Idea For Business In Suburban Thai Area

[frankfish]

hello

just after some thoughts from you guys on here who seem to know all thats worth knowing.

my wife has a shop in nonthaburi,its a very thai suburban area with only one internet shop there and thats always busy with kids playing online games etc, but ive had a thought of opening a video game shop with networked ps3 and xbox 360s all online with nice sized hd monitors and decent headsets so they can have mw3 or bf3 death matches and fifa 12 2 - 4 player games. ps3 would be better for online games as the psn is free but maybe the xbox can play local lan co op etc...im thinking 10 machines at 25 or 30 bhart per hour plus drinks etc ....could be a ok living in a relatively cheap area. a estimate of open 12 hours 10 consoles 10x30b/p/h =300x 12hr=3600x 31 days a month 111,600 ( obviously this is at max capacity so inflated figures but a good indication to work towards)

i have heard of the local boys in brown problems with the online games but im not sure about console gaming, Ive been around the local kids there only a few have ps2 and they all crowed round the one kids house playing the hell out of old games on crappy tvs..

im thinking its a good area but im sure there's pitfalls im not seeing, any input from you guys would be great.

[FritsSikkink]

12 hours 10 consoles 10x30b/p/h =300x 12hr=3600x 31 days a month 111,600

The kids never go to school ???

[nolath]

double or triple the number of consuls and open 24hrs

and go into your local internet shop and ask them if they have had any problems, what licenses you might need, etc.

[DP25]

I've seen shops like this in shopping malls, usually PS2s, and they seem to be full.

Though if it's successful you might get another one opening up next door.

[frankfish]

school is a good point, but a older age bracket of 15-20 mostly play the mw3 and battlefield games and they seem to be in the internet cafes all hours. later opening and closing times would sort its self out with trials i suppose.

the figures are just a best case scenario, sure holidays and weekends would subsidize quiet weekdays.

copy cat shops are inevitable i suppose got to try to keep ahead of the crowd with new software and online service ive not seen anywhere around where you can really play online games here because of the love of copyed material which bans the console from online play, so there missing out on what millions of people in the rest of the world are hooked on..

also fifa football tournaments and leagues all in hd screens...prizes and cups etc....all worth thinking about...

also like the poster said is all ps2 everywhere people dont get chance to try the new gen ( ps4 will be out within a year probably)

xbox 360s in the uk now go for 50 pounds each...i can get plenty of them shipped over to expand in time...

cheers for the points all appreciated keep em coming

Edited January 1, 2012 by frankfish

[Nickthegreek]

Online gaming/internet cafes only have problems if you dont have windows licences,their are now very few,infact only 2 games, that require a licence currently.

PS2 /Xbox etc will all be without licence as they are if I am correct, only for home play...all the games will be copies on chipped machines...

I can also tell you that there are a number of online games in Thailand and MW3 is not as popular as you might think, albeit new on cracked servers,incidently there is also football...

[FritsSikkink]

Have a look at this too

[frankfish]

interesting, id expect a police nose poking in then?

the licence thing isnt a problem with consoles i think ( not sure) and i wont be using chipped machines because i want to use the online features of the games.ill bring the machines in from the uk and original mostly 2nd hand games like i use for my personal console now.i know the football is very popular here winning 11 etc but always ps2 not ps3 because not many can affored the machines in the home..the online games popular here are jap/ korean rpgs, id like to try to change them on to mw3 and the like...could take off in the right gaming enviroment. interesting story could impact on my opening hours dramatically.

cheers for all the info...anything else?

[bifftastic]

Some kids can get really hooked on online gaming, so if you do end up doing this, you might want to have an idea about what you would do if someone's parents came to you expressing concern about their children.

I only mention this because my wife's nephew (10 years old) has developed a habit of stealing money to go and play games in the local internet shop.

When his mother went to see the proprietor to ask if he could be banned from the shop, the guy basically said he didn't care and anyone who had money could play whenever they liked.

The local school is non too impressed with his operation either, so you might meet some resistance locally.

If you can show that you have a responsible attitude to their concerns, then that might nip those potential problems in the bud?

Just a thought

[frankfish]

Yeah good point well made, have to make sure the wife can deal with this, her nephew lives in the shop next door that I'll potentionally set up in he's 13 and there quite strict on his gaming habits, but as far as late nights go they never send him to bed or watch where he gos when he gos out things that I wold consider for a teenager, different ways out here so that's a good point to think on cheers.

[impulse]

I think DP25 made a great point. If you are successful, there will be another one just like yours next door in a few weeks. In a few months, you'll be surrounded by imitators and the only ones left standing in a year will be the one willing to stay open at a break even or survive on 5-10,000 Baht a month profit.

And the ones willing to break even will make up their real income by selling stuff you probably don't want to be involved in....

Edited January 2, 2012 by impulse

[jybkk]

edit: wrong thread

Edited January 2, 2012 by jybkk

[BookMan]

12 hours 10 consoles 10x30b/p/h =300x 12hr=3600x 31 days a month 111,600

The kids never go to school ???

[BookMan]

Idea sounds okay...

I have seen a few of the gaming cafes rammed with people...and the youth market will buy plenty of drinks and stuff if u sell it.

You might want to base your figures more on a more realistic footing of say, 50%, for the time machines are used throughout the day. ie: 6 hours utilisation x 30 baht x 10 machines x 7 days a week x 52. minus days you wont be open for holidays??

Also might want to consider upping the number of machines, or at least have a quick plan in place to do so if u have good business. No point outlaying the cash if it doesn't take off

Admirable you want to do it al legit with correct licensed software, but also consider your options; should someone see you are doing well and decide to enter as a competition, and not be so legit , therefore being able to have lower costs than you. Just a thought.

[BookMan]

Some kids can get really hooked on online gaming, so if you do end up doing this, you might want to have an idea about what you would do if someone's parents came to you expressing concern about their children.

I only mention this because my wife's nephew (10 years old) has developed a habit of stealing money to go and play games in the local internet shop.

When his mother went to see the proprietor to ask if he could be banned from the shop, the guy basically said he didn't care and anyone who had money could play whenever they liked.

The local school is non too impressed with his operation either, so you might meet some resistance locally.

If you can show that you have a responsible attitude to their concerns, then that might nip those potential problems in the bud?

Just a thought

Yes, that's one the OP has to decide for himself. Certainly worth having a firm poilcy in your head about those things

[Semper]

Some kids can get really hooked on online gaming, so if you do end up doing this, you might want to have an idea about what you would do if someone's parents came to you expressing concern about their children.

Good point. Online games should be banned. (for kids) under 25.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Semper