Videogame Lounges Take LAN Centers Mainstream?

Thanks to the New York Times for its article (free reg. req.) discussing the rise of the videogame lounge as mass-market gaming centers. The article argues: "Offering a happy-hour substitute for 20- and even 30-somethings, video lounges might forever uncouple the terms 'hard core' and 'gamer.' They make video games accessible to adults who don't know the difference between 'Halo' and 'Mojo,' and are afraid to ask." Although similar (or interchangeable with?) the long-standing LAN gaming center, the piece argues: "Video games are sauntering further into the mainstream with Xbox and PlayStation lounges. They have sprung up in resorts like Telluride, Colo., and as adjuncts to dance clubs like Play in New York and Avalon in Hollywood, which last week installed a PlayStation 2 in its V.I.P. penthouse."

Riiiiiight.

[Rew190]

Weren't these gaming cafes etc supposed to be popular like 3 or 4 years ago? Still hasn't happened on a mainstream level...

Re:Riiiiiight.

[mobby_6kl]

Maybe not in the US, but when I visited Ukraine there were such cafes every hundred meters or so and they were completely packed, I had to wait about 10 minutes to check my mail. This was almost 2 years ago.

Of course they are

[buffer-overflowed]

Arcades were enormously popular once upon a time.

I'm actually surprised that most sports bars don't have an XBox and a PS2 set up by now for non-game nights.

Mainstream?

[Tuxinatorium]

I haven't seen one of these gaming cafes anywhere. Not one. By mainstream, does the article mean there's 3 or 4 in New York and 1 elsewhere in the States?

Re:Mainstream?

[pilot1]

There are two very close to the Orlando, Florida area. There are also more around here that aren't quite as close..

GTN

[bluethundr]

Is this the one you meant in Manhattan? Flat screen TVs, networked PS2s and Xboxen, Game Time Nation [gametimenation.com] is on 12th between 3rd and 4th avenues [gametimenation.com]. Walking distance to a couple of fine [blue9burger.com] eateries [citysearch.com] sure to please the geek pallate, also very near to Forbidden PLanet [citysearch.com], almost just across the avenue from some NYU dorms [htt] and several very nice movie theaters.

The place also comes with what are ostensibly regulars who hoot and holler each other on during marathon Halo sessions while a Hip-Hop soundtrack blares in the background and chow down on junkfood supplied by the establishment. An AWESEOME time passing establishment for any anorak!

Re:Mainstream?

[thrash242]

There's at least one [toesonlinegaming.com] here in the Houston suburbs.

But that's the only one I've seen. I'd like to see these things be more common, as they seem like a good idea.

I also found a list [lethalgamers.com] of LAN centers, most of which seem to be in Texas. At least that's true of those on this list.

Re:Mainstream?

[Ticklemonster]

If I can figure out how they make money, I want to open one here in Rome, Ga. We have 4 colleges here we can draw from, 3 law enforcement agencys I can get to compete in matches (already spoke to swat about how if there were a hostage situation, and basic designs were known, a map could be made of a building giving shooters a working knowlege of the area, he liked that very much). There has to be a way to make it make money, and I'm not interested in just game consoles, I want them and pcs server hosting, t

We had something like this in my town....

[Q-Mont]

There were a couple of places in my town like this. There was one that had a lot of high-end PCs for playing games with your friends or with whoever happens to be there. The other place was a video game store that also had twelve or so 32" televisions that had just as many PS2s and Xboxes networked together. So you could rent out the place for a few hours, get your friends together and play some games.

While it sounds like a great place for people to get together after school or work, both of these places that i've mentioned have since closed down. I think that a lot of the people that participate in these activities already have the means to do it themselves. They already have the computer or the Xbox for a game of Halo. I just don't think that there are enough people that like to play occasionally but don't have the games or the system and are willing to go out frequently enough to help support the business. It won't have the popularity that arcades had because back then, unless you were rich, you couldn't have a whole bunch of arcade machines at your house. Now you can LAN at home, you can network your Xboxes at home, etc. It's an option we didn't have back in the day.

its about money

[DeadboltX]

Places won't have xbox's set up because they can't make money off of it. It is too much hassle to charge say 5 bucks for 10 minutes because then you have to keep track of if they played for 10 minutes, and thenyou'd have to kick them off and hear them argue about how they almost beat the level if you just gave em 30 more seconds blah blah. The only way this will happen is if you see an xbox basically set up as a multi-game arcade machine that takes quarters, but then you'd have to recode all the games so it asks for credits and such, and do you have any idea such an arcade system would cost? Crappy new arcade machines cost a couple thousand, you could easily guess an xbox multi-game one would be 10k, and it would simply not make enough money to even cover the cost.

Re:its about money

[Romothecus]

Bullshit. I live 5 minute from a place with a dozen linked xboxs. People play on them all the time, as much as they play CS and WC3 on PC.

Re:its about money

[Anonymous Coward]

The only way this will happen is if you see an xbox basically set up as a multi-game arcade machine that takes quarters, but then you'd have to recode all the games so it asks for credits and such, and do you have any idea such an arcade system would cost?

