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Cybercafes - A Dying Trend?
A not-so-anonymous Anonymous Coward asks: "I've been considering opening up a CyberCafe for a while now, and I've been searching the web for cyber cafe websites. I've found several cybercafe databases, but was disappointed to find that a majority of the sites I found were either taken over by register-this-domain pages or hadn't been updated for a couple of years. Another Cyber/Gaming Cafe I found online announced today that they were closing. So are Cyber/Internet/Gaming cafes just another bubble the net will burst, or are they actually worth investing in? Any cafe owners with experience to point one way or the other? Where are the success stories?"
I know that in many other countries Internet Cafe's are insanely popular, but this is usually because the cost of living is so low, and the telcom situation is so bad that having a computer and an Internet connection is only affordable by the upper-class, therefore people flock to these Internet cafe's to chat, check email, play games, surf porn, etc.
In America, most people can easily afford a computer and an Internet connection, so Internet cafe's are really an answer lacking a question.
I talk periodically to a friend online who's CS clan opened a LAN gaming center, and they have gotten pretty popular, in fact they are opening new locations. However, this isn't your typical Internet cafe, people come to hang out with likeminded individuals and play games with each other in person. It's not a financial issue as much as it is an entertainment issue.
My suggestion? Don't bother. Unless you can find a niche to fill with your Internet cafe, there is nothing to stop it from falling by the wayside just like all the rest.
I would expect such blatant racism on Fark, but on Slashdot? Mods please ban this asshole.
There seems to be 2 kinds of net cafe's OS wise - fully open and locked down to the point of uselessness. As a traveller, I have a USB thumb drive with my documents on it. Sometimes you need to install its drivers and it's VERY annoying when you can't.
But that's not to say that I approve of the wide open systems either... If I can install whatever the hell I want, so can anyone else (think keyloggers, etc).
What I have often thought is if I ran one of these places, I'd give each user a removable hard disk to slide into their rented system. Once they were done, they'd return the hard disk and I'd re-image it at the front desk. That way you're guaranteed that everyone can do whatever the hell they want/need to on your systems but only while they are there.
Of course you'd have the extra expense of having a few more hard disks then systems, a system up front to re-image disks, the removable trays themselves, the additional time for the users to startup and shutdown every time, lost/damaged/dropped/stolen hard disks... Needless to say there would be a few issues to work out, but all in all I think an approach like this would be the best for all parties involved (assuming you overcome the issues listed above of course =).
Anywhoo... just my rambling ideas!
"1984" was ment to be a warning, not a guidebook. You hear that Kim Jong-il!? BushCo?!
The successful US "cyber cafes" don't market themselves as "cyber cafes." There are no food served, no drinks, and the emphasis is squarely upon videogames. The Adrenaline Zone recently opened up here near Harvard, and it has been doing brisk business with LAN gaming and online gaming. You can surf the web if you want to, but unlike a traditional overseas cyber cafe, nobody does. You wouldn't even consider writing a paper at one.
The key to their success is probably that while everyone in the United States can find a hand-me-down computer that can run Windows 98 enough to surf and 9.95 per month for internet access, not everyone is willing to shell out the 100 dollars for a performance graphics card and another 50 dollars monthly for the DSL required for gaming (if it is even available in their area). You really do have to make a technology investment to play Unreal Tournament 2003, and so people turn to LAN gaming centers.
In other words, forget the food. Forget the printers. Forget selling 802.11g cards under the counter with crumpets. Buy a solid batch of Athlons with Radeon 9600 Pro cards, turn the lights down really low, and aim for the unwashed masses. You'll be glad you did.
The ______ Agenda
hey.
I have been going to lan arcades since '98. I think they are healthy and totally necessary during the high school years as a place to get out of the house and not be doing illegal (well... not TOO illegal) activities. During college, its a place to meet up with old friends and begin giving back to the owner for all the time and fun he has given you, by hacking his machines. After college, its a place to remember with nostalgia, and hack your own boxes from.
in my area, a new lan arcade opened up looking for those kids who like gaming and like learning. They are trying to get the pro-gamers on the weekends and nights while offering computer networking classes and hackathons during the daylight hours (4-7). The real appeal to this new arcade is its seperation of smoking and non-smoking sections. This is a very big draw, considering the social aspect of the gaming scene. Going through 2 packs of cigs in a night with your friends is not a cost effective or healthy activity.
However, this new arcade is faltering for 2 reasons.
1) too close to another arcade: kids are very loyal to their gaming arcades. At every arcade i have frequented; everyone knew the owners and everyone knew each other. The facilities of other arcades might be better, but the purpose of gaming at those locations is friends; the friends arent there. Find a spot without an arcade near and you will be money.
2)draconian installation procedures. Counterproductive. They are trying to entice hackers without giving them access to anything beyond their java overlay. This also keeps users from damaging the machines with poor installation choices. In the end it is better to simply wipe the machines weekly and reinstall images on all machines than limit your users... because keeping them from installing programs will drive them away in droves.
wow. that was alot longer than i thought it would be. hope it helped!
"this is the gloaming"
radiohead
Don't forget, large breasts and tight t-shirts on your waitresses will appeal to most of your target demographic (11-85 year old males). Whatever you do, do NOT hire geeky teenager boys to work at your cybercafe. You'll just drive business away elsewhere. Look into providing topless wait service for the over-18 Counter-Strike playing crowd. Depending on your community though they may be prudes about this.
P.S.: Yes, I'm entirely serious. Big breasted women bringing me Pepsi would be the only thing that would make me come into your cyber cafe. I'll check my mail on my 3G cell phone or wait until I get home to browse the net.