trying to open a game lounge. any ideas or input??

We are hoping to open a new/used game store with a gaming lounge and cafe type thing (obviously all in different areas of the building) have free wifi and maybe some T-shirts and memorabilia here and there. what would you serve in the cafe? any other ideas? we are still in the early, early planning stages, just trying to gather all the info possible and incorporate what we think will work into our business plan.

By the way, all we have is a Game Stop, which blows ass, plus, it's in the mall so there's no quick trip to the game store there. I feel there's a good potential there, we just need to get the plan just right!

if you are having a cafe type thing why not making it into one of those cafe net things that is all the rave in the eastern world?

Food wise definitely Hot Pockets and Mountain Dew. no i kid.

Is the store big enough to incorporate all three ideas?

For the cafe: sandwiches, coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, cookies, pastries, candy, etc. Try and keep the customers and food in the respected area.

PC gaming or console? Or, maybe both? Also, don't forget the hot chocolate.

we'll definitely try to keep them seperate, we are going to try and find something big enough, but the cafe won't take alot of room, it'll be relatively small (in my head, anyway) we're thinking 42" flat screens 1 for each console and maybe 2 for 360. we want to have some kind of event (tournament, girls night etc) at least every other evening, thus drawing in customers who hopefully will buy refreshments, accessories, t-shirts and so forth. another question I have is how can we keep from being a daycare without pissing off parents? we want to be seen as a store/ entertainment ctr, not some place you can dump your kids while you shop.

I'd also add water and juice to your list of cafe beverages, mostly because of the high-ass markups you'll be able to put on them. Especially since most people are trying to eat and drink better these days.

Sell Bawls. We have this little PC gaming lounge near my place, and it sells like hotcakes. Bawls and Pocky.

Also, don't charge people to play console games. That same place tries to, and nobody ever does.

Have girlie gamer nights. I kid you not. I just saw this on the news a few nights ago:

http://www.sassykatmedia.com/2008/07/08/nintendo-throwing-ds-tupperware-parties-for-women

Do a wine tasting and have a bunch of Metallic Rose DS Lites available.

[quote name='shigster']PC gaming or console? Or, maybe both? Also, don't forget the hot chocolate. [/QUOTE]

maybe some hot coffe for the Guys

ur are setting urself up for a daycare.....

but i think u should only let people play the consoles during special events/ tournaments.

[quote name='gotrice415510']ur are setting urself up for a daycare.....

but i think u should only let people play the consoles during special events/ tournaments.[/quote]

those sites suck. you think you just have to sin up for emails or something, and you start filling out the survey. the first one says you have to complete 2 offers, you finish it then they tell you you have to fill out 2 "gold" offers, you finish that one, then there's "platinum" offers. its a load of BS. by the time you spend 3 hours filling the crap out, applied for 3 credit cards, a DVD club and a romance novel club, you could have just biught the game and already be playing it. don't waste your energy, there's nothing free about it! hope that helps

Hey tooterbug84: PM's, dude. PM's.

And yeah, yourfree360games sucks. I completed all the requirements for a free controller, filled the form out, sent the request, and they still haven't shipped me the controller yet. It's been a year.

Back to the subject at hand:

I know one person who has been able to successfully open and keep open a café in recent years. It's a rather large place with a balcony and a comfortable at-home atmosphere. They cater for parties, have free wi-fi, people set up easels and paint in there, there are vampire role-playing nights, and it also attracts this whole crowd of people who are traditionally ostracized from the community.

It really only beats (i.e. stays in business with) the Starbucks and the other big coffee-shop chain around here because of the crowd it targets. I don't know if a gaming café could ever stay open here.



First: location, location, location. Are people going to spend money there? Are people going to stop by to hang out there? Are people going to drop in to buy games there? Location is key. Know the stores around you, know the type of people that stop by your location, and decide if what you're opening would work there, and if so, how best it would work there.

I just left a similar store, you may want to make a rule that people have to be 16 or older to hang out, the people under 16 at the local place drive away the older people with their constant trying to be cool additude.

