Barcades are great, we got one in Chicago (and now a second imitator in the upscale lakeview) a few months back.
The real issue is you need to have a really strong 21-35 crowd to make it work. There is a big upfront investment (getting 20-30 good arcade cabs will run you between 10-15k easy, if not more), ongoing costs (maintenance, drunk people spilling beer on your brand new pinball machine, high electricity) which will pretty much eat up all your 'arcade' revenue, if not over run it. If i were gonna do it someplace outside of a Major city, it'd have to be in a really strong college town, like Ithaca NY or Ann Arbor MI. Then you have to worry about catering to the under 21 crowd as well, which make things quite a bit more tricky.
If I were to open a video game themed bar, it would have SOME arcade cabs, but not driven by them like most barcades. I'd have a solid LAN PC base (probably 10-15 PCs with the latest games), 3-4 big (60''+ TVs), 5 Classic Arcade Cabs and 1-2 good pinball machines. I'd cater to lots of corp events, do Barcraft events, and do big video game release parties (partnering with a local store video game store to make it a bad ass party).
Waiting to get a visit on a place that is right next to the rink where my son plays. If I get that place, I may have a BnB for friends that are too drunk to drive home.
It will be interesting to see how my dinner table conversation goes tonight....
Barcades are great, we got one in Chicago (and now a second imitator in the upscale lakeview) a few months back.
The real issue is you need to have a really strong 21-35 crowd to make it work. There is a big upfront investment (getting 20-30 good arcade cabs will run you between 10-15k easy, if not more), ongoing costs (maintenance, drunk people spilling beer on your brand new pinball machine, high electricity) which will pretty much eat up all your 'arcade' revenue, if not over run it. If i were gonna do it someplace outside of a Major city, it'd have to be in a really strong college town, like Ithaca NY or Ann Arbor MI. Then you have to worry about catering to the under 21 crowd as well, which make things quite a bit more tricky.
If I were to open a video game themed bar, it would have SOME arcade cabs, but not driven by them like most barcades. I'd have a solid LAN PC base (probably 10-15 PCs with the latest games), 3-4 big (60''+ TVs), 5 Classic Arcade Cabs and 1-2 good pinball machines. I'd cater to lots of corp events, do Barcraft events, and do big video game release parties (partnering with a local store video game store to make it a bad ass party).
What you described in the second paragraph is exactly what I was envisioning. More like a LAN center with a bar, no actual arcade machines.
You don't think putting it near UB or somewhere in the Buffalo area would work?
For me, brutal. I've never been a big weights guy, so it was a change for me.
This was the workout. Done just like the song. 1 rep of #1, 2 reps of #2 1 rep of #1, etc, etc
The lunges really messed me up, and I messed up the order a couple times. Didn't finish it all, but a lot of people didn't. The guy said I did OK for my first time ever doing it, and that I picked probably the worst possible day to start.
Nothing tonight for us. I'm okay with this.
Taking the tot to a basket raffle tomorrow morning to support a good cause.
Tomorrow night is our annual Love Actually viewing. Friends and alcohol will be joining us.
Sunday is wide open. <insert dirty joke here>
Going to watch The Hobbit tonight, and then out of town for the rest of the weekend for a family christmas party.
I put out a "who wants to go" post on FB last night, and the girl I've been "seeing" eagerly stepped up to the plate. Which is strange, because never in a million years would I imagine she would want to watch that movie.
Nothing tonight for us. I'm okay with this.
Taking the tot to a basket raffle tomorrow morning to support a good cause.
Tomorrow night is our annual Love Actually viewing. Friends and alcohol will be joining us.
Sunday is wide open. <insert dirty joke here>
Nowhere in here do I see "go view the Hobbit." If you guys didn't see it last night at midnight, Clock is slipping.
Our little guy seems to have either a nasty cold or the flu so it's put all our weekend plans on hold.
Nothing tonight for us. I'm okay with this.
Taking the tot to a basket raffle tomorrow morning to support a good cause.
Tomorrow night is our annual Love Actually viewing. Friends and alcohol will be joining us.
Sunday is wide open. <insert dirty joke here>
Work tonight, off tomorrow with no set in stone plans outside of getting new brakes on my car and work Sunday morning and then Sunday dinner possibly with some friends over.
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Understanding some people is like trying to pick up a dog turd by the clean end. It just isn't possible.
What you described in the second paragraph is exactly what I was envisioning. More like a LAN center with a bar, no actual arcade machines.
You don't think putting it near UB or somewhere in the Buffalo area would work?
As someone who has never lived in Buffalo, I'm not really the best person to ask. Chicago's Barcade is between Logan Square and Bucktown, the two biggest 'Hipster' heavy areas in the city. It's Chicago's version of brooklyn if you will. It's also located right on the main bike route to get from that part of the city to downtown. Huge population of 20-early 30 somethings who spend lots of money at bars, basically your ideal customer.
Yep. I'm going to stick with once a week for now, see how my body reacts to it.
I basically have targets for next year of a half marathon, and the Tough Mudder. (My girlfriend has done the Mudder twice already....so I have to catch up.) I think this will be good for those goals.
Lol. In all seriousness, as a member of the BDSM community, I had considered writing a book similar to fifty shades, and while this one does contain the occasional bondage reference, I largely avoided it. It felt out of place and a little forced given the characters.
DEVELOPING: A gunman opened fire Friday inside a Connecticut elementary school, and authorities reported multiple deaths -- including the gunman -- according to CTNow.com.
Reports also said children were shot but it remains unclear whether any were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Authorities said the gunman, who was not identified, is dead. An official with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that the man apparently had two guns.
