SFIV in Eastbourne??

[pubjoe]

I'm toying with a little idea at the moment.

Purchasing 2 SF4's and 2 Vewlix's and renting floor space in a local amusement arcade and publicising locally that the machine's about. I'm sure the "rent" would be free as the game would bring in good custom. I'm even thinking that around here, one of the PC gaming centres would be a better place as they get a lot of Japanese and Japanese wannabe hardcore (Dare I say "Otaku"?) customers - there are a lot of foreign students in Eastbourne.

I wouldn't even be looking at making much/any money - I would be happy just to sell on the PCBs and 1 Vewlix shortly after the console SF4 release and keep the other Vewlix for myself at a cheap price.

What do you reckon? A possibility? I should have planned it sooner really though as I am missing important exclusivity time by sitting on my **** pondering about it. Also, how quick do you think I could get it all over here? I'm hoping it'd cost less than 12K total. If each machine can make £50 a day average for 3 months, that's 9K back - enough to sell on the kits and keep a single Vewlix for myself at no/minimal loss. Is that a realistic expectation? How much can I really lose?

(I wait with anticipation for that last question to be quoted)

[innerpattern]

I'm far too inexperienced with this sort of thing to offer and real advice. All I can say is the odds are against you, but if you pulled it off it would be great. Best of luck man.

[John James Pacinelli]

Good idea. But -as you said- you should have planned this in advance and get it done in July/beg August. Sorry to sound like a pessimistic son of a biAtch, but summers over, kids are back in school and the home release is around the corner...


Having said that... I love challenges... crazy enough to work... YEAH, WHAT THE **** I'M IN!!!

Sorry I got carried away

[Pete]

Isn't Eastbourne full of old people

[pubjoe]

I'm far too inexperienced with this sort of thing to offer and real advice. All I can say is the odds are against you, but if you pulled it off it would be great. Best of luck man.

Me too really, but thanks.

--

...you should have planned this in advance and get it done in July/beg August...

Yes, I feel like I may have missed the boat. But, it depends how quick I can get the machines. Didn't I read here about an operator who's just got the game in this week?

...kids are back in school and the home release is around the corner...

True, but at least now I know where to focus advertising.

Sorry I got carried away

Me too, most probably .

--

Isn't Eastbourne full of old people

Yes, but you should see Mavis' cross-up-to-super-cancel combo, it's world famous.

Seriously though it's not that bad and the town does have a very large culture of long term foreign students - The internet cafes are amazingly busy.

...It would probably make more sense to place the machines in Brighton as it's not far from here. But I don't know/trust the arcade operators there and I feel more able to successfully publicise in my home town. Plus it would be nice for my mates to easily have a go.

[poolchamp]

I'm toying with a little idea at the moment.

Purchasing 2 SF4's and 2 Vewlix's and renting floor space in a local amusement arcade and publicising locally that the machine's about. I'm sure the "rent" would be free as the game would bring in good custom. I'm even thinking that around here, one of the PC gaming centres would be a better place as they get a lot of Japanese and Japanese wannabe hardcore (Dare I say "Otaku"?) customers - there are a lot of foreign students in Eastbourne.

1/ That would be the way to go but expect rent to cost a bit no one will let you place 2 machines in there place for nothing

I wouldn't even be looking at making much/any money - I would be happy just to sell on the PCBs and 1 Vewlix shortly after the console SF4 release and keep the other Vewlix for myself at a cheap price.

2/This will be harder than you think its like a new car (a) pcbs will drop 25% to 40% when console games are out plus most operaters who want them already have them (b) your cab will be in used condition


What do you reckon? A possibility? I should have planned it sooner really though as I am missing important exclusivity time by sitting on my **** pondering about it. Also, how quick do you think I could get it all over here? I'm hoping it'd cost less than 12K total. If each machine can make £50 a day average for 3 months, that's 9K back - enough to sell on the kits and keep a single Vewlix for myself at no/minimal loss. Is that a realistic expectation? How much can I really lose?

