Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Discussion of arcades and other gaming locations with music/rhythm games

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Re: Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Post by Diamondback1996 » Fri May 13, 2016 1:14 am

I feel like if we were to get a Round1, it would have to be after Cincinnati and Columbus, OH.

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Re: Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Post by Ho » Fri May 13, 2016 10:38 am

I'm not normally a pessimist, but Round 1 in any of those three cities seems pretty far fetched to me.

I can't really speak to Cinicinnati or Columbus much. I like them both, but I don't live in or near them. However, I do understand that they are similar-sized markets.

But I am familiar with Indianapolis, so I'll list some similar businesses that have closed/failed here:
GameWorks
Block Party
Jillian's
Latitude 360
X-Scape/Incredible Pizza

...and it sounds like our D&B could probably be doing better as well.

Now, I'm sure you could chalk up some of those closures to bad management/bad location/corporate factors/etc. And I realize that Round 1 brings some different things to the table--in particular things that interest people here at IndyDDR (myself very much included). But if I were looking to bring Round 1 here, I would have to at least consider the possibility that maybe this market just doesn't support that type of business when so many have tried and failed already.

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great and I'd love to get Round 1 here! I just think it's really wishful thinking that it would happen.
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Re: Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Post by Merk » Fri May 13, 2016 11:10 am

Yeah I'd like to have a Round 1 but there's no way it would last here. I'd support Round 1 as much as I could but I'm fucking 30, I have shit to do, and it's easier to just play music games at home so they wouldn't get a whole lot of money out of me. There's only so many weebs in Indy and a lot of time they are poor sperglords. You can really only pull off this type of business on the west coast or I guess Chicago but who knows how well off those locations are going to be in 5 years or if they will even be extant.
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Re: Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Post by Amp Divorax » Fri May 13, 2016 3:17 pm

Given what I've seen of Round 1, I don't see them lasting in the long run and honestly even if I wanted to give them my business, I wouldn't due to increasing issues with PTSD and my body breaking down. (This Sunday I am moving my Pump cabinet and I am not looking forward to it one bit to say the least as I screwed up my left arm bad last month.)
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Re: Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Post by Diamondback1996 » Fri May 13, 2016 10:49 pm

Responded to some of your points in italics.
Ho wrote:I'm not normally a pessimist, but Round 1 in any of those three cities seems pretty far fetched to me.

I can't really speak to Cinicinnati or Columbus much. I like them both, but I don't live in or near them. However, I do understand that they are similar-sized markets.

But I am familiar with Indianapolis, so I'll list some similar businesses that have closed/failed here:
GameWorks - Didn't they close all of their Studio locations and maybe a few full locations at the same time? Also considering that arcades pretty much need some other major form of business to stay afloat since 2005, it's not surprising it closed. Also Tilt reopened it and they're still doing well enough to stay open (to my surprise).
Block Party - know nothing about this one, except I think I read here it was where Latitude 360 was or just west? That location is pretty much invisible from 86th Street. I had no idea it was right there until I looked it up, and I had been going to that Don Pablo's for years until it closed earlier this year.
Jillian's - Also don't know much about this. Looking them up it seems like corporate went bankrupt, so I'm not sure how relevant this is.
Latitude 360 - This one was so fucked up we shouldn't even list it.
X-Scape/Incredible Pizza - Bad location. I'm surprised that mall is still open. That said, there was a location in Greenwood that closed.

...and it sounds like our D&B could probably be doing better as well. - Or they just don't see the point in getting a DDR machine. Unless I missed something, they don't seem to be doing too terribly.

Now, I'm sure you could chalk up some of those closures to bad management/bad location/corporate factors/etc. And I realize that Round 1 brings some different things to the table--in particular things that interest people here at IndyDDR (myself very much included). But if I were looking to bring Round 1 here, I would have to at least consider the possibility that maybe this market just doesn't support that type of business when so many have tried and failed already.

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great and I'd love to get Round 1 here! I just think it's really wishful thinking that it would happen.
So all but one of these (excluding D&B) are due to corporate or location issues. Block Party is the questionable one, as I know nothing about why it closed. I believe our D&B is a smaller location which could explain why we're not getting DDR there.

I think a Round1 would work nicely in Greenwood (replacing Sears when it inevitably closes) or in Plainfield (maybe as part of the still-to-be-built second phase of Metropolis the Shops at Perry Crossing- why is it called that? Perry Township isn't even close to there, and I don't know of any other significance of the name). Replacing the Sears at Castleton could work as well, but it would probably fail because D&B is literally right there. Maybe Carmel or Fishers/Noblesville could work too.

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Re: Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Post by Ho » Mon May 16, 2016 9:20 am

I absolutely acknowledge that there were other factors beyond the local market involved in the closure of many, if not all, of the locations I mentioned. However, with the exception of Latitude (since that place just seems like a fraudy fraud hole of fraud), I would say that might actually make the situation worse. If these businesses aren't working anywere--including Indianapolis--maybe it's the whole country that doesn't support this kind of business.

I realize that's a pretty broad, blanket statement. Obviously there are plenty of people that like this kind of stuff--myself very much included! But are there enough of them in any particular place to support this kind of business with such a huge start-up/investment/overhead cost? It seems to work in a few large markets, but fails in many more.

Let's take a look at Gameworks as what I think is probably the best example of the ones that I gave. You're right about the "Studios" -- of which I think ours was one of only maybe 2 that ever existed. It was their concept *without* the bar/restaurant. And I'm sure that not having the restaurant business really hurt them here. (I had heard but never confirmed that it was some kind of a licensing or other legal issue that prevented them from having the restaurant in our location.)

But, looking at Gameworks as a whole, it's a huge company with lots of big boy corporate backing that had around two dozen locations nationwide...at one point. And then it contracted to, IIRC...4. And ours was not one that they chose to keep. They're back up to 7 locations now, but I would consider that to be cautious. And Gameworks is apparently shifting toward some kind of an eSports model for all their new locations, so it seems like even they think that they need to do something different than what they had been doing if they're going to stay in this business.

At the end of the day, let me just say that I'm actually "on your side." I'd love to be wrong on this. Heck, I started this site based on my wonderful experiences playing a game in an "arcade" with a bunch of great people--many of whom I'm thrilled to have called my friends over these last 16 years. I would love to see a resurgence of that kind of community and that kind of environment. But the sad reality is that the last several times I visited either Tilt or D&B (admittedly, neither in the last year), the employees outnumbered the customers by an alarming margin. :(
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Re: Laser Flash - ITG in the works

Post by Amp Divorax » Mon May 16, 2016 9:35 am

Ho wrote:At the end of the day, let me just say that I'm actually "on your side." I'd love to be wrong on this. Heck, I started this site based on my wonderful experiences playing a game in an "arcade" with a bunch of great people--many of whom I'm thrilled to have called my friends over these last 16 years. I would love to see a resurgence of that kind of community and that kind of environment. But the sad reality is that the last several times I visited either Tilt or D&B (admittedly, neither in the last year), the employees outnumbered the customers by an alarming margin. :(
I share this sentiment. The only place that I see an arcade community of any type happening at is Tapper's Arcade Bar, and not only does the retro-concept has it more dedicated to games pre-1996, it wouldn't have the room for most rhythm games in general. I have debated getting more arcade cabinets due to the lack of accessibility (especially since I now have a house) but the upkeep is too much for me currently due to my work schedule.
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