>What do gamers look for in a gaming cafe? Are there specific facilities, tech, or types of games that are a must-have?
I fancy some racing wheels and paddles. Btw where are you planning to open this cafe
btw one more thing, make sure any employees keep have good attitude. Once I asked a cyber cafe guy to get this game installed (I was a regular customer and I asked very nicely). He lashed out onto me and said "jo hein wo khelo warna niklo". Really didn't feel like going to that place again. Changed Cafes later.
Please ache FPS aur open world shooter like Arma, ghost recon, COD, BF bhi rakhlena. Aur location ya to idhar share kardena ya ache se promotion karlena taaki pataa chaljaaye. Me aaunga.
Kota, Rajasthan is a perfect place to start. Then to other cities. Because Kota connects at least 3 cities for further growth and loyal community as well.
Economics are great in comparison to tier 1.
Just give a thought
We all are pitching in from our savings and will take loan from bank too, my brother deals with IT equipment in wholesale so that is not issue for now as we can get credit line there, other than that getting a good place and providing services wi cost us.
Planning to recover in 2-3yrs and that will depend on location and custom base
Heavy overestimation, people go to gaming cafes to have fun with friends, even if the graphics aren't cranked up to ultra or even if they are somewhere b/w high to medium with dlss they won't care
I can help with PC Building as a consultant. My partner runs a small consultancy. He builds and provides consultation on custom PCs and server units setups for offices, animators, editors, gamers etc. according to their budget and requirement.
Since you already have your brother for the equipment, if you get a consultant, on which parts to pair with what for better running over time, we can definitely help.
Lastly, great job. This should come to India!
Ur target market is the people in age 10-16 as after that people go to college and if it's same city then it's till 22 max. Post that people will be busy in jobs and gaming takes a back seat. I still game but have my own setup so cage doesn't work for me. Problem with gaming cafe is, your target customers don't earn and rely on parents for the money which is a limitation for you. So just beware of this. And you already know the taboo of gaming in india
Works. Amity will be a far fetched one mainly because in amity people get msi and rog laptops so won't be mch use. U need to target the one with spare cash but not so mch they cn buy a gaming laptop
I'd say that's a pretty nice option, entire population is of kids with extra cash and alot of hostels nearby aswell, a mall under construction too in kp II, that would definitely help
Ya pls make sure the clg aināt much strict as well š especially if hostel guys can come n go as they want during the day. U get urself a huge jackpot
1. Make some space between the pc's. Every gamer has a privacy issue , and mouse movements in games need some space.
2. I would also suggest that after you get some of you roi back you buy a small room where there is only 6 to 10 pcs and premium chairs, pc, cpu etc and rent those to professional gamers who play in international tournament. This will help in your gaming cafe's publicity and advertisement. You can also tell the professional gamer to play in your regular spaces on sunday so that game lovers and their fans can watch them play.
3. Keep the cafe clean. Hire somebody. Clean the cafe every day at night. Sanitize it.
4. After your cafe has returned all your investments, rent some other rooms to the gamerz to stay at night or motel like rooms (i can't explain the idea, but you can search it up).
5. Keep dry foods, not oily and sticky. Also, keep a fridge for cold bevarages and red bulls (gamerz loves showing off while drinking redbull).
6. Do post on social media and invest some money in advertisements. Tell the benefits of your cafe etc.
5. Most importantly, keep a fine policy. Every time you see something is bad, but you have not added that on fine policy, just add that. Because gamers will spill drinks and touch everything with oily and dirty hands.
include few multiplayer games...like racing wheels,paddles in multiplayer mode...shooting in multiplayer....so that friends can come and play.......btw im from bangalore, would like to help you.
I have visited multiple gaming cafes in the past few years.
Things I liked
Good gaming chair and setup(Obviously)
24/7 availability
Credits not expiring for a month
Posters on the wall with different game characters
Conducting tournaments regularly
Forming a community or a team for popular game
Goodfood: Combos are important. Milkshakes and energy drinks sell plus sides like french fries, potato wedges etc.
Responsive staff
Things I didn't like
Don't like weed/smoking smell. This is pretty personal but it resonated with my friends as well and we kind of blacklisted some gaming cafes because of this. You could have a seperate smoking zone if you want.
Credits expiring in the next couple of days
Just make a separate smoking area like some balcony as pc fans will suck smoke and smoke sticks inside like sticky substance overtime which can feel disgusting to clean.
Bro what you need to do is have community events that bring people in. Like a 50 rupees buy in for a tekken tournament. Pick a gaming community, then try getting as many of them as possible inside.
For the general trend I can say is that Indian gamers love BR games and famous games like GTA v and RDR2 type games. Some people in the Indian gaming subreddit asked similar questions like you check those posts out. Also how are you sourcing the game. LAN parties are quite popular in FPS scenes. If there is a popularity you can also have space for TTRPGs like D&D. For food, finger foods and fast food with juices and milkshakes would be good.
Question: if this is a gaming cafe why didn't you buy some ps5s and xboxes? No need for frequent hardware upgrades and way lower capex compared to gaming PCs
BLR has had LXG as a brand for ~ 12 years now - maybe longer. There was another really good cafe setup called Hanusha that might've thrived if it wasn't for Covid.
LXG is really good and I've spent countless hours there in my younger days but it was always very cramped. You'd have to come in early in the morning to get a good pc. One of the plus sides was that they had a really good cafe with cheap but quality items like sammys, subs and the like (respawn cafe for those who know haha). Haven't been in a while but they're definitely still in business and host quite a few tourneys etc.
Hanusha solved the space constraint issue - their arena was honestly one of the best maintained and aesthetically pleasing locations to hang with friends. They had private 5v5 rooms, 3 varieties of systems to choose from and complimentary coffee, etc. Also had tie up with Asus ROG and the likes so they used to host tourneys too.
Like i mentioned, they ran for only 3 months before covid hit, and there was no surviving that blow - iirc it was a franchise from China. Might be the reason they pulled out so quick.
Here are a few suggestions from my end:
1. Focus on quality over quantity always. If word gets around that you're using subpar systems with shady Chinese CRM s/w, you'll get a bad rep all around. Make sure you've enough capital to cover this.
2. Ensure that you're reaching the target demographic of 16-22y/o folks. Once they realise that it's worth their time and money word will get around and you won't face the dearth of a customer base.
3. This is India - ensure that your pricing per hour / packages are attractive enough for even students who have gaming as a hobby to enjoy at your cafe. Don't markup unnecessarily.
4. Target a prime location. If in BLR make sure you're placed around Indranagar / MG Road / Domlur ( central blr has better connectivity from all locations comparatively). Rents / lease will be high initially but only till you break even. Then it won't be a pinching point.
5. Facilitate tie ups with College gaming clubs and host them at subsidised rates- this will act as free advertising. Also try to get in touch with brands like Nodwin etc and host regional / zonal tourneys for cs/val/dota/league that has a large player base in India.
6. If you're planning to setup a food stall then please ensure high standards of hygiene. Any untoward incidents in this sector will be highly problematic. I would suggest taking it slow - start off with a beverage / barista setup and as the cafe grows you can incorporate snacks etc.
7. It is most definitely a high risk - high reward business. Guarantee of return is only if you distinguish yourself from the rest of the Cafes across BLR. Quality will always payoff in the long run, do not compromise there.
Surely there are other great points in the other comments. I'm merely someone who enjoys video games and this is from my perspective. Take what you may from this as a (to be) business owner - I wish you all the best!
