

The cost of a few SF IV, T6, KOF XII and BlazBlue machines would be over €100,000 and there is no way you'll make that back off a few dedicated fighting game players.

I wouldn't be asking these questions if it was going to be that much.

Orim

I don't think that a fighting game only arcade would work. There isn't enough players out there to make the money, especially since some players live away from town and travelling wouldn't be viable all the time. Therefore you would need to have other games - light gun games, shmups, rhythm games.

Also I think that the list of fighters is too long. For example I wouldn't think KOF and CVS 2 would make money. Keep it simple and popular - SFIV, T6, Soul Caliber 4. MVC2 might work as people would recognise characters. BB/GG games might work because they are pretty and look insane but I wouldn't bank on them.

I don't think an arcade would replace the gaming centre for large scale casuals/tourneys because as chopper said it offers better value.
You need to go for the after-work crowd and people living in town. A key to this would be having a social feeling to the arcade so if I randomly decide to go down then I would be able to get a game/have a laugh. I'm not sure how you would go about this but the staff would be important as they would be there all the time. They would need to know the games and be able to get on with people. There is other things you could do - free/cheap drinks or refills after a person has been for a certain period of time, allow people to bring their own music to play if there would be a sound system.

That is my rambling 0.02 euros.

K.O.Kiki

You only need 3 fighters:
Street Fighter IV (huge playerbase in Ireland), Tekken 6: Battle Revolution (will be huge), and other (I say BlazBlue or Marvel). Third Strike would be cool, but its time is gone, and you wouldn't find any working PCBs anyway (CPSIII PCBs tend to die after about 10yrs once the battery fails).

Now, as to the "how to make money" bit -- advertise. Host regular tournaments. Have machines cheap, at all times (3rd Strike didn't get big in the US until machines were reduced to 25c/game). Create a COMMUNITY (this is important!).
Make your money from sweets & drinks.
And have some non-fighting machines for drawing people in - dance games work very well IMHO, and don't require as much space as dedicated racing cabs.

And whatever you do -- don't turn into Quirkey's!

*EDIT*
Oh yeah, and as for value: we pay €5 for 4hrs in XGC. 1 game of SFIV (3 rounds) is about 3-4mins, so I'm getting max 60 games in. Realistically, I'll only get half that, so 30 games.
Now, if you make each game in the arcade cost 25c, those 30 games cost €7.50 -- except they're on proper cabs.
Would I pay the extra money for this?
HELL YES.

Owwmykneecap

That's forgetting that the SFIV arcade machine is the inferior version.
Until dash comes out. and that will cost €€€

chopperbyrne

Reanimemmett wrote: »

I wouldn't be asking these questions if it was going to be that much.

Can I ask where you're getting the cabs from and how much they cost?

As far as I'm aware a standard SF IV cab costs about €13,000 and it doesn't even have single machine two player, only link-up. Which means you would have to buy at least two. I know that at first Capcom wouldn't even take an order unless you bought four or more, but I don't know if that policy has changed or not.

K.O.Kiki

Yeah, but I've seen SFIV & Tekken 6 run in regular Candy cabs -- I think it's €13k for the Taito Vewlix cabs + arcade board together.

Placebo

arcade > gaming centre

atmosphere/buzz wise.
price wise might be a pricey but a card system where u get x credit for x amount would be a feasible solution, [seen it in singapore]

dont have to carry stick and can also play PS3 players etc

Reanimemmett

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Yeah, but I've seen SFIV & Tekken 6 run in regular Candy cabs -- I think it's €13k for the Taito Vewlix cabs + arcade board together.

Yeah, they can be run in regular cabs, it doesn't have to be Vewlix. I've found Vewlix L cabs for $4000. Obviously, if it ends up being viable there would be regular tournaments and promotions, free play nights at a flat rate and such. But I need to get a better idea of numbers.

Reanimemmett

Placebo wrote: »

arcade > gaming centre

Totally.

Reanimemmett

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

You only need 3 fighters:
Street Fighter IV (huge playerbase in Ireland), Tekken 6: Battle Revolution (will be huge), and other (I say BlazBlue or Marvel). Third Strike would be cool, but its time is gone, and you wouldn't find any working PCBs anyway (CPSIII PCBs tend to die after about 10yrs once the battery fails).

Now, as to the "how to make money" bit -- advertise. Host regular tournaments. Have machines cheap, at all times (3rd Strike didn't get big in the US until machines were reduced to 25c/game). Create a COMMUNITY (this is important!).
Make your money from sweets & drinks.
And have some non-fighting machines for drawing people in - dance games work very well IMHO, and don't require as much space as dedicated racing cabs.

And whatever you do -- don't turn into Quirkey's!

*EDIT*
Oh yeah, and as for value: we pay €5 for 4hrs in XGC. 1 game of SFIV (3 rounds) is about 3-4mins, so I'm getting max 60 games in. Realistically, I'll only get half that, so 30 games.
Now, if you make each game in the arcade cost 25c, those 30 games cost €7.50 -- except they're on proper cabs.
Would I pay the extra money for this?
HELL YES.

