New family arcade opening up in Old Sacramento on Friday...

8bitnintendo

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New family arcade opening up in Old Sacramento on Friday...

Was just down in old Sacramento yesterday and was walking by and I saw an arcade that is supposedly opening up this Friday (tomorrow). All I could see thru the window was an NBA Jam and a T2, at least all that I remember. They were games around that era as I remember that I could see as well as some redemption games. looked like it was set up that you buy your minutes I think it was 10 minutes for $2 and $5 per half hour?? I forget exactly. Has anyone seen it yet?
 
I hadn't heard about it, but I would like to go check it out.
Where is it?
 
I bet thats the same place that Namco was in a few years back. Was it kinds downstairs on the side of the street facing the water?

I dont know about that pay for time thing. Just operator the games at normal pricing for pete's sake!

Matt
 
I bet thats the same place that Namco was in a few years back. Was it kinds downstairs on the side of the street facing the water?

I dont know about that pay for time thing. Just operator the games at normal pricing for pete's sake!

Matt

Yeah, that is pretty neat that a new arcade is opening up. But I think their time limit method would be kind of stressful to the player. You'd be constantly looking at the time. And what would happen if your 10 minutes were up and you were in the middle of a game? Would they come in therer and boot you?

They ought to use tokens or have an entry fee. Those two methods seem to work the best.
 
I would think that something like a $5.00 entry fee, really old games on freeplay would be fine. That way they could have some new games and some ticket games and not have to worry about the time limit thing.

I wonder who the operator of the arcade is?

Matt
 
While I always dig the idea of these types of places, I've seen a lot of them come and go over the years, some as quickly as a month or two. While we all have memories of the arcades of our youth in the back of our minds, and dreams that they may one day return, the reality is that coin op games don't earn anymore, or at least not enough to sustain an entire business. If you charge people 6 dollars to come in and play games on freeplay, how are you going to turn a profit? Rent, taxes, utilities, let alone paying employees, it's a losing proposition.

If the games are all on Freeplay, what's stopping parents from using the place as an inexpensive day care? It's giving me flashbacks to the days of Funcoland where parents would do precisely that.
 
The place is on the corner of J and 2nd street. It's right on the corner not down stairs. The owner is a nice guy but I don't believe he has a great deal of experience with arcade games or running an arcade. Currently I believe there are about 15-20 games. No classics yet but he's looking to add a few. I know there is T2, NBA jam, gauntlet legends (monitor just died on this so it's gonna get repaired, mini neo geo 4 slot with metal slug, strikers and I forget the other two games, two of the newer star wars games. I think one is pod racer. Actually no redemption games yet. Not sure if there will be any. There are a couple of games that the owner put on the floor to fill in some spaces although I think he would prefer to not have them out as there strange conversions. For the past coupe of days I've been hanging out and trying to help out as much as possible where I can. I'll admit that currently it's probably not the arcade of our dreams but the owner is open to input and I believe he plans to join the forums. I know he has met at least a couple members here.
 
If the games are all on Freeplay, what's stopping parents from using the place as an inexpensive day care? It's giving me flashbacks to the days of Funcoland where parents would do precisely that.

As of right now the games are not all on free play. Although some of them are. At this point it's definitely not set up where kids can just come in and hang around for hours playing for free. I have to agree with the idea that paying for time is probably not the way to go. Or at the very least if you have to pay for time, the time period should at least be a 30min minimum and more likely an hour IMO.

For what it's worth I look at this as an opportunity for those of us who are local. The owner is open to idea and I think our input will at least be taken into consideration and very likely be put to use.

Given the situation at hand, what would you like to see in your local arcade? Games, events, pricing, ect. Please try and keep in mind that this will probably not be a classics only arcade.
 
My ideal arcade would be only classics, but that's not realistic, old games don't earn unfortunately. To make money, you need to be apoximately 50-60% redemption, and 20-30% shooters, sit down racers, and gimmicky stuff like DDR or Guitar Hero, and they need to be modern shooters and racers, because for whatever reason the garbage Raw Thrills games seem to make money, while Off Road Thunder and SF Rush sadly do not. The other 10% can certainly be classics, but they need to be games with universal appeal, Pac-Man, Galaga, TMNT, X-Men, etc.

