so is the arcade officially dead?

[singlebanana]

Uhhhhhhhh...... on my lunch break today, I helped my friend move a few of his 12 additional candy cabs into his store. He has around 30 now.  On the east coast, I might add.

[gbpxl]

if anyone cares, I set the record for the OutRun 2 cab at Magfest 2013. I'm sure it's been beaten by now but at the time I had dumped quite a few hours into that beast.

[cverz2]

there is a pretty neat place here in St. Louis with a lot of vintage arcade machines.  I haven't been there yet, but I have really wanted to go check it out.

[Sauza12]

My friend and I are actually looking into opening a retro barcade in Metro Detroit.  Commercial spaces are dirt cheap around here, so we just need to make the numbers work and figure out our business plan.  I've been a lot more conservative about dates and everything.  He really wants to get everything set up and ready to go for an October opening date where as I'm more comfortable just using this year to research and make sure we aren't getting ourselves into a financial nightmare.

But there's a reason he drives a Jaguar and I drive a G6.  Dude knows how to make money.  All that really matters right now is I need to learn every possible thing I can about arcade repair.

[gbpxl]

My friend and I are actually looking into opening a retro barcade in Metro Detroit.  Commercial spaces are dirt cheap around here, so we just need to make the numbers work and figure out our business plan.  I've been a lot more conservative about dates and everything.  He really wants to get everything set up and ready to go for an October opening date where as I'm more comfortable just using this year to research and make sure we aren't getting ourselves into a financial nightmare.

But there's a reason he drives a Jaguar and I drive a G6.  Dude knows how to make money.  All that really matters right now is I need to learn every possible thing I can about arcade repair.

My opinion on barcade for what it's worth...

There are two types of people that play arcade cabs/pinball machines- there's your standard joe who probably grew up on them and will play them 1 or 2 times a year, but never competitively; those are your bar types, the type of person who is more likely to spend money on a beer than on a Pac-Man machine.

Your other type of arcade goer is the nerd. This is the guy that is extremely competitive and is willing to dump tons of cash into a cab, just to get his initials on the board. I don't see these types of people wanting to go downtown to the "bar scene" to try and get the high score.

You are also missing out on a key demographic when you go with a barcade- children. Maybe I'm not around children enough to give a fully rounded opinion, but I don't believe every kid out there is a shut-in who only wants to play Minecraft and Call of Duty. I do believe there is an interest in retro games among youth and that's gonna be less money going into your pockets if you incorporate a bar into your arcade.

If I had the option, I would go with a stand alone arcade and just put in a lot of things there that you know will make you money- skeeball, crane games, etc. But I just think when you have alcohol as part of the equation, you are limiting your customer base to "dude bro's"

[Fokakis79]

 Some barcades do allow children, they just can't be in the bar area.

Plus places like barcades make a lot of bank from the demographic you refer to as "dude bros". This demographic of people are more likely to spend money willy nilly than someone going to an arcade with their kids.

[gbpxl]

A lot of barcades do allow children, they just can't be in the bar area.

But how many parents know that or are going to let their children go to an arcade that is directly connected to it?

(I'm sure it depends, since I know a lot of bowling alleys have bars in em)

In my head I am just envisioning an arcade that is in the heart of my local bar/club district where there's a fight pretty much every week.

[Fokakis79]

A lot of barcades do allow children, they just can't be in the bar area.

But how many parents know that or are going to let their children go to an arcade that is directly connected to it?

(I'm sure it depends, since I know a lot of bowling alleys have bars in em)

In my head I am just envisioning an arcade that is in the heart of my local bar/club district where there's a fight pretty much every week.

My parents wouldn't have minded, as long as the place was somewhat safe, plus I got into a lot more trouble and tried dangerous stuff because I didn't have places like this.  No sane bar owner or bartender is going to put his business at risk by serving underaged teens booze.

I am not an expert in this area, so I am not totally sure about how many fights occur at Barcades, I have never seen them. I guess unless Sauza is building a bar that will be like the one from the movie Roadhouse, it should be minimal

[Fokakis79]

Btw, I apologize gbpxl, if at any time I sound like I am being a jerk to you, I am merely just giving my thoughts on this topic and have no ill will toward you or your thoughts.  I am always up for good discussion on a good topic such as this one.

 

[singlebanana]

I have a friend who has an arcade and I've looked into spaces with another guy myself. You CANNOT survive on machines alone, they don't make a lot at all. The arcade is cool and will draw people, but you have to have a main product to make money. In your case alcohol. I was looking into ice cream and coffee, since they are both seasonal specific products.

[gbpxl]

Btw, I apologize gbpxl, if at any time I sound like I am being a jerk to you, I am merely just giving my thoughts on this topic and have no ill will toward you or your thoughts.  I am always up for good discussion on a good topic such as this one.

 

don't let the no friends topic fool you. I am the last person to get "offended."

[Fokakis79]

😊

Btw, I apologize gbpxl, if at any time I sound like I am being a jerk to you, I am merely just giving my thoughts on this topic and have no ill will toward you or your thoughts.  I am always up for good discussion on a good topic such as this one.

 

don't let the no friends topic fool you. I am the last person to get "offended."

[gbpxl]

anyways, I can definately see why a stand alone arcade wouldn't make enough money to keep it running. the amount of money you would need to turn a profit is just more than what people would be willing to pay. unless there were just tons of people that would line up at the arcade to play, there's really just not going to be enough people to keep business afloat. you'd have to charge an upfront all-day fee like someone said, or charge like $3-5 a play.

[singlebanana]

My buddy charges $5 a person for the day and all games are set to free play. $7 on weekends. Better profit and you don't have to deal with all of those damn quarters.

[gbpxl]

that seems low. I think people would be willing to pay more than that. I could see myself spending $30.