LAN Gaming Center
 

A friend is thinking of starting a LAN gaming center. The closest one to us is approx. 30 minutes away, so not much competition, and there are no "arcades" nearby except for the few machines in the movie theater next door.

He came to me looking for advice, and I didn't really have much because I've never even been in one of those type of places. Some questions that came up while discussing things (oh, and he has no experience with video games at all):

1. What is the maxiumum number of players on both PS3 and Xbox that a local LAN can utilize? This comes down to how many stations of each system to have in the place. My thought was 8 of each and probably 8 PCs.

2. Can the systems use a local LAN and go out over the net? (i.e. can I play against my friend in the shop and play against 2 other friends who are at their homes in the same game?)

3. We figured it would also be a good idea to have at least 1 station for each motion control system.

4. Is it an issue to have 2 players playing one game against each other and 4 other players playing a different game against each other on the same LAN? And can the Xbox and PS3 LANs be joined together so that people can play the same game against each other on different systems?

These may seem like stupid questions, but I don't have much experience with this type of thing, and I see the draw of a place like that in the area in question, so I want to help him out as much as I can.

Any other advice that you guys can give for this type of venture?

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

There's a reason these businesses don't exist; they don't tend to be successful.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Yeah, sure... Don't do it.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

The hardest part about doing this is how are you going to make any $ at all. How are you going to charge? How much? Memberships? Nightly(weekly game) night i think might attract people.


I think you would have more success if you offered other things, such as food/drinks.

but back to cost of running alone. You've got the machines, rent/lease of a space. It would be a tough go. But good luck.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

whats the benefit of going to a place like this versus playing online from the comfort of my own home?

this sounds like a plan conceived over bong water.

I have one suggestion, save yourself some time and name the place "FOR SALE OR LEASE"

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Usually these places appeal to younger kids who don't have specific consoles at home or parents won't let them have the latest game or whatever. That and i've seen some be successful but location is a big deal, as it becomes handy for parents to dump off their kid to play video games while they go off and do other things.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

I hope you're not that bicycle shop owner from different strokes -wink-

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

I've seen places like this... They were typically computer rather than console... The appeal for this over playing at home would be for a group of kids who don't all have the same game/console to be able to come here and play together.

As far as charging is concerned... you would charge a flat rate per hour. The kid would have to provide a school ID or driver's license to start and when they pick it up you charge them for the time they played. You could also have some kind of membership that gets a discount on that time (one free hour for every ten or something like that,) and/or package deals of some kind (i.e. $5/hr or 3 hours for $12)

Anyway, I'll definately give my friend the advice to check for other places like this and see how they do things if/when they survive. The one I know of is in a mall, so it gets a decent amount of traffic. The space he would have is near a movie theater in a relatively small town.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Here's one close to Indy...

http://www.netheads.com/

They even do summer camps, including one where the kids can do some coding.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Kids don't have money. This is a terrible business plan.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Warhawk on the PS3 and Halo on the 360 are the only games that I know of that support local + online players together (on the same console that is). 360 will require live accounts to play online. PS3 is free though.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Never heard of an allowance? And like I said, depending on the area parents are more then willing to drop off their kids and let video games baby sit them for an hour or two while they shop.

I don't necessarily disagree with it being a terrible business plan though.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Heres one that has opened near me, I have not checked it out yet. Looks like they do Birthday parties also. Racing setups too...wheels, pedals, etc...

http://www.hqvideogaming.com/

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

open only M-F 3PM-7PM? lol.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

I like this bit from the rules.

:lol:

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

Yeah, I like playing games, but I have a 360 and pc at home, I wouldn't want to pay to use one somewhere else. Also, most people play games late at night, and a good percentage are drunk or high.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

The other reason these tended to be more common ~10 years ago was due to the cost of high speed internet. Since it's much more common and affordable today most people just play at home.

I think your friend would be better off opening a coffee/sandwich shop with gaming as the theme. Something to lure customers in as an added bonus, because I don't think you'd do well by charing for play time. Plus it could be very neat if there were some older consoles as well.

Re: LAN Gaming Center
 

i thought about opening up one of these and the gaming does have to be a loss leader. the money is to be made on food and whatever. there are a few billiards places close to where i live and they all have lots of food and drinks to keep the kids spending money