|
So I've lived in and around new england for my entire life, the majority of it in connecticut, and Ive always wanted to experience an internet cafe like the ones they have in korea.
But the problem is, in my location there really isnt any cafe's within 2 hours of me.
Even more interesting, when doing a google search, most of the e-cafe's that came up had closed down, many after just a few months of being open and a few that had been going for a long time closing down when the economy got bad.
Of a list of 5 or so internet cafes in Connecticut, 3 no longer exist, and the ones that do are either card shops with a few computers on the side, or console-only centers.
So this got me thinking, why does the internet cafe model, that has gripped so many people in asia and some parts of europe, simply not work in America?
I've always wanted to open an internet cafe in my area because the city i live in is between Greenwich and Darien Connecticut, which are 2 of the wealthiest suburbs in the world, my location would be near the town center/mall which is the hangout spot for every teen that lives in these two towns, and there really isn't any internet cafes within 50 miles.
But after viewing the fates of some other businesses that had the same things going for them, Im really skeptical if the model could even possibly be successful here.
Basically what I'm asking is
1. Can you see an Internet Cafe being successful in american society?
And
2. Why doesn't this model of business, that attracts so many customers in Asia, work for the many people who have tried it here? What are Cafe owners here doing wrong?
|
No. It cost a ton of money to start up (buy the rigs, update constantly, install games + possibly buying individual keys for each) and if you don't take off quickly, you are screwed. They are rarely profitable.
It's also limited to a fairly small demographic. Sure, there's a lot of gamers who work full time and shit. You think we wanna go to a place where a bunch of retarded 13 year olds screaming out 4chan memes are gonna be hanging out in large groups?? People in lan centers are terrible.
Gaming is also going to the consoles. What console-specific games are there that would draw enough of a crowd to warrant you buying keys for some 25-30 machines??? There's not very many. If the game has a console counterpart, more people probably play that. It's a lot cheaper just to buy a console and play there than to splurge your money on the desktop version of Battlefield BC2.
|
I think it's a combination of:
1. Americans have more disposable income to buy their own gaming computers, and
2. Europe/Asia have good public transportation that allows kids to get to internet cafes without their parents.
I don't think opening one in a suburban area is going to work very well, especially in a rich area where gamers already own good computers.
|
some semi-uninformed guesses:
1. USA has much lower population density than Asia. This applies much less in some of the coastal urban areas, but generally this means smaller potential markets for each location.
2. This one is more conjecture based on things I've read, but I think the US households much more commonly have desktop computers. Home PCs were invented here and Microsoft's massive marketing campaign in the 90s with Windows 95 etc led very quickly to the median household having one.
Also, and I don't know if this applies as much for Korea, but I've read that in Japan, culturally computers are viewed more as an appliance and so gaming on computers as opposed to dedicated (console) systems is even more of a niche market.
|
There was a surge of them opening up about 8 years ago. I used to go to internet cafes and had lots of fun. But I think the two salient factors that prevent their presence nowadays in mass are 1) the nerd stigma associated with computer gaming and 2) the dominance of console gaming.
|
There are a few in new York city, but I suppose that's why it's in a city. Generally a more rural area in the west wouldn't have it because of the reasons said above. The costs would be too much and the interest is probably small since most people would have their own computer, or have some other gaming system. That's the way I see it anyway. The more populated an area is, the better off it could be making itself into a running business.
|
On September 10 2010 05:22 rgfdxm wrote:
some semi-uninformed guesses:
1. USA has much lower population density than Asia. This applies much less in some of the coastal urban areas, but generally this means smaller potential markets for each location.
2. This one is more conjecture based on things I've read, but I think the US households much more commonly have desktop computers. Home PCs were invented here and Microsoft's massive marketing campaign in the 90s with Windows 95 etc led very quickly to the median household having one.
Also, and I don't know if this applies as much for Korea, but I've read that in Japan, culturally computers are viewed more as an appliance and so gaming on computers as opposed to dedicated (console) systems is even more of a niche market.