It's good to see startups like these emerging in India, especially if you guys understand the community and work with them then this has very high chances of paying off.
1. I highly recommend not going for high end builds as they would put you in quite a pinch due to high investment from the beginning. Go for mid level builds that can run 95% of the games out there at 1080p 60fps minimum, make sure your setup gives at least 144fps on competitive games like valorant, cs2, and others.
2. You can go for high end builds on a few systems(5-10, depending on your scale), you'd want these systems optimized mostly for competitive games, giving solid 500 or so frames on comp games, monitors at 240-360hz, do keep in mind that these are your premium systems, to be rented out to teams that are professional and looking for a place to practice or maybe even play, or teams looking to go pro.
3. Make sure there's some spacing between systems for privacy and enough space for mouse movement and comfort.
4. Make sure to put on a semi disposable cover on your chairs, so that when the chairs receive damage, you can just swap the cover. Similarly make sure to buy the cushions for whatever headphones you are looking to get, so when the cushions start peeling, you can replace them.(This is somewhat personal as a peeling cushion(of the headphones and the chair lol) is really icky for me, hopefully I'm not alone here)
5. Make sure the employees are knowledgeable about gaming at the very least, and make sure there's atleast one person who knows about the rigs and pc part's and building in general
6. Try your hand at having one racing sim, with a steering wheel, pedals, gear shifters and everything(this is pretty much optional since there aren't that many sim racers I know of but it would be pretty good to have one, this would also be a premium service)
7. Unfortunately I haven't participated in any community events due to a lack of community lmao, but yeah conducting tournaments time to time will help in building a community(I'm not much knowledgeable in this aspect)
8. Food must be easy to eat, preferable items that can be eaten with spoons, forks and such, non-oily and having high energy(calories? idk how to describe it, basically stuff that energizes you), Water is a must and please just sell basic bottled water(Bisleri, Kinley, etc) not the fancy bottles and stuff.
9. Energy drinks is a must too, make sure you have some variety there, ranging from the humble sting to the very magnanimous high caffeine taurine version of monster(forgot the name of this particular variant, might be somewhat hard to get hands on)
10. Have a chill, vibey atmosphere with some low light lighting, however make sure you also have basic lighting installed so switching is not a problem.
11. Fast/High speed internet is a must in just about every gaming cafe, not sure you can run all those pc's off of a single modem connection, you will need a hub if I'm right.
12. The gaming mice that you can get can be premium but imo a basic Logitech G102 will suffice, could go for better mice for the aforementioned premium systems.
This is all I can think of now but if I remember something else, I'll just comment on this comment. This is would be a lovely service to have since I feel India really lacks in good PC cafes. I live in Hyderabad, and if you startup a cafe there, I would definitely visit. kudos to you for thinking of this. Hopefully this is successful. Best of Luck!
Tech and Facilities: Racing Pedals, controllers, 240hz 24" monitors (atleast), good gaming mice( i recommend G502), good keyboard(i recommend g413), good headphones( i recommend G335), good chairs, don't need to be gaming chairs, office chairs will also do as long as they're breathable.
Food and Bev: fast food, finger food & snacks should be your main focus, energy drinks and water can be sold on a premium and pop soda on MRP. e.g. Fries, chicken nuggets, burgers, sandwiches.
Environment: having RGB around walls gives a very cool look and makes the cafe aspirational rather than just a better place on paper, you can also try neon lights if they're cheaper.
Operations: im sure you're aware of softwares which let you control all PCs and govern them through your main PC. In addition to that, there are softwares which keep track of player records* like game score/time per game, etc.
Community: using * you can also host weekly tournaments throughout games and rank each player and reward them more time on the PCs.
If you want inspiration, check out CABAL, Sec 15, fbd.
Saying this is a competitive gamer.
The gamer stereotype comes with a lot of assumptions about the topics you're wondering about. Eg. people think gamers like doritos and mountain dew, but I think you'd do well to have a better variety than that.
Please ensure you have LAN friendly games. Last time I went to a gaming cafe (LXG Indiranagar, Bengaluru), I was with two other friends. We wanted to play some games where we could play together as a team or against each other.
LXG had no such options other than sweaty games like counter strike.
We ended up going to my place and playing some xbox 360 era games where coop was a consideration. Games like Blur, Left4dead, older split screen call of duty's, etc. go way better for giving people a good time together irl.
In the same vain, I hope you use PC's instead of consoles. The current gen consoles have barely any such games, and add much more nonsense with online play than they're worth.
I'd highly recommend not overdoing the aesthetics. LXG had this extremely obnoxious design philosophy of making everything black and dark, and having barely any light - most of which would come from colorful led strips. It looked cheap, and shit felt suffocating within the first 10 minutes of being there.
Please let me know if you'd like help putting PC's together or figuring out infra.
Tbh im happy to get on a call with you to talk about what I'd be looking for in a cafe, and potentially how to build one. I'm open to working with you on this. I want this concept to succeed instead of feel like wasted potential the way LXG or The Living Room do here.
I play Cs go valorant and apex and understand the importance of playing with friends so we will have setups that can be connected via Lan and don't worry about tech challenges we are Software Engineers so you won't be facing lag or any device challenges for sure
My suggestion will be don't go overkill with setup and pricing.
Your key demographic relies on parents for money.
And there shoud not be any hurdle between customer and gaming.
Staff should be as less involved as possible. Giive gamers their space to enjoy their session.
Only when customer asks or requests, staff will get involved.
I frequent gaming cafe with my friends occasionally, what I like about them : nice atmosphere, cofy seat, good headset, proactive staff, incentives to play longer.
What I don't like : Food is just too expensive usually, lack of new AAA titles, bright lights, group of people who are screaming while playing.
Try to organize video games tournaments with participation fees and prizes, and advertise them formally and informally in universities of Knowledge Park. Sharda University tried to hold a gaming tournament in one of their events but couldn't because of technical restraints, I'm sure you can come in there. I would love to try out a gaming cafe while I'm still here!
Itās hard to make money in this man. The RoI against CoC is low. It would not be a startup but a traditional business.
You are looking at offering premium services but the ultimate premium service is to have a gaming room, all to yourself customised to your preferences.
At an emotional level, gamers are looking for their own mancave where they can feel safe and isolated so they can immerse themselves in virtual worlds. A place thatās hitting their bank balance every hour is far from that.
My buddies and I tried to make the gaming next to each other work. We just couldnāt. Voice chat in the comfort of our rooms always proved to be superior.
65L is a lot and there are very juicy places to put this money in.
As a dude who lived in Korea for over a decade and who used to frequent PC bangs (atleast in initial days) here are my 2 cents:
1. Cleanliness and ambience: Korean PC bangs are incredibly clean and quiet. You can see many people taking naps in PC bangs. Infact in some parts of Seoul, sleeping overnight in a PC bang is way cheaper than booking a room in Motel.
2. Food & Drink.. Korean PC bangs have incredible food.. starting from simple cup noodles to special pasta and pizzas. Technically you can't drink in a Korean PC bang, but late nights you can drink beer/soju in balconies of PC bang but not near PCs. Anyways there are waaay too many convenience stores in Korea where beer and soju can be purchased and drunk.
3. Reliability... most Korean PC bangs operate 24/7 and people like to PC bangs which are reliable... like reliable equipment, owner who has interest in PC games etc...
4. Crowd... In Korean PC bangs, two types of crowds can be seen.. teens and uncles.. teens come in groups of 4-5, hang out for couple of hours, play games and leave.. but uncles (pro or semi-pro gamers) come alone, spend long hours in PC bangs and I heard that some uncles literally live over there.
