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A pc gaming lounge in NYC

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I keep thinking of the show "Shark Tank" for some reason. I could see you coming in and giving them your business plan. Then "Mr. Wonderful" would ask you, "If this is such a good and novel idea, what would keep me from opening up next door to you with all the money I have and charge $1.00 an hour to absolutely crush you out of business? For that reason, I'm out."
 
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Honestly, I think there are a lot of young people who might hang out there, but it won't be just to game @ 4k. There needs to be a strong sense of community, like this place has to be "where its at" as far as E-sports and competitive play goes. Well connected to the gaming community to make people feel like they are participating in something and not just gaming solo.
Also, performance matters on the rigs. Every time a new fancy game comes out, people will want to see it maxed @ 4k. This means big money on upgrades, and often or else the whole 4k thing will loose it's shine very quickly IMO.
"Those rigs at that 4k gaming place can't handle Crysis 4, like at all. Fuck it lets stay home".
 
Workpac said:
Its not what it is all about but it is about beating the odds. Of course not everyone is going to think your idea is good. It is the entrepreneur's job to show them why and how they are wrong. Some people call this a hissy fit but I call it a successful business acumen. Its no wonder entrepreneurs make up such a small percentage of the populace. And we are in a different era which is why I am using the latest tech.
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The /facepalm is strong with this one.

You know some of us are professionals. I manage the IT department for a mid size health care company, millions of dollars of purchasing, services, and payroll for a department that supports thousands of employees in 13 states across dozens of offices.

I'm sure as a teenager you think you have things figured out. As I said before entrepreneurship is admirable, but difficult. Try this out if you want, the failure will be a good learning experience if you intend to continue owning your own businesses in the future.
 
Workpac said:
Not quite. I am waiting for maxwell. It will be more powerful than titan black and more energy efficient and only one should be enough for 4k gaming. Also asus and just released a 28 inch 4k monitor @ $650. I would be buying the parts in bulk also so I could get a discount for that. I estimated around 2.3k for each setup with everything included. For twenty stations thats around 56k. New Yorks rent is crazy and con edison does rape commercial types. Plus the licensing fees..etc etc. I am beginning to suspect that the demand isnt even there for $7/hr.
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You are incredibly focused on details, which is partly how I know you haven't thought any of this through or done even the most basic research.

Planning your business around a specific video card and it's power draw makes about as much sense as planning a restaurant by starting with the color of the tile in the bathroom.
 
you need a niche bro.

viet style gaming cafe -> high end gaming rigs + lingerie chicks serving coffee = profit

//edit

ISO: Angel Investors for viet style gaming cafe in SoCal
 
The ROI just in and of itself will destroy you quickly. It just isn't there. You'd have to charge quite a bit to pay for the hardware over time and that amount would likely keep people away and at home building their own systems.
The guy I sold my last car to had a party/game truck. He said he would have lost a ton of money on it if he hadn't owned the trailer beforehand. He's trying to sell it since everything in it is outdated now. (Wiis, X360/PS3).
Dave & Buster's isn't an arcade. It's a restaurant with an arcade. Most games in these types of places these days are just ticket machines for kids, large scale driving/shooting (interactive) games and a few stand ups.
I was an arcade kid growing up, and would spend hours there. It was a different time. Once consoles hit that could get close to what the arcade machines could do, those days were over. We all spent our quarters on buying our own consoles and games.
As a "high-end" PC gamer and a business owner, this isn't a profitable venture on the current climate and probably never will be.
 
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One model I could see working is if you had a bar, and the back half had couches and giant screens you could play consoles on. Then people would all chill and play while they drink your beer (mostly racing and sports games probably). Your money would be from selling beer though. They would also need to convert to Karaoke playing for late night fun.

Then maybe, maybe in one corner you could have some high end PC room in the very back for the anti socials and nerds. It would have sound proofing so they can yell out how uber thier PC is and how consoles suck and are for kids, but nobody can hear them, but they will feel like they did and feel superior.
 
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As a long time resident of NYC I can tell you that the costs would be enormous and the demand is non-existent. There have been few of these places down around Chinatown and the Bowery in the past but they never last. There are maybe three cybercafes in the whole of Manhattan now? And they're all in tourist ground zero.
 
BoberFett said:
There's a bowling alley a couple of blocks from my place that has an impressive array of pinball machines ranging to classic to new. I've actually seen them do a pretty brisk business, pinball kind of has a cult factor backing it up.
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Yeah my buddy quit his old job to run his pinball business full time now. He does other games as well (he just built a gorgeous SFII cabinet), but mostly pinball.

KT
 
Like bobberfett said you are too focused on the details. What is your actual idea?

