Hi All. My brother is strongly considering starting a business along with some other partners, a modern arcade of sorts. He wants as many people to fill out this survey as possible and I told him I'd help out if I could.
So...
I know pretty much anyone who visits here is a gamer. I'd love you if you're able to take a few minutes and fill this out. Please PM me with the responses. I tried to upload it as an attachment but it was just easier to copy/paste it.
I can't offer any incentive, but you'll have the gratitude of a Mod (for whatever that's worth).
...and thanks again to Lana for allowing me to post this.
-DM
Video Gaming Survey
1) GENDER
2) AGE
3) Do you play video games on a video game console
(i.e Sony Playstation, Xbox, GameCube)?
4) Do you play video games on the computer?
5) Do you play video games online?
6) On average how many hours do you spend playing video games each week?
7) Please state what percentage of your time playing video games is spent playing each of the following genres:
% Racing games
% Sports games
% Role Playing Games (i.e. Everquest)
% Action (i.e.Doom, Halo)
% Fighters(i.e. Tekken, Soul Calibur)
% other (chess, Tetris, card games)
8) On average for how long do you play video games in any one sitting?
9) What is the longest period of time that you have played video games continuously in any one sitting?
10) Estimate how much you spent on video games in the last year (including games, online fees, hardware etc)?
$
11) Please select any of the following that you currently own: (you can leave this blank...I think there was an error when I downloaded it)
12) Do you spend more time playing video games alone or with other people.
The next 3 questions, numbers 13-15, deal with playing video games against other people. These questions distinguish between playing against others in person and playing against others online.
13) Estimate what percentage of your total time playing video games is spent playing against other people in person, such as your friends?
%
14) Estimate what percentage of your total time playing video games is spent playing against others online?
%
15) What would you say is most important to you in regards to playing video games against others, whether in person or online?
16) Compared to 5 years ago do you play more/less video games:
17) Are you familiar with the company Alienware and the high-end computers they make for video gaming?
Our company is going to create a modern day video game arcade. With this modern day video game arcade we intend to provide a video gaming experience that you cannot find anywhere else. This modern day arcade will offer computer based video games on the latest gaming PCs from Alienware. We will also offer games to be played on the MicroSoft Xbox 360 consol, the new Sony Playstation III consol, the new Nintendo Revolution, the Sony Playstation II consol, MicroSoft Xbox consol as well as the Nintendo GameCube consol. In total there will be between 50 to 100 gaming stations that will include a high definition television between 35 and 150 inches in size. This arcade will offer the ability to play games against any other player within the arcade or any other player over the internet. This modern day arcade will always have the newest games and the latest hardware, sometimes even before anybody else. This modern day video game arcade will always offer a substantial library of the most popular video games.
18) Would you be interested in going to this modern day video game arcade, where you would be able to play any video game on the latest and greatest video game hardware using high definition large screen television sets?
If no, briefly list why not?
19) Pick which of the following statements best describes how you feel about the modern day arcade described above? (again, you can leave it blank)
20) How far would you be willing to travel to go to this modern day video arcade?
21) If paying by the hour, how much would you be willing to spend for unlimited game play at this modern day arcade?
22) How much would you be willing to spend for a monthly membership that entitled you to unlimited game play at this modern day arcade for the entire month?
Dude, you know how expansive your brother idea would be?
Alienware computers
Hi Def TV's
Console's
Dont forget how much money it will cost to pay for the license's for the games. (Or you can steal)
Just saying, it would be bloody expansive for an idea that has a good chance in failing. I personally wouldnt go to one because I alread have a bunch of those consoles and an new Plasma.
No business is ever cheap...and what's wrong with following a dream?
Anyway, I'm going to sticky this for a while, Digi, so it doesn't get lost
__________________
“You didn't kill him. He would have killed you, but you didn't kill him.”
“So? He was stupid. If I killed everyone who was stupid I wouldn't have time to sleep.”
And yeah, it's not cheap. But he's not going in unprepared. Things are still in the planning stages, but him and his partners have detailed business models and such already. If it's not financially viable, the idea gets scrapped. But he's much more businessman than game geek, so it's a bit less of a crapshoot than it might seem at first.
They also have business models from similar businesses to emulate, so they're not going in blind. I can't pretend to know all the details, I'm mainly just helping him with this survey (I'm also designing some logos for him), but he's not foolhardy and won't do anything that doesn't have a decent chance of success.
And thanks to everyone who has filled it out already.
Yeah, it's not. But what you said in your survery (the amount of consoles and computers), could be over 100,000 to start. Probalby even more. Hell even alot more than that if you consider power usage, employment, rent, renovation, really expansive and the huge interenet connection you would need.
The reason I'm saying this is because your brother will obviously need to charge an heck of alot for people to play. That's why I said it.
The idea is good, but I dont think it will work. The reason why I think is
a) arcades dont exist anymore
b) whats the point of going to an arcade, paying money to play the game, when it's cheaper to play at home
c) arcades were useful back then because console gaming wasnt the one of the biggest entertainment medium
d) when arcades were around, the games were exclusive to the arcades.