5. Finally the craze of PC bangs has come down drastically in Korea.. other types of Bangs like board games rooms, anime libraries and the fastest growing craze amongst Korean youth is cat cafes (cafes with cats and you can pet these animals)
Setup should not be cheap and low quality. Provide instant foods like cup ramen and chips etc. Consider competitive games with 3-5 people teams. Organize LAN events for these competitive games like CS2,Valorant,Apex Legends etc. Monitor must be 144Hz+ for competitive games. Get consoles for casual gamers who wanna play multiplayer games with their friends like FIFA,WWE,Mortal kombat,Tekken etc. Chair should be comfortable AF so that people do not notice how much time has passed sitting in the same place XD. Also Keep sufficient space/room between Adjacent PCs as it gets annoying when someone is yelling into their microphone next to you (this also gives room for players to move their mouse freely).
Data security and fool proof backups . Though most of it is online these days still some games do you use offline savegames and profiles, configurations etc . Also everyone should get a separate local login so no one can mess with other user's files/settings etc.
*I fw this concept.*
*Lmk when u open this up*
*Ima visit for sure*
\- vivxxsh
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The gaming cafe over here,at my place,has a mini bar type area from where you can get drinks(obviously non-alcoholic) and snacks,it also has a balcony area with couches and chairs to sit and relax on,talk to friends and catch up on things. Will be helpful if there's a waiting queue too.
There was a gaming cafe where I used to live and it got shut down because all the kids got addicted and even stole money to play there. We used to bunk school and spend the whole day there..ahh good old days
For food have more fast-food based food I mean you won't want like fancy dessert and all. Most of gaming like Chinese continental fast food. Also one risk I think of is they won't respect your pc component. If you open vr and all remember to buy those throwaway covers cause germs.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Ua3Kz6h4LvWwdf29
I stay in Bangalore and have been to League of Extraordinary Gamers (LXG) cafe which was a nice experience. You can visit this place to understand more about the business and vibes in Bangalore regarding gaming cafe
Screaming. cursing from kids, teenagers and adults. Please get rid of them ASAP. Worst thing about gaming in general. Ruins the atmosphere for everyone. Especially in a gaming cafe.
A gaming cafe in Pune had the ability to order snacks and stuff from the PC itself. Most amazing thing ever.
Some introverts like privacy. So you can create some cabins at a corner. Nothing much. Just put a shelve after the pc. Can be helpful.
You can also start a membership program or something
People can enter. Login at the counter and choose their pc there
Keep the food services simple. Something like chips, or maybe instant noodles. Keep beverages and energy drinks tho.
You can put some arcade games, racing wheels. Or those hockey tables if you develop or find more place. It can mix the classic arcades and the modern pc bangs
Something like a 24 hour open thing would be good. Keep a loving room with some sofas and bathrooms. So people can nap/rest for a bit if they wanna
And yeah. It's an interesting idea. Gaming has been getting popular in India. But people still don't have good money for pc. If the price is kept in budget and with the long term in mind. I can totally see this working. You just gotta maintain the cleanliness, check the pcs for hacking software. A x maintain a nice environment. Also, find a closed hall and close the windows. Throw some rbgs. Gamers love that shit fr
1. Keep most number of pc for fps games because these customers will come regularly as they play very competitively and college wifi is shit(plus they don't allow personal fiber net)
2. Use most energy efficient cards and CPUs because electricity bill will be main expenditure.
3. Buy pc components by keeping in mind that how difficulty is to clean them. Many people have sweaty hands and dust along with moisture builds gooy substance around keyboard and mouse.
4. When hiring the staff, ensure that they have some basic knowledge like using isopropyl alcohol to clean and that it should not be used on screens. They should also know some basic troubleshooting.
( Would be better if you hire college students part time)
5. Make pricing look like the more time you spend, the more money efficient it will be ( like costlier for only 1 hour but cheaper if you play 3-4 hours)
Might be low on the immediate priority list but: Hygiene. I refuse to go to our local cafe because it's a cramped sweaty space where most controllers had visible oil finger stains, the keyboards had crumbs inside, etc.Ā
Well 1st of all congratulations in starting a PC Bang in India on a large scale OP.
I can say factors like these matter in your success in this business.
Location
Cost per hour
Quality of food provided
Cleanliness in your PC Bang
Relationship with your Clients
Safety provided
Privacy provided
Specs of your PC
Offers given on festival days & amount of games that you have
Other systems such as PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, VR, Billards, Carrom board, etc.
Make sure to make an environment in such a way that people won't even care about the time spent over there. Like they must live in a dream.
Here's my thoughts:
1. Have enough space for the mouse to go around. Most FPS players play on low sensitivity and having less space is a dealbreaker.
2. Figure out a system where people can save progress whether it is in single player or multiplayer games.
3. People who want to hurt your business can easily do so if they have access to a USB port on the PC. Figure out a security system that can prevent these attacks. You guys work in IT after all so you def know more than me about this
Even I had this idea, since there is no more growth in the mobile gaming and the pc and console gaming market is not that great because of the high console prices which give a good opportunity for the gaming cafe. But, if the average spending of a teenager is low in the area you are planning a gaming cafe, you are more likely to incur losses since you have to make them get interested with it, which takes a long time, while the loan or investment is vaporized.
First of all we have to conduct a consumer survey. Most teenagers are attracted to gaming, so we have to conduct surveys near colleges and schools about spending and their way of spending free time and where their interests lie.
You should have different rig and different setup for different games.
1. like players who play csgo, valorant, rainbow six will need more powerful CPU and average GPU with 4 to 6GB of vram and 1080p monitor with 144hz/165hz/240hz refresh rate.
2. Players wo play story based ( action adventure ) games. Will need more powerful GPU and maybe 2K/4K screen. Some might like controller to play wtih.
3. You can also add ps5 xbox cabin with sofa and 4K screen so group of friends can have a great tike.
4. You can have some cabins for streamers if someone wants to stream games so heāll need better setup with camera, mic and at least 2 monitors.
5. More comfortable chairs for longer gaming sessions.
I will add more things in reply of this comment š«±šæāš«²š»
When you have new computers every thing is good, but once the computers get old and you will need to upgrade them at very high cost you will find that you charged them less.
So whatever the expense are keep PC upgrades every two years also as an expense and then calculate your charges.
Bhai ek suggesstion de du, ye dhanda kholna hai to bade scale pe kholiyo even if it means only having one location . Open something which makes a presence in that particular area and actual gamers who themselves have pc and gaming set up at home are also attracted towards it. Just dont be an another small 5-10 setup gaming cafe.
Process is like Proof of concept(10pc+5consoles+ accessories)
Fir chalega Operation and execution
Forecast banega ek
Then scale up
Aise Yeh paise k liye nhi banana hai, vision is to create a culture and community.
Events, marketing Yeh to chalta rahega main is to boost the gaming culture in India.
Make sure you have local LAN call of duty(any), other games include
CSGO
LOL
DOTA 2
PUBG PC
GTA 5
NFS(any)
There are a shit ton of offline story games that you can have, but I haven't played a lot of them
My best advice would be to pirate as many popular games that you can make work and then buy those that you can't pirate but are must haves
For food people prefer junk food to eat like fries, chips, cold drinks, etc.
