Why Keep Retro Arcade Games Around If They Don't Make Money?

[@briancavagnaro987]

I'm an arcade operator in NY. I watch your videos all of the time,but your last few were particularly good about the business side of things. I appreciate your honesty.

[@jbalien20]

In NYC? If so, let me know where. I'll go.

[@briancavagnaro987]

@@jbalien20 I have Street locations all over long island,not a full arcades. Did you ever try Chinatown Fair on Mott st ?

[@jbalien20]

@@briancavagnaro987 yep. I was there last week. Their arcades are more newer like D&B. It's not like the old days. For retro games, there's always barcade. I live in Manhattan, so I usually go to the one on west 24th street. I have not been to wondeville yet. That's in Brooklyn. They only have indie games there. I'll probably check it out next week. It seems like fun to see games from independent developers.

[@briancavagnaro987]

@@jbalien20 yes they are hard to find now,one recently opened in Smithhaven mall in Lake grove but that's out in Long Island

[@dragongamer2670]

I noticed how the business model of my arcade here locally - Cobra Arcade - Yes it is a Barcade. But I like how they balance Pinball, and more of a Multiplayer aspect to the games they put on the floor. For example X-Men 6 player and mostly focusing on Multiplayer games. This works really well. Especially for the pinball games and also having a few games be free like a Wreck it Ralph. Also a Cuphead machine. Again variety works but again having a business model that works like that. Does work amazingly well.

[@2500spartan]

There's a cuphead machine? How do you even find stuff like that??

[@dragongamer2670]

@@2500spartan People make them and yes there are many Arcade machines which have been made based off Console or PC games. Cuphead being one of the more popular ones.

[@andrewschumm1848]

It’s better than Bowlero and Dave and busters in 2022!!! Thanks for uploading it.

[@chadwildclay]

I really appreciate your series of videos this week on the business side of running an arcade that includes retro games. Please continue these if you can. Hearing about the best performing and worst performing games (both retro and new is insightful). Question 1: For Retro games: What do you charge per play and what kind of impact do you think increasing the cost would have?

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

Thanks, hope it can help! I charge 25¢ per play in most cases. I have a special exception here and there but performance isn't much better. One example is Deathstalker, a remastered 1985 laserdisc adventure game. I charge $1 for that but it's often only making a couple of bucks a week. If I charge less (which I've tried), little to no difference.

[@crimsonshadow1140]

90s and early 2000s have always been my favourite eras for arcade titles, particularly racing games, yes they might be lacking content wise but their gameplay loops are so addicting. They got that nice balance of easy to pick up and play but hard to master.

[@justrok79]

Great insight. I've fantasized about running an arcade for the longest time.

[@stevemac6707]

This has really been a great & very interesting series. I find it interesting in how you have to balance your obvious enthusiasm for arcade games against business concerns/needs. As for people suggesting games, I have no doubt they mean well & even believe the games they suggest would truly do well. I just think it's presumptuous to think that just because you like something that everyone else does as well & it's easy to sit and suggest games when you don't have to take in all the many pros and cons that go with them and from running a business in general. If it was really that easy there would be arcades everywhere & those days have been & gone

[@dragongamer2670]

Also another idea would be maybe have a survey which sits near the front on a table - for people who want a specific game to be on the floor and then maybe add that game after a month? Moving them in and out depending on what the people want.

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

We have tried that before although it has been a while - anything with paper gets ignored, sadly. One thing that I'll be bringing up in the game dev video is how people don't like to read, which applies as much to a game as it does to giant signs with block letters :/ (although I've also had a massive influx of customers in the past year or so that speak little to no English...I've tried some Spanish signs on things but that hasn't been working out either so it's a little frustrating)

[@dragongamer2670]

@@arcadeheroes_coinop Hmm have you tried maybe a TV video introduction loop? that is short and ask that question and leaving with a piece of paper?

[@matbouche]

Another great vid, thanks Adam ! This is so interesting, I could not imagine how little money these retro games earn but I understand your business model. If I ever get the chance to win the lottery I would do the same and open an arcade with a retro side and a modern one with all the newer stuff :D Btw, your arcade seems to be an amazing place with a lot of really cool games, would love to go there ;-) Also I'm really surprised because like you mentioned I hear everywhere that the arcade business is dead (at least maybe here in europe) but it definitely is not the case, can't believe there are so much locations in your area ! Obviously you're a clever guy, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that you manage to get through all these difficulties and face them successfully, congrats, man ! :-)

[@retrogamestudios7649]

We keep them around because deep down inside we all miss that ex boy or girl that we lived that unforgettable summer with and they ended up moving away and broke or hearts. But still life goes on. I can remember begging parents for 5 bucks to hit the arcade and got a dollar and still we're the king of land

[@Extralives007]

I'm in the same boat. A FEC opening right down from me

[@tallrog]

If I lived anywhere near your arcade the Warlords machine would do a dam sight better than $4.50!!

[@warzardtheboredtimelord2865]

Great video with lost of good information. Is the mall an "alive" mall? Also, is there a ballpark rent you can share? I only have one "live" mall in my area, the rest are mostly empty and are akin to flea markets.

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

Thanks! The mall I'm in is kind of strange. It's partially alive I guess - not super busy but not super dead either. We've had a few shops close down but many have been open for several years or longer than I have, while I know of a few other malls in Utah who have lost quite a few (including the mall where I had my second location - they had lost about 12-13 at the end of last year, me being one of those)

[@ChippyPippy]

With the 90s 3D games I'd assume it depends on a lot. I personally like light gun games and I'd stop to play a house of the dead or Carnevil. But at the same time I'd never bother with something like Time Crisis.