3/Time wise your still ok only differance it does is bring down the cost of the pcbs ,as for importing i recon there will be 2 to 4 in uk for preview in hammersmith but recon you will have to fast to get them or arrange with electrocoin to keep them for ya ,surely will cost less than 12k tbh ,if the game is as good as they say on site test your average will be a lot higher that the 50 quid ,i recon you will break even after the 3 months maybe 4 without selling them but what wil happen you will get greedy and put 2 more games in and have a nice earner and end up with a chain of machines as i done
il have first dibbs on the pcbs
(I wait with anticipation for that last question to be quoted

[andygeezer]

Nice pipe dream.

But, Vewliex cabs are not designed for UK arcades they'd not last long, if Atomiswave cabs where in UK arcades they'd be ****!! Coke spills, game board faults etc.. You'd have to offer full machine servicing and the other stuff which goes with rental a machine on location.

But if you do want to-do it, then it is best to-do it on a 50/50 profit share basis with a local kids soft area play center than local amusement.

[poolchamp]

Nice pipe dream.

But, Vewliex cabs are not designed for UK arcades they'd not last long, if Atomiswave cabs where in UK arcades they'd be ****!! Coke spills, game board faults etc.. You'd have to offer full machine servicing and the other stuff which goes with rental a machine on location.

But if you do want to-do it, then it is best to-do it on a 50/50 profit share basis with a local kids soft area play center than local amusement.

i dont about that andy atomiswave are as good as naomi have not had any problems in my arcades with either of them and i recon Vewlix will be as good iv heard preview and atei will be full of them as awp sales have died and multi slots are not going down well arcades are going to try them out ,but i recon they wont be as dear .

as for the pipedream its not going to be a gamble as such too many on here want the cabs and he wants one himself and sf4 i know a few people want it including myself
so my advice do it paul if you have the money spare but dont if its a hp loan

[andygeezer]

Depends purely on location (re:wear and tear), any arcade in Manchester it would not survive in.. They took baseball bats to the a site that Mo had, pushed all the machines to the middle then whack the crap out of them, nothing was standing..

Was down London, where they are re-enforcing all Let's go jungle cabs.. I've seen the what they did with Naomi cabs, bloody awful!!

[j69]

Do it, I would drive to eastbourne just to empty my pockets into that machine if it was the first in the country

[pubjoe]

thank you VERY much for the informative replies. Andy and Poolchamp, that is just the kind of experienced, knowledgable input that I was hoping to get.

Tbh, I am a lot more encouraged than I thought I would be by now. The free rent I had in mind is in a struggling fruit machine arcade that I know the owner of and was pretty sure I could convince him that the game would bring in more business than it takes. Thinking more about it, I bet it's go like that for a couple of weeks then he'd start asking for a cut knowing that I'd have little choice but to agree.

There are a few other places I now have in mind, a pool-club/bar and a bowling centre - Tomorrow, I think I'll start ringing around. ...And good point on the vandlism, it is something to consider with the location. I was under the impression though that the vewlix was a pretty well made solid machine. What surface is over the LCD though? The pictures make it look like it is not re-inforced at all. I know first hand how easily some of these things can break.

And this hammersmith thing, you mean I could buy them direct without going through Japanese exporters?

There is more I want to talk about, but I am on my phone at the moment and my thumbs are aching.

Thanks again.

j69, If I do it I will be contacting as many hardcore fans as I can find through forums in the hope that they make a special trip ...However I personally wish SFIV had turned out, I can't deny they've done a good job - and money-eating and mass-appeal wise, they seem to have hit it just right. Every type of gamer and publication seems to only have praise for it.

[pubjoe]

oh, This is of no real interest to any of you, but sadly, Reg, a man I had been working with recently, and has managed a local arcade for around 30 years or more, died recently at 76.

