Would you go to a NYC arcade for TTGM?

[BankBank]

Hey everyone. Long time lurker here.

Long story short: I'm looking to open an arcade in Manhattan on 38th street between 5th and 6th avenue. The business model will be a little bit different: I'll have a mix of FREE console games and regular arcade games. There will be a $5 cover charge to come in, then you can stay and play as much as you want.

If I spent the money on a TypeX+ or whatever and had TTGM (perhaps not the latest version, but TTGM in a real arcade setting), would YOU come play it?

If my expenses are $3500 a month and I get $5 per head, that means i need 700 heads per month, or 23 1/3 heads per day to just break even on my monthly expenses.

Thanks for your input everyone.

[KevinDDR]

I don't live anywhere near Manhattan, but I've had a TGM board in an arcade before so here's my unimportant advice.

These are the prices you can expect to pay for each version:
TGM1: $150 (but this is kind of a boring game, most players don't like it that much)
TGM2+ (TAP): $700 (most players think this is the best version)
TGM3 (Ti): $1200 (many players like this version too, and it runs on TypeX hardware like you mentioned)

It seems that $5 is a bit low of a charge. I've easily spent $30 in one trip to the arcade before, so you might want to change that a little. Still, it's great to hear that someone wants to both open an arcade and put TGM in it.

[BankBank]

thanks for the info on the approximate cost of the games. does TGM2+ for $700 include the entire game board system, and all I need to do is hook it into a cabinet? tetris seems like a good game to have at the arcade. Does the TGM series have an appeal to both casual AND hardcore players alike?

$5 is just to get in the door. There are tons of free XBOX360 setups with Super Street Fighter 4 (or whatever other game). Then there are arcade machines from $0.25 to $0.75. There will be nice couches and big screen TVs, so you can literally pay $5 and play all day. It's a good value, I think.

The big question is whether I can get 25 people in the door each day to break even on the rent and expenses. If I can do that, and there's people in the place, I think the games will pay for themselves and then make money. If 25 people per day on average DON'T come, then I'm out about $15,000, heh.

[KevinDDR]

Ah, okay. That sounds good. I think you'll manage to get 25 people in per day if you have a good selection of Japanese arcade games and interesting stuff. The cost is the entire PCB, and you just need to hook it up to a JAMMA based arcade cabinet. I suggest a Japanese sitdown style candy cabinet such as the Astro City, but ultimately anything will work. However, you must use a certain set of sticks and buttons in the cabinet (the Sanwa JLF joystick [set to 4 way mode, this is important] and the OBSF/OBSN buttons) as TGM players generally refuse to play on anything else.

[muf]

TGM and TAP are regular JAMMA boards and will work in any JAMMA compliant cabinet, no extra hardware required. I personally would recommend a candy cabinet with Sanwa JLF (4-way restrictor) and OBSF-30 controls, this is de facto for the tetris community. TGM3Ti requires a VGA (31khz) capable monitor, a cabinet amplifier (to bring sound from line level to 8 ohm speaker level) and a JVS I/O board. A JVS cabinet like a Naomi Universal or Net City will have all of those out of the box - other cabinets may have the latter two (amp and JVS wiring) but possibly require a monitor/CRT chassis upgrade. Ti will work on a regular JAMMA screen using the 15KHz video port, but the image will be blurry and flickery and repel customers, so I strongly recommend a 31KHz monitor instead. For more details on arcade hardware and what will work with what, I've written up a fairly comprehensive post about the subject (http://tetrisconcept.net/forum/showpost.html?p=38425&postcount=15).

As for casual gamers, you may want to look at TGM1 for that. The game is much easier and people will get further along in the game before dying. But I think the real appeal for TGM games in any real arcade, for both casual and hardcore gamers, are the multiplayer options. All three games have hilarious versus modes that are only as difficult to play as the player you're playing against, so two casual players will have as much fun playing as two hardcore players will.
To get an idea, here's three videos of versus on YouTube:
Casual gamers playing TGM1 versus at Arcade UFO in Texas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC6lcFbEbaI)
Semi-hardcore gamers playing Death versus casually (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7W0Jw3HBPI)
Hardcore gamers playing TGM3Ti versus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1qCoDlHsBg)

Additionally, TAP has Doubles mode which is lots of fun for all. I think the games have casual potential, but you might need to market it a bit with a poster or leaflet explaining how to get the most fun out of the game.