[@markgreet3543]

Seaside towns need the games for variety with gamblers arcades not suited for family's, there is lots of retro arcade games opening and new stores, seems to have longevity, however the golden age is not here in all arcades, I guess if you have the components to keep them going then things should be fine, bearing in mind retro arcade had got big the past 5 years, which before hand the market seemed very small, but seems that people have taken an interesting,in them hence business making a living out of it , younger people still like the arcade experience and get bored online gaming ,and it's so great to play games on your own or with a few friends, I guess with the bills Seaside are covered in the winter when they close, there also hollywoid bowl and caddyshackers that have a good selection of games as well,and are not specific arcades,we even a arcade museum in my town, where you can play the games cmon it's a still a good market.

[@PapaBradsGaming]

Great video. I do arcade tours on my channel. Very interesting. I am community posting this.

[@voltz15]

Did Mike Chi ever develop the Tink line to where it will support multiple pcb boards? I'd like to think the x2 upscale with smoothing and other filters will make a functional alt to the Makvision and Vision Pro panels no longer being available. We need to end the practice of just slapping a pc panel in because it alone isn't doing enthusiasts no favors and is in fact turning them off to playing. The recreational arcade in my location only lasted 2-3 months because the majority of games they had were lcd hacks and I swear to god they looked horrible. You may think they don't matter to your location, but I think if you could get a Tink 2x in one of your cabs, you'll be kicking yourself upside the head for not looking into it earlier. Go ask Mike about this.

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

I have little knowledge about what Tink is, but thanks for the info, I'll have to look it up. As for LCD vs. CRT earnings, I've seen little difference. When everything was CRT about 14~ years ago, enthusiasts didn't bother to come and play at the arcade since they had everything they care about at home. I've even witnessed many over the years find a game that they love with a CRT, praise it to their friends or just talking to themselves out loud, then walk out without buying tokens. The difference it makes is statistical noise, at least in my situation. As solutions to repair CRTs are becoming even more difficult and expensive to find , it would be nice if things like this Tink device you mention become more widely available as from a business perspective, CRTs that fail are not worth the trouble/effort to repair

[@gameguy73]

Do you think the classic games perform poorly due the bulk of them being readily available at home? Most of them are emulated arcade ROMs. I have a classic arcade by me. They charge like $20.00 for the whole day rather than by the game. I'm not sure how they are doing though.

[@dragongamer2670]

That is why I try to collect the games you mostly don't come across but were very awesome and cool to play. For example playing Galaxy Force 2 at home just isn't the same like playing the Arcade Version.

[@lounowell4171]

​@@dragongamer2670 an arcade that exclusively had... -car -motorbike -flight-stick -light-gun -capcom fighters (0 latency multiplayer) -konami beat-em-ups (4-player that's easy to jump into) -CAVE bullet hell -few novelties like Virtua On or Top Skater ...would do alright I'd think? none of these are cheaply/easily replicated at home and 80s nostalgia must be losing ground to 90s nostalgia, surely

[@RalphBarbagallo]

RIP Assault.

[@voltz15]

Do you think your games will do better in the bar setting rather than the mall?

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

Not in Utah, the whole bar/arcade idea seems like it might be too much of a hassle. Still, I've talked with several other ops who have handled or currently handle a bunch of different situations (bars, restaurants, arcades, malls, etc) and it's all the same story when asked about retro - it all does the same and is "filler"

[@HyperBlueWolf]

Why are you running Metal Slug 2 in your NEOGEO cabinet around 7:00 ??? Isn't that game supposed to be unplayable because of severe lag?

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

It's just a cart I've had, it gets decent play. I'll replace it with another one at some point. Sometimes you just go with what you've got

[@HyperBlueWolf]

@@arcadeheroes_coinop No problem :D I was just surprised to see it is all.

[@kevind4413]

4:37 Bet they're the same people that'll say "arcades are dead".

[@LEEROY-J_JINKINS-PSN]

Can all arcade cabinets able to use a bill acceptor or just some would like an answer ASAP thanks...

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

Just some - most modern ones can but generally speaking the I/O has to support it. The oldest video game I've ever seen use one was NFL Blitz although it never worked for me while I had the cab

[@cq9726]

Good stuff

[@brianmahoney4156]

Where is this arcade located?

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

Both are in Utah (West Valley & Ogden)

[@Dasan28]

If you’re gonna do retro you gotta do stuff people know. At least from what I’ve seen.

[@arcadeheroes_coinop]

I do mention that the best performers are the games ppl know...the problem is that games like Ms. Pac-man, Galaga, Donkey Kong, SF2. Etc, really don't make much. They just do better than the obscure stuff. Sadly, any of those games mentioned will be beat by 10-20x anything new

[@Dasan28]

@@arcadeheroes_coinop oh okay, I only watched part of your video.

[@rajatmehra2186]

please release teenage mutant ninja turtles raw thrills on pc

[@tonymcneil]

My Sister & I Saw Ralph Breaks The Internet 3D Bundles Made With IMAX CGI Frame Breaks.🏆🏅🥇🕶📽🎞💻🖥🪙💰💵💸📈

[@andrewschumm1848]

It’s better than Bowlero and Dave and busters in 2022!!! Thanks for uploading it.