Thanks for the input. The whole idea is to try create a community with this, once it's viable.

Placebo

well i think youre looking at alot of expenditure here.
from renting a place to maintenance and eletrical bills, specially in the time of recession !

L31mr0d

Placebo wrote: »

arcade > gaming centre

I'd also like to be able to stand while playing SFIV... playing with a stick while sitting just doesn't feel right.

Kiki, why don't you build a SFIV cab then we'll come over to your place and pay you 50c per game

Cunny-Funt

Placebo wrote: »

arcade > gaming centre

What about a combination of the two? Instead of a place that has arcade machines only, what about mix? The idea being to bring more money into the place, I dunno what would work better a net cafe/ arcade or a console centre/arcade.

Or maybe theres something else that could go with an arcade that might work well thats not been thought of. Could bring more people in, and when they see the buzz people are having with the arcade machines/fighting scene, they might join in.

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Third Strike would be cool, but its time is gone

:eek: :mad:

Yea gotta have a 3s machine

DARK-KNIGHT

think it would have to be more open than just fighting games tbh!

rules for any arcade worth their salt

1)no scumbags allowed.

2)sign up with management refuse the right of admission where they see fit.

3)no slots or poker machines.

4)just a suggestion here but what about 9 ballpool tables? the shortage of them here is ridiculous could be very profitable for you! 12 - 15 euro an hour!:eek: just a serious way to help you stay afloat! but ill defo give you my business as im sick of quirkeys magical scumbag emporium lol:p

Xinkai

raycaulwell wrote: »

im sick of quirkeys magical scumbag emporium lol:p

BUT DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION X!!!!

DARK-KNIGHT

Xinkai wrote: »

BUT DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION X!!!!

lol dance revolution my arse lol that was a jim royle moment

chopperbyrne

raycaulwell wrote: »

think it would have to be more open than just fighting games tbh!

rules for any arcade worth their salt

1)no scumbags allowed.

2)sign up with management refuse the right of admission where they see fit.

3)no slots or poker machines.

4)just a suggestion here but what about 9 ballpool tables? the shortage of them here is ridiculous could be very profitable for you! 12 - 15 euro an hour!:eek: just a serious way to help you stay afloat! but ill defo give you my business as im sick of quirkeys magical scumbag emporium lol:p

If he wants to be profitable these should be the first thing he looks into.

Kinetic^

I don't think another arcade in Dublin is viable tbh. If it's this line of business you're thinking of, would you not set up something similar to XGC (with air conditioning ) with a rake of fight sticks, consoles and PCs (loaded with MAME or w/e).

At least with the consoles/PCs you can bring in a complete different type of market whether it be internet browsing or people who want to play COD/Halo/Fallout, which is what you'll need to keep things a float. You can still work on the fighting community but you'll open yourself up to a wider audience the pidgeon hole yourself into a market (fighting games) where most people have a console/PC at home.

You could even get some old arcade cabinets and customise them and load them with a PC filled to the brim with all your favourite games....although I'm not sure what the legal rights are for doing that.

Reanimemmett

I'm sure that idea is not very plausible because of copyright issues.

DARK-KNIGHT

chopperbyrne wrote: »

If he wants to be profitable these should be the first thing he looks into.

chopper tbh i stay away from kips that have those machines as they attract muppets and scummers generally, no offense if anyone here plays them! seriously though if those machines have to go in then in my opinion forget the idea otherwise your heart will be broken kicking out muppets that will treat your place like a den in afternoons and evenings!

i play snooker in a place that got those machines in and believe me it was a huge mistake as the standard of clientel has plummeted since they went in!

obviously the machines are profitable but things can get nasty too if someone throws a couple of hundred euro in and get nowt in return!

Placebo

theres no gap in the market, there is no market for this.
why would ppl go here instead of XPC?

defo not worth it, from an angle. It would be amazing but you wont make profit for a few years tbh.

Owwmykneecap

This idea has been discussed on the neo empire boards countless times and the consensus is always:
If you don't have mix of arcade and lan style pc setups, you will fail.
If you don't have the stuff to attract tourists/passers by, eg DDR, racing games, probably pool tables, you will fail.
If you don't have Gambling machines which actually generate money, you will fail.

However Gambling brings in the scum and puts off people from the other two angles.

An arcade would struggle, a fighting game arcade would die, but a general entertainment emporium might work.

The real key is location. city centre, big passing trade etc.
But whet ever you did the fighting games would have to be only a section of whats on offer. probably in the corner..

K.O.Kiki

Guys, read this post & stop saying this will fail:
*The Once and Future Arcade*

Like I said: if you WORK for your business, your business will WORK for you!

Owwmykneecap

lol Religulous faith is all well and good but, you still need to eat, the sick need medicine and daddy needs shoes.

Orim

I agree that this would be a hell of a lot of hard work but I think it would be possible to make an arcade viable with enough work and money.