A proper Manhattan arcade sounds like an awesome idea to me, and like I said on IRC, if that arcade was there when I visited NYC in 2008, I probably wouldn't have seen much of the sights I did, but would have been stuck in that arcade all day. :awe: I really hope you can make it work out!

[Zircean]

Oh my god this would be delightful.

I live out on Long Island and it would be absolutely amazing if there was actual TGM somewhere near me.

Maybe now we can get this East Coast meet together... :P

[Amnesia]

You are talking about NY, not a tiny village lost on the middle of the USA, 5$ is 4€, if there was such a place at this price in Paris, that would be insanely cheap !
Push to 8$ !

I remember a long time ago we had a place like this in my camping for holiday, there was (10 years ago) :

- 2 SNES (10 games)
- 2 NEOGEO (10 games)
- 1 PSX (15 games)
- 1 MEGADRIVE (8 games)
- 1 ARCADE SYSTEM (???)
- 1 PC for Duke Nukem mostly

The price was 15 Franc (2€30) for 1 hour only ! And you are talking about 4€ for unlimited, in NY...anyway

[Kasumi]

I live in PA, and if you had TGM3, I'd go but not often, really. Being honest here, probably not even once a month. If I lived closer, though, I would go perhaps once a month. For TAP/TGM, I might still go if they were on freeplay, and the door fee covered unlimited play for them.

I'm confused, is your business model a door fee, and we pay for each game we play on the arcade machines, but console gaming is free? Or will some (all?) arcade games be free as well? Just confused when you said there would be $0.75 and $0.25 games. I'm not sure if you meant that's the price we'd have to pay for each game, or the price they'd be if they weren't freeplay.

[Budster]

If you're looking to attract casual players a bit more, I would think Ti would be your best bet due to variable speed curve & SRS (which more people are used to, obviously.)

[cyberguile]

not living in the us but if I was a new yorker, for 5$ + 0,25$ a credit, I would certainly come at least two times a week (if not 4 or 5 times)

there's a small arcade (actually, a game shop with a couple of cabinets) in my hometown (three versus cities with 3rd , blazblue and capcom snk2), one madonna with super street fighter 2x and an egret III with dodonpachi daiffukatsu black label.
At the beginning, it was 3 euros for one hour of play (all systems set on freeplay), I used to play like 8 hours a week.

[BankBank]

I'm confused, is your business model a door fee, and we pay for each game we play on the arcade machines, but console gaming is free? Or will some (all?) arcade games be free as well? Just confused when you said there would be $0.75 and $0.25 games.

entry - $5 for everyone
console games - always free
arcade games - $.25 (things like CPS2, TTGM older version)
$.50 - (marvel vs capcom 2, maybe KOF13)
$.75 - (super street fighter 4, initially. you must buy *2* X2 and *2* game boards to set this up, very $$$)

To everyone else's positive response - thank you! I am constantly trying to get more and more feedback to see if there is a real market for a place like this.

Zircean - How many friends do you think would come with you to the arcade? Or go by themselves? How many times a week? Would they ever go during day hours or only at night?

[colour_thief]

I'm north of the border but I'd make it a road trip at least once if you get Starsweep, for old time's sake.

[BankBank]

I'm north of the border but I'd make it a road trip at least once if you get Starsweep, for old time's sake.

This game ranks a 1 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10644

I'd have it on PS1 I guess, heh. Maybe I'd come across a PCB eventually... that'd be godly.

Part of the appeal of this arcade, to me, is that while the centerpiece will always be the biggest current fighting game, there will be room for niche/smaller games, and there is the potential for "scenes" to develop around those games.

For example, I could sponsor a TTGM tourney every 4th Wednesday, throwing $100 of store money into the pot, etc.

But right now I'm just trying to do research to find out if I can get 25 people a day at $5 each. With that, I can break even on rent and expenses, and from there I can make money on arcade games and concessions.

If you live in the NY/tri-state area or know someone that does, ask them if they think this is a good idea, and how many times a week they'd go there! I like TTGM, I'll get it there on a Japanese cab. Eventually :P

[colour_thief]

This game ranks a 1 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10644

I'd have it on PS1 I guess, heh. Maybe I'd come across a PCB eventually... that'd be godly.

You're joking right? That site is ok for classic American arcade games I guess, but it's not good at all for the rarity of Japanese arcade games. After all of 2 minutes of searching Japanese used arcade PCB sellers I've found you a Starsweep arcade PCB for the equivalent of $25 plus shipping, enjoy.

http://www.fujitacommunications.com/products.shtml

I don't know the first thing about business, but I can tell you that arcades tend to have lopsided income. Things are definitely busier on weekends than weekdays. Like, night and day packed versus almost empty. You should take that into account with your planning.