It seems like you want to sell a highend gaming experience. So try and figure out how to profit by offering a highend experience. 4K is only one way to do that. Have you considered offering the following at higher prices in addition to 4k?

  • Eyefinity/Surround Gaming setup - 3 1080P monitors and charge more
  • 3D Gaming - charge more for goggles
  • Low latency gaming - for those who think they're pros offer fast 120hz setups for twitch games
  • Alcohol - have a bar - sell over priced drinks
  • Barcraft - show competitive matches for LOL, DOTA, and SC2
  • VR Games - Get oculus rift setups - charge and arm and leg more for groups
  • Monthly charges - as you said - offer the ability to save games. Charge $x per month for an account
  • Setup tournaments of popular games - LOL, DOTA, SC2
  • Stream your tournaments -raise publicity

These are just something's you could do to carve a possibly profitable niche.
 
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Paratus said:
Like bobberfett said you are too focused on the details. What is your actual idea?

It seems like you want to sell a highend gaming experience. So try and figure out how to profit by offering a highend experience. 4K is only one way to do that. Have you considered offering the following at higher prices in addition to 4k?

  • Eyefinity/Surround Gaming setup - 3 1080P monitors and charge more
  • 3D Gaming - charge more for goggles
  • Low latency gaming - for those who think they're pros offer fast 120hz setups for twitch games
  • Alcohol - have a bar - sell over priced drinks
  • Barcraft - show competitive matches for LOL, DOTA, and SC2
  • VR Games - Get oculus rift setups - charge and arm and leg more for groups
  • Monthly charges - as you said - offer the ability to save games. Charge $x per month for an account
  • Setup tournaments of popular games - LOL, DOTA, SC2
  • Stream your tournaments -raise publicity

These are just something's you could do to carve a possibly profitable niche.
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Initial start up and just securing a liquor license for the place would be pretty outrageous to the area to begin with I'd think.
 
I've seen many gaming cafes sprout up in downtown NYC over the years, I can't recall a single one that survived more than a few years
 
PC Gaming Cafes are making a comeback thanks to games like League of Legends and DOTA 2. Back in 1999 to 2001 there were practically 1 in every corner in my area. A few friends made bucketloads of cash... when people were finally able to get High speed internet at home -all the PC Cafes had to close up shop and now there are no PC Gaming Cafes in my area.

I don't think it will ever get back to the days of 1999 to 2001... but there are opportunities still...

Also League of Legends does not look nice in 4K, DOTA 2 maybe a bit better, but those two games at 4Kx2K does not really provide more visually benefits than a 2560x1440 monitor.

Good luck on your venture - and if you happen to open one up, I'll stop by when I am in New York!
 
BoberFett said:
You realize you're talking about revenue in the first part. Then you go on to talk about profit. Profit and revenue are related, but quite different.
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Im talking about breaking even i which case TR=TC. I already made a ppf and determined the optimal level of output to achieve this.
 
AznAnarchy99 said:
Bulk discounts are not much for those type of systems. I used to get customers telling me the exact same thing.

"Hi AznAnarchy, I'm looking to open a LAN center. I need 40 computers with so and so build. What kind of bulk discount can you give?"

Usually it was about 5% with a shipping discount. The margin on computer parts themselves are pretty low. How companies make money is all the extra wiring services, thermal paste, or accessories.
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I would buy the parts and build them myself. That discount would be much more substantial than buying whole units and asking for a discount on that.
 
GrumpyMan said:
I keep thinking of the show "Shark Tank" for some reason. I could see you coming in and giving them your business plan. Then "Mr. Wonderful" would ask you, "If this is such a good and novel idea, what would keep me from opening up next door to you with all the money I have and charge $1.00 an hour to absolutely crush you out of business? For that reason, I'm out."
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Lol um because you are already rich and you know that would be a dumb decision. Unless u bring the samething at a lower price I will be fine.
 
BoberFett said:
The /facepalm is strong with this one.

You know some of us are professionals. I manage the IT department for a mid size health care company, millions of dollars of purchasing, services, and payroll for a department that supports thousands of employees in 13 states across dozens of offices.

I'm sure as a teenager you think you have things figured out. As I said before entrepreneurship is admirable, but difficult. Try this out if you want, the failure will be a good learning experience if you intend to continue owning your own businesses in the future.
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You crack me up. Does your experience and your fancy job make you better equipped than me? I think it just makes you more jaded. But I do respect what you guys say and I am not considering this as seriously as I was a few days ago. But you guys do not seem to understand that with proper marketing anything can have a high demand. As I said, not acknowledging that just makes you jaded.
 
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