Putting games on location

Burglars and fires are part of the equation also??!! What good things come from being an operator that make it worth all this??!! I can make a couple hundred a month if I'm lucky or my games get- Kicked to hell, scratched to hell with someone's initials on the glass or cabinet, people constantly jam up the coin slots , things break from simple over use??, burglars, fires, etc ... yikes!
 
This a very interesting thread

I have been looking at opening an 80s / vaporwave themed arcade in my town. Much like the barcades except it will be more of a coffee bar to keep it family friendly. To have a lot of community spirit by supporting local colleges and high schools and such.

I am dealing with the obstacles of doing this though because of the risks, and the lease rates and such, and wonder if its worth it.

Sure, I could just build a man cave instead, but mancaves to me are just rather reclusive and hoarder-ish. I can't really enjoy my collection just sitting and collecting dust most of the time. I would like to see my collection have some kind of purpose.
I can't imagine essentially "renting" anything out that I cared about.

Whether it's houses, cars ,video games or anything else the bottom line is people don't care about it if it's not theirs. Actually a high percentage don't care even if it is theirs
 
I've been researching this idea myself, and I found a location that's interested. It's a live music venue with a restaurant/bar, so it gets some good foot traffic and seems to have just the right vintage vibe. The place was open in the 70s and 80s but then it closed. But now it's back with a new owner and seems to be doing well. They host live bands every week. It's open Wed-Thurs 4pm to 12am and Fri-Sat 4pm to 2am.

I'm gonna give it a shot, because I'd like my downtown to have some vintage arcade fun. Am getting one of my two machines ready to go. No local or state licenses or fees to worry about here, thank goodness. If you go over 4 games in one place, then you may need a "special exception use" or some such. The city is supposedly working on updating/removing its antiquated zoning laws. Insurance is a really good idea and I'm working on it.

I'm more optimistic than not. That said, I will have a talk with the owner and make sure we're on the same page when it comes to treating the machine with respect and also having his employees keep an eye on it, making sure to turn it off at night, etc. If something goes wrong, I won't be going out at 12am to go fix it. Maybe put that in the signed agreement. :)

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully I won't be back in a few months with a horror story.
 
Burglars and fires are part of the equation also??!! What good things come from being an operator that make it worth all this??!! I can make a couple hundred a month if I'm lucky or my games get- Kicked to hell, scratched to hell with someone's initials on the glass or cabinet, people constantly jam up the coin slots , things break from simple over use??, burglars, fires, etc ... yikes!

If you want to see what the end results of a fire look like, go look at this album of mine: https://forums.arcade-museum.com/album.php?albumid=1116

I put together 3 pictures which just shows the area where the video games were:

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Your post count is low, so I'm not sure how often you hit here.... but that's the pool hall/arcade I used to practically live at. Broke my heart when that fire happened. I got Lunar Lander from there, for helping them move the stuff out, and got the last surviving cabinet that was in their garage almost 2 years ago.

Less than 6 months and $50...........

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If you haven't, but would like to read the story behind how I got it, here's the thread: https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=356130

After the first post, you can skip ahead to page 6 where things start to get going.
 
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32 Oz pop poured in my HOD4

For a few years had machines on location at some Cinemarks. The games got really beat up....someone poured a 32 Oz pop down the HOD4. A really really big guy fell after the seat collapsed on a set of Linked Daytonas. The Happ guns on the big buck hunter were beat on the ground & had to be replaced multiple times. So yah the games got beat to hell.
Dm
 
me and some buddies have 30-something games in a handfull of locations.

It's been super fun.

Nothing minty or museum quality is going out, of course.

There has been pretty minimal "damage" to games. The issues there have been are from games just malfunctioning over time. Chassis can get tired and joysticks/flippers need tuning up from time to time.

We have our stuff in bars so there are no kids, hence no damage. Human children are the most destructive and worst things in the fucking world when it comes to games.

They wont stay as nice as they are in your gameroom at home, but I know for us it has been super fun to see people enjoy them, make a minor profit after whatever repairs and see a little community grow from it.
 
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