[Kitaru]

As for casual gamers, you may want to look at TGM1 for that. The game is much easier and people will get further along in the game before dying.
>TGM1 and TGM2 Master speedcurves are almost identical up to 500.
>TGM2 has Normal mode as well.
Uh. If I owned a TGM2 board, that's probably what would have ended up in our local arcade instead of TGM1. It has more options, even if the grading as well as the speedcurve after 500 are easier in TGM1. If both boards were available, I don't think endgame difficulty is something that should necessarily sway a decision to install TGM1 over TAP.

The nice thing is that TGM1 is comparatively inexpensive and still an excellent game. Given the choice of TGM1 or TAP to fill a cab in an arcade, though, I'd spring for TAP.

[BankBank]

You're joking right? That site is ok for classic American arcade games I guess, but it's not good at all for the rarity of Japanese arcade games. After all of 2 minutes of searching Japanese used arcade PCB sellers I've found you a Starsweep arcade PCB for the equivalent of $25 plus shipping, enjoy.

http://www.fujitacommunications.com/products.shtml

I don't know the first thing about business, but I can tell you that arcades tend to have lopsided income. Things are definitely busier on weekends than weekdays. Like, night and day packed versus almost empty. You should take that into account with your planning.

Haha, wow, this is an amazing webpage. All I need to do is buy that PCB and throw it into a compatible cabinet, correct? I can order a crate of those really decent Japanese style cabinets like the Taito egret 2 and with this site basically be done with everything.

Just a stab in the dark here - do you know if candy cabs disassemble at all? The door to the site is kind of narrow and I'm concerned about getting machines in.

[BankBank]

PS - I would have StarSweep on a cheapy cabinet as the one free arcade game in the place. People would play it and learn it and we could have a tournament :D

[muf]

Just a stab in the dark here - do you know if candy cabs disassemble at all? The door to the site is kind of narrow and I'm concerned about getting machines in.

They come apart completely (I've seen enough pictures of people completely taking their cabinets to bits to be resprayed) - but for the purposes of getting them through a door you can usually simply take off the control panel.

[orz]

i would come to this i'm like 3 hours away

[orz]

o yea would you have fighters here?? fighters own

[BankBank]

o yea would you have fighters here?? fighters own

it would be almost all fighters, except for a few choice shooters and "puzzle" games like TTGM and starsweep

[BankBank]

They come apart completely (I've seen enough pictures of people completely taking their cabinets to bits to be resprayed) - but for the purposes of getting them through a door you can usually simply take off the control panel.

if you know already or have a free second to look it up, i'd love to know a place where i can buy 3 to 6 of these cabinets shipped to NYC.

[BankBank]

I don't know the first thing about business, but I can tell you that arcades tend to have lopsided income. Things are definitely busier on weekends than weekdays. Like, night and day packed versus almost empty. You should take that into account with your planning.

Can you do me a favor and search for a PCB of 'Dangun Feveron', great shmup with a really fun collecting/combo gimmick.

Part of my business model is to fix that lopsidedness, or at least work with it. I'll have tournaments and promotions on weeknights to draw people in.

[Monte]

damn i'm jealous. lucky NYC people.

[BankBank]

damn i'm jealous. lucky NYC people.

you can come to new york city and visit the arcade! weekly passes available for $20, monthly passes for $50!

[Kitaru]

Part of my business model is to fix that lopsidedness, or at least work with it. I'll have tournaments and promotions on weeknights to draw people in.

Yeah, this is a good strategy. The local Golfland arcades (Sunnyvale Golfland, Milpitas Golfland, etc.) have weekly promotions where there is a door fee to get in and all games are on Free Play. At SVGL, Wednesday Arcademanias get pretty packed. That particular event costs $12 for the whole day or $8 after 6pm. MGL's event is on Thursday and costs $10 for the day if I recall correctly.

[BankBank]

Yeah, this is a good strategy. The local Golfland arcades (Sunnyvale Golfland, Milpitas Golfland, etc.) have weekly promotions where there is a door fee to get in and all games are on Free Play. At SVGL, Wednesday Arcademanias get pretty packed. That particular event costs $12 for the whole day or $8 after 6pm. MGL's event is on Thursday and costs $10 for the day if I recall correctly.