No recoding of the games would be necessary. You could have the timer be a separate piece of hardware with it's own display and a quarter slot. When the time runs out, it could disconnect the power. Or even better, have it reset the system and disconnec

Re:its about money

[shione]

you could always charge them a subscription fee similar to how gyms operate. eg. $x for 1 weeks play or 1 month etc. You just gotta calc the estimated avg time someone will spend on a machine and works out your running costs from there cuz the electronics will undoubtably wear out faster than gym equipment. make it too low and you wont cover expenses , make it too high and you wont be able to capture your intended market. hmm that is another thing, consoles aren't made for playing extended periods of time u

Re:its about money

[cyb97]

The problem with a fixed-rate subscription is that some people will never leave the machine, through that also occupy the machine and making the owner have to turn away potential customers that aren't interested in gaming 24/7 but just there for the thrill of a game now and then.

That's why pay as you go is great, it allows the customers to see that the clock is ticking and actually feal money leaving their pocket as they play. Fixed-rate might be good for the places where there are no "drop-in" clients, bu

Re:its about money

[scabb]

There used to be a family pub near us that let you play mega-drive* games for x per hour, simply by using a coin-operated TV. I don't think the service lasted long because people just stole the mega-drive carts. :)

*Mega-Drive being the Europe for Genesis, of course.

Re:its about money

[WebGangsta]

Sure it could work, just like renting a pool table or shuffleboard game at Dave & Busters [daveandbusters.com].

You hand in your driver's license and/or leave an imprint of your credit card. The host then walks you over to the game unit and unlocks it, sets it up, and takes your initial drink order.

When you're done playing, you go back to the desk and get your card back. The place marks off how much time you've spent playing and charges you accordingly, and the host then wanders off to make sure the game was powered do

damn cool concept. a little on the pricey side.

[keyshawn632]

When i put in video game lounges + my zip code
into google [[I live in cleveland]; it spits out directions to the local strip club.....

Anyways, this idea seems like it's plausible for teenage geeks like me; provided it's not more expensive than the movies and that we do have our unadulterated entertainment. The article implies that Game World Nation has tweens as a good portion of the customer base.

*This, my slashdotters, is the key to alienate your teenage and adult customers.....

[by catering to the tw

Re:damn cool concept. a little on the pricey side.

[Nephilium]

Well... I think one of the biggest problems with a single location running LAN's all day is that you can find LAN parties almost anywhere running on weekends that just require you to carry your machine over... Either here [lanparty.com] or here [google.com]

I know me and my friends get together about twice a month... with the only costs being the games, and facing the bright shiny day moon while lugging around computers...

Nephilium...
The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head. -- (Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

True Lounge

[Lord_Dweomer]

Of all the lan centers, and net cafes I've seen, none of them have had a true lounge atmosphere. I think if a place opened with some decent sized screens and some way of dealing with sound without having people need headphones, and some comfortable furiture (think leather couches), AND served drinks, it would be successful.

Granted, you'd need to make sure you got the right types of people in there in the beginning to set the pace (sorry, but this means beautiful models and their boy toys, not 30yrold geeks with shirts that are too small and stained), it could become a real hotspot now that society is easing up its views on videogames.

Re:True Lounge

[Duty]

There's a place near where I live called "Black Pearl". Its advertised business is as a specialty tea & smoothie bar, but the hit attraction seems to be nice couches, a big TV and speakers, and an X-Box with Halo. When I drop in, I regularily see a crowd of 5-10 teenagers of both genders watching each other play.

Admittantly, teenagers are a sight different from 20-30-somethings, but I'd see no problem calling that place a lounge. Maybe I'm biased, still being a member of the former group for a few mont

Re:True Lounge

[squaretorus]

social hotspot is probably optimistic - but a popular bar/cafe with larger than normal booths incorporating flat screens, controllers, hidden hardware and a waitressing service would, in my opinion, kick ass.

I'd happily while away a weekend playing, chatting, eating and drinking. Don't charge me for the games - but charge me higher prices for the drinks - kick me out if Im not drinking/ eating enough when your busy.

A 'topless chicks eat free' door policy wouldn't hurt either!

Mainstream

[Sv-Manowar]

The reason the LAN gaming cafes never got as mainsteam as they could is because of the huge burst in console gaming, and the fact that people thought PC games were hard to control and expensive to keep up with the latest gaming requirements. The one where i live has almost a constant supply of teens in there playing Counter Strike 24/7 with their parents desperatly trying to drag them out

At My University

[LightForce3]

At the University I attend [gvsu.edu] there is a games lounge in the student center with 2 or 3 PS2 consoles and 2 or 3 X-Box consoles, along with a few pool and foosball tables. You show your student ID to check out a game and controllers. Nothing commercial, but the idea is the same.

Gaming is cheap...

[UpooPoo]

I don't see this kind of thing catching on in the US. Most people have a decent enough income that they can buy their own console as well as any games they want. In lower income countries there is one of these every 2 or 3 blocks. These will really start to pop up here in the states when gaming technology advances to the point that the average citizen can't afford one in his house.