I think this is pretty much limited to Japan, with Nintendo as the big factor. What I don't understand is why people in Korea go to PC Bangs when SC1 runs on pretty much any computer.
|
there are a bunch of korean style pc bangs in flushing, queens.
|
I think that the success of internet cafes in flushing are because of the large asian population and the population density :D
|
I'm also from new england. when i told some of my friends i was going to NYC LAN #7 (a TL meetup) they were basically just like... "wat.. ur going somewhere to play video games with other ppl? nerd alert"
its just not in our culture to view video games as a social device, unless ur bro'in out with the bros playing madden or some shit like that
|
Lan cafes only target a small demographic and culturally speaking, it is not what most people hold in high regards as an acceptable form of a social entertainment in the US because of issues with social stigma. Unless you find ways to diversify your business and making it acceptable to a larger range of demographic then it will be hard to keep your business afloat.
edit: also in the US, lan cafes run fully on the model that people will come because the games we have on our computers are good but in Asia, they offer special packages such as room service (bed, overnight stay, ramen, etc.), couple packages, game company support by giving in game bonus if played at a lan cafe)
|
Hey small world- I'm in New Haven, Connecticut (in Westville, a stone's throw from Yale).
We should totally play sometime! :D
But yeah I would love to see a LAN somewhere. I could repeat what everyone has said above but yeah.. why bother. I wish we did have more internet cafe's and the like.
It'd be a tough sell though in the long haul.
|
I'm Korean and I was born/grew up in New York my whole life (Bayside - Flushing Queens). The neighborhood I grew up in is very diverse too. There have been internet cafes around where I live. A lot come and go. They really don't have a stable business. There was once a place called Game Zone Cafe near where I lived. You can purchase beverages/snacks/pastries and ask for a controller and you can sit down and play a console game. Using the PC's were expensive (like $7 dollars an hr) but were high quality at the time.
Recently, this summer, I got to go to Korea with my girlfriend. We stayed in pc rooms time to time. They are much cleaner, cheaper, and more friendlier in Korea. In New York, you have these very punkish kids coming to pc rooms to play. In Korea, you have little elementary kids coming at 7pm to play bubbling looking games, like kart rider and maple story. A lot of Koreans play Aion. The pc rooms are sometimes separated as smoking/non-smoking sections. They even serve snacks which is nice. Prices are cheaper in Korean RELATIVE to the USA. An hr would cost 1000 won, nearly a dollar (~$.80 USD).
Now, answering your question....
1. I believe I can see an Internet Cafe being successful in America. But EXTREMELY hard. Internet Cafe's in Korea work well for a few reasons. The amount of area in Korea is packed. The stores and homes all tightly packed to each other but with lots of people passing by. You will literally see two of the same bakery on the same side of the street. Property is expensive in Korea because of its limited land and growing populations. Most local pc rooms are actually a part of someone's house/apartment. The good thing, theyre open 24 hrs. Night life in Korea is active, but in America, its kinda dead :T People and places aren't so packed in America with so much land. New York City, though, is packed, but property/land is EXTREMELY expensive :T It would be hard to have a successful Internet Cafe in America.
2. Cafe owners here aren't finding the right place to set up an Internet Cafe. Again, finding the right place requires a lot of people, a nice environment of people (like in Korea with kids and adults), and most good places with a lot of people cost a lot :T Internet Cafe's have to be cheap, which would give people the incentive to come, pay, and play with friends. Even arcades, Tekken 6 has been a growing trend in Korea recently. Because of the price and number of people Tekken 6 arcade machines are too expensive and wont bring enough revenue in American Arcades. Playing Tekken 6 in Korea only cost 300 won (~$.28). For me, playing Tekken 6 at a nearby arcade (Peter Pan Gaming) just costs $.50. So if an Hr in Korea is 1000 won ($.80), then proportionally, an Hr in America should be nearly $1.60~1.70. (this is just one perspective of looking at pricing). If an Internet Cafe charged $1.60~1.70 an hr, I would have the incentive to pay and go! Sadly, in America, you wont be able to continue a successful business with just charging $1.60~1.70 an hr :T It wont bring enough money.
If you have an questions that you want to ask me, I'm more than willing to answer 
|
On September 10 2010 05:41 ppont wrote:Show nested quote +On September 10 2010 05:22 rgfdxm wrote:
some semi-uninformed guesses:
1. USA has much lower population density than Asia. This applies much less in some of the coastal urban areas, but generally this means smaller potential markets for each location.
