Arcade Business - Start up [So Cal]

[kaito]

Hello Young Entrepreneurs,

As you have already guessed, I was thinking about opening a arcade in Southern California. I understand that arcade was the biggest hit in the 1990's and that modern game consoles are as powerful as arcade systems. With all that behind, there are many things that a game console cannot have that arcades do have and that is why I believe that an arcade might be a great idea in the area I have selected.

The area I chose is the city of San Gabriel with a very interesting set up of businesses. San Gabriel blvd extends for many miles with stores on either sides with a few high school's in the area. Also, the area is surrounded by many homes with a high population of the Asian ethnicity. There are not many places for teens and young adults to hang out and I believed that having an arcade in the area may be a great hit. The arcade will be placed in a plaza where there is a cafe and will be great for reeling in customers. The game cabinets will be leased and the majority will be imported games from Japan which seem to be very popular. By leasing the cabinets, it will keep costs and risks low. Judging from a few arcades, it seems that instead of having a large space with many games, it is better to have a smaller yet more entertaining games to play.

Basically, this is how I see it:

Pro-
Quick stop for teens coming back from school
Great place to hang out
Surrounded by residential / small businesses

Cons-
Adults see arcade as a bad thing
Vandalism
Costly to purchase cabinets

I am still not sure if this is a good idea or not but I thought maybe it will be good judging from the location selected.

I would like some opinion from fellow users/gamers/arcade owners if possible. All comments will be taken into consideration. Thanks.

[SIMPLEROBB]

I like the arcade idea in cal.

[Nordstrom]

Well, the best advice anybody here can give you is to create a FULL business-plan. It is hard to say an apple will taste good without at least having a taste of it.

What is your market?
Make a survey asking if they would like your idea!
What is the best price to take for the plays?
How will you reach out to your market?
etc, Google > business plan > understand > make your own > Conclusion.

I am sorry if I sound rough, but we get sooo many posts which keeps the most important aspects disclosed.