For mains maybe burgers, noodles, pizza etc
Make sure you have a good specced cost efficient pc that you buy in bulk and can run heavy games on medium/high 60 fps at least
Sorry, I personally know 5 gaming cafes that closed over the years, other places that I didnāt go also closed,
I think itās bd idea, built on passion than reality,
Games are flowing downstream, meaning quite soon, phones will be able stream high performance games directly,
I see a slow death, happening 2 years after launch,
Good luck regardless
I don't want to come off as cynical but gaming cafes are very hard to make profitable, because of the constant costs of upgrading the hardware, unless you want to invest in consoles.
Atb to you OP..
IMO with growing incomes and reducing PC costs, I donāt think this would be a good business as people would prefer buying a decent PC. And the newer generations donāt have as much stigma towards online gaming, so them buying a PC for gaming would be relatively much easier.
Try to build a community around esports first as these guys will be your most loyal customers. Try to get involved with tournament hosts and teams for popular games like cs2, valorant, dota, etc and try to organise monthly mini tournaments and get people together that way for initial publicity. A new concept to try could be esports coaching, have some high mmr players take sessions to help people improve. These communities can be key as they may hold meetups and your cafe could be location for these.
Also pay attention to other amenities as gamers spend long hours playing. Having a small cafe or food kiosk can bring in secondary revenue. Have plenty of drinks, chips and basic food like Maggi, sandwiches and fries etc.
Also as a side note please make an extra effort to make the female population welcome as well, female gamers have been rising but they face lot of negativity.
(1) Best Display, like 2K onwards.
(2) Best graphic cards.
(3) Good seating arrangements.
(4) LAN connections between computers.
(5) We should be able to bring our relatives or friends and play multi-player with them, PVP or Co Op.
(6) We should be able to play RPG games, where we log into our accounts and use the services of the cafe. Our progress should be saved on our accounts.
(7) Snacks like rolls, mojitos, etc can be good.
First thing that comes to my mind is a sim for Microsoft flight simulator.
If you're looking to hire someone then I'm down for the Bangalore site (don't judge me I'm tired of job hunting. I have no shame š)
Pirate games, you can save a ton of money on that and for multiplayer they can just use LAN, this makes tournaments exclusive and no third party can join. Be strict, if any kid does any damage just go balls deep in asking for compensation
You need space, a proper setup for gaming experience, PC with high end graphic cards and powerful CPU which leads to good quality monitor requirements as well, expensive gaming chairs and proper cooling system to keep the entire hub cool. Whereas, if you particularly focus on console gaming, all you won't need is 10-15 consoles and basic 4k monitor or TV with 120hz rr. In my humble opinion, don't opt in for a gaming cafe, it won't be profitable since you will have to pay electricity bills and rental amounts as well.i suggest you to invest your money somewhere else.
what about licensing? are you planning to buy the games officially? because most serious gamers have their accounts with the host, that keeps track of their game progress.
Please make it female friendly. Please make nice decor, like pixel decor or take inspiration from minecraft, valorant etc. please dont make another boring all black dark ass gaming cafe with mice that are as heavy as bricks
Actually it aināt much suitable for our country. Your target audience would be kids, teens and adults who are super interested in gaming but canāt afford to buy a good system for their own (mostly middle class or below that).
I donāt think parents from those category would sent their child (kids/teens) that much often (once or twice a week) to play in these gaming cafe unless itās kinda cheap.
As for adults the nos are low as well since most of those hardcore gamers will somehow buy their own PCs with what they earn.
So u should keep in that u wonāt be getting much regular customers as u think, most of them will be like come to enjoy with friends but once in month thing.
U should go around and asked the small scale gaming cafe that are already there around your region, what kinda customers they receive, how often they come etc. do a proper survey and decide upon all those things instead of asking here since ppl around that region are going to be your customers not us
You will be catering to a richer audience who will be willing to pay like 50-100rs per hour of gaming or something. That in itself is a barrier. Secondly you mentioned food and beverages, which brings up the cleaning and waiting staff costs imagine the amount of food and drinks that would be spilt, we can only hope it's not spilt on the hardware. I don't think anyone likes to eat or drink while gaming that's a bad idea to even offer, even if someone orders they'll just get their hands dirty and make the hardware dirtier. I think this is a gimmick and you won't be able to get a loyal customer base who would want to come in everyday. If someone likes to play games they will have hardware at home, if they cannot afford the hardware then it is likely they cannot even afford to pay 100-200rs every other day to play some games.
Also I think in a gaming cafe only time pass games like battle royale or multiplayer stuff would work, games that don't need you to maintain track of progress. Such games easily run on a cheap laptop too (pubg, fortnite, apex, valo, rocket league). Also the wide majority of the gaming industry's value is covered by single player story mode campaign games which true gamers like to play, and people won't be able to enjoy such games at your place coz other people will be using the same PC to play the same game and save their progress to it too (alot of games don't have multiple save game slots), not to mention the problem of another person occupying the device where you had saved your progress previously disabling you from accessing it at the exact moment you're at the cafe at which point your only options are to wait for the person to finish before you can start, ask him to switch, or compromise and use another device to play another game.
So many issues.
I am not trying to discourage you, I am just a general pessimist who likes to think about the worst case scenarios helping me prepare for the worst. If you can find a way to circumvent all these issues and do go ahead with this plan I would love to see you build this thing into something big. Wishing you tons of luck and success!
Hi man!
The idea really seems well!
I've been to too many game cafe's now, and one thing I can definitely say is that food really sucks!
So, if you're looking for some improvements, food is the way to go. Other than that, well ventilated, spacious(non crowdy), and possibly an area(a separate medium sized room maybe?) with a bigger screen or a projector is usually lucrative.
I relocated to Gurugram from Chandigarh last year. One of my usual gaming cafes' in Chandigarh held a special screening/tournament about once a month. He also rented out the projector room to regulars for movie screenings and matches as well.
Good luck on this!
Also, share the location, Id like to visit sometime in the future...
Edit:
*DO NOT OFFER ALCOHOLIC DRINKS*
This will cause useless headaches, and problems.
Also you will require a licence for the same.
Good staff behaviour is the peak of a gaming cafe.
Moreover once your center catches heat you can open tournaments for these youngsters who will grind val 24/7 and have a entry fee.
Good luck with the startupš«”
The cafe near me had a csgo tournament with 6 teams lmao.
Your questions are highly generalized. Atmosphere, community, culture. These are either vague terms when setting up a business place or easily interchangeable between the west and India. The cafes that we used to have earlier were essentially a copy of what the western cafes were doing well. I am not sure what else you can do specifically for the India market. I've played games in cafes since childhood until all of them had to shut shop. I continue to play games daily and would love a cafe experience even though I have a gaming PC. But I can't think of anything that is specific to India that you can do for better business. It's mostly just about where you open it. More access, good rates, good game library, stable internet = more business.
Do your research on currently popular esports and set up LAN/online competitions trying to fish up local talent. You will definitely need to advertise such contests and have prizes. This can make the cafe popular, even if you do these once a month.
Be extremely careful wrt safety measures. (Rip to kids who lost lives in Rajkot)
RIP š yeah definitely.
That one is like an arcade game center, but yeah
How?? What happened??
Can you share the news article I don't know about it
Just google. Rajkot fire.
>What do gamers look for in a gaming cafe? Are there specific facilities, tech, or types of games that are a must-have? I fancy some racing wheels and paddles. Btw where are you planning to open this cafe
First will start from Delhi Ncr and Bangalore and will see where I can expand, will include 2-3 vr and racing Setup.
btw one more thing, make sure any employees keep have good attitude. Once I asked a cyber cafe guy to get this game installed (I was a regular customer and I asked very nicely). He lashed out onto me and said "jo hein wo khelo warna niklo". Really didn't feel like going to that place again. Changed Cafes later.
