I was looking at Vectorman's arcade and loving the concept of it being open on fri night and all day saturday and that's it.
Then I was wondering, with the economy as it is, and with so much empty dead retail space out there for super cheap, could it be possible to open a retro arcade in 2010? The answer is still no. No one has the time and money to spend and no one would come play.
UNLESS!.... what if 10 people owned it!?! 10 people each bring 5 games, at least 1 of the 5 is pretty special (like a warlords cocktail or EDOT or something). We're open 10 days a month so each person gets a day. Everyone pitches in a few bucks toward the rent, everyone helps fix games and mop the floor. You put some parts and supplies (lamps, molex...) out for sale and maybe locals can put their machine in for sale on consignment (but it's available for anyone to play)....
Is that crazy? I live NW of Chicago and there's a ton of gamers within an hour of here. It could be a rare local place to pick up parts and it may also be a great meeting place to talk gaming.
So, here's why it wouldn't work:
* Getting 10 people is tough. Bill likes Jim, Jim likes Tom, Tom thinks Bill can go f*** himself.
* There's still not much demand for classic arcade gaming. Unless there was enough money coming in from consignments (on game and retail sales), and maybe the occassional private party, it's probably going to lose money each month.
* There would need to be management/leadership. Jim fixes a lot of games, but can't work his shift for 3 months. Is that ok or not. Blah blah blah....
Anyway, I'm going to say that it COULD work, and I personally would put 5 games in and would help, if it was in the NW Chicago burbs and not too expensive.
What do you think a) about the concept and b) about doing one in your city?
Then I was wondering, with the economy as it is, and with so much empty dead retail space out there for super cheap, could it be possible to open a retro arcade in 2010? The answer is still no. No one has the time and money to spend and no one would come play.
UNLESS!.... what if 10 people owned it!?! 10 people each bring 5 games, at least 1 of the 5 is pretty special (like a warlords cocktail or EDOT or something). We're open 10 days a month so each person gets a day. Everyone pitches in a few bucks toward the rent, everyone helps fix games and mop the floor. You put some parts and supplies (lamps, molex...) out for sale and maybe locals can put their machine in for sale on consignment (but it's available for anyone to play)....
Is that crazy? I live NW of Chicago and there's a ton of gamers within an hour of here. It could be a rare local place to pick up parts and it may also be a great meeting place to talk gaming.
So, here's why it wouldn't work:
* Getting 10 people is tough. Bill likes Jim, Jim likes Tom, Tom thinks Bill can go f*** himself.
* There's still not much demand for classic arcade gaming. Unless there was enough money coming in from consignments (on game and retail sales), and maybe the occassional private party, it's probably going to lose money each month.
* There would need to be management/leadership. Jim fixes a lot of games, but can't work his shift for 3 months. Is that ok or not. Blah blah blah....
Anyway, I'm going to say that it COULD work, and I personally would put 5 games in and would help, if it was in the NW Chicago burbs and not too expensive.
What do you think a) about the concept and b) about doing one in your city?