[quote name='tooterbug84']we'll definitely try to keep them seperate, we are going to try and find something big enough, but the cafe won't take alot of room, it'll be relatively small (in my head, anyway) we're thinking 42" flat screens 1 for each console and maybe 2 for 360. we want to have some kind of event (tournament, girls night etc) at least every other evening, thus drawing in customers who hopefully will buy refreshments, accessories, t-shirts and so forth. another question I have is how can we keep from being a daycare without pissing off parents? we want to be seen as a store/ entertainment ctr, not some place you can dump your kids while you shop.[/quote]

What you do is charge to play stuff, otherwise you'll even get the over-18 crowd just sitting around playing without buying. Charge by the hour, and maybe have signs up about ESRB ratings/content in games available are not appropriate for minors all over the place, try to scare parents away all else.

[quote name='Sinnbox']I just left a similar store, you may want to make a rule that people have to be 16 or older to hang out, the people under 16 at the local place drive away the older people with their constant trying to be cool additude.[/quote]

so maybe just have separate areas for those above and under 18.

Charging by the hour would be best, but it would be cool to have some sort of membership that gets exclusive rates and benefits. Also host plenty of tournaments to attract new customers.

Lanned 360's. And hold tourneys.

To keep it from being a daycare maybe you should strictly enforce the age requirement on the game, because I doubt you are going to be putting out many E and E10+ games.
One question, why would it be a daycare, where is this going to be?

[quote name='LeafPanda']To keep it from being a daycare maybe you should strictly enforce the age requirement on the game, because I doubt you are going to be putting out many E and E10+ games.
One question, why would it be a daycare, where is this going to be?[/quote]

Because kids will hang out there all day. At my old job we had a 20 pc lan and we literally had kids that stopped going to school so they could pay to play on PC's all day.

things i like at places like these:

1) game lounges tend to smell like gamestop once you first step in. keep it nice and cool inside so people don't sweat (which is where the smell comes from) and get uncomfortable while playing. and clean often.

2) be fair for trade ins. true story: i went to X-Zone in nanuet, ny (indie store) and traded in a few games. the guy gave me trade in values for some ds games for $1 (for Point Blank ds). i gave in eventually cause i wanted a rare game from the store. a week or 2 later i went back and guess how much that same game i traded in.. $16. i was shocked. 150% profit to those who will bite it. cool store with cool employees, but totally takes advantage of people.

3) you should also have competitions often. this is a great way to bring people in the store and to have your place known. if you can, get internet celebrities to come your store also (like what Digitpress in Clifton, NJ does every now and then).

theres a few more just cant think of it. there is a thread similar to this on the Gaming News forums here on CAG you might want to check that out.

A store here started hosting Magic tourneys, as much as i think it is a super nerdy thing they rake in the cash like mad!! If you host Magic people will buy the cards by the boxes, alot of 18-40 y/o guys will spend $100-$200 a week on Magic cards, and trade the ones they dont want and the store sells them to kids that can't afford a whole box, I hear it more than pays for all the storers expenses so the rest is all profit.

I was thinking a topless gaming lounge. No alcohol but serve energy drinks to the 18+ crowd. Naked girls playing video games, no one can compete with that.

[quote name='rmb']I was thinking a topless gaming lounge. No alcohol but serve energy drinks to the 18+ crowd. Naked girls playing video games, no one can compete with that.[/quote]

Right, not many girls visit gaming lounges to begin with and they for shure wouldnt take any clothes off due to the high ammount of nerdy virgins.

[quote name='rmb']I was thinking a topless gaming lounge. No alcohol but serve energy drinks to the 18+ crowd. Naked girls playing video games, no one can compete with that.[/quote]

Decent idea, I think, but just imagine how much the bathrooms would glow under a black light after having said naked girls teasing the aforementioned nerdy game virgins.