Location is probably the most important factor however. A standalone location will have a much harder time drawing customers than say a location in a shopping plaza, mall, or location with a lot of foot traffic like a downtown area. The flip side of this coin however is that overhead costs at a mall, shopping plaza, or downtown location is exponentially higher than if you rent or own your own building. Ideally you want to be in a stand alone location, but may need to branch out into something else like laser tag or go karts to attract families for Birthday Parties and family outings.

You also would want pool tables, air hockey, fooseball, etc. to attract the college age and older crowd, but you need to be careful not to give people the impression that you're running a bar either.

A good example is this local place we have here in CT: http://www.smilesentertainmentcenter.com/ (Although this is a bad example because all the games at this place are beat to hell and in various states of disrepair)

I definitely think there's room for these types of businesses, but the problem is that a lot of people approach them wrong, get in way over there head, and set themselves up for failure before they even get off the ground.
 
My ideal arcade would be only classics, but that's not realistic, old games don't earn unfortunately. To make money, you need to be apoximately 50-60% redemption, and 20-30% shooters, sit down racers, and gimmicky stuff like DDR or Guitar Hero, and they need to be modern shooters and racers, because for whatever reason the garbage Raw Thrills games seem to make money, while Off Road Thunder and SF Rush sadly do not. The other 10% can certainly be classics, but they need to be games with universal appeal, Pac-Man, Galaga, TMNT, X-Men, etc.

Location is probably the most important factor however. A standalone location will have a much harder time drawing customers than say a location in a shopping plaza, mall, or location with a lot of foot traffic like a downtown area. The flip side of this coin however is that overhead costs at a mall, shopping plaza, or downtown location is exponentially higher than if you rent or own your own building. Ideally you want to be in a stand alone location, but may need to branch out into something else like laser tag or go karts to attract families for Birthday Parties and family outings.

You also would want pool tables, air hockey, fooseball, etc. to attract the college age and older crowd, but you need to be careful not to give people the impression that you're running a bar either.

A good example is this local place we have here in CT: http://www.smilesentertainmentcenter.com/ (Although this is a bad example because all the games at this place are beat to hell and in various states of disrepair)

I definitely think there's room for these types of businesses, but the problem is that a lot of people approach them wrong, get in way over there head, and set themselves up for failure before they even get off the ground.

I agree with pretty much all you say here. As for the arcade, it actually has a nice visible location with plenty of traffic from other business. It's basically in a touristy area where locals go more for the night life than to hang out during the day. At least that has always been my impression of the area. The down side to the arcade is that it's not huge so there is limited floor space for games. Of course this means every game needs to be a winner or you're wasting space.
 
I'm trying to think with the mindset of the young console gamers of today, and not too much of the arcade collector/old-school arcade gamer of yesteryear.

I have a nephew who is 11, and a brother in his teens, and games like Pac-Man and Galaga are worthless to them. It wouldn't hold their interest too long, if at all. And I think an arcade in Old Sac would have more traffic from teens/couples and young adults than families with little kids.

Since Super Street Fighter IV is out and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is on the way, maybe he should set up a few Capcom vs. fighting games. It would be some nostalgia for all the Street Fighter fans. With a few CPS2/JAMMA cabs he can change boards and marquees to add variety to the arcade every so often. He could possibly set up some fighting tournaments and special events as well if he gets a buzz going. If he does want to do that, comic book stores and local record stores, like Dimple here in Sac, are where he would want to advertise with flyers and spread the word.

And he should definitely let me put my Discs of Tron upright in there (when it's fixed) around the time the Legacy movie comes out and I can charge $1 per play. I'll split the profits with him!

Maybe some locals can help him set up his arcade to look like Flynn's on the inside when the movie opens too. Then people could really play some classics. Who knows, if he did that, and got the word around, and maybe some media hype, it might become a major attraction in Old Sacramento this year. For something like that, he could probably charge $15-$20 a person if he makes it a special event.

He could also rotate out some games every so often and maybe have a "Coming Soon" board with game marquees on the wall, or something letting people know what games he'll have next. I think that would help keep people's interest in his arcade. A suggestion box would be good too to get some feedback from the public.

And he should be careful what he has on freeplay because people may expect those games to be freeplay every time. If he takes it off freeplay later on, they may not want to pay to play. The way prices have changed with everything over the years, I would try to charge 50 cents per play for the games. I remember when gas used to be $1.50 and arcade games were a quarter, but times have changed; get over it or stay at home and play MAME. Besides, Old Sac is a tourist spot really so I don't think 50 cents per play is out of the question.

Like p1899m said, he should try to make most of the games in his arcade ones that people will really want to play. I know that's subjective, but I don't think Gauntlet Legends will fare too well. Oh, and he'll have to make the arcade ambiance/decor look cool. Not just some room with arcade games.

That is all. I can't think of anymore suggestions for now. :)

By the way, what's the capacity limit in the arcade? What's the square footage?
 
And I think an arcade in Old Sac would have more traffic from teens/couples and young adults than families with little kids.

I don't hang out in old Sac much so I'm no expert. Although the owner has not owned an arcade in old Sac he has operated other businesses there over the years. He says the crowd during the day is mostly adults with children. Later in the evening you get the young adults that are out to eat and drink.

Since Super Street Fighter IV is out and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is on the way, maybe he should set up a few Capcom vs. fighting games. It would be some nostalgia for all the Street Fighter fans. With a few CPS2/JAMMA cabs he can change boards and marquees to add variety to the arcade every so often. He could possibly set up some fighting tournaments and special events as well if he gets a buzz going. If he does want to do that, comic book stores and local record stores, like Dimple here in Sac, are where he would want to advertise with flyers and spread the word.

I'm not sure the actual fighting titles he has in there but I believe he has two games. I agree that he needs some contests and tournaments to add excitement and buzz.

And he should definitely let me put my Discs of Tron upright in there (when it's fixed) around the time the Legacy movie comes out and I can charge $1 per play. I'll split the profits with him!

Maybe some locals can help him set up his arcade to look like Flynn's on the inside when the movie opens too. Then people could really play some classics. Who knows, if he did that, and got the word around, and maybe some media hype, it might become a major attraction in Old Sacramento this year. For something like that, he could probably charge $15-$20 a person if he makes it a special event.

I did suggest to him that he might want a tron in there with the upcoming movie. I'm sure he'd be happy to have your dot there. Although I doubt it would get a lot of play at $1. I would think .50 would be the max. Even that price might reduce the number of plays. If it were in a theater I could see people paying more than a quarter but this arcade is not in any way directly connected to the movie like a game at a theater would be. At this point the challenge is to get people in the place.

If his space were bigger and collectors were willing to help out, the replica flynn's would be a great idea. Although I'm not sure it's feasible in the current space.

He could also rotate out some games every so often and maybe have a "Coming Soon" board with game marquees on the wall, or something letting people know what games he'll have next. I think that would help keep people's interest in his arcade. A suggestion box would be good too to get some feedback from the public.

This is good. Only down side is he needs to have more games and space to store them. Not impossible of course. Just gonna cost more money.
And he should be careful what he has on freeplay because people may expect those games to be freeplay every time. If he takes it off freeplay later on, they may not want to pay to play. The way prices have changed with everything over the years, I would try to charge 50 cents per play for the games. I remember when gas used to be $1.50 and arcade games were a quarter, but times have changed; get over it or stay at home and play MAME. Besides, Old Sac is a tourist spot really so I don't think 50 cents per play is out of the question.

I think the idea would be to put games that would not generate much money on free play. So I doubt those games would ever switch to pay to play. Assuming the arcade keeps the pay for time model. I think the titles will be what determines the price. He already has a couple in there that he charges .50 a play. which at the moment is fine. If the game line up improves and more traffic comes in I can see at least two titles moving from .50 to $1 and still getting play.

That is all. I can't think of anymore suggestions for now. :)

By the way, what's the capacity limit in the arcade? What's the square footage?

Don't know the footage off hand. I think the area could comfortable hold about 30 games.
 
I think in the end he needs to decide who his target audience is, will it be the parents w/ children or the 21+. Once he finds his target audience he needs to focus on 90% of his business on them. If I was him Id be searching the net and looking various other arcades that are successful, the barcade in brookyln comes to mine. http://www.barcadebrooklyn.com/
Ive been there and there main focus is the 21+ crowd. Also all their games are only .25 and it just works. Tell him to get a liquor license, get a food or beverage "niche" like a deep friend menu (like http://www.chipshopnyc.com/) just something that sets him apart and add arcade machines around that. I doubt he'll have much success reliving his dream of being a kid at "Time-Out".
 
props to p1899m

Big thanks to p1899m for coming through and helping out...I believe with some continued advice and assistance...this arcade will work.
 
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