Shortly after 9:40 a.m., police reported that a shooter was in the main office of the school. A person in one room had "numerous gunshot wounds," police told the newspaper.
There was already one there. Cyberjocks on Sheridan/N. Bailey. Used to be on Parkside in Buffalo.
It failed. Hard.
Yeah I went there. I don't remember it being anything other than a LAN center with a concession stand. They probably failed because it was incredibly expensive to go there and just play a random video game for a couple hours.
This would be a bar with gaming attached, not the other way around. Essentially you charge little to nothing for people to actually play the games, and the money is made by hosting parties/events, and on food and liquor.
Although serving food wouldn't be super appealing. I guess at worst it could have a pizza shop.
Yeah I went there. I don't remember it being anything other than a LAN center with a concession stand. They probably failed because it was incredibly expensive to go there and just play a random video game for a couple hours.
This would be a bar with gaming attached, not the other way around. Essentially you charge little to nothing for people to actually play the games, and the money is made by hosting parties/events, and on food and liquor.
Although serving food wouldn't be super appealing. I guess at worst it could have a pizza shop.
I'm not sure a bar and LAN gaming would really work together to be honest. Drinking beers while playing your friends at arcade cabinets for a couple minutes at a time is one thing. Short time commitments, and something that people can watch.
Having a bunch of people sit around and play Starcraft for 40 minutes at a time kinda kills the entire social aspect of the thing. I can do that at home and not have to shower. :p
Yeah I went there. I don't remember it being anything other than a LAN center with a concession stand. They probably failed because it was incredibly expensive to go there and just play a random video game for a couple hours.
This would be a bar with gaming attached, not the other way around. Essentially you charge little to nothing for people to actually play the games, and the money is made by hosting parties/events, and on food and liquor.
Although serving food wouldn't be super appealing. I guess at worst it could have a pizza shop.
You'd be a millionaire in no time if you put this in Korea.
I'm not sure a bar and LAN gaming would really work together to be honest. Drinking beers while playing your friends at arcade cabinets for a couple minutes at a time is one thing. Short time commitments, and something that people can watch.
Having a bunch of people sit around and play Starcraft for 40 minutes at a time kinda kills the entire social aspect of the thing. I can do that at home and not have to shower. :p
You can most definitely make something like that a social experience. Don't assume playing Starcraft means the only thing you can do is sit there and play 1v1s on the ladder all day.
In this fantasy world of mine, there would constantly be team games, mono-battles, and silly FFA challenges. The games would try to incorporate as many people as possible, with the games even being casted in the bar. You could also then have small tournaments for prizes, with players going to the bar with friends in-between matches, people just hanging out watching, etc.
As much as it is my love, I imagine the #1 attraction would most likely be shooters and sports games on PS/Xbox. Even the Nintendo Wii would work well here.
I don't mean to discount it. I've been a big gamer for years. I played at Cyberjocks when they first started in a storefront on Parkside Ave, playing C&C : Red Alert for hours on end.
The problem with a physical location for LAN games is that there's no need anymore. Back in the early 2000s, if you wanted to get 8 friends together and play something, it made sense to lug your PCs/Consoles somewhere and hook them all up. Nobody had broadband, and dial up games were a pain in the rear to get going.
Now, it's totally different. If I want to play Diablo, or WoW, or SC2, or whatever, I can sit down in my office, launch a game, and be online with 7 friends in about a minute or two, with voice chat on Ventrillo or Skype.
Cyberjocks failed because as more people got broadband, there was less need to go there. They raised prices to compensate, driving more people away. There's also a significant capital cost too. People expect top end gaming rigs in these places. That's $1500/$2000 per rig every 18-24 months or so, plus game licenses, electricity, space, staff, etc. Not a lot of margin there, even if you get a hopping bar attached.
I don't mean to discount it. I've been a big gamer for years. I played at Cyberjocks when they first started in a storefront on Parkside Ave, playing C&C : Red Alert for hours on end.
The problem with a physical location for LAN games is that there's no need anymore. Back in the early 2000s, if you wanted to get 8 friends together and play something, it made sense to lug your PCs/Consoles somewhere and hook them all up. Nobody had broadband, and dial up games were a pain in the rear to get going.
Now, it's totally different. If I want to play Diablo, or WoW, or SC2, or whatever, I can sit down in my office, launch a game, and be online with 7 friends in about a minute or two, with voice chat on Ventrillo or Skype.
Yeah, like I said before, the PC games will be an after-thought. Mostly incorporated for my own benefit, they wouldn't be the focal point.
But most people prefer to play video games with their friends in the actual, physical real world. Call of Duty / Halo / Madden nights and hang-out sessions with drinking and pizza are the primary method men my age use to socialize.
The obstacle is that for groups of friends larger than 2-4, your average college student only has one television, meh internet, and one gaming system with one copy of the game. Most people aren't willing to pack up their TVs and gaming systems and take them places. Which means only 2 people can play at once. And just talking via headsets over skype while playing on xbox live just isn't the same, all of my friends and I can do this, but we still choose to get together on the weekends and play some games with drinking.
This is basically just a solution to my personal woes when hosting friends for gaming nights. It gets rid of all of the annoying obstacles to an otherwise good time. I know if a place like this existed I'd be there every weekend.
Now, it's totally different. If I want to play Diablo, or WoW, or SC2, or whatever, I can sit down in my office, launch a game, and be online with 7 friends in about a minute or two, with voice chat on Ventrillo or Skype.
Sometimes it's still more fun to be in the same room. LAN parties are still way more fun than just randomly hopping on battle.net with Mumble. It's a lot easier and more fun to harass and intimidate other players when you're in the same room.