As an example there is Fubar Ducks arcade, Arcade UFO, in Austin. This seems to be running well, regular competition nights, new games and they sponsered a team to SBO.
This is in a city where arcades had died. The reason he opened the arcade was due to the fact that there was no arcades left in Austin.
There is only games in this arcade - no slots or other gambling machines. Having said that it's not just fighters.
IIRC the arcade is not in an ideal location (ala the main street).
Finally the city population of Austin is only slightly larger then Dublins and the metropoliton population is pretty much the same.

Link to the site : http://www.arcadeufo.com/index.php

Now this does not mean that it will work but it is an example of how it can work.

EDIT : I just relized that your poll is terrible. Why would you assume that everyone is going to visit an arcade at all. You have to accept that it is not viable for some people to visit at all.

Shotopunx

If you're into fighting games why wouldn't you go?

L31mr0d

Shotopunx wrote: »

If you're into fighting games why wouldn't you go?

Would probably be the commute for me. If it's in the city centre I'd probably head in every 2 weeks or so and spend ~€10 there. That being said, if it was packed with scangers I wouldn't really bother.

The arcades where I used to live where in walking distance, where usually 20p a game (3 for 50p) so I could easily get in a good few games on my weekly allowance. If an Arcade opened up within walking distance to me that had SFIV machines I'd probably be there for at least an hour most evenings of the week.

Orim

People might not go because they live away from dublin and travelling to visit an arcade is not viable.

Kinetic^

HMUYA wrote: »

EDIT : I just relized that your poll is terrible. Why would you assume that everyone is going to visit an arcade at all. You have to accept that it is not viable for some people to visit at all.

I've added a few options to the poll to cover everyone.

bush

Id go for tournaments and that would be about it but I dont live in Dublin.

Reanimemmett

HMUYA wrote: »

I agree that this would be a hell of a lot of hard work but I think it would be possible to make an arcade viable with enough work and money.

As an example there is Fubar Ducks arcade, Arcade UFO, in Austin. This seems to be running well, regular competition nights, new games and they sponsered a team to SBO.
This is in a city where arcades had died. The reason he opened the arcade was due to the fact that there was no arcades left in Austin.
There is only games in this arcade - no slots or other gambling machines. Having said that it's not just fighters.
IIRC the arcade is not in an ideal location (ala the main street).
Finally the city population of Austin is only slightly larger then Dublins and the metropoliton population is pretty much the same.

Link to the site : http://www.arcadeufo.com/index.php

Now this does not mean that it will work but it is an example of how it can work.

EDIT : I just relized that your poll is terrible. Why would you assume that everyone is going to visit an arcade at all. You have to accept that it is not viable for some people to visit at all.

I don't need to know who isn't going to go.

Orim

Reanimemmett wrote: »

I don't need to know who isn't going to go.

The more information you have the better you can plan things.

If you see a lot of people saying that they wouldn't go then you can find out why and maybe you can work out ways to make them come. For example if there is people who aren't coming because of travel maybe you could work an arrangment to give free credits to anyone that travels from outside of dublin.

Reanimemmett

Kinetic^ wrote: »

I've added a few options to the poll to cover everyone.

Sorry, just noticed that it was you that changed the poll. I obviously don't need to know how many people are not going to go. I need to know how many people will go. The other options make sense, but I put my options up with the purpose of first finding out how many people would consider going regularly.

For the people constantly going on about needing slots, novelty games and such, quit it. The main reason for not having these would be to discourage unsavoury chracters and encourage others to to come, as I know some people won't go play T6 in Quirky's cause of the people who hang out there.

Again, anybody going on about this being discussed before and people saying it's not viable, no one has ever tried to do it and failed or succeeded, and I doubt anyone has ever put that much research into it.

This was made with the sole reason of seeing how many people on here would go regularly. There are other ways of making money other than the machines, as Kikki posted earlier. This is still an idea and will continue to be until it's ruled out, by me.

Reanimemmett

HMUYA wrote: »

The more information you have the better you can plan things.

If you see a lot of people saying that they wouldn't go then you can find out why and maybe you can work out ways to make them come. For example if there is people who aren't coming because of travel maybe you could work an arrangment to give free credits to anyone that travels from outside of dublin.

I see what you're saying but I explained my reasons for the poll options in my previous post. I want to try find how many people would consider going regularly first as they would be there consistently enough to be putting in money and then see what other people would be there irregularly as they would be a sort of supplementary income.

EDIT: I'm going to be posting about this on some of the college game society boards to see if there's other people interested. There's definitely more people who play who just don't know about boards.

Kinetic^

You do need to know who isn't going to go. You need to know what % of your key demograph your potential business appeals to and how often they'll use it. Then you need to work on what will bring people outside of that demograph in to spend their hard earned dollar bills.

I'd advise you to create a thread in the Entrepreneurial & Business Management forum to get some help from people who have set up their own companies/shops. They'll give you an insight in to stuff like set up costs, fixed/variable overheads, legal/taxation requirements and various other stuff that you not have thought of. I can give you some advice on the taxation/financial requirements but those guys will have more insight in to day to day business running.

Dreddybajs

Yeah, seeing as this forum is basically the only place to gather information of your prospective consumer base it seems like finding out what percentage of people here would be interested is pretty important.