want to OPEN A GAME PARLOUR

[aickhanna]

hi guys

i wish to open a game parlour in city KHANNA - District Ludhiana Punjab. please suggest me will my idea work, what is the overall scenario these days of gaming parlors, i am planning to have 3 ps3 move, one nintendo wii and one xbox kinnect also let me know other options. i will go these with 32 inch LCD tvs. to start with i am going with 5 terminals. i am confused that will this idea works as in my city only two or three small parlours are there in mohallas and small areas. i am having a space of 700 sq ft. but due to budget problem i am not going with companies like zapak and gamedrome of sify. i want to start with 2 lcs or so . kindly suggest me how to start with or not to start this venture kindly email me aickhanna@yahoo.com thanks guys............ sachin

[ico]

what is your budget overall?

I have no idea whether Consoles will attract public; but PC gaming + CS LAN would certainly.

[vamsi_krishna]

Believe me consoles can make quick money. I have seen number of Parlors here which are charging nearly 50 rupees per hour for a nex-gen console. And, children are all over them.

And charges are pretty high in shopping malls. Nearly 30bucks for 15 minutes. Do some research in your locality, if you even slightly feel that your locality has market for consoles, set up a lounge and arrange all 3 consoles.

And if there are PCs, CS Lan is must. And, if you are running in a busy area.. I think you should purchase a parlor license for the most of the games. Else, it wold be illegal to exhibit games. This can be passable if you are living in remote area.. which again is not that good for consoles.

[aickhanna]

can you let me know what where and how i can get the license for game parlour

[vamsi_krishna]

Its not about hardware. The games we purchase generally are only for private usage, we should not involve them in any kind of money making process. But, we can Email the game publisher to ask for a permission. I don't know how much they will charge. But, getting genuine game is a mandatory process. And, check with your local law enforcement system. In some cities, you should get permission for Police department before opening a gaming parlor.

[83.satinder]

hi mate,
I am thinking of opening a games parlour in delhi on the same lines as you are. If you get any more information. It would be nice if you could share the same with me.

Thanks,
Satinder

[gameranand]

Originally Posted by 83.satinder

I am thinking of opening a games parlour in delhi on the same lines as you are. If you get any more information. It would be nice if you could share the same with me.

f you are planning for Delhi then you gotta take license from the publisher and police department.

I have seen people paying a lot for console gaming here. They pay about 50 bucks an hour so its surely is a good money making business but the problem is with licenses because they come for private use as Vamsi said earlier and you are using the game publicly. Although Law and Enforcement is not that good in our country so very few gives damn about licenses but if you are not getting then its illegal.

[baccilus]

@aicKhanna: Have you thought about doing a market survey? Just do a survey of various localities. Ask them what games they play, how much maximum they would be able to pay, will they even consider playing. You will also get an idea about where best to open shop.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by vamsi_krishna

Its not about hardware. The games we purchase generally are only for private usage, we should not involve them in any kind of money making process.

isn't it like 1 game 1 PC? or even games brought through steam are not allowed for use in public machines?

[thetechfreak]

I suggest you console gaming.

Few Parlors in my city charge as much as Rs. 60 per hour and rs. 35 per half hour. and they are mostly full. THey charge for PS3 and Xbox 360

PS2 parlors in a good spot in my city are triple full with people than a room can hold. Yes, PS2 is more full but a new gen console will give more earnings. But yeah, you will have to invest more

[Sarath]

My friends got one near a college (best spot) and it works. Surveying is very important. Check for viable customers.

I have a PS3-Xbox-Wii lounge near my place. Charges 150/hour (80 for members)

If its consoles you want to get then dont forget PS2 apart from PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. As told above PS2 is still bigger than PS3 in our market and its cheaper (games also).

I hope it works for you. Good Luck.

[83.satinder]

Thanks so much for these replies, I didn’t expect so many of you replying.

I have zeroed on the place I would like to open. I am going in for PS2, PS3 and Wii.

@Sarath : Rs 150 for an hour.. thats too much and I guess people are more than willing to pay for these.