2. This one is more conjecture based on things I've read, but I think the US households much more commonly have desktop computers. Home PCs were invented here and Microsoft's massive marketing campaign in the 90s with Windows 95 etc led very quickly to the median household having one.
Also, and I don't know if this applies as much for Korea, but I've read that in Japan, culturally computers are viewed more as an appliance and so gaming on computers as opposed to dedicated (console) systems is even more of a niche market. I think this is pretty much limited to Japan, with Nintendo as the big factor. What I don't understand is why people in Korea go to PC Bangs when SC1 runs on pretty much any computer.
In Korea, they like to play together, next to each other and interact. Since it's not expensive, they'll come after school and play. I saw a group of high school/middle school kids in korea, come in, and start playing brood war, while I was playing sc2 beta on the side, ALONE T.T
|
I have a simple answer to it and i think it is a major factor to your question. It is that usually in urban areas of east-asia, it is such crowded that people have to live in small houses/appartements. When it comes to leisure activities you simply have to go out. Therefore you just go to an internet cafe instead of staying home and playing/surfing while your parents sit next to u. Europe and the US are different, as there are much more space per person.
Internet Cafe's aren't successful in america and europe, as there's no need to go to an internet cafe, when u have your own computer and your own room.
P.S. I only see internet cafes in City area when I am in japan, tokyo mostly etc. , whenever i go to any suburb or smaller cities/sattelite cities there are no internet cafes.
|
I live in a pretty small town, but it does have an internet café.
It's not very big (like 12 computers or something) and it's not that popular. When I go there theres usually like max 2 other dudes there.
I like going there for some change of scenery and talk to other gamers face to face.
Also I play on a laptop so sometimes it's nice to play on a proper monitor  .
|
i used to have an awesome computer "arena" by my house. All my middle school friends and I would go there every friday where they had an all night special (10$ for 7pm-7am). We would stay up all night playing counter strike, half life2 and other stupid mods for wc3 and stuff. Some of the greatest moments of my life were inside that pc cafe. However, people in the west can afford a computer and internet alot easier, so the place eventually went out of business because everyone started buying their own computers and such.
|
I wouldn't say they aren't successful in all of europe, at least here in sweden they are doing great. In stockholm there are several, one of which(inferno online) afaik is the biggest in europe with over 350 computers and it's always packed, as well as leaving room on the market for other cafés.
I would hardly call stockholm dense in population either, it's a really small city/town, barely 1 million people live here, and barely 8 million live in sweden, it's pretty much a desert in terms of population spread. I'd rather say the success or failure of a internet café depends on the culture. Gaming is very popular in sweden largely due to counter-strike for no apparent reason, it just became popular out of nowhere and is still by FAR the most played game here.
|
Yeah it's sad to say how they are not as prominent around here. I live in upstate NY and we use to have a e cafe down the road, and it was pretty cool and all but they just let to many "friends" play for cheap and then it ended up just being the owners friends and stuff playing there for free and a few kids every other day playing rock band or something but for the time it was awesome to have.
|
On September 10 2010 06:40 Nihilnovi wrote:
I wouldn't say they aren't successful in all of europe, at least here in sweden they are doing great. In stockholm there are several, one of which(inferno online) afaik is the biggest in europe with over 350 computers and it's always packed, as well as leaving room on the market for other cafés.
I would hardly call stockholm dense in population either, it's a really small city/town, barely 1 million people live here, and barely 8 million live in sweden, it's pretty much a desert in terms of population spread. I'd rather say the success or failure of a internet café depends on the culture. Gaming is very popular in sweden largely due to counter-strike for no apparent reason, it just became popular out of nowhere and is still by FAR the most played game here.
Internet Cafes can be succesful in the west, but it is not camparable to the east-asian internet cafe market. Though your example is great, i doubt that its applicable for all sweden. But one can see from your example is that, if it is possible to build a gaming culture and a niche market for it, internet cafes can be successful.
I am not saying that east-asian internet cafes are running better, btw. I personally believe that internet cafe is a dying business. Because every household has internet nowadays. ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