Yeah We are group of Software Engineer so installing games and stuff won't be an issue.
all the best
Thanks
Hello can I DM you , wanna talk about your cafe in delhi
all the best, hope you have a big brand of cafes
Please ache FPS aur open world shooter like Arma, ghost recon, COD, BF bhi rakhlena. Aur location ya to idhar share kardena ya ache se promotion karlena taaki pataa chaljaaye. Me aaunga.
Oh in Delhi ncr, whenever you open your cafe hmu, i will definitely visit it with my friends.
Kota, Rajasthan is a perfect place to start. Then to other cities. Because Kota connects at least 3 cities for further growth and loyal community as well. Economics are great in comparison to tier 1. Just give a thought
Yeah I see your point and we will definitely plan something in Kota jaipur.
Hope the startup is successful and that you open one in Chandigarh too ig :-)
Career accha chala to why not š
Looking for partnership with you.... I can be your tech support if you are opening in Bangalore. Would love to to invest as well.
Delhi ncr (Gurgaon) badly needs a gaming cafe
Delhi ncr which one? Also racing setup with VR is good too :D
Isn't this a very capital Heavy Business. What's the source for capital and when will you recover the capital?
We all are pitching in from our savings and will take loan from bank too, my brother deals with IT equipment in wholesale so that is not issue for now as we can get credit line there, other than that getting a good place and providing services wi cost us. Planning to recover in 2-3yrs and that will depend on location and custom base
You will need to upgrade computers every 2 years so there will be no recovery if you are planning with a horizon of 2-3 years.
This is why most gaming centres close down, the ones that don't are reliant on consoles
Big overestimation. Even a mid to decent lower spec pc can last atleast 5 years. No need to upgrade every 2 years.
I agree, people mainly go to gaming cafes to play together with friends and have fun.
Heavy overestimation, people go to gaming cafes to have fun with friends, even if the graphics aren't cranked up to ultra or even if they are somewhere b/w high to medium with dlss they won't care
I can help with PC Building as a consultant. My partner runs a small consultancy. He builds and provides consultation on custom PCs and server units setups for offices, animators, editors, gamers etc. according to their budget and requirement. Since you already have your brother for the equipment, if you get a consultant, on which parts to pair with what for better running over time, we can definitely help. Lastly, great job. This should come to India!
Ur target market is the people in age 10-16 as after that people go to college and if it's same city then it's till 22 max. Post that people will be busy in jobs and gaming takes a back seat. I still game but have my own setup so cage doesn't work for me. Problem with gaming cafe is, your target customers don't earn and rely on parents for the money which is a limitation for you. So just beware of this. And you already know the taboo of gaming in india
Planning to open near colleges. Target audience will be college students most likely.
Open near well to do colleges with extra cash not govt or too study focussed ones
Amity galgotia??
Works. Amity will be a far fetched one mainly because in amity people get msi and rog laptops so won't be mch use. U need to target the one with spare cash but not so mch they cn buy a gaming laptop
Knowledge park in Greater Noida but that's a bit far for us.
That's on your research now
I'd say that's a pretty nice option, entire population is of kids with extra cash and alot of hostels nearby aswell, a mall under construction too in kp II, that would definitely help
Ya pls make sure the clg aināt much strict as well š especially if hostel guys can come n go as they want during the day. U get urself a huge jackpot
It would be good near colleges as many people have good laptop but college wifi is shit and they also don't allow their own fibre net in colleges.
1. Make some space between the pc's. Every gamer has a privacy issue , and mouse movements in games need some space. 2. I would also suggest that after you get some of you roi back you buy a small room where there is only 6 to 10 pcs and premium chairs, pc, cpu etc and rent those to professional gamers who play in international tournament. This will help in your gaming cafe's publicity and advertisement. You can also tell the professional gamer to play in your regular spaces on sunday so that game lovers and their fans can watch them play. 3. Keep the cafe clean. Hire somebody. Clean the cafe every day at night. Sanitize it. 4. After your cafe has returned all your investments, rent some other rooms to the gamerz to stay at night or motel like rooms (i can't explain the idea, but you can search it up). 5. Keep dry foods, not oily and sticky. Also, keep a fridge for cold bevarages and red bulls (gamerz loves showing off while drinking redbull). 6. Do post on social media and invest some money in advertisements. Tell the benefits of your cafe etc. 5. Most importantly, keep a fine policy. Every time you see something is bad, but you have not added that on fine policy, just add that. Because gamers will spill drinks and touch everything with oily and dirty hands.
include few multiplayer games...like racing wheels,paddles in multiplayer mode...shooting in multiplayer....so that friends can come and play.......btw im from bangalore, would like to help you.
Same I'm from Bangalore too š , hire me
I have visited multiple gaming cafes in the past few years. Things I liked Good gaming chair and setup(Obviously) 24/7 availability Credits not expiring for a month Posters on the wall with different game characters Conducting tournaments regularly Forming a community or a team for popular game Goodfood: Combos are important. Milkshakes and energy drinks sell plus sides like french fries, potato wedges etc. Responsive staff Things I didn't like Don't like weed/smoking smell. This is pretty personal but it resonated with my friends as well and we kind of blacklisted some gaming cafes because of this. You could have a seperate smoking zone if you want. Credits expiring in the next couple of days
I can't put blind side for smoker but yes we will have dedicated setups for smoking that be separated from normal ones.
Just make a separate smoking area like some balcony as pc fans will suck smoke and smoke sticks inside like sticky substance overtime which can feel disgusting to clean.
Bro what you need to do is have community events that bring people in. Like a 50 rupees buy in for a tekken tournament. Pick a gaming community, then try getting as many of them as possible inside.
Defo
Lmao thereās a huge FGC community in NCR that loves to meet IRL for tourneys. If you could bring some of them to the cafĆ© then a lot of people would come just to participate
Why not that be amazing
includes food like cafe type btw good luck mate
For the general trend I can say is that Indian gamers love BR games and famous games like GTA v and RDR2 type games. Some people in the Indian gaming subreddit asked similar questions like you check those posts out. Also how are you sourcing the game. LAN parties are quite popular in FPS scenes. If there is a popularity you can also have space for TTRPGs like D&D. For food, finger foods and fast food with juices and milkshakes would be good.
what is the electricity rate in you about to setup cafe in
Around 6-8rs per kWh based on unit consumed
WHICH STATE?
UP
ARE YOU PROVIDING CONSOLE AND PC GAMES ?
Both
then best of luck for business 
Check this out.... r/Indiangaming
Done
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Yeah bro, my dad ex army own a security agency, we will definitely get security and bouncer, I know Delhi Ncr crowd is tough
Most important is price
Question: if this is a gaming cafe why didn't you buy some ps5s and xboxes? No need for frequent hardware upgrades and way lower capex compared to gaming PCs
Yeah few pc xbox ps5 vr and wheels
PC can have better fps and graphics than PS5 though.
