If you can do it with other peoples money it’s worth a shot but on opening day you should have at least 100K in reserve to pay the bills and advertise until you can break even and you’ll need to have food from day one. Maybe a “microwave” kitchen because fire suppression, exhaust and duct work cost a fortune.

There was one that just went out of business in Shawnee. I went once and it was an interesting concept. It was around for awhile, but to be honest I didn’t understand the point of it.

E Sports Bar KC - https://maps.app.goo.gl/nXGRiaKx7NWxJ4298

Maybe you could find some contact info for the old owner and see if they could give you some tips.

OP - I’m going to try to poke holes in your idea.

First of all - I don’t think there is as much market as you think there is for this.

People who have good jobs and lots of disposable income already have game consoles if they are willing to go out in public and game, most likely.

So you’re looking for people to either A. Not have consoles they want to play, or B. Want to pay for the socialization aspect.

I’ll ignore B for a second, as I think that is an actual market that could be tapped…

If it’s A, you’re talking about people who do NOT have a lot of money. In this thread you cited teenagers. You think Teens have that much money to be dropping 15 an hour to play video games? Doubtful in my opinion.

Let’s pretend you can get people in the door though.

First thing you said is you want 50 consoles setup. So that’s… $25,000 worth of consoles.

Then you need 50 tvs. So that’s another… what $25,000 worth of tvs?

I’m assuming you need furniture. Couches, nice chairs, just bean bags? Either way, that’s gotta be tens of thousands as well, right?

What about tv stands? Coffee tables? Whatever else you need? More thousands there, I’m assuming.

So you probably need ~ 100k at least to get all your equipment setup. And of course you’ll have to replace things over time (controllers, tv, cables, consoles, even couches/chairs).

Next you have to find a place. 50 couches setup with 50 tvs, spaced a part so that you aren’t all right on top of each other. And presumably in a good area, with lots of traffic?

Unless you’re rich, I assume you will be leasing. That’s gotta be a few thousand a month, AT LEAST for that, right?

So I think the first question is, do you have that much money?

Now let’s assume you do. How much staff do you need to run this place?

You cited making $3750 per day if you’re open 5 hours a day.

So you’ll be open what, 4pm to 9pm?

I think the first thing you need to realize is you will not be 100% booked the entire time you’re open. You may live in a city of 2 million people, but how many of those 2 million are within a 15 minute drive of where you’re going to open? How convenient is your location? How many peoplpe are working until 5, 6, 7 oclock? How many are kids that end up having football practice till 5?

Your market isn’t nearly as large as you think it is, I would guess.

Now what about electricity costs, internet, insurance, marketing costs etc. Those are going to eat into your profits as well.

Obviously the key here is going to be how many people you actually get in there. In a perfect world, sure, the math checks out. But obviously businesses don’t operate in a perfect world.

Do you have the initial money to start it up? Do you have the money to keep it going as your business starts slow? Do you have a marketing plan to actually get people in there? Do you have answers to the other questions I talked about…

To be honest, as someone who is a gamer… I have no interest to go to a play like that. It’s inconvenient. And as an adult gamer, I like to play after work when my wife doesn’t want my attention for 30 minutes here or there.

I don’t have time to drive 20 minutes to a cafe and then pay to play consoles that I probably already have at home, and then drive 20 minutes home at 7 at night on a work night when I’m tired and just want to be in my comfy clothes.

And I’d guess there are a lot more people like me than you are thinking.

You would think someone studying business management would realize this is an awful idea

We have a similar setup in Cincinnati, Legacy Arcade. They have lots of pinball, cabinets and a few consoles. On any given evening, there is a handful of people in there and none are playing the consoles. This is a high density neighborhood, in a strip mall with a casino, lots of fast food, a Target across the street - so what you would think is the ideal location. This location recently closed. The new location is mostly pinball - lots of tournaments and other playing options. I would consider consoles a losing proposition and would not invest. My two cents, of course.

Oh boy…

OP is ignoring the good advice, and going with the “Max Capacity multiplied by dollars = SUCCESS” formula.

I love the whole “Hey OP, here are some successful businesses/ideas”.

with OP being like “Nah, my dream of low margins using consumer grade consoles is something I cannot compromise on”.