He was a traditional amusements man (an ex-carnie) and was very well known and well loved in this town. It was in his arcade where I first ever played Street fighter and I even remember going there in the days of sticking all my pocket/lunch/bus money in bombjack, g&gs, defender, pacland, bubble bobble and track & field. He seemed to never change in all that time and looked amazingly fit and healthy for a 50 year old - let alone a 76 year old. ...He was also frighteningly good at skill ball bingo.

He gave up cigars a long time ago, but I'll never forget the thick, smokey, atmosphere of his arcade.

He would have been my first contact about this SFIV idea, and I'm so sad now that I think more about him.

In fact, the more I think about it, I realize my life would be VERY different in every way right now if it was not for his arcade.

[poolchamp]

thank you VERY much for the informative replies. Andy and Poolchamp, that is just the kind of experienced, knowledgable input that I was hoping to get.

thanks

vandlism,

it could happen to any cab

And this hammersmith thing, you mean I could buy them direct without going through Japanese exporters?

yes im told there will be six on stands at the show as well as 2 tekken 6 and a few sega stuff and batman pintable and if your fast you could get one set there

There is more I want to talk about, but I am on my phone at the moment and my thumbs are aching.

you can pm your number and l ring you with details show supplyers and so on

Thanks again.

[Lordstar]

If I was you I would wait for street fighter 4.2 to come out (i dont mean a simple B revision). I mean like street fighter 3 giant attack and third strike with featured new characters and such. You have a lot better chance of having a much bigger profit as you can plan and save for the machine thats yet to be rather than a game thats out there and is only 4/5 months away from a Home port. The home port of the first one may even have a knock on effect getting more people in to the arcade (or the opisite effect) so you can gauge what to do then chances are it may even come down in price a little and they may decide that the Mo bo per player thing is **** too.

[Mr-Megalo]

there is no "Revision B" of SFIV, I can't say why I know, but I just know.

theres 6 machines in the UK at the moment, they will be viewable at public events later this year, they are currently on show at a retail event in Excel London right now, but its not open to the public, only retail staff etc

when SFIV will be viewable again to the public, i'll certainly let 1 or 2 people know I need some money matches in my life

edit to say, Capcom Europe have no plans to distribute or import any more SFIV machines at this time, so not sure what this Hammersmith comment is all about

[pubjoe]

thanks for the further input. Got stuck with work today and didn't research the potential sites for the machine(s) as I planned. As allways with these things, there are more costs the more you learn about it, but I'm pretty much 50/50 about it at the moment ...Deadly serious though, don't get me wrong.

I do feel though, that the time is now for SFIV arcade success, rather than hoping that gamers prefer the (maybe) .2 version enough to leave there PS3s at home and come and play it (providing, if there was one, that it is even improved much from the home version). I just have a feeling that the timing is now for a lot more curiousity and interest in the game by a larger Market than the "hardcore". SFIV is being publicized well at the moment - even my Mum mentioned it the other day. I can't expect the mass market hype to last untill future versions. Imho.

Had a nice chat with Poolchamp this morning... Thanks Alan.

[John James Pacinelli]

[quote="pubjoe"]SFIV is being publicized well at the moment - even my Mum mentioned it the other day. /quote]

Is that ironic or you have the coolest mum in the world?

[poolchamp]

No problem at all glad to help

Dont forget shopping centre either near a tube or game shop where there s a good footfall stick to £1 a game put up posters aroung the area even run a challange compo charge £2 quid to enter winner takes all supply small trophy and a poster street fighter champion and have it every sat then you get them in all week to practice only cost you have is a trophy thats what il be doing when mine come in drive the new kids mad and the old pros all fighting and have a the winner of each week go to the last 16 finals where the winner get the game as a prize as an extra bonus can you think of all the practice that would be played at £1 a pop

[MattyHustedUk]

im waiting for my local cinema to get it in
probs wont be for ages but still