Haha, and my arcade is going to be in the heart of New York City, 4 blocks from the Empire State Building (if I can convince this owner to give me the space) and only $5. But I'll have pay games as well, it's not *ALL* free once the arcade games show up. And I'll have a limited number (but still a lot, like 6 + 1 arcade game or 8) of free games to play.

[BankBank]

Imagine if I made TTGM the free arcade game for one month. Do you think a scene would form around it? People would definitely play it if it was a free arcade game in a nice cabinet. And it's tetris, people fucking love tetris. It's great PR for me too, that I have tetris. Not just fighting games here, folks!

[Monte]

hard to say. even in AI where it's only a token to play and there are a ton of asians nobody plays it. i find people find it boring in master mode and only like shirase but the work it takes to be able to play shirase proficiently is quite a bit and nobody wants to spend the time in master mode to get there but maybe if it was free then people would grind it out. and if you have TGM1 then forget about it cause nobody wants to play that. probably better off having a twinkle star sprites/magical drop 3 machine for people's girlfriends.

also marvel 2 is kinda expensive for 50 cents. wouldn't a set up be cheap for it? remember people prefer the old american style cabinet and IL sticks for it so you wouldnt have to buy a fancy ass candy cab and put more expensive sanwa parts.

and you probably shouldn't get a SSF4 cab if you're going to have it on consoles and charge people to enter the place because a lot of people unfortunately are only into SSF4 and maybe they'll be like why am i going to pay 5 bucks for access to the consoles when i don't even want to play on them or maybe they'll bel ike why am i going to pay 75 cents to play arcade SSF4 when i've already paid 5 bucks and I can play it all on want on console. Maybe if you had a dedicated cab that had a console hooked to it on free play. that could be a nice compromise.

EDIT: fuck yeah KoFXIII. god i wish i had an arcade around here with it so i could drop SSF4

[BankBank]

http://bankbank.net/ logo done

marvel 2 might be 50c in the very beginning, but if i can get it cheap enough it'll be 25 cents.

i think people will distinguish between the console and arcade versions of ssf4. the arcade version comes out in december with 6 or 8 new characters and probably a bunch else and that won't be available immediately on consoles.

[KevinDDR]

Just to let you know, I'm really glad that you have so much enthusiasm for this project but you must realize that it's not necessarily going to succeed even if you do everything right. Have you even factored in the fact that you'll need to install coin locks on everything? You'll also need to spend a shitload fixing things, especially in an arcade in the middle of NYC. Just things to consider.

[BankBank]

I spoke with the operator of another arcade and he told me he spends a combined total of 500 dollars on maintenance and electricity combined. What is going to be needing fixing? Buttons are cheap, sticks aren't cheap but don't break that frequently.

All the token-related stuff is a big expense, probably $1500 or more for tokens and a machine, but it's a must-buy.

[colour_thief]

Haha, wow, this is an amazing webpage. All I need to do is buy that PCB and throw it into a compatible cabinet, correct? I can order a crate of those really decent Japanese style cabinets like the Taito egret 2 and with this site basically be done with everything.

Just a stab in the dark here - do you know if candy cabs disassemble at all? The door to the site is kind of narrow and I'm concerned about getting machines in.

Yes, you can plug that Starsweep PCB into any JAMMA-compatible arcade cabinet. Which is to say, 99.9% of all cabs on this continent will take it.

Candy cabs do disassemble -- I've personally had to dismantle my New Astro City into component parts in order to get it into (and out of) my previous residence. It's pretty straightforward even without instructions and requires only the simplest of tools.

Oh and I'll have a look for Dangun (I also love that game) but I expect it to be harder to find and several hundred dollars.

EDIT
http://www.tops-game.jp/list/others.htm
Tops has it (弾銃ﾌｨｰﾊﾞﾛﾝ) for $420ish. Their English site is:
http://www.sophia-corp.jp/

[Kitaru]

i find people find it boring in master mode and only like shirase but the work it takes to be able to play shirase proficiently is quite a bit and nobody wants to spend the time in master mode to get there but maybe if it was free then people would grind it out. and if you have TGM1 then forget about it cause nobody wants to play that.
Uninformed post of the month award.

[Monte]

Uninformed post of the month award.

yeah sorry I am uninformed and was talking out my ass. truth is tetris is a great performer and a staple of the arcade. kitaru had arcade operators begging him to sell them his TGM pcb. I've never had everybody that i've ever tried to turn onto TGM tell me that the game is boring to learn. I've never been to Arcade Inifinity and I've never had people that have never had any interest in putting a token into the machine stand around and excitedly watch me play shirase only to never even glance the cab again after my visit was over. I've never had people from out of state at a tournament bitch me out because their arcade manager decided to get a tetris machine that nobody plays. and I certainly don't know people that frequent arcades with tetris machine so there's no way i know how they perform.

