tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481309926383442871.post234099225851418380..comments2023-12-24T22:07:56.984-05:00Comments on Arcade Hunters: Location, Location,Location!Press Starthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07821600993974855600noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481309926383442871.post-88515248491390064462011-03-28T17:55:46.410-04:002011-03-28T17:55:46.410-04:00Beach arcades are a completely different breed. Th...Beach arcades are a completely different breed. They need to make their income in short bursts. They have a small window to pull in a large amount of cash to cover year round expenses and fees. Even though some places stay open year round, the winter time is harsh business wise. Other factors as owning the land/spot, town assistance (monthly leasing during summer hours), and anything else to help a summer town thrive could help out. I do not know how much help these areas tend to get.<br /><br />For Funspot it is tough. The classic arcade games bring in very little revenue. The only way it can survive is because the American Classic Arcade Museum is just that, a non profit museum. Funspot also suffers from being a decent ways off from Weirs Beach. The big advantage Funspot has is that he houses a large FEC and bingo hall. Gary Vincent, ACAM curator also had a section added to their site about what some of the other hot spots are in the area. This helps bring people because it allows husbands to convince their significant other that the trip is worth it. Drive 8 hours to play arcade games is hard to convince a significant other. Mention about the cog rail, the lake, and nightly riverboat dinners and that trip just might happen.2600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481309926383442871.post-63190329018895107072011-03-28T06:03:09.934-04:002011-03-28T06:03:09.934-04:00"Before committing to a lease or buying a pie..."Before committing to a lease or buying a piece of property do your research. Survey the area around the property you're interested in. Find out what the people like. What they want. Then decide if your business model can survive in this location." - definitely sound advice.<br /><br />Look at places that remain open: many arcades in Seaside Heights do well because they are small and cater to a family crowd as well as the occasional barcrawlers - think a lower-scale Dave and Buster's. 8 on the Break does fine, because it's near a huge population center (New York City) and caters to three niches: Bemani fans, fighting game fans, and pinball fans.<br /><br />Honestly in terms of location Funspot has the best I can think of: it is a popular vacation spot (FEC crowd), has a ton of retro games (a niche crowd that will travel there...and may anyway due to it being a vacation spot in the first place), and can operate as an FEC in a somewhat remote area year-round to get a bit of extra money to handle costs. It also doesn't hurt that they have bowling, and a bar, and bingo, all of which solidify that off-season business.<br /><br />In terms of arcade showroom/sellers, Richie Knucklez has the right idea - not too far from a major city, but far enough to not have the huge costs it would take to run in the city itself. It's not an awfully long drive and he has a huge pool of potential customers before you even factor in internet sales.cyclopticinsighthttp://www.pressstartcomic.comnoreply@blogger.com