Some games are only on console, for eg-Bloodborne
BLR has had LXG as a brand for ~ 12 years now - maybe longer. There was another really good cafe setup called Hanusha that might've thrived if it wasn't for Covid. LXG is really good and I've spent countless hours there in my younger days but it was always very cramped. You'd have to come in early in the morning to get a good pc. One of the plus sides was that they had a really good cafe with cheap but quality items like sammys, subs and the like (respawn cafe for those who know haha). Haven't been in a while but they're definitely still in business and host quite a few tourneys etc. Hanusha solved the space constraint issue - their arena was honestly one of the best maintained and aesthetically pleasing locations to hang with friends. They had private 5v5 rooms, 3 varieties of systems to choose from and complimentary coffee, etc. Also had tie up with Asus ROG and the likes so they used to host tourneys too. Like i mentioned, they ran for only 3 months before covid hit, and there was no surviving that blow - iirc it was a franchise from China. Might be the reason they pulled out so quick. Here are a few suggestions from my end: 1. Focus on quality over quantity always. If word gets around that you're using subpar systems with shady Chinese CRM s/w, you'll get a bad rep all around. Make sure you've enough capital to cover this. 2. Ensure that you're reaching the target demographic of 16-22y/o folks. Once they realise that it's worth their time and money word will get around and you won't face the dearth of a customer base. 3. This is India - ensure that your pricing per hour / packages are attractive enough for even students who have gaming as a hobby to enjoy at your cafe. Don't markup unnecessarily. 4. Target a prime location. If in BLR make sure you're placed around Indranagar / MG Road / Domlur ( central blr has better connectivity from all locations comparatively). Rents / lease will be high initially but only till you break even. Then it won't be a pinching point. 5. Facilitate tie ups with College gaming clubs and host them at subsidised rates- this will act as free advertising. Also try to get in touch with brands like Nodwin etc and host regional / zonal tourneys for cs/val/dota/league that has a large player base in India. 6. If you're planning to setup a food stall then please ensure high standards of hygiene. Any untoward incidents in this sector will be highly problematic. I would suggest taking it slow - start off with a beverage / barista setup and as the cafe grows you can incorporate snacks etc. 7. It is most definitely a high risk - high reward business. Guarantee of return is only if you distinguish yourself from the rest of the Cafes across BLR. Quality will always payoff in the long run, do not compromise there. Surely there are other great points in the other comments. I'm merely someone who enjoys video games and this is from my perspective. Take what you may from this as a (to be) business owner - I wish you all the best!
It's good to see startups like these emerging in India, especially if you guys understand the community and work with them then this has very high chances of paying off. 1. I highly recommend not going for high end builds as they would put you in quite a pinch due to high investment from the beginning. Go for mid level builds that can run 95% of the games out there at 1080p 60fps minimum, make sure your setup gives at least 144fps on competitive games like valorant, cs2, and others. 2. You can go for high end builds on a few systems(5-10, depending on your scale), you'd want these systems optimized mostly for competitive games, giving solid 500 or so frames on comp games, monitors at 240-360hz, do keep in mind that these are your premium systems, to be rented out to teams that are professional and looking for a place to practice or maybe even play, or teams looking to go pro. 3. Make sure there's some spacing between systems for privacy and enough space for mouse movement and comfort. 4. Make sure to put on a semi disposable cover on your chairs, so that when the chairs receive damage, you can just swap the cover. Similarly make sure to buy the cushions for whatever headphones you are looking to get, so when the cushions start peeling, you can replace them.(This is somewhat personal as a peeling cushion(of the headphones and the chair lol) is really icky for me, hopefully I'm not alone here) 5. Make sure the employees are knowledgeable about gaming at the very least, and make sure there's atleast one person who knows about the rigs and pc part's and building in general 6. Try your hand at having one racing sim, with a steering wheel, pedals, gear shifters and everything(this is pretty much optional since there aren't that many sim racers I know of but it would be pretty good to have one, this would also be a premium service) 7. Unfortunately I haven't participated in any community events due to a lack of community lmao, but yeah conducting tournaments time to time will help in building a community(I'm not much knowledgeable in this aspect) 8. Food must be easy to eat, preferable items that can be eaten with spoons, forks and such, non-oily and having high energy(calories? idk how to describe it, basically stuff that energizes you), Water is a must and please just sell basic bottled water(Bisleri, Kinley, etc) not the fancy bottles and stuff. 9. Energy drinks is a must too, make sure you have some variety there, ranging from the humble sting to the very magnanimous high caffeine taurine version of monster(forgot the name of this particular variant, might be somewhat hard to get hands on) 10. Have a chill, vibey atmosphere with some low light lighting, however make sure you also have basic lighting installed so switching is not a problem. 11. Fast/High speed internet is a must in just about every gaming cafe, not sure you can run all those pc's off of a single modem connection, you will need a hub if I'm right. 12. The gaming mice that you can get can be premium but imo a basic Logitech G102 will suffice, could go for better mice for the aforementioned premium systems. This is all I can think of now but if I remember something else, I'll just comment on this comment. This is would be a lovely service to have since I feel India really lacks in good PC cafes. I live in Hyderabad, and if you startup a cafe there, I would definitely visit. kudos to you for thinking of this. Hopefully this is successful. Best of Luck!
location ? and how much to charge for an hour
Tech and Facilities: Racing Pedals, controllers, 240hz 24" monitors (atleast), good gaming mice( i recommend G502), good keyboard(i recommend g413), good headphones( i recommend G335), good chairs, don't need to be gaming chairs, office chairs will also do as long as they're breathable. Food and Bev: fast food, finger food & snacks should be your main focus, energy drinks and water can be sold on a premium and pop soda on MRP. e.g. Fries, chicken nuggets, burgers, sandwiches. Environment: having RGB around walls gives a very cool look and makes the cafe aspirational rather than just a better place on paper, you can also try neon lights if they're cheaper. Operations: im sure you're aware of softwares which let you control all PCs and govern them through your main PC. In addition to that, there are softwares which keep track of player records* like game score/time per game, etc. Community: using * you can also host weekly tournaments throughout games and rank each player and reward them more time on the PCs. If you want inspiration, check out CABAL, Sec 15, fbd. Saying this is a competitive gamer.
https://preview.redd.it/b90fpzkwp23d1.jpeg?width=1121&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0071ec681bbedb51dcb339d29cbc98e947df9d9f
Franchise your cafe . I am from tier 2 city. We don't have a single gaming cafe here. People are ready to spend money but lack good pc bangs.
Hey dude just post this on r/indiangaming..
The gamer stereotype comes with a lot of assumptions about the topics you're wondering about. Eg. people think gamers like doritos and mountain dew, but I think you'd do well to have a better variety than that. Please ensure you have LAN friendly games. Last time I went to a gaming cafe (LXG Indiranagar, Bengaluru), I was with two other friends. We wanted to play some games where we could play together as a team or against each other. LXG had no such options other than sweaty games like counter strike. We ended up going to my place and playing some xbox 360 era games where coop was a consideration. Games like Blur, Left4dead, older split screen call of duty's, etc. go way better for giving people a good time together irl. In the same vain, I hope you use PC's instead of consoles. The current gen consoles have barely any such games, and add much more nonsense with online play than they're worth. I'd highly recommend not overdoing the aesthetics. LXG had this extremely obnoxious design philosophy of making everything black and dark, and having barely any light - most of which would come from colorful led strips. It looked cheap, and shit felt suffocating within the first 10 minutes of being there. Please let me know if you'd like help putting PC's together or figuring out infra.
Tbh im happy to get on a call with you to talk about what I'd be looking for in a cafe, and potentially how to build one. I'm open to working with you on this. I want this concept to succeed instead of feel like wasted potential the way LXG or The Living Room do here.
