Me and my cousin are planning on establishing an Internet/Gaming Cafe so I just want to ask you guys if ever you were our client what do you want to see for your money's worth?
and I'm planning to make the client side computers approach to clients a lil different rather than the basic click icons on desktop. I would like it more stylish and a lil futuristic. if you know some apps and stuffs to achieve this I would really appreciate that.
So bottom-line is I want to ask you guys:
**What type of games will I install? **Do you know some apps that can make this kind of business more progressive? **Do you know some apps for client side computers to be more stylish in design and better interactivity with the customers? **If ever you had the chance on establishing your own Internet/Gaming Cafe what ideas do you have for it? **Can you lend me some tips and tricks on this kind of business?
never been to one before but if you want SC:BW might not want windows 7 because I heard theres a new internet cafe in town here that holds game tournaments every weekend but they can't have SC because they have Windows 7.
I think the whole tournament idea is pretty cool though. would definately have me going all the time if they had the games I played.
good luck and I hope you're really successful with this.
one tip: make damn sure that whatever system you use allows for things like mousefix and different drivers. some internet cafes (fuck you, switchbox). have no way for you to do this and it's retarded. while i personally prefer the default (almost always windows) interface because it's easier to get at settings, a more streamlined presentation of gaming options is fine, as long as it's possible to change things like mouse speed and the like. basically don't sacrifice the ability to customize for a streamlined experience. on a similar note: usb ports should be easily accessible.
chairs, while less important than the above, are probably more important than having the most amazing computers on the planet. comfortable chairs matter, a lot.
also, be prepared to deal with angry disruptive DOTA players who scream at the monitor on occasion.
another good idea is to have special rates at certain times, one of my favourite netcafes, for example, has a special where you can play from 12am to 8am for something slightly less than half the normally hourly rate
Im guessing selling snacks / drinks would give an extra income, but I would start small, don't try to have everything when you just open, too big of an investment.
As for games, LAN classics (a sports game of each kind). Im guessing depending on who you target a gamepad available would be good. Some racing games.
Then just internet classics. L4D? Counter Strike, W3 (dota), Star.
you dont have to overwork yourself to make the menus look that futuristic; most gamers spend like 5 seconds on the main desktop screen before they are immersed in their game for the next 6 hours and never look at the main screen again.
you should definitely look into durable keyboards and mice for this business, trust me, public peripherals get abused like MAD. and being a frequent netcafe goer, i am not exactly nice to those peripherals.
last but not least, put a no outside food or drink policy in your store. and make sure you have food available, cup noodles, bowl noodles, chips, hot dogs, pogo sticks, and pop. you overprice those, and that's where the money comes rolling in. staying at a net cafe for long periods of time and not eating is.....a horrible feeling.
If i had an idea for a lanshop i would like to make it a starcraft 2 competitive and hold tournaments in my shop. However i dont know how is blizzard going to cater for lan shops =(
I guess the number one issue would be that the computers be maintained properly (doesn't crash randomly & no networking issues) and that the mouse/keyboard actually function well enough. it happens to me all too often esp with pirated copies : S
Questions, what age group of customers will/might your cyber cafe most likely entice? and where is your cafe going to be set up? customer targeting is really important.
example: if your cafe is located in the city nearby a school, it would be best if you price your service really well or if your cafe is located in a rural housing area, then maybe your customers will be in the >18 group and will be interested in playing single player games like GTA/NFS (ewww). Or if your cafe is located to nearby a mall, then selling a wide range of over-priced water/snacks might not work out.
all the best!! EDIT: owh yea, statistic tracking might prove to be useful in the long run. like what steam does
yeah over here the government replaces all their office furniture every2 or 3 years so go to a government auction and pick up all the good furniture and chairs for cheap
I go to Internet Cafe's quite often, a few times a week. Probably the most played games are:
WoW HoN WC3 Steam for Cafes
SC2 has a small following, not many got into the beta. The bigger name the game is, the more likely people want to play it. MW2 would be a safe bet. As would FF14. RPG's less so, Internet cafes should be centered around games which people can just pick up and play without saves - so FPS, RTS and MMO's mainly.
