Gaming "Cafe"

My dad's shop is going down the pan and I'm interested in opening an internet cafe instead, but with an emphasis on games.

What would be the minimum spec I could use to provide a decent gaming experience? For example, no lower than 19" screens, etc.

EG:

2GBs RAM

512MB graphics ATI 3870?

19" widescreen LCD, height adjustable, etc.

headsets, keyboard etc.

I'm thinking of charging £1/hour for web access and £3/hour for gaming. I think I can fit 20 PCs... From a business point of view, initially I want to get away with the lowest spec possible.

And what games should be on my list from a multiplayer point of view?

2gb ram

8800gt

e4600 core 2 duo

cheapest 19 in lcd you can find

and get a mobo with enough ram slots for future upgrades.this should give good performance for at least a couple years.

and i dunno about the prices your charging, in USD thats about $2/hr for web, $6/hr for gaming. a gaming cafe in my town charges $4/hour for anything, $3 for members, $2.50 for ppl in the military.

Ah yes £3 is about $6. Thanks for the reply.

Risky business you are getting into, then again every business is risky. First off you should see if the future customers in you're area eat cake and not pie, which is to say you should studdy the PC gaming demographic to see if it is worth getting into.

But this could be fun, especially of your organise Lan Parties and such.

My buddy has a shop that pretty much the same thing.. Only its like a computer shop/game place...

one part of the store sells computers and computer parts, repairs computers exc. The other part has a bunch of consoles and places to set up your own computer. So far it hasnt been doing too well but every buisness takes alot of loses in the first year.

I think most people who are into PC gaming both have enough money to have their own PC, and prefer the comfort of their own home. Thus your most likely demographic is going to be teenagers. A problematic and generally poor customer base at best.WDT-BlackKat

Maybe is demographic will be people that actually go outside and have social interecation with other human beings, face-to-face, demographic in which people like me don't belong in

MULTIPLAYER YOU SHOULD HAVE:

Counter Strike 1.6

Counter Strike Source

Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne (needs Original so its also WC3 Reign of chaos)

Call of Duty 2 and 4

World of Warcraft

Mu Online

Diablo 2

Unreal Tournamnet 2004 or UT 3 if you have good rig

Some newer strategy game like Wic or Company of Heroes

That should satisfy your customers + if you have nice rigs you can add some new games like Crysis and such.

Also remember that you can BUY something like LICENSE from game company sou if you are running game caffe you can buy just one game and install it on each pc

MULTIPLAYER YOU SHOULD HAVE:

Counter Strike 1.6

Counter Strike Source

Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne (needs Original so its also WC3 Reign of chaos)

Call of Duty 2 and 4

World of Warcraft

Mu Online

Diablo 2

Unreal Tournamnet 2004 or UT 3 if you have good rig

Some newer strategy game like Wic or Company of Heroes

That should satisfy your customers + if you have nice rigs you can add some new games like Crysis and such.

Also remember that you can BUY something like LICENSE from game company sou if you are running game caffe you can buy just one game and install it on each pc

Lidve

Are you expecting him to pay monthly for an account for 20 computers, dude that's like 300$ a month are you crazy? And MU online WTF?

[QUOTE="Lidve"]

MULTIPLAYER YOU SHOULD HAVE:

Counter Strike 1.6

Counter Strike Source

Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne (needs Original so its also WC3 Reign of chaos)

Call of Duty 2 and 4

World of Warcraft

Mu Online

Diablo 2

Unreal Tournamnet 2004 or UT 3 if you have good rig

Some newer strategy game like Wic or Company of Heroes

That should satisfy your customers + if you have nice rigs you can add some new games like Crysis and such.

Also remember that you can BUY something like LICENSE from game company sou if you are running game caffe you can buy just one game and install it on each pc

ZuluEcho14

Are you expecting him to pay monthly for an account for 20 computers, dude that's like 300$ a month are you crazy? And MU online WTF?

Lol? MU online is popular and Wow he doesnt need to pay for it 300$ you obwiously dont know what you are talking about there is usualy some kind of "system" in which large caffes get discount or something and he dont have to pay for accounts,USERS WILL PAY who want to play wow and might not have PC or something i know in my town lot of ppl play wow in caffe and it pays well

He doesnt even have to buy the game to install it in the cafe. He can just borrow the CD's WOW and WOW:Burning Crusade pop them on the server and then anyone with an activated account can login and play.

The question is people playing WoW in a cafe are bound to get hacked, and alot of your customers are gonna be pissed off. Its just to tiresome maintaining everyones addons and keeping your security intact. That Win32.PSW.OnlineGames trojan is everywhere.

As for Mu Online I walked into a cafe the other day and saw 5-6 blokes playing it together, which was quite funny. What a horrible game to be playing espicially when your paying $4/hour.

Thanks for the replies.

Demographic would be your teenagers and guys in their 20s. There are loads of net cafes around, but really crap for games. There are a couple of Universities nearby, and the CS guys especially are eager for a place. It is a social thing, aimed at people who want to meet up with friends and have a game, vs going to the cinema or eating out.

A game shop is lacking in the area, I think preowned games would sell. And a pc repair shop, selling 2nd user PCs would be a good side thing.

I'd like to have some Xbox 360s but I'm not sure if it's possible to regulate use of it through software/credits.

you could use steam's cyber cafe program

https://cafe.steampowered.com/index.php?area=cafe/cafeHome

Thanks for the replies.

Demographic would be your teenagers and guys in their 20s. There are loads of net cafes around, but really crap for games. There are a couple of Universities nearby, and the CS guys especially are eager for a place. It is a social thing, aimed at people who want to meet up with friends and have a game, vs going to the cinema or eating out.

A game shop is lacking in the area, I think preowned games would sell. And a pc repair shop, selling 2nd user PCs would be a good side thing.

I'd like to have some Xbox 360s but I'm not sure if it's possible to regulate use of it through software/credits.

hakkogs

i assume ur english, since u go by £'s, so where will this shop be? if its anywhere near me i'd be interested, and i know a load of mates who wud jump at the chance to meet up for some lan goodness

(btw i currently live in west yorkshire, so anywhere near bradford/leeds/huddersfield etc :) )

Sorry, it's not in Yorkshire or the Midlands.

I'm thinking of buying 10 refurb/preowned Core 2 Dells/HPs and then fitting each with an 8800GT.

Sorry, it's not in Yorkshire or the Midlands.

I'm thinking of buying 10 refurb/preowned Core 2 Dells/HPs and then fitting each with an 8800GT.

hakkogs

where are you buying them?