100% talking out of my ass.

[Monte]

also i have come up with a great idea to attract people to your arcade for tetris. invite empire arcadia's leader, triforce gamemaster, to play tetris for free. people will flock from all over NY and surrounding states to see a true tetris legend in action.

[orz]

also invite ciji "starslay3r" thornton and legendary game designer david sirlin

[Kitaru]

Look at the premises I quoted again. They're all personally held beliefs. Do you understand why that'd make it hard to take them seriously? You aren't representative of all players. I know you think Master is slow and boring shit, but it'd be foolish to make a blanket statement about all players. Now, if the scene at AI is such that no one is playing it, maybe that lends a little bit more strength to your argument, but all I saw in that post was "Montetris."

and if you have TGM1 then forget about it cause nobody wants to play that.
Yes, absolutely no one. There is no way I was just hanging out with some friends that are casual players that played a handful of games. There is no way I've ever seen a random person play the game, and there is no way I've ever played any Versus with anyone there. There is no way the SJSU TGMers would ever spend money on the game either. Nope. Absolutely zero people care about ever trying TGM1! Astute observation, Monte.

truth is tetris is a great performer and a staple of the arcade.I never said this. All I was commenting on was your notion that no one would play TGM1, which I feel was a conclusion based on false premises. Besides, everything I have heard indicates it has been doing fine at Arcade UFO. Not every venue is going to be the same.

kitaru had arcade operators begging him to sell them his TGM pcb.
Haha, is this supposed to be ad hominem or something? That's cute.

I've never had people that have never had any interest in putting a token into the machine stand around and excitedly watch me play shirase only to never even glance the cab again after my visit was over.
Then it doesn't sound like they give a shit about playing! You know some people spectate games because they're interesting to watch even if they have no interest in learning how to play them, right?

[Monte]

also invite ciji "starslay3r" thornton and legendary game designer david sirlin

neither of them are tetris legends. please offer some real advice. also if you decide to invite triforce gamemaster please make sure the TGM cab is powerglove compatible.

[Kitaru]

neither of them are tetris legends.

They might as well be if we're citing TFGM as one.

[orz]

neither of them are tetris legends. please offer some real advice. also if you decide to invite triforce gamemaster please make sure the TGM cab is powerglove compatible.

this arcade is not only about Tetris. if i was a local Videogamer and i saw that triple threat of gaming A-listers i would be there in an instant. i would ask ciji for an autograph,
can you just imagine for a sec??

i didnt mean to jump towards him

best wishes,
ciji "starslay3r" "best mom in america" thornton

handwritten by the starsley3r herself, on a photo of her that i printed out. if thats not a collectors item for the ages, i dont know what is.

[Monte]

*snip*

sorry. didn't mean for my post to be taken so literal. if it helps replace everytime i said no one with not enough people to make tetris a priority if you want to have a profitable arcade. I do care about how it does and I try to check in with regulars/operators and the performance unfortunately isn't there and I'm not so sure the answer is as easy as making it free to play for awhile.

and I talk shit about TGM to people that play TGM. you think i tell people that play casually that TGM is a horrible game and master is a waste of time and boring? hell no, I tell them that shit is dope and they should play it. i want TGM to succeed as much as anybody here. I played so many games of master mode while I was in LA and I hated it but dammit I was there and I was going to try to support it as much as I could and I'll do the same when i goto the SJSU arcade. shit i played the damn thing for like 3 days straight and not once did anybody else play and this was fri-sun. Puzzle Bobble got quite a bit of interest though.

It is from my experience from trying to get people to play/showing them vids/hearing them comment on me playing that master mode for the most part is not exciting and they wish they could jump into shirase. Sorry if that doesn't match other people's experience or goes against what you love most about the TGM games.

[cyberguile]

http://bankbank.net/ logo done

marvel 2 might be 50c in the very beginning, but if i can get it cheap enough it'll be 25 cents.

i think people will distinguish between the console and arcade versions of ssf4. the arcade version comes out in december with 6 or 8 new characters and probably a bunch else and that won't be available immediately on consoles.

Will you pay 10 000 dollars to have 6 characters that will be available like six months later on DLC for consoles ? Not sure it's reasonnable.
Also, what you need to make random people come to your place is bemanis.
A couple of arcades have opened in france recently, and they all say the same thing: bemanis make people come, among with gun-shooting games and car-simulation games.

[Monte]

oh yeah about Arcade UFO. it is the best success story cause the people that run it really love the game and so they're happy with however it does because it's just a bonus for them. IIRC poonage said straight up that the performance of TGM and interest in the series from their customers didn't justify getting TGM4 but they don't care because they want it for themselves. that is pretty much arcade UFO's MO so you got to consider their viewpoint of what constitutes a success.

Ryan Harvey (foobar duck) has always been like I just wanted an arcade where I can play and I just want it to be able to sustain itself and I still have another regular job that I rely on for income.

it probably is the most played tetris cab and i'm sure they are happy with it but i'd try to reach out to them to see if they would still consider it a good investment if they wanted the arcade to do more than break even.

[Kitaru]

sorry. didn't mean for my post to be taken so literal. if it helps replace everytime i said no one with not enough people to make tetris a priority if you want to have a profitable arcade. I do care about how it does and I try to check in with regulars/operators and the performance unfortunately isn't there and I'm not so sure the answer is as easy as making it free to play for awhile.
I hold no illusions about TGM being a big money maker. I do think it fleshes out an arcade a little bit and is a nice thing to have around, but I'd be seriously surprised if it were "the big draw." Seeing as TGM1 is relatively inexpensive, it'd probably be a good trial game.

and I talk shit about TGM to people that play TGM. you think i tell people that play casually that TGM is a horrible game and master is a waste of time and boring? hell no, I tell them that shit is dope and they should play it. i want TGM to succeed as much as anybody here. I played so many games of master mode while I was in LA and I hated it but dammit I was there and I was going to try to support it as much as I could and I'll do the same when i goto the SJSU arcade. shit i played the damn thing for like 3 days straight and not once did anybody else play and this was fri-sun. Puzzle Bobble got quite a bit of interest though.
I don't know if I've told you this before, but it's harder to tell if you're just joshing on the internet than it is in person.

Also, I'm surprised you saw many people playing Puzzle Bobble. I haven't seen anyone really playing it as of last semester. Eric pulled it and is going to put something else in. If SJSU has a "main puzzle game," it is probably Puzzle Fighter at the moment. Either way, I've seen more random play of TGM1 so far than I had of seen on Puzzle Bobble last semester, and TGM1 also has some 'core support going for it on top of that.

It is from my experience from trying to get people to play/showing them vids/hearing them comment on me playing that master mode for the most part is not exciting and they wish they could jump into shirase. Sorry if that doesn't match other people's experience or goes against what you love most about the TGM games.
Fair enough. I've really only seen that stance coming from you (and maybe orange I guess), so I kind of wrote it off at first. Maybe that is a bit less of an anomaly than I think it is.

IIRC poonage said straight up that the performance of TGM didn't justify getting TGM4 but they don't care because they want it for themselves.Alright, that's kind of surprising. I had thought that going for TGM4 signaled that TGM1 was at least performing well enough to justify the purchase -- that enough people were playing it, even if TGM4 wasn't going to be a huge money maker. Now I kind of want to see numbers. :/

[Monte]

yeah I'm probably wrong on that point. TGM had to have made it money back and more so I'm sure that has had added some confidence into getting TGM4 even if they had already planned on getting it.

[BankBank]

Ryan Harvey (foobar duck) has always been like I just wanted an arcade where I can play and I just want it to be able to sustain itself and I still have another regular job that I rely on for income.

I have a full time job around the corner from the arcade. If the ttgm pcb is like 500 bucks total, i can put it in a cabinet for a month every 4 months and it'll get played. I can put it on free to get people into playing it. I want to have a couple puzzle games, and tetris makes sense.

[mikehaggar]

Come again? Master boring as shit?

:o

I disagree, and I'm sure many many many others do as well.

[statikeffeck]

BankBank, yes, I would definitely go! I live across the river in New Jersey. BTW Are there any arcades in NYC right now that have any TGM game?
having been to arcades I can say button and joystick condition are the most important thing to increase repeat customers (my opinion). Make sure you make it easy for people to report problems with buttons so they can be fixed as soon as they are detected.

$5.00 sounds very reasonable but I'm wondering how much foot traffic you would get, or how to let people look around before paying to get in, etc.

[muf]

~ THREAD NECRO ~

Did this ever get off the ground? If i go to http://bankbank.net I just see a static image that links to another static image.