In our town, we've had like 5 different LAN-cafés during the past years, all of them shutting down within a year or so... It's a tricky business to maintain, especially in these times where it's very common for people to have great broadband solutions set up at home.
I have no business experience in this field, but if I were to set up a LAN-café, I would put heavy emphasis on tournaments and various gaming events and try to appeal to as big of a crowd as possible. Maybe get a few consoles and TV's and have a SF4-tournament going. What about boardgames? Maybe start up an in-house clan/team/guild?
Try to get a feel of what kind of services that is in demand, and try to appeal to that market!
On July 01 2010 19:48 Garnet wrote: It varies by countries so I think you should just go to other internet cafes and see how they're doing.
I think this is a super important point. Not that you necessarily have to copy other ideas, but that you realize the experience from an American or German lan center may not be helpful to you. I know someone that opened up a very successful lan center in Virginia (for a while, it's hard to run them in the US) but I don't think you'd have the same environment or types of gamers.
See what's at the other shops and see what they do right and wrong.
For me, things like well maintained keyboards, chairs, desks are important. I'd probably bring my own mouse and earbuds, but I can't bring these things. Good lighting and sound control, so it's not super noisy with other games. For competitive gaming, making sure the desks are angled properly so people can't see your screen (web2zone in NYC is TERRIBLE in this regard.)
Snacks are nice, but not necessary. Drinks definitely though. Also, running some kind of weekly tournaments to create more of a community than just a store.
Depending on the korean population you may want to add Sudden Attack too, at a PC cafe near where I live that's a very popular game played there. There are also the occasional people who go there simply for web browsing, but I see a lot of people playing SC, L4D2, CS, and sudden attack whenever I go to that PC Cafe.
On July 01 2010 19:35 zekie wrote: never been to one before but if you want SC:BW might not want windows 7 because I heard theres a new internet cafe in town here that holds game tournaments every weekend but they can't have SC because they have Windows 7.
I think the whole tournament idea is pretty cool though. would definately have me going all the time if they had the games I played.
good luck and I hope you're really successful with this.
Windows 7 only makes the colours all messed up. Other than that, the game runs perfectly fine.
On July 01 2010 19:48 Garnet wrote: It varies by countries so I think you should just go to other internet cafes and see how they're doing.
This. I feel bad for leaving the basic content of my post at that, but stepping into the shoes of the customer is an excellent way to learn how things work from the seller's end. In fact, while I'm not at liberty to disclose any details at this point in time, such secret-agent investigations forms the basis of my current job :p
You can always throw in some free games like GunZ, Gunbound, and Maplestory. People play that crap yaknow. Soldat is fun too. Unreal Tournament 99-200whatever its on now.
I'm always sad when L4D or L4D2 isn't at a pc cafe. definitely put all the PC games of the WCG lineups since it's inception.
So main ones imo, CS / CS source Halflife 1 & 2 Portal? Diablo 1 & 2 Team fortress classic / TF2 Battlefield 1942 (and all the other ones after that) Starcraft BW / SC2 WC2? Warcraft 3 TFT /Dota Heroes of Newerth League Of Legends WoW Quake 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 Unreal tourney (every one after that) L4D / L4D2 And then some of those other llittle games that people play like maple story / worms or whatever.
as far as tips/advice. The most successful PC cafes that I've gone to: - always always had a good location in close proximity to at least 2 or 3 fast/cheap food places. -They always had drinks/candy/snacks for sale. -They always had deals where you can buy 5 hours and get 1 free or some kind of system that gets people coming back all the time. -Always willing to host tournaments for PC games and Lan parties (offer some deals to participants). -arcade games? (street fighter 4, street fighter 3? Puzzle games, NEO GEO, etc) -I know this is a bit more than you're probably trying to get into, but this one I used to go to was 1/3 comic shop, 1/3 PC cafe, 1/3 Card / Board games (with a few arcade machines). So they would have MtG players and all sorts of people who just played games in general. -oh and something really important that is often overlooked, the place has to be clean and in shape. Often times you go to these places and there is crumbs around, dirty floor, fat people sweating up the chairs, smelly, cracked and dirty chairs/mousepads, worn out mice/keyboards, smudgy monitors, etc.
