Opening a Gaming LAN in the Suburbs

haven't totally come to terms with prices yet, have to figure out overhead and membership prices but hourly will probably be 5-10$

I've seen a couple of these places belong.gg open up recently, they are always empty.

Maybe gear it towards VR as few people have it and many want to play it once in a while rather than all the time.

Also, gear it toward birthday parties for 12 year olds.

Pic unrelated.

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This is going to be tough user
>every gaming LAN center around me growing up shut down after a few years
>you gotta keep PCs updated with latest hardware specs and games
>overhead costs can be high if you're going to have comps running all day, A/C, snack stock, etc.
>how many employees will you start with and for what roles? are you going to be the only one?
you should consider adding some console or arcade cab gaming. Have like an SF5 or Marvel vs Capcom station? At my college we had kids who would just hang out at the SF4 cab playing all day

Sell those meme vape pens too

Yeah dont limit yourself to pc
I used to work at my schools rec room and there was always a group of kids playing fifa on Xbox so maybe mix it up with arcade emulator a Xbox and a lounge type setting

You can’t be actually this fucking retarded?
Don’t do it you fucking idiot, you’re hopeless if you even considered it so just do it you’ll lose your money somewhere else anyway

Imagin touching the devices where 200 fat nerds touched then while they constantly play on their unwashed dick

Imagine the smell

>LAN center
It's not 1999 anymore

All's I can say is god speed user. I wish I had something like that in my area.

>search for weapons at an arcade
Do you live in Camden, NJ?

You are going to lose all of your money. Open a vr center.

I think a cool idea would be to have an area where people can stream themselves, Twitch.tv style. I've always liked the idea of streaming but I don't have the computer/set-up/camera to do it.

If you have an area with computers specifically set up for quick-access to Twitch streaming, you could start a cool trend where people go stream at a Gaming Center. I'd be willing to try that, personally.

Also you should accept cryptocurrency as payment.

love these ideas!

i've never seen a successful vr anything

thank you

gotta read the op

Basketball Americans come in and wreck your shit and make other people not want to come to your store because they're loud and obnoxious

I'm sorry to say I've literally never seen one of these succeed. At least not in the USA. Have a backup plan, user.

Go lounge Style
only need 5-10 PCs. Then 2-3 gaming stations, with a variety of games.

Also learn how to cook reasonable food that won't be too messy or need a lot of clean up.

Try and get a license to become a dispensary, mainly do that. What you want is a Bar, except modern, aimed at millennial and Weed instead of liquor.

Every lan center around me has died. Some even had multiple side-hustles like selling vape products and computer repair.

I was thinking of this. Start small and expand either in space or locations as need be.

I don't if you'd be better doing a 'cheap' monthly membership or charging by the hour.

I could see being in a city and utilizing this and technically 'renting' a gaming pc with maxed out graphics.

I guess the problem is figuring out usage with your customers. If you do a membership and there's always 5 people glued to their seats then I'm gonna be pissed.

Just raise the membership price to adjust for that if it's the same 5 folks.

Solution: a membership gets you so many hours per month (this would be at a discounted rate obv). Go over that you pay standard rate. Can have different tiers. Bronze, gold, diamond, platinum or whatever.

This won't work in America. If you want a gaming themed anything it might as well be a gimmick bar and restaurant with shit like Falcon Punch (1.5 shots vodka, 3 shots blue Powerade, maraschino cherry and simple syrup)

Have the entire thing smart-contract based, you log into your metamask to do anything log out when you leave. Pay for drinks, food, and such in whatever token you want. Pay for the computer in a running price/hr system. Could even buy the in-house token for a discount.

Hell you don't even need to be there, make them log in at the door or give them a plastic key they can swipe
You could even set up a fountain drink that you swipe your card and it gives you a drink. Even coffee, tea, etc. Have a janitor that comes in once a day and a lunch lady or something lmfao

I don't get why these seem to die all the time. It's a great idea in theory and they're highly successful in other parts of the world. With regular events it would be a nice way to make friends for people who aren't interested in board games or arcades.

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The goal doesn't have to be to have a successful business, but rather to launder your massive stacks of LINK

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You better sponsor tournies or live events that will draw people in. Typically younger kids won't travel out of their home and pay by the hour to play video games. I really wouldn't try this business model though. Good luck

your first failure was going to Jow Forums for consulting. your second failure is trying this in a country where nearly everyone can have a gaming device at home and don't need to lease them. your third failure is not just putting 150k in a high yield portfolio controlled by someone smarter than you.

Sell them uppers under the table

DON'T MAKE THEM ALL PCS USE SOME NINTENDO SWITCHES FOR SMASH ULTIMATE

SMASH ULTIMATE IS A FUKKKING AMAZING GAME BUT IT'S ONLINE MODE SUCKKKS DICKK AND NOBODY PLAYS THE SINGLE PLAYER

I WOULD PAY A MEMBERSHIP TO HAVE A PLACE TO GO AND PLAY SMASH ULTIMATE AGAINST OTHERS (1v1(v1(v1)), 2v2, 2v2v2v2, 3v3, etc.)