I know I wouldn't wanna be the one to have to clean the bathroom in a place like that. #

Oh and tooterbugs, check out this local game lounge's site: http://www.thatgamingplace.com/

They've somehow been in business about 4 years now, so they MUST be doing SOMETHING right. One thing I noticed is that they have semi frequent 'lock-in' nights where they serve soda and pizza and it's usually a flat price for 12 hours.

I actually saw this place in my town, it is a game store(the guys that work there are total dicks) and they had like a game room day care type place where it your parents went to costco across the way, you could let the kids play the games. Kinda pedo sounding, but just have like good basic food, and like an area where it is wireless hotspot, and sell normal games. And hold a tournament now and then.

Well, you should inforce something such as parents must accompany their children if they're under 12 or something. I would say once they hit the teens, they'll start spending their allowance at your place, although they might hang out still.

Another suggestion is to put up a sign and recomend that customers purchase one refreshment every hour to keep the gaming and Wifi free. This works really well at a small cafe I know of, keeps out the leachers so I can actaully have a seat so I can check my email while getting some lunch. You could also pull out this card if lets say some kid has been gaming for a while and a paying customer who just purchased a refreshing Rockstar from you wants to jump on the system

[quote name='Link927']Well, you should inforce something such as parents must accompany their children if they're under 12 or something. I would say once they hit the teens, they'll start spending their allowance at your place, although they might hang out still. [/quote]
great idea. at chuck e cheese they have some sort of stamping to determine if youre with that child. while thats corny and uncool to some, its a great thing for parents like myself.

i remember a time when my wife worked there over the summer and she told me that they used to call the cops on the parents that leaves their child from 10-12 while they run errands or worse, go to work.

while on the subject, you should also have zero tolerance on T and M rated games. the ratings are there for kids underage to not purchase these games. they're going to buy or play the game either way, but it shouldn't come from your store. i hate seeing parents buy M rated games for kids. the kids will go whine about not getting while at the store and eventually they'll give in.

This may not apply to your ideas since it's more of a PC-centric business [lounge with ridiculous numbers of decked-out gaming rigs loaded with almost any major game you can think of, with the ability to bring your own] with a side-focus on computer training and consoles [big screen, LAN setup, rent-to-use, last I checked]. However, some of it may be of use...

http://www.pghcyberconxion.com/

I haven't been in the area in years but they opened during my last year in Pittsburgh and they're still going strong. Some of the keys to their success, I would guess, would be...

(1) They had a full set of established rules regarding minors, ranging from behavior, curfew, and game content. It was very thorough and quite accessible, even though I can't view it on the website. Essentially, if I recall, there was a point at which the young'ins were kicked out for the evening (usually applied more on weekends when they were open until 2 AM), and worries about game ratings were covered by a comprehensive parental permission form, if you will.

(2) They made PLENTY of deals with nearby businesses to various ends. Since they ran parties on the side they had deals going with the local Cold Stone across the street (coupons, cheaper ice cream cakes, etc.), a pizza place down the road, a nearby Chinese restaurant, and...shockingly, the EB further up the block (minor deals on used items, show a "used" purchase to CC and get an hour of free play, etc.). It certainly worked in their favor, especially when you would get a group of friends in there, a few hours pass, and then you can order a pizza for a good discount? Sweet.


It also helped greatly that all of the workers there were older (35+) and were completely knowledgeable about PCs, Macs, consoles, whathaveyou. The place was run well, well-stocked on drinks and whatnot, and was a generally good place to be. That's all back in 2005, though, so I don't know what other changes they have made since then. Try asking any resident Carnegie Mellon / U Pitt / etc. students around CAG to see if they have any more info.

Yeah, no actual games sold or bar, but maybe some aspect can serve as inspiration.

Keep 'em coming!! these Ideas are so appreciated. I figured the best Ideas are going to come from all of you, and I was right. by the way, I'm in Columbia, TN, and this is the only retail district with anything other than a walmart in it in like 5 surrounding counties. as far as location, we are trying to find something close to the mall because of all the traffic.We are so excited to get going on this!! By the way, don't call me Dude... I'm a girl

keep it casual n' mellow...potheads need a corner too ...Cottonmouth means profit...