I think it would work if your brother drastically lowers the size of the idea. I think it would work with 5-10 gaming stations. But I think 50-100 is way too much for an idea that probalby wont work.
Quick math
25 HDTV's (Canadian, going with TV that costs 2000 (42), wires to get best quality and tax, ending up with 3000) 75,000
25 Alienware (Voodoo made machine, top of the line, PC Gamer reviewed at 6500) 162,500
25 XBOX 360 (499 American) 12,475
249,975 Total for all the hardware, obviously it will probalby be little bit less. I'm not even counting the amount of games you need.
That's alot of money for a idea that might not work, if your brother has the finances then it might work, but its tough to see people actually go to an arcade, pay money to play a game then can play at home, and make enough to be profitable.
Sounds like a super Lan, more or less. I think the idea is excellent in theory, but is way too expensive to be really practical, unless you get really good prices on the things you need.
__________________
"God has no place within these walls! Just as facts have no place within organized religion." - The Simpsons
Gender: Male Location: The Utah of Australia ~haermm~
This is why I stopped going to net cafes, no point paying $3-5 an hour to play something like Counterstrike when I can play it in the comforts of home. Its fun to play with friends, but meh, thats what LANs are for...
As Backfire said, the idea is awesome, but really it would only be practical if held as a super LAN, say every month or so, then you can charge people higher amounts, possibly higher than $20 for a full overnighter, more so for a full weekend - I'd pay whatever money for a monthly weekend super LAN than paying $5 an hour just to do the same things I could do at home. Say you had $20 for an overnighter lan, get some 100 people to turn up = $2000. Say you held it once a month = $24000 a year. You could cover your expenses after a few years, and with LANs you could find sponsors to help out with gear, hell you could probably find a company thats willing to supply 50 consoles once a month, rather than paying everything out of pocket for an arcade that quite possibly could bomb in a few months. Say you hired/got sponsored for a few LANs but you werent getting the turnouts you expected, you can call it off and have hardly any expenses. Whereas if you start off an arcade and get a low turnout, you're up shit creek with all the leftover hardware you cant afford to pay for...
The idea can work, but only if thought out well enough, I hope it can pull out ok, but I dont think a lot of people would go out to play games on a daily/weekly basis when most people have a PC or console at home.
Uhhh...yeah they do...and I still go to arcades on a regular basis. A lot of people do. There's a lot of games there that I like, you can't play/get on a console, and the ones that you can, simply aren't the same on a console and are better on an arcade machine.
Plus also, as Mist said, with a lot of businesses you CAN get companies to sponsor you and donate equipment. That happens all the time. Not to mention LAN parties, as he also mentioned.
Also the fact that no matter what systems and games and such that they have there.....not everyone will have them. Not everyone will have an HD-TV. There'll be plenty of people who'd fork up $5 to play a game for a few hours on a brand-new next-gen console or top of the line computer on an HD-TV that they themselves do not own and cannot afford.
NO business makes a profit or even gets back it's initial investment in a year. It's rare to make it back in two years. But it can work out, and I've always found "Don't bother because it might not work" one of the stupidest reasons to not try something you want to do.
__________________
“You didn't kill him. He would have killed you, but you didn't kill him.”
“So? He was stupid. If I killed everyone who was stupid I wouldn't have time to sleep.”
Arcades exist, but they are pretty close to dead. There are no real big games at the Arcade anymore, save DDR and maybe a new Virtua Fighter/Tekken/Random racing game every now and then. There's a reason why there were like 4 Arcades around my house at one point, and now there is only one, and it struggles. There simply aren't any huge Arcade Exclusive games anymore.
$5 for a few hours isn't nearly enough to make any money back, ever. Especially with having HD TV's and Computers from a very expensive outlet. He'd need to charge way more. Plus, just not enough people use such places really. I could see it working if he just started out with consoles and regular TV's. Ditch the Alienware computers and HDTV's, at first anyways. Then maybe upgrade later.
__________________
"God has no place within these walls! Just as facts have no place within organized religion." - The Simpsons
Last edited by BackFire on Apr 7th, 2006 at 06:37 PM
the only thing that will revolutionise arcades is VR. at this point people have better audio/video systems at home than in any arcade, so why would they want to shell out all that cash to play? and although its a cool idea, its just that. i believe that it will be successful for a couple of years maybe, but then 2 factors work against and cause it to go belly up:
1-hardware must be updated to support newer games (not to mention maintainence)
2-plasmas dropping in price, meaning 'big screen' will command less and less 'ooooooo's and 'aaaaaaaah's as time goes by.
the only way to bring customers in and keep them playing is to offer them something that home games cannot.
You're mssing the point. The point is that I'm just proctoring the survey here. I have nothing to do with the business aspect of it. And if they can't formulate a viable business model, they won't do it. It's that simple.
But there's other arcades out there like this. And they make money. It's not impossible.
