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So.... I inherited an old Japanese Game Center

Andrefpvs

Andrefpvs

Member
shidoshi said:
Oh my lord. I'm not sure I'd want this to happen to me, because if it did, there's absolutely no way I wouldn't try to re-open the arcade—which could lead to my financial downfall. *heh* I've always loved the idea of having an arcade, and having one in Japan in a crazy old building like that would only make it a hundred times cooler.

The gaijin trying to bring the retro Japanese arcade back to life. The tech-savvy hikikimori hired to fix the machines up. The cute girl staff member who secretly is an expert gamer. The girlfriend's grandmother who always proclaims that the arcade will fail—but who, secretly, is rooting for you. Manga, anime, J-drama, it could be anything and everything!
Click to expand...

Time to download Ren'py and make the Visual Novel.
 
onken

onken

Member
Hope some of them work so you can claw back a few bucks - it's going to cost a fortune to scrap all that.
 
B

biocat

Member
I've lived in Tokyo for more than 10 years so I feel I can offer some advice.

Fill it with rhythm games and online mahjong. You'll get a bunch of dedicated players that deposit serious coinage.

Fighting game fans are fickle and can be hard to please, but you might consider putting in a few multi-game cabs of fighting games

Oh, and don't forget Gundam Vs!
 
L

lifeexpectancy

Member
Man I so wish weird/cool shit like this would happen to me, but my entire family is boring as fuck and would never buy an old building somewhere that wound up holding treasures... jealous.
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
ponpo said:
What. Can I have a cab or two. I'll pick them up~

I can drive over, save me an astro cab and the change machine pls.
Click to expand...

if you go take me with you. D: seriously.

its not like i have anything else better to do anyways. besides finishing the 剣の街の異邦人OT lol
 
N

NewGame

Banned
U9r2eEc.gif


Congrats! I have no idea about the running cost of the machines (they're pretty special and old!) or arcades in general. Do you have any arcade competition around? If not, why not test the waters?
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
OP one of the posters does make a good point though. Do you actually have the keys for all the game cabinets? To check if everything is in order and not a nest of rats lol
 
2

2+2=5

The Amiga Brotherhood
Do the cabinets work? Post videos!
Working or not it doesn't matter anyway imo, opening an arcade is not profitable anymore, sell all the cabinets and do whatever you think is better of that local.
 
J

Jamie OD

Member
FrostuTheNinja said:
I wanna watch it happen. Yakuza thugs bustin' up an out of business game center just because. Hopefully one of them walks in like a grade A badass, with a sword over his shoulder, chewing on something.
Click to expand...

They send goons to scare the granny into selling the building but the granny scares them away instead.

Fascinating thread by the way. Hope it works out well for the OP, whatever he does.
 
7

7DollarHagane

Banned
Op if you don't want to open a game center and don't find a good local buyer for the machines there's a guy in Chicago who runs an import gaming store who just about a month ago imported about 30 Japanese style cabs to sell to us buyers. As far as I saw from Facebook those all sold immediately to various us buyers.

Its called windy gaming and the guy is legit. I met him at Midwest gaming classic and he's serious about import gaming. He could probably find buyers for those cabs in the us, who would pay more than a Japanese buyer.
 
R

_Ryo_

Member
Make a YouTube Series called GAFArcade. (Games are F***ing Awesome Arcade) that includes the GAF logo for branding.

The show plot is J-Pop stars are invited to play multiplayer retro games against a challenger. If they win the loser has to do a dare they request. If the challenger wins, you do not have to pay the star for their time.

Sell the movie rights to the success story to Sony. GAF will make money from having their name used, you will make money from GAFArcade, Sony will make money from you. You all make money from the movie.

You all make money from one another. Everyone wins. :)
 
Majukun

Majukun

Member
i don't know,how is the market for retro arcade games there in japan?

If I understood well it is kinda in a central zone,so if it was abandoned for all those years,probably there isn't much market for those old cabinets...

i would probably keep the really rare/cool ones and make a cafè of some sort were nostalgic customers can go,eat and bath in their nostalgia
 
T

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
keisuke999 said:
Just the stuff inside. Once it's cleaned out, it's her's. Although, I imagine she would let me have input into how it's used if I have a good idea.
Click to expand...

Well, she could open the arcade back up. But given she got a hold of the building, probably not the best suggestion since it "went under." I dunno Japan's arcade scene to know if it's in decline like the rest of the world.

The best suggestion would be for you/her to sell the machines. Either internationally (I'm sure there's a few East/West coast US people that would pay to import them) or local/Japan. Though I can't see most Japanese people having an interest in buying the machines given the size and space issues Japan homes have.
 
S

scytheavatar

Member
From what I heard, ever since the sales tax increase in Japan game centers have been deader than dead over there. So good luck if you are planning on not shutting down the place because you will need it.
 
P

Polioliolio

Member
Send it all back to the US and give US gamers the arcade and lounge they've never had.

Or move in and just live in there.


Definitely don't sell it.
 
S

Souldestroyer Reborn

Banned
Marry the shit outta her.

The grandma that is...

Congrats OP! You should get them all refurb'd and open an arcade centre!

Keep a couple of your favourites for your own pad :)
 
T

Taruranto

Member
GrumpyAlien said:
I always find things like that to be kind of sad. I know those machines don't have feelings, but just seeing them sitting unplayed for years kind of tears at my heartstrings. All those fun times....gone.

Hope they see happy times wherever they end up.
Click to expand...

This is so sad.
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Wow congrats, that's really like a dream coming true in some ways I can imagine, it sounds almost too awesome to just happen like this in real-life, I'm happy for you :D You should totally open a NeoGAF Arcade, Neo Gaming Arcade Forum! :p

On a more serious note, I hope you will have many good things coming from it, being it money, lots of gaming time or other awesome stories, keep us updated :)
 
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