On July 01 2010 19:35 zekie wrote: Never been to one before but if you want SC:BW might not want windows 7 because I heard theres a new internet cafe in town here that holds Game tournaments every weekend but they can't have SC because they have Windows 7.
I think the whole tournament idea is pretty cool though. would definately have me going all the time if they had the games I played.
good luck and I hope you're really successful with this.
Windows 7 only makes the colours all messed up. Other than that, the Game runs perfectly fine.
that is not true, many old games on windows 7 likes to just lock up the whole computer randomly and you cant tab/ctrl+alt+del out of it and starcraft:bw is one of them.
Get a DDR machine, I think that it's the right crowd.
But this is going to be incredibly risky. I think you should develop your plans ALWAYS keeping this in mind
"Why would someone want to play here instead of home? " . Many people will have better computers at home, but there has to be a reason for them to come out.
Tournies with prizes. If you have some tournies maybe have a big board where you post the current champion of the game.
A great environment where the best gamers hang (You can't buy this, but if you are the guy running the shop day to day you should be friendly, and even jump in on some games with people if they are down). The best PC bang I used to go to , we all went because the guy was chill (but still business like).
What are other reasons gamers might come out instead of staying in the warm womb of their bedroom?
I was working/managing an internet cafe for several years. There are a lot of things to be mindful of, depending on the laws of where you life. Will edit later for all my super extensive knowledge ;D
Edit: Here goes:
Target group: There is a huge difference between an "internet cafe" and a gaming room. Obviously due to the content you provide (and also your probably clients) but possibly also legally. Gaming rooms are seen as "video halls" is some places and can even be taxed like casinos (deadly). Find out about that. While it is possible to work as an "internet cafe" which mostly provides internet access for surfing/ emailing I assume you want to open a gaming room. Why should people go to gaming rooms nowadays, when most of them have adequate mashines at home? Well, it's basically like the movies. You will go to the cinema with your friends because a) the movie is new and you would have to go out of your way to get it, b) the cinema has equipment that you probably don't and most importantly c) because it's something to do with your friends. Together. An experience, a happening, stuff to do while hanging out with the guys. Also, it's way more fun to shoot someones virtual head off when you can hear him scream in frusttration a few feet away. Be clear about what (who) you're aiming for with your gaming room.
Attitude: It think it's save to assume that you are a gamer yourself. Thus, you might not think about this part much. Believe me, it is likely to be the most important issue. At the moment, you probably love the idea of your own gaming room. However, depending on how much you will work at your place, sooner or later it will become a job. At that point, if you keep on sacrificing the way you probably will (and should) during the first months, you will burn out. That's a serious problem, since I have found that the attitude/personality of the man (don't kid yourself, women don't work in such places) behind the counter has a major influence on who will be your customer, and how many. An enthusiastic, happy guy that cracks a joke and chats over the latest games is likely to make those nerds come back. Some of those (kids) will pretty much call your place their home (and spend plenty of cash that way). The tired, bored guy that you have to call away from his game (of course you will play behind the counter too) so you can pay, probably wont. Atmosphere is key. In my personal experience, customers even asked beforehand who of the staff would be on duty and came when their favorite staff member was there. Obviously the key to staying enthusiastic about your job (again, assuming you are in the first place) is dividing up the workload, which leads us to...
Staff: Just you and your buddy, eh? Well have fun with that. At least 1 to be in the shop at all times, Someone to do all the tech work, someone to do taxes, orders (snacks and drink can be huge income factors), cleaning up the mess gamers tend to leave. It's not a walk in the park. Try to estimate the workload, think hard about what you can/want to handle. Try to have a life besides the job, else see burn out. Ways to deal are obviously partners, employees and interns. Each can be problematic.
Partners tend to want their share of the money.
Employees cost less, but be really careful who you employ and how much you pay them- if it's "just a job" for them, they tend to not giving a fuck (see attitude).
Interns don't cost any money and are probably a good bet. Since the nerds hang out at your place 24/7 anyway, they might as well do something useful. Find out if you can do some seminars that legally allow you to train people (in a apprentise kind of way). With Interns also come some risks. The more responsibility (without payment) the more risk. They have access to the register, the equipment etc. be really careful. Which leads us to...
Security: Since you're such a nice buddy, kids won't nessessarily understand why they have to pay you money. They will try to be smart with you. Be smart with your payment method instead- it's super effective! ( ) There are plenty of methods to use, you will have to find out which one suits your needs best. Paying up front can be tricky, since it will be you who has to keep track of when their time is up. Paying when the customers leave, will bring you the good old "I don't have enough money" problem. Keeping track of debts, banning kids from your place etc. Programs that turn off the mashine/ screen when the time you paid for is up, can frustrate customers (nothing like the comp going *zing* when you're about to 1a2a3a to victory). Though I'm sure there are sophisticated tools for that problem by now. (Those programs might cost money though.)
Theft also can be quite an issue. Kids will steal anything that isn't spiked. Don't use the cable-free infrared stuff- too easy to take away. Figure out methods to keep mouse, mousepads, headsets in place. Have some spare. Location, location, location. The profile of your shop is really important. Large open rooms are best, small secluded rooms (maybe even with doors) are a security nightmare unless you plan on big brothering your entire loco. (Several rooms might help with age restriction problems though.) Optimal is a place where you can keep an eye on the counter (you will often not be there to help with /fix something/ chat) from everywhere.
Games: Depending on where you live, pirating games can be fine (I know it works in parts of South America and southern/eastern Europe) or suicidal. I guess you know how that works for you.
As for the games themselves, you will have to be pretty up to date on this one. Always get a few licenses (2+) of the newest stuff and see if it catches on. While the good multiplayer games (get the top 3 Shooters, RTS and MMOs) will give you regular customers, you can't afford to lose customers because "they have randomnewtitlexxx at that other place". Since after a short while you will have a mixture of older/decent/high end mashines (more on that later) save the high end ones for the newest games.
Age restrictions can be pretty tough. Depending on the authorities in your area you could even be forced to ensure that no kids (12-14-16 whatever) can even see the stuff they must not play themselves on another screen. Same goes for porn sites obviously. Find out about your laws.
Equipment Way less important than you might think. Very few people will come for the lastest high end engine or the spacy interface on your desktop. They want to have some fun playing games, your equipment is only there to enable them to. Start out with the top end mashines of the "good value for money" seqment of the market and add/replace (some pieces will break under the 24/7 strain anyway) some mashines every six months or so. Send the surfers to the old mashines, keep the newest games on the high end stuff. Be sure to have working keyboards/mouse/headsets for every mashine. That shit tends to get dirty/broken/stolen. Playing without the sound/mouse/keyboard working won't leave you a happy customer.
Promotion: Depending on your location, competition and luck, this might or might not be nessesary. Flyers and discounts can work. Discounts for regulars should be obvious. Try to do stuff that also improves the atmosphere. Have some good Graffiti kid airbrush your shop with cool gaming motives. Tournaments, Clanwars (found a clan for your place in any case- it creates a sense of belonging), showing Jeadong vs Flash on a beamer... get creative.
you should include various games like WC3 (DotA),CS 1.6,source,BW,SC2,MW2,FIFA,L4D2 etc.plus try to have it in a convenient location like close to food places or shopping malls or a school.besides PC games you need to have games from other systems like PS3,Xbox 360 or maybe classic arcade games.try to decorate the place with various game related posters that suit the place and try to host gaming tournaments once in a while.that will bring you some serious cash if you can attract people.
I suggest having a list, and to take suggestions from customers about games they want. Try to stay up to date. All your computers don't NEED copies of the game, and you can always go out and buy another copy if it gets popular.
I would suggest having at least one console station and a few games, because some multiplayer with friends is always a fun time. Plus, the LAN centre in my city ONLY have xbox, ps3 and wii consoles. They're quite successful, but sadly don't have any plans to expand into the PC market. =(
I would say, keeping it a fun community is what makes people come back. Hopefully, you'll reel in some regulars and they'll spread the word of mouth. Doing a big advertising scheme to draw people in initially is also a good idea.
Most realistic advice is to... open the netcafe near Koreans, if not Asians in general.
The netcafe I go to time to time has the following features: - 20-25 ish computer stations, identical, with a comfortable chair (on wheels) - reasonable/simple/cheap peripherals (mouse/keyboard/speakers) that work fine - rechargeable smartcard system (charge card at front, plug into reader at station) - snack bar with chips, chocolate bars, pop, etc. I don't think anything sells except pop - also a water boiler for bowl noodles... but hardly anyone eats bowl noodles there imo - temperature is slightly cold (probably to keep computers cool)
The rate they charge is $2.50CAD per hour (20 dollars give 8 hours of playing time). All in all, I think it's pretty much average at everything, but this netcafe is at the prime Korean hangout location in Toronto (Yonge/Finch, for those that know Toronto) so it gets a lot of customers. Plus, it recently expanded to have 4 pool tables (1 pocketed for stuff like 8ball, 3 non-pocketed for 3-cushion billiards) and I don't know the rates for that, but it's popular and people play on at least 2 tables every time I go there. Kind of like a general Korean guys hangout.
In terms of games, I remember they have: - SCBW (obviously) - WC3 (for dota) - WoW (some people play WoW there) - Sudden Attack (popular Korean FPS) (most people play one of the four above) - CS - HoN - I don't remember any other... I only play the first two I listed above.
Obviously it'll be costly to have a legit CD key (or license) for each game for each station. I know that the netcafe I go to only has a few licenses per game, a lot of times my friend(s) and I were forced to try USWest for dota because too many people were playing there on USEast. Not sure if this will be an issue...
invite all your friends to chill at the place and play video games, make sure they're friendly. if you bond with the customers/team up for scrims and inhouses, they will be much more likely to come back.
hire pretty girls with friends (dont have to be pretty girls). when the dreamlab here did it, they brought their whole clique along to game/chill, and the people made otehr people spend money
Get a deep fryer so you can serve things like crispy golden french fries. nom nom nom. Me and my friends would always order (mutilple servings) of fries when we skipped classes to play cs.
I think people here are forgetting one of the most important things.
Comfortable, unlocked chairs. Oh the many internet cafes I've abandoned because of their move into uncomfortable, locked in position chairs.
But yeah, I generally agree with everyone else, I pay absurd amounts of money for food in an internet cafe because I'm too lazy to go somewhere else and get some.
The computers shouldn't have restrictions just in case a computer-savvy person wants to change their mouse sensitivity or grab a custom driver or what not. Just make sure all the computers are reset to their original settings every time they're rebooted.
whoa! sweet tips im overflowed in information by you guys.. I'll be sure to use your great shared knowledge unto my business. I hope some comments keep coming in.
*sorry for this noob question since I have no windows 7 experience, but SCBW doesnt work in windows 7 32-bit ot 64-bit?
*and sorry for the reply I was canvassing on some CCTVs
**If ever you had the chance on establishing your own Internet/Gaming Cafe what ideas do you have for it? **Can you lend me some tips and tricks on this kind of business?
- have a smoking + non-smoking section (don't know what your budget is but this is probably going to mean you have to invest a lot in some good ventilation) - A.C. - provide comfortable headphones that they can check out for free - have iPod adapters + cellphone chargers they can check out for free - provide a microwave + hot water, and have ramen and other food like hot pockets - have dividers between the PC's - ideal location of the cafe would be in a basement that way you don't have to worry about sun glare - more on ideal location: next to a korean church if there are any in the Philippines or next to a middle/ high school - as for games: dota, cs 1.6, SC and WoW for sure. Everything else is optional - be sure to get those plastic covers for the keyboards - keep the place simple + clean. don't have the place cluttered with video game + krpg ads like korean pc방 do - getting a ps3/xbox 360 + couch wouldn't be a bad idea. Games to get for those: fifa, cod and halo.
IMO the most important thing is having as little custom nonsense installed on the computer as possible. No hypervisors, no "stylish" things. Just make it generic, simple, and customizable as possible so people can get into the control panel, install drivers, install games, install and break anything they want. Then when they leave it all gets reset for the next person. Theres nothing worse than a locked down computer with a bunch of "futuristic" fluff that serves no purpose.
The best netcafes are the ones that have as little extra nonsense as possible!
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