@aickhanna: Did you manage to open a Joint?

and for all: Do you think the games parlours you talked about have really got Licence's and approvals. I guss most of them would be running thes ejoints from thier appts?

Thanks All

[Sarath]

Yeah it is right beside my house. He tried to talk me into taking a membership to play cheaply for (Rs 80/hour) but this is whitefield. An area where everythings expensive.
I think the PS2's will milk you more money than the others.

Get the legal procedures done. Better not to get into any trouble later on.

Post some pics when you set up your place. Good luck.

[Ricky]

Gaming parlous can give you lots of money but you have to give it really good time.
You can go for a setup where you have 4-5 gaming PC along with 2 XBOX 360 and 1 PS3 and 2 PS2 !

Gaming PC for LAN gaming ..

XBOX for its cheap games DVD and high quality - Don't let ppl play Smackdown on xbox as you will damage your controller very soon.. they are not cheap .. but it lets 4 ppl to play single game.. you can easy charge Rs. 40-50 per hour per person

PS2 is still famous for games like Smackdown .. lets you play 6 pple at once with multitap. .. Downlhill domination, Urban reigh etc..

Goodluck..
LAN gaming attracts other kind of gamers.. CS, Crisis, Unreal tournament, Halo.. all thses games are addictive.. even old IGI2 on LAN makes ppl freak out ..

[soumo27]

^^Fifa on LAN is a very good attraction in our place...

btw it's surprising to see such high rates of consoling gaming... In our area (on the outskirts of Kolkata), there are a very few Gaming Parlors with PS2 and PS3 and they charge about 20 per hour at the most...

[gameranand]

Originally Posted by soumo27

btw it's surprising to see such high rates of consoling gaming... In our area (on the outskirts of Kolkata), there are a very few Gaming Parlors with PS2 and PS3 and they charge about 20 per hour at the most...

Lucky you but here in Delhi its kind of expensive about 40 to 50 per hour.

[Piyush]

well i used to go greater noida for lan gaming
they(game parlor) had impressive setup there

in a room, the 2 opposite walls had 4 PCs each(i.e. 4 PCs on both sides)
and they had 2 circle shaped setup in the center of the room with 4 PCs each

so the total parlor had 16 PCs out of which the center ones had expensive gaming accessories and the rest 8 had the normal ones

the guy used to charge 20/hr for side PCs and 30/hr on the center PCs

[83.satinder]

Hi Sarath,

thanks for your reply. If you could provide me an address to this location that would be nice. I can then pay a visit and check out my self. If you don't want to disclose the location in the forum, send me an e-mail "83.satinder@gmail.com".

@Piyush: Hi, if you could get me the address of the greater noida place that would be nice.

Thanks,
satinder

[Sarath]

@83.satinder Check your mail

I have his business card i will take a pic and PM u or post it here. Its called GAME ZEN (Whitefield, Bangalore).
I have been there once and he's divided it onto many sections (not physical barriers)

2 couches and 2 32" LCDs make a square and you get a PS3 on one and Xbox 360 on another. He has four of these set up.

Also saw some 2 Nintendo Wii's on the wall since that is played standing.

Charges: 150/hour non members
80/hour members- you have to buy some Rs.1500 recharge i guess for this
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just found the card. They have a web address GameZen – Redefining the Gaming Experience!

[83.satinder]

@Sarath,

Thanks mate for the link and the business card. I will check out the website.

and I will surely send you the pics when the parlour opens, its going to take some time, but will happen.

Thanks again,
Satinder

[akshayt]

Prepare a business plan.

Do pilot testing and figure out how many people will actually play and how much can they pay.

eg:

Assuming that you have 10 PCs and each PC is used for 6 hours a day(which i highly doubt even if you open a Reliance store or something), that is less than 2000 hours a month or about 20k hours a year.

Now, suppose you price yourself at Rs.100 an hour which nobody will pay, that makes your turnover just 20L a year.

To buy 10 such PCs you will need around 8L. Rent will be another 15-20L a year.