So thanks for the input, but you can keep your reservations to yourself from now on.
Merely wanting to put an end to it. I had explained the situation once already, yet he persisted in telling me why he thought it was a bad idea. I decided to be more direct this time in an attempt to stay on topic. It was never my intention to sound snippy or rude. My apologies if that was the case.
Too answer your survey, no I wouldnt go to an arcade that you mentioned.
I'm sorry I didnt answer the survey, but maybe people on this forum have ideas that could actually help your brother out.
Lana, arcades dont exist anymore. A few might (like yours), but overall, they dont exist. (I'm not counting the crappy movie theaters arcades with broken arcade boxes.)
I remember when I was a kid, arcades were the shit because all the good games were first released on arcade boxes.
It's not stupid for a person to have an idea, and not try on that idea when it costs hundreds of thousands of dollers and could potentially ruin something that you hold dear, like a family for example. It's called being realistic.
I want to open an restaurant, but I know I'll fail. Should I still do it just because its a dream. Hell no.
damn...i forgot to take the survey. hope its not too late:
1) GENDER
M
2) AGE
31
3) Do you play video games on a video game console
(i.e Sony Playstation, Xbox, GameCube)?
Yes
4) Do you play video games on the computer?
No
5) Do you play video games online?
if xbox live counts, then yes
6) On average how many hours do you spend playing video games each week?
i guess anywhere between 10 and 20 hours
7) Please state what percentage of your time playing video games is spent playing each of the following genres:
% Racing games
10%
% Sports games
does boxing and wrestling count as a sport or fighter? just tag another 10% where appropriate
% Role Playing Games (i.e. Everquest)
40%
% Action (i.e.Doom, Halo)
40%
% Fighters(i.e. Tekken, Soul Calibur)
??? (see sports)
% other (chess, Tetris, card games)
0% (well...chess rarely but i wouldnt go out of my way to play it)
8) On average for how long do you play video games in any one sitting?
between 3 and 6 hours
9) What is the longest period of time that you have played video games continuously in any one sitting?
omg...i guess when i was 15 and spent an entire weekend playing phantasy star 2 on genisis. each sitting was like 16 hours or something crazy like that.
now the most i can ever imagine playing for would be like 8 hours tops.
10) Estimate how much you spent on video games in the last year (including games, online fees, hardware etc)?
about $1000
11) Please select any of the following that you currently own: (you can leave this blank...I think there was an error when I downloaded it)
12) Do you spend more time playing video games alone or with other people.
i spend more time on live playing others, if thats what you mean. or if you mean actually having someone physically next to me, then i play alone mostly.
The next 3 questions, numbers 13-15, deal with playing video games against other people. These questions distinguish between playing against others in person and playing against others online.
13) Estimate what percentage of your total time playing video games is spent playing against other people in person, such as your friends?
% 0.1 i dont know, when i hang out with friends i like to go out and get away from doing what i do all the time when im alone.
14) Estimate what percentage of your total time playing video games is spent playing against others online?
% probably between 50% and 75%
15) What would you say is most important to you in regards to playing video games against others, whether in person or online?
good sportsmanship, no annoyances (too many to list but usually involve prepubescent potty-mouthed jerks)
16) Compared to 5 years ago do you play more/less video games:
.............i really dont know. i'll just say "same"
17) Are you familiar with the company Alienware and the high-end computers they make for video gaming?
not really. heard of them but thats it.
18) Would you be interested in going to this modern day video game arcade, where you would be able to play any video game on the latest and greatest video game hardware using high definition large screen television sets?
probably not
If no, briefly list why not?
i have a 42" plasma at home, xbox 360, great internet connection...not showing off but just saying that an arcade can offer me 'better' at best. the only thing that will motivate me to get off my ass, get in my car, drive there, and spend money, is if they offer a gaming experience that i cant get at home.
i know thats vague, and probably not helpful, but just being honest.
19) Pick which of the following statements best describes how you feel about the modern day arcade described above? (again, you can leave it blank)
20) How far would you be willing to travel to go to this modern day video arcade?
21) If paying by the hour, how much would you be willing to spend for unlimited game play at this modern day arcade?
ok, if for the sake of arguement i did want to, i would expect to pay between $5 and $10 an hour.
22) How much would you be willing to spend for a monthly membership that entitled you to unlimited game play at this modern day arcade for the entire month?
this could get messy. i'm just picturing a room full of 12 year olds screaming at the poor clerk because the place is packed and they cant get a spot to play "I PAID FOR THIS MEMBERSHIP AND I WANT TO PLAY NOW!!!!!"
if it was proven to be a good system, perhaps between $20 and $30 a month?
It's pretty much what PVS said.
I just bought an DLP TV today, hoping to get an XBOX 360, and have cable. I dont see a need to go to an arcade to play something I would already have. If I had alot of friends and I can rent the space to play, I might for a couple of hours.
KMC Community Forums
Apr 5th, 2006 06:20 PM
that would RULE!!! 