If you have some classes consoles it might be cool to have one tv set up for like dreamcast and older stuff. I know you would always have someone playing super mario on NES.

you should hold lan stuff on the weekends (make sure to give prizes out), honestly you could prob make some good money on that. charge an entrance fee, put 75% or 50% or what ever you decide towards a prize, and keep the rest for the business. especially if you don't have any other places around that do that, but holding good lan stuff requires a lot of power and space i would imagine, so i'm not sure how big your area could be.

one other thing i just thought of. as a prize, you should give out a sponsorship. offer to pay credits for ONLINE MLG events, and ladders. That costs like, 25 a person or something to that extent. 4 people is 100 bucks, thats a pretty good prize. teams for games are always looking for this. and even if they have never done it before, this is a free good way for them to start. just say, we will pay your fees, just name your team The 'Store name' 'Team Name'. ex. Gamestop Mercenaries. Also have them put it on there webpage, or MLG page if they have one. This way its a prize (incentive for the peopel to play), AND its advertising for 1 price. This way any time that team does anything, people will be like, why is that your name and they will say its a store. its a way to get your name out there. Another good prize that can help you is for like 4th place a free entry to the next tournament or something. You can make prizes that cost you nothing, but benefit you greatly.

as far as the daycare. just make it clear on a sign that if any kids do anything wrong they get booted. make kids under ~14 have a parent waiver that says they can only stay for 1 hour 2 hours ect (what ever you decide.) other than that you should charge people to play PC games, I've seen that work before at my local mall. with the no-crap policy if any kid was annoying u just boot them. kids under 16 should leave a parent phone number or something so u can call them and say they've been kicked out, if the parents doesn't answer its not ur fault. just make them sign a waiver that says all of this. once that signature is down, you can basically do anything you want.

during the week just have demos running on the flat screens in the cafe. don't let people play in the cafe, just watch. then set up stations like a game stop on the store front. you should buy trade and sell obviously, that's how those stores get popular, just give better value than GS. obviously you wont make as much money but you wana bank on the idea that if you give better deals, you will get more traffic, aka more profit. some gas stations around where i live do that. sell gas for cheaper, get 2 times as many customers, make more money then the average priced ones.

another idea that might work is thinking about game rental type things. do it just like gamefly does, except in store. you get a membership pay per month and you can rent 1 disc, 2 disc (depending on the deal) with no late fees. that way you beat out block buster too and gamefly, because its a retail location.

in closing, your selling games (matching what any retailer offers), trading for more value (beating out gamestop), renting more conveniently (beating out gamefly), and running LANs, Demos, and having a convenient cafe as well. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

just pick out what you like about other stores, steal the idea, modify it, and then BAM, you got yourself a business. Let me know what you think.

-Corey

Interesting thread. I've been kicking around a similar idea actually.

Anyway, here's some suggestions.

1. Membership to play, or pay by the hour. You don't want the systems to be just free to play. Seriously, ever go to BestBuy around the lunch hour? I swear there are guys who just go there to play games during lunch. Offset this by making their first visit free.

2. Ages -- you're going to have to restrict this to the 17+ crowd on most nights. You can't have a bunch of 8 year olds watching the "big kids" play M rated games.

3. I think you have an opportunity on Friday or Saturday night to offer a "Parents Night Out" similar to what the Little Gym does. If you're not a parent you likely won't know WTF a Little Gym is... but believe me, in the right market these things print money.

On Parents Night Out you run it from 6-10. Change a flat fee per kid and offer a discount on additional kids from the same parent. Charge a different price for Members & Non-Members. Put a cap on the number of kids. Then offer kid friendly stuff -- E and E-10 games that the kids can play together. Maybe a movie or two for kids who don't want to play video games.

If you offer these once a month you'll likely get a lot of parents interested since you're helping them by giving them a kid-free evening.

Good luck.