>this is the kind of clientele you’ll get to deal with

Since most kids these days grew up with online gaming and most people that grew up with couch multiplayer either don't game anymore or are too much of a mess to go outside, you're going to have a hard time filling seats, at least in the US like most people in this thread said. The only modern use I can think of for a place like this is for hosting tournaments, but at the level of an internet cafe like what you're making you can't expect a lot of money out of tournaments.

The only way to consistently fill these types of places is if you have games that people can't play at home for the most part such as rhythm games. There's a Round One near where I live, and every time I go there 3/4 of the machines are empty, and 1/10 of the machines are rhythm games that are constantly being played. As in, to the point where the thing that takes your money is broken sometimes from being used and abused so much. The fighting game machines usually fall into the 3/4 category, mainly for the fact that people just play the games at home and only get together to play them at the arcade during tournament meetups (or if they're hanging out at the arcade, but that's rare).

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>gaming

user, we don't live in the era where people play WoW 24/7 anymore. Zoomers are casual gamers and won't ever come to your so-called LAN center. I mean, you can only play Fortnite for so long before you end up wanting to kill yourself. It's not a good game and neither are all these other games released in the past decade (with very few exceptions). Hardcore gaming is pretty much dead.

>Hardcore gaming is pretty much dead
Epic moving 100% of the staff from Unreal Tournament 4 to Fortnite was basically the final nail in the coffin. It's no longer about your rank, but how many viewers you can get on Twitch or how much money you can win.

Whitewash cash from drugdealers / etc

36yo expert here:
i do consulting in EXACTLY this and i can give you the top 3 that create massive success:

1) have a classical BAR area that is roughly the same size as your gaming area ~(50:50).
that will attract A LOT of regular customers that tend to diffuse into the gaming area over time. this is a BIG PULL.
2. Have also basic\simple fast food served in that bar area.
3. avoid marketing the whole thing with "e sport" and/or "gaming" - people will find out themselves ONCE they are there and will appreciate it and remember. BUT in any case you want to avoid that Nerdy touch in your external marketing. you need to be perceived as a classical sports bar with 'some extended new stuff'. if you market/promo heavily on gaming you will SCARE AWAY a lot of potential good customers (that totally don't want to go to a place thats perceived full of Nerds and children).

i did consult/design, startup
and run exactly 17 of these since 2014.
these are my top three with the BIGGEST impact on success (aside from location).

First and foremost: your state almost certainly has free classes and resources for small business. Sit down with someone and write out a business plan.

Is serving alcohol absolutely out of the question? There's a reason Barcades are successful.
>booze brings in money, energy drinks don't
>arcade cabinets look and sound cool, desktop PCs don't
>adults have money to spend, children don't

Would it be possible to cater to the LAN folks, maybe even some tabletop folks, and the barcade crowd all in one space? That'd be a model I'd like to see.
>Contract with a local PC builder/repair guy, get his services and get a kickback on referrals for folks who want to buy.
>Contract with someone who maintains/restores pinball machines and cabinets, also negotiate a kickback on sales to enthusiasts, maybe let him sublet workshop space.
>Get just a beer/wine license (which are usually cheaper than full bar licenses) to start. Still offer lots of non-alcoholic drinks. Hell, you could make your own in-house energy drink mocktail, that'd be a first

also, listen to this guy.

Literally the worst way to spend 150k on a business, unless you're okay with it being a labor of love. You'll not make much money, and you'll have to work there around the clock. Owning a business you're passionate about is sometimes difficult unless you have no need for it to be financially successful.

>gaming at home has become severely anti-social
>implying gamers in 2019 want to be social

running these, the top tips are:
1) focus on quick & dirty action games like CSGO. No complicated MMORPG's.
2) Link buying a drink with free usage time. eg buy a coffee/beer, get one hour of machine time.
3) focus heavily on pc, neglect consoles entirely. two advantages: a)that keeps your costs low -maintenance as well as purchasing- and b)allows you to rent-out the room in the morning/afternoon to companies/schools (for training and conferences)
4) you will need one full-time dedicated sys-admin (absolutly 100% neccessary! you cant do that on your own, too much work + you need a shitload of skills to manage that all properly). to pay for him, and have the operation turn a profit, that whole thing needs to have a minimum size. (eg >64 clients)

I would suggest not to do this unless it is a hobby/passion and you're okay with losing money. Every LAN in my city has gone out of business for various reasons. I'd like to open my own LAN center in the future when I have enough money as a way of giving back.

alternatively, create private pc rooms so that teens use your place as a make out spot.