What If . . .

What if...


We decided to setup a lan-shop/gaming cafe?

who would do what?
Shao and Derrick - hardware and PC purchases setup and maintenance
Yip and Prem - monitor costs and create cost structure
Alvin Hans and Q - sourcing cheap games for play and for sale
Jed and Jun - scout potential locales for the shop and negotiations
Leonard and Yang'en - store decor layout and ambience
Ong and Shao - bouncer (wushu and archery = close range and long range)
Jed - cashier
Alvin - chief playtester
Everyone - play testing

how would it be different?
Different lanshops now seem to attract a different kind of crowd,
cheap cramped rows of PC-cells are perfect for the casual crowd wanting a frag or 2. These would be cheap and would attract the price conscious. Given the high density of computers, it might be a usual haunt for some groups of kids/young adults.

The other type would be slightly higher class and more expensive. you pay for what you get. Better seats, cleaner air, maybe cleaner mice, perhaps they might even remember your name and take reservations.

So how about us?
Well.. common denominator does seem to be the most logical as installing the most number of computers in the smallest space seems most profitable.
However, gaming is more or less a weekend sport as friends and other friends will consciously book that time for gaming. (excluding delinquents and pple who WANT to zao class aside) Either way, weekday crowds will probably be low. limited to the after school crowd wanting to game.

Having the latest games would be an immense plus, for the gaming group wanting to try out THE latest strategies or action games. Arnt we all sick of seeing the same old games in the shops? We need something new for people to try. Gamers are getting more educated these days.. the former CS crowd will probably move on to other things, assuming they are still gamers. BUT HEY.. the OLDIES are important too.. STARCRAFT ? How can lanshops here not have starcraft and still be called a CYBER CAFE?

Maybe having a weekly competition with the shop owners might be an interesting concept. Or maybe have a small tv for console matches.

Background music? No chinese songs and overplayed english songs PLEASE. Leonard can provide some of his indie bands, Derrick has some interesting tunes too. How about some anime songs? I think fragging someone with an mp5 being played to the katamari theme could be very interesting. And the ultimate irony.. classical music chosen by yang'en together with unreal tournament. but since the music is on a random shuffle.. everyones ears are ok.

Connect all coms to the internet and have a dedicated gaming server?
Singapore doesnt seem to have servers for some games like starwars and UT, according to Hans at least.With enough support and publicity, online gaming can be given a boost here

Set an age limit?That would keep out noisy kids.. but arnt noisy kids a target audience too?
hmmm

How about during the lull hours?
Pool table? Sell desserts? or an art editing studio? or maybe Len and Derrick can conduct computer courses on photoshop et al during the day time. that sounds more effective.
how about a large TV for broadcasting soccer matches?


where would it be?
Location location location.. too far away.. no one will play. too centralised.. the rent will kill. new town centres? or in the middle of town to attract people?
The integrated resort seems to inevitably have a cyber cafe sorts won't it?
If arcades like Bugis and Funland adopt PC terminals, i think a casino hybrid will likely have one too.. im not sure how much they will charge.
... .... Egames has a strong advantage as its in town and its an established brand name to the common folk.. it seems occupied at most hours... oh and the lanshop by the glow in the dark bowling alley upstairs? its a fire hazard as the fire exit is totally blocked off
Anyway.. i have a feeling egames might be interested in setting up shop within the IR, probably a 24hr cybercafe if the crowds are good.

depending on how developed HV becomes after the circle line is made.. the more locals and foreign kids will flock be there than the current numbers and honestly.. HV is great for chilling.. but how about people looking for some gaming? the closest proper lanshop near the subway.. is it still there? if its not.. the closest is probably clementi. HV can be a prime gaming cafe area for people living in the area. its just a bus 7 for most of the dwellers along Holland Road. and i think 77 for the 6th avenue area.


What would we need?
A ton of existing games to install on EVERY com. and of course.. decent computers.. that do not lag and hang and play decently. Decent mice and keyboards.
Having 1 or 2 contacts from overseas sources might prove useful in obtaining the newest games cheaper. Would having a retail section be tough? I am still thinking of Egames.. hmmmm
Easy to install and remove furniture since it has to be upgraded every now and then.


my comments

lanshops used to be a dime a dozen here during the CS rage some 4 years ago. The game never really tapered down as a fresh cycles of young kids even at the primary schooling age kept on rejuvenating interest in the game. and lets not forget army nsfs who just want to spend their time "bonding" with their conscripted peers.
even with the evergreen interest, the lanshop bubble burst probably due to too many entrants in the market and with great price cuts to some 1.50 an hour, keeping the shop profitable was somewhat difficult. as a result, some of these new lanshops probably dissappeared after 2 years or so.
New games like jedi knight, UT, came and went. Diablo forms a stable portion of every cybercafe with one or 2 players hunting items online. Warcraft 3 is always a favourite.. or is that DOTA is always a favourite. battlefield 2? starwars battlegrounds? UT04?? WARHAMMER 40k? or am i to assume upgrading the PCs to kope with the new games is just not an efficient method since everyones happy to play the old games.. well i thought i saw people playing CS using the halflife2 source....
cybercafes have desserts to serve the patrons.. but i wonder how profitable THAT is.

feedback is more than welcome since its just an idea. am i missing anything?