Figure how you will ever breakeven.

CONCLUSION

I was myself considering such a thing but logistically speaking opening a game parlour in India and making money don't go together.

[Sarath]

Depends on the initial investment and and pay back time. Every business has considerable loss in the begining. Lets hope he has done his home work.

Also if you look at the cost of a gaming unit:
PS2 - Rs.5000
Nintendo Wii- Rs.15000
XBOX 360- Rs.18000
PS3- Rs.18000
GAMING PC (Mid range)- Rs.50000
GAMING PC (High end)- Rs.80000

See PCs are a huge initial investment. So its wise to start with consoles.

[83.satinder]

Hi,

2 PS3 @ 18,000 = 36,000, including one with motion control and a few titles.
1 wii - @10,000 = 10,000
1 X box @ 15000, again I am looking for a good used one.
2 ps2 @ 5000 = 10000
1 air hocket table = 25000
6 LCD - avg price 25000 = 150,000. I am still looking for cheaper options
Total 256,000 plus 2 a/c units - 30000
Total 286,000.
G total should not go above 325,000.

Leave out rent for the moment.
Rest I will not share.

[Sarath]

Looks good for the moment. But if you are getting just 1xbox and wii the games you will get can be played on just that one system. Anyways hope you get it up and running soon.

Also what is a air hocket table?

[83.satinder]

hmm , interesting point... right now most of the things are on paper, I will need them to materialise before I can say much.. 2 xbox seems interesting...

Air hockey table, check out the link

http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/684026...ckey_table.jpg

It can be played by 2 or 4 people, with the aim of socring a goal.

Chk it out on youtube for a better idea.

These are my initial estimates, the games with these prices are available and I have contacted the owners and they played and most of them still carry their initial warranty.
2 x box seem better idea.

Air hockey table.

Check out the link
http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/684026...ckey_table.jpg

This can be played b/w 2 or 4 people at a time with aim to score over the other. Check ouy youtube for airhockey.

[Sarath]

I feel stupid to have asked the ques now. I've played that so many times. i even got a gaming card thats got balance for me to play on such a table in a nearby mall.
Fun game. I always win.

however i hope you get the games catalouge also into the budget:
Average prices:
PS3 & XBox360@ 2500 a piece +/-1000
Wii no idea but 1500 i guess
PS2 Rs.500 more or less?

Controllers: PS3 & XBox360- Rs.2500-3000
PS2- 1000
dont know about the rest. As these will be used roughly and prone to damage their price is also imp. Also only single controllers are bundled with the consoles.

P.S. The Wii and PS Move controllers have a history of slipping from the hand and in the worst case scenario damaged many LCD units along with the controller itself. Hence make sure the wrist strap is always fastened while usage.

Oh i just noticed you seem to be getting used games which is a good idea,

Also be aware that the Xbox 360 is prone to overheating problems and causing a RROD (Red Ring of Death) as the name implies the console dies/ unusable. This has come down recently and the new slim model seems to have brought the incidence to very low or zero.
The PS3 is also prone to a similar condition called YROD (Yellow Ring of Death) but it is either very rare or not reported enough. Negligible. I own a PS3. Consult some Xbox360 owners if they have faced any problems.

[aickhanna]

satinder paji
where are you located and where do you want to open this. parlour . i had bught 4 LCD's for my parlour of 47" inches and 1 xbox with kinect. now planning to buy ps3 with move and wii and ps2. will be opening within a month or two. please share you location and plans about rates

[Sarath]

^ Do post some pictures when you get it up?

What are you connecting the PS2s too. They will need regular TVs as they run at 560p/i

[jack]

Hi I am also willing to open a gaming parlour in delhi I want to know what minimum budget is required to open a console gaming parlour.Only XBox I am thinking and 1 PS3 I am thinking of investing 4L Is it enough to open one in my city

[mrithyu]

4 xbox 360s with 2 kinects
4 ps3s with 2 moves
8 32" lcds
30 game titles
how's that for a parlor guys?