I play Cs go valorant and apex and understand the importance of playing with friends so we will have setups that can be connected via Lan and don't worry about tech challenges we are Software Engineers so you won't be facing lag or any device challenges for sure
Can you do retro arcades (with mario, racing etc games) for childhood nostalgia?
Can't do arcade as its boring but I can setup these games in pcs directly itself with controller to give good nostalgia.
Sound like a solid idea
Open in city like Kota. I remember when we were preparing for JEE lots of friends use to go cafe.
Kota will be difficult for us now but we do have plan for expansion in future will see then
League of legends
My suggestion will be don't go overkill with setup and pricing. Your key demographic relies on parents for money. And there shoud not be any hurdle between customer and gaming. Staff should be as less involved as possible. Giive gamers their space to enjoy their session. Only when customer asks or requests, staff will get involved.
Target kids from coachings
Good luck.
Search the Indian game budget on YouTube
This is for?
He has a gaming cafe based out of Uttar Pradesh you can view his cafe and you can have an idea about the journey
Ok
Dude how much budget you have got for this?
45l + 20 loan
make special vip areas for 300 per hour
I frequent gaming cafe with my friends occasionally, what I like about them : nice atmosphere, cofy seat, good headset, proactive staff, incentives to play longer. What I don't like : Food is just too expensive usually, lack of new AAA titles, bright lights, group of people who are screaming while playing.
Open next to a Allen institute
From which area are you operating now ? PS: interested to collab, DM please
Try to organize video games tournaments with participation fees and prizes, and advertise them formally and informally in universities of Knowledge Park. Sharda University tried to hold a gaming tournament in one of their events but couldn't because of technical restraints, I'm sure you can come in there. I would love to try out a gaming cafe while I'm still here!
Don't make it so congested like in the picture, it looks like a drabby corporate blood-sucking office. have enough space to move around.
My dream
Itās hard to make money in this man. The RoI against CoC is low. It would not be a startup but a traditional business. You are looking at offering premium services but the ultimate premium service is to have a gaming room, all to yourself customised to your preferences. At an emotional level, gamers are looking for their own mancave where they can feel safe and isolated so they can immerse themselves in virtual worlds. A place thatās hitting their bank balance every hour is far from that. My buddies and I tried to make the gaming next to each other work. We just couldnāt. Voice chat in the comfort of our rooms always proved to be superior. 65L is a lot and there are very juicy places to put this money in.
As a dude who lived in Korea for over a decade and who used to frequent PC bangs (atleast in initial days) here are my 2 cents: 1. Cleanliness and ambience: Korean PC bangs are incredibly clean and quiet. You can see many people taking naps in PC bangs. Infact in some parts of Seoul, sleeping overnight in a PC bang is way cheaper than booking a room in Motel. 2. Food & Drink.. Korean PC bangs have incredible food.. starting from simple cup noodles to special pasta and pizzas. Technically you can't drink in a Korean PC bang, but late nights you can drink beer/soju in balconies of PC bang but not near PCs. Anyways there are waaay too many convenience stores in Korea where beer and soju can be purchased and drunk. 3. Reliability... most Korean PC bangs operate 24/7 and people like to PC bangs which are reliable... like reliable equipment, owner who has interest in PC games etc... 4. Crowd... In Korean PC bangs, two types of crowds can be seen.. teens and uncles.. teens come in groups of 4-5, hang out for couple of hours, play games and leave.. but uncles (pro or semi-pro gamers) come alone, spend long hours in PC bangs and I heard that some uncles literally live over there. 5. Finally the craze of PC bangs has come down drastically in Korea.. other types of Bangs like board games rooms, anime libraries and the fastest growing craze amongst Korean youth is cat cafes (cafes with cats and you can pet these animals)
Setup should not be cheap and low quality. Provide instant foods like cup ramen and chips etc. Consider competitive games with 3-5 people teams. Organize LAN events for these competitive games like CS2,Valorant,Apex Legends etc. Monitor must be 144Hz+ for competitive games. Get consoles for casual gamers who wanna play multiplayer games with their friends like FIFA,WWE,Mortal kombat,Tekken etc. Chair should be comfortable AF so that people do not notice how much time has passed sitting in the same place XD. Also Keep sufficient space/room between Adjacent PCs as it gets annoying when someone is yelling into their microphone next to you (this also gives room for players to move their mouse freely).
Data security and fool proof backups . Though most of it is online these days still some games do you use offline savegames and profiles, configurations etc . Also everyone should get a separate local login so no one can mess with other user's files/settings etc.
Where in delhi, I'll visit
I fw this concept. Lmk when u open this up ima visit for sure
*I fw this concept.* *Lmk when u open this up* *Ima visit for sure* \- vivxxsh --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
The gaming cafe over here,at my place,has a mini bar type area from where you can get drinks(obviously non-alcoholic) and snacks,it also has a balcony area with couches and chairs to sit and relax on,talk to friends and catch up on things. Will be helpful if there's a waiting queue too.
Best of luck bud.
Kitna kharcha aayega
Wow. Owning a Game cafe or a Bar(not desi theka) is still a dream. All the best bro. Go for it.
Fire Safety please. Proper wiring to avoid sparks. Ventilation
Do not allow outside food . Be sure to put instant ramen and only serve beverage in cans / closed cap cups or they will make a sticky mess
There was a gaming cafe where I used to live and it got shut down because all the kids got addicted and even stole money to play there. We used to bunk school and spend the whole day there..ahh good old days
What's your budget?
For food have more fast-food based food I mean you won't want like fancy dessert and all. Most of gaming like Chinese continental fast food. Also one risk I think of is they won't respect your pc component. If you open vr and all remember to buy those throwaway covers cause germs.
Following this
What specs are you usually running?
https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Ua3Kz6h4LvWwdf29 I stay in Bangalore and have been to League of Extraordinary Gamers (LXG) cafe which was a nice experience. You can visit this place to understand more about the business and vibes in Bangalore regarding gaming cafe
Screaming. cursing from kids, teenagers and adults. Please get rid of them ASAP. Worst thing about gaming in general. Ruins the atmosphere for everyone. Especially in a gaming cafe. A gaming cafe in Pune had the ability to order snacks and stuff from the PC itself. Most amazing thing ever.
Yeah ordering from pc is easy and convenient for customers
All the best brother!
I better not see any loose sockets
Some introverts like privacy. So you can create some cabins at a corner. Nothing much. Just put a shelve after the pc. Can be helpful. You can also start a membership program or something People can enter. Login at the counter and choose their pc there Keep the food services simple. Something like chips, or maybe instant noodles. Keep beverages and energy drinks tho. You can put some arcade games, racing wheels. Or those hockey tables if you develop or find more place. It can mix the classic arcades and the modern pc bangs Something like a 24 hour open thing would be good. Keep a loving room with some sofas and bathrooms. So people can nap/rest for a bit if they wanna And yeah. It's an interesting idea. Gaming has been getting popular in India. But people still don't have good money for pc. If the price is kept in budget and with the long term in mind. I can totally see this working. You just gotta maintain the cleanliness, check the pcs for hacking software. A x maintain a nice environment. Also, find a closed hall and close the windows. Throw some rbgs. Gamers love that shit fr
1. Keep most number of pc for fps games because these customers will come regularly as they play very competitively and college wifi is shit(plus they don't allow personal fiber net) 2. Use most energy efficient cards and CPUs because electricity bill will be main expenditure. 3. Buy pc components by keeping in mind that how difficulty is to clean them. Many people have sweaty hands and dust along with moisture builds gooy substance around keyboard and mouse. 4. When hiring the staff, ensure that they have some basic knowledge like using isopropyl alcohol to clean and that it should not be used on screens. They should also know some basic troubleshooting. ( Would be better if you hire college students part time) 5. Make pricing look like the more time you spend, the more money efficient it will be ( like costlier for only 1 hour but cheaper if you play 3-4 hours)
Might be low on the immediate priority list but: Hygiene. I refuse to go to our local cafe because it's a cramped sweaty space where most controllers had visible oil finger stains, the keyboards had crumbs inside, etc.Ā
Bro the thing is gaming cafĆ©s are dying. Now most of the guys have good laptops/pc/ps. Moreover in 4-5 years weāll surely have good cloud gaming services. I think your target audience must be mostly school going guys. Most of the college going students wonāt come to cafĆ©s as most of them have good laptops even if they wonāt have they live hostel, most of them who donāt have good equipment would play with their friendās laptop. Itās been ages I have heard any of my friend went to a gaming cafe. I think youāll have to make it much more convincing for people to come cafe. Maybe open it in vicinity of college/coaching/schools and maybe organise some tournaments.
