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Lan Sweet Lan

JeepChick

Shared on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 08:39

Lan centers.  I've loved every one I have ever been to, whether they were tied to a LAN Competition or not.  They don't have one for console gaming in my area, so aside from the few I have visted during my gaming travels, I have little experience with them.  That and the fact that my house is practically a LAN center with the 3 M$ boxes!

My husband found a LAN center near the Base this weekend.  And what a blast we had.  I played with him Saturday night and Sunday morning.  My son got to play with him as well.  Really had no problems until host migration tried to put their LAN connection as host.  LOLZ.  We played with him and 4/5 of his soldier buddies.  Of course all of them were COD4 noobs which made my son and I look like gaming GODZ!  The normal rate to play is $4 an hour for console if you have your own XBL account.  Soldiers get a discount.

This made me wonder how profitable a LAN center would be.  Every one I have been to is always packed.  And they do lots of overnight lock-in kinda events as well for higher fees.  After the initial investment for the equipment [monitors/PCs/console/cool hats] I think you would only be left with space rental, staff and the internet connection as costs.

Boy it got my Gears turning.  Your thoughts?

Comments

RWRealm's picture
Submitted by RWRealm on Tue, 03/04/2008 - 10:53
I think it would be quite costly to start up something like this. As most here have mentioned. Plus, you have to look at your "normal" clientele. Kids, mostly. With that comes a whole mess of problems.
Flying_Saffa's picture
Submitted by Flying_Saffa on Tue, 03/04/2008 - 13:50
A friend of mine opened up a gaming lounge in Sydney, Australia. It was very profitable for the time he had it going. He has since sold up and moved on being the business type that he is. It is still going by all accounts and is still bringing in money. As SoupNazzi mentioned, initial costs are high, but you could reap the benefits later on if carried out and located correctly. One thing I do know is that people would purchase annual memberships which allowed priority entrance and tended to keep the "riff raff" out. The one in Sydney has 360's, linked Nintendo DS's, PS2 and PS3.
hamboy's picture
Submitted by hamboy on Wed, 03/05/2008 - 07:51
I ran numbers before there was ever something called an Xbox and decided against it. Maybe I'm just a chicken.
YEM's picture
Submitted by YEM on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 08:44
I like freedom toast
SoupNazzi's picture
Submitted by SoupNazzi on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 08:49
The initial investment could be quite huge, if you want to do it right... (HD TVs, couches for console gamers, etc...) Don't forget electricity for overhead.
SoupNazzi's picture
Submitted by SoupNazzi on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 08:51
A buddy and I actually had thought of doing this, and adding in a Grill and Bar for adult gamers... just not sure how many adult gamers would be interested in something like this.
JeepChick's picture
Submitted by JeepChick on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 09:04
I think if you added a LAN area to an existing bar it would work, but adding a BAR to a LAN area would be odd - I think their core client base is 12-20 year olds that don't have their own consoles.
MikeJames's picture
Submitted by MikeJames on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 09:08
With the way things are today, something like a Lan center would only really work near something like a base where the soldiers aren't allowed to have the tv's or xboxs during their training but can still get out occasionally. Other than that, everyone that wants one probably owns one. I have thought of a similar idea but there were to many negatives to outweigh the positives. MJ
RyanFromVegas's picture
Submitted by RyanFromVegas on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 09:20
A local game store has sort of mini lans occasionally and Ive been by to check a couple out. They seem fraught with trouble. Lots of young kids get dropped off by mom and left alone for hours and hours. The store becomes the default babysitter and after the kids get bored they start wandering around the shopping area getting into trouble. They had one for the Halo 3 launch and a cop car ended up hanging around making sure the kids stay in line. Find someone elses lan business and open the pizza shop right next door..thats where the money is.
Lbsutke's picture
Submitted by Lbsutke on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 10:01
this is the place we use for the SoCal lan..and it is not near a college, base, or anything were people are isolated...And considering it is in a very pricy part of town, I am shocked how it stays in business. But every weekend and during the summer it is packed.. http://howies.com/index.php?location=MV It is 20 bucks for an all day pass, or 5 bucks an hour...The lazy boy game chairs (have speakers in them) are awesome, the big screens are 45's I think, but it is obvious that burn in is an issue after a while. If you can get some sponsors like Howie's then things would be easier on your bottom line.

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