Starting up a VR Arcade

[atenleggedninja]

So group, I'm looking into starting a VR Arcade.  I have tons of research yet to do.  I am a capable computer builder, however with the space I am looking at starting I can't help but wonder if it would be better to set up a server to feed out into the individual stations.  I am looking to start with 3 stations, and there would be room to grow.  I have figured employee wages, insurance, enterprise licensing fees, hardware startup and replacement of hardware.  I have also figured overhead (rent, power, business license, etc).  I live in a fairly large college town, and currently the only thing there is to do here is drink or go to a movie. I think there would be a large turnout for this and I could even hold workshops to show how to build systems on the side.  I would sell regular junk food and soft drinks, for a marginal profit.  Thoughts? Recommendations? 

[Colin Donoghue]

sound wicked cool I wish they had something like that near me.

[The Sloth]

sounds very uncertain and expensive unless you have a huge amount of cash. 

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

How social is VR arcade gaming? is it going to be a place you take your partner or friends on a friday night?

How much money are you going to make per hour per meter squared compared to a desktop LAN gaming setup?
Is it going to be more profitable for its price than a simulator?

have a google at what they do in japanese cafes. They are years ahead in their product and service

personally i would only do this if i could acquire an existing arcade or internet cafe in liquidation. location is everything. iv seen internet cafes with great gear go under because they were hidden away.

[Ertman]

As long as you have a large enough local population it could work out. There is a VR arcade in a city near me, but I have yet to go check it out. They have been in operation for a bit now.

 

have you figure out how you will entice people to come there? Advertising? Maybe invite local news/morning show to come and feature your arcade?

 

Have you done any financial forecasting and analysis? Have you considered that likely for the first few months you might be only breaking even or possibly losing money? By this I mean you are likely to experience negative cash flow while the business grows and brings in new customers.

[Guest lilbman]

Listen to Louis Rossman's videos on business.  He's my role model in life and I agree with him on most things, political or otherwise.  Basically he will tell you that business models and plans are stupid, and the only way to really know what will happen is to jump right in.

 

I feel, that if done right, you could make a nice amount of money on the idea.  No one else has done anything like it, and so that means you are the pioneer business in a niche market.  No competition means you are the only one to go to right now for such an experience.

 

 Get ads on the computers from companies like Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, or you could try to get it sponsored by a large gaming company such as NVIDIA, AMD, or Corsair.

[redtute]

love the idea but you would need to have normal LAN PC there to bring in more customers.

I have also thought there would be a market in hiring VR headsets to people who already have high end system to use at home.

The biggest problem is the lay out for startup $2000.00 per system with Vive.

So total cost for x3 $6500.00 with a spare headset as you will need a spare Vive as there will be breakages. How would you recover someone breaking a Vive you u offer insurance and I if they refuse you charge there credit card.

 

And then you got shop fit on top.

[ZimFreak]

I think it's a great idea. Like any business it's a big risk but if you do some normal LAN gaming to hedge your bets, I think you'd be very successful.

 

Plus, having a LAN room means you can hold tournaments for CSGO, Overwatch, Smash Bros, Battlefield and CoD, DOTA/LoL, even guitar hero or something. Monthly Smash 4/Melee and CSGO tournaments would help boost traffic and word of mouth immensely. 

[springboardVR]

Check out springboardvr.com for VR Arcade software management systems

 

vrfactoryplus.com for hardware needs

 

also a few blogs here on tips for starting a VR Aracade - https://medium.com/@springboardVR/