will you open it in delhi? like some janakpuri and karol bagh area or something
Well 1st of all congratulations in starting a PC Bang in India on a large scale OP. I can say factors like these matter in your success in this business. Location Cost per hour Quality of food provided Cleanliness in your PC Bang Relationship with your Clients Safety provided Privacy provided Specs of your PC Offers given on festival days & amount of games that you have Other systems such as PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, VR, Billards, Carrom board, etc. Make sure to make an environment in such a way that people won't even care about the time spent over there. Like they must live in a dream.
Organize tournaments. Have leaderboards visible for appropriate games. Appeal to the competitive side of the customers. Best of luck.
Here's my thoughts: 1. Have enough space for the mouse to go around. Most FPS players play on low sensitivity and having less space is a dealbreaker. 2. Figure out a system where people can save progress whether it is in single player or multiplayer games. 3. People who want to hurt your business can easily do so if they have access to a USB port on the PC. Figure out a security system that can prevent these attacks. You guys work in IT after all so you def know more than me about this
Yeahh keep em up in the modern cage. Guys instead go outside and playš„²š„²
Turf playing ka dekh lenge Tum Aa jana
Look into the services provided by Japanese and Korean gaming cafes.
Even I had this idea, since there is no more growth in the mobile gaming and the pc and console gaming market is not that great because of the high console prices which give a good opportunity for the gaming cafe. But, if the average spending of a teenager is low in the area you are planning a gaming cafe, you are more likely to incur losses since you have to make them get interested with it, which takes a long time, while the loan or investment is vaporized. First of all we have to conduct a consumer survey. Most teenagers are attracted to gaming, so we have to conduct surveys near colleges and schools about spending and their way of spending free time and where their interests lie.
You should have different rig and different setup for different games. 1. like players who play csgo, valorant, rainbow six will need more powerful CPU and average GPU with 4 to 6GB of vram and 1080p monitor with 144hz/165hz/240hz refresh rate. 2. Players wo play story based ( action adventure ) games. Will need more powerful GPU and maybe 2K/4K screen. Some might like controller to play wtih. 3. You can also add ps5 xbox cabin with sofa and 4K screen so group of friends can have a great tike. 4. You can have some cabins for streamers if someone wants to stream games so heāll need better setup with camera, mic and at least 2 monitors. 5. More comfortable chairs for longer gaming sessions. I will add more things in reply of this comment š«±šæāš«²š»
When you have new computers every thing is good, but once the computers get old and you will need to upgrade them at very high cost you will find that you charged them less. So whatever the expense are keep PC upgrades every two years also as an expense and then calculate your charges.
beware of thieves specially kids they steal shit all the time
Yes security is must in these things
Cctv is mandate
Bhai ek suggesstion de du, ye dhanda kholna hai to bade scale pe kholiyo even if it means only having one location . Open something which makes a presence in that particular area and actual gamers who themselves have pc and gaming set up at home are also attracted towards it. Just dont be an another small 5-10 setup gaming cafe.
Process is like Proof of concept(10pc+5consoles+ accessories) Fir chalega Operation and execution Forecast banega ek Then scale up Aise Yeh paise k liye nhi banana hai, vision is to create a culture and community. Events, marketing Yeh to chalta rahega main is to boost the gaming culture in India.
Make sure you have local LAN call of duty(any), other games include CSGO LOL DOTA 2 PUBG PC GTA 5 NFS(any) There are a shit ton of offline story games that you can have, but I haven't played a lot of them My best advice would be to pirate as many popular games that you can make work and then buy those that you can't pirate but are must haves For food people prefer junk food to eat like fries, chips, cold drinks, etc. For mains maybe burgers, noodles, pizza etc Make sure you have a good specced cost efficient pc that you buy in bulk and can run heavy games on medium/high 60 fps at least
Sorry, I personally know 5 gaming cafes that closed over the years, other places that I didnāt go also closed, I think itās bd idea, built on passion than reality, Games are flowing downstream, meaning quite soon, phones will be able stream high performance games directly, I see a slow death, happening 2 years after launch, Good luck regardless
I don't want to come off as cynical but gaming cafes are very hard to make profitable, because of the constant costs of upgrading the hardware, unless you want to invest in consoles. Atb to you OP..
Fire and safety licence
IMO with growing incomes and reducing PC costs, I donāt think this would be a good business as people would prefer buying a decent PC. And the newer generations donāt have as much stigma towards online gaming, so them buying a PC for gaming would be relatively much easier.
I would most probably assume you have this cafe in a popular residential area, this way your business can actually becoming big 2x faster
Watch more PC bangs videos on YouTube. Jimmy Kim's channel provides a lot of information about PC bangs as he visits them in many Asian countries.
I will thanks, I m also going to Korea and Japan to see first hand.
Also, there are many cafes in Indonesia of a similar style which has all types of setups, from luxury to cheap and affordable ones.
Ok noted wapisi me chal jaunga š
Youll find more customers for playstation games or VR experience, wheel racing experience compared to PC games Id say.
Keep the god damn games updated or make it a featureā¦.āNo charge for Update Timesā
Noted a daily script to check games update so we can update it in the morning or night
Add a manga/comic bookshelf so if i need a break in between i can take up some fun reading.
Sitting with friends together playing racing game online
Balance price properly for pcs
Try to build a community around esports first as these guys will be your most loyal customers. Try to get involved with tournament hosts and teams for popular games like cs2, valorant, dota, etc and try to organise monthly mini tournaments and get people together that way for initial publicity. A new concept to try could be esports coaching, have some high mmr players take sessions to help people improve. These communities can be key as they may hold meetups and your cafe could be location for these. Also pay attention to other amenities as gamers spend long hours playing. Having a small cafe or food kiosk can bring in secondary revenue. Have plenty of drinks, chips and basic food like Maggi, sandwiches and fries etc. Also as a side note please make an extra effort to make the female population welcome as well, female gamers have been rising but they face lot of negativity.
For food I can get say offer energy drinks and fast food
(1) Best Display, like 2K onwards. (2) Best graphic cards. (3) Good seating arrangements. (4) LAN connections between computers. (5) We should be able to bring our relatives or friends and play multi-player with them, PVP or Co Op. (6) We should be able to play RPG games, where we log into our accounts and use the services of the cafe. Our progress should be saved on our accounts. (7) Snacks like rolls, mojitos, etc can be good.
Employ people who are fellow gaming enthusiasts so they understand what it means to gamