Amusement Arcade

MidlandsM

I got thinking recently about the ins and outs of operating an Amusment Arcade.

What laws govern these business's?
Set up costs?
Good examples to go visit etc?

Anyone in the trade here with some good advice and insight?

Thanks,

MM

o1s1n

Well I can give you some input from a gamer/arcade collector's standpoint

For a start you're going to need to rent a place with an absolutely huge footfall. So the rent is going to be expensive. Get the place wrong and I can't see it lasting very long.

Also to add to this, the arcade scene (Specifically the gaming aspect) is pretty much dead in Ireland. Home consoles just got too advanced for people to be bothered leaving their home.

It seems if you want to survive in that industry now you have to bring in a lot of slot machines to make up the money. It's such a shame as I'd absolutely kill for a good arcade.

Where are you thinking of opening it and what kind of games/entertainment are you looking at?

MidlandsM

o1s1n wrote: »

Well I can give you some input from a gamer/arcade collector's standpoint

For a start you're going to need to rent a place with an absolutely huge footfall. So the rent is going to be expensive. Get the place wrong and I can't see it lasting very long.

Also to add to this, the arcade scene (Specifically the gaming aspect) is pretty much dead in Ireland. Home consoles just got too advanced for people to be bothered leaving their home.

It seems if you want to survive in that industry now you have to bring in a lot of slot machines to make up the money. It's such a shame as I'd absolutely kill for a good arcade.

Where are you thinking of opening it and what kind of games/entertainment are you looking at?

Thanks for the reply. You know, you're right, the Xbox, Wii and the likes have killed the arcade game, so apart from slots, what else could a new arcade offer?

delllat

doctor quirkys on o connell st certaintly hasnt collapsed with the recession

its actually a popular venue for the unemployed to hang out and there are people in it every day of the week

id love to know how much cash its pulling in though and how much of a drop in turnover it has taken with the economy crash

MidlandsM

delllat wrote: »

doctor quirkys on o connell st certaintly hasnt collapsed with the recession

its actually a popular venue for the unemployed to hang out and there are people in it every day of the week

id love to know how much cash its pulling in though and how much of a drop in turnover it has taken with the economy crash

You see, thats what i was thinking.......Dr.Quirkys is going for decades.

delllat

doctor quirky has a healthy mix of everything so young and old can spend money there and a great location ,i think thats how he has suceeded where others have failed

the have games of skill,shoot em ups ,virtual reality ,and cool new modern driving simulaters
basketball games ,air-hockey ,pool tables ,
full electronic casino with every way imaginable to lose ur money
old style 1 arm bandits
carnival style games where u attemp to drop coins on top of moving trays to force other coins to fall

most of the games run without staff assistance as well so they can run the place without paying out loads of wages

being almost next door to a police station helps too im sure because in other towns these pllaces always attract loads of scumbags to hang around

o1s1n

It's not so much a collapse due to the recession as it is a collapse due to the rapid advancement in home entertainment. Arcades started to vanish and close long before the economy went the way it did.

The only reason Dr Quirkeys is still open is because it's bang in the middle of Dublin city centre with a huge amount of footfall. If it was anywhere else it wouldn't be there anymore.

Bray seafront is a good example of how the industry is. Back at the height of the arcade gaming scene there were several of them all along the prom. All packed with cabinets. Most are gone now or have been turned into gambling halls. Fun Palace was a tragedy really. That was a great little spot for older games. Now it's just gambling.

Even Dawsons, a huge amusement attraction in Bray is gone. (How I miss the snake slide)

The only one left is Star amusements. Which has a place to eat, pool tables and a slots section. Then there's bray bowl. Which is mainly a bowling alley but has a small arcade along with a place to eat.

Seems that if you want it to work, the only way now is to include gambling and other activities alright. Pool/snooker is a good one as there's no real way for most people to experience that
at home.

On a side note, I'd love if an arcade around somewhere would cater for people who enjoy classic gaming. I spend a fortune on older JAMMA boards and games from the 90s that just aren't in arcades anymore. I think there could be a really interesting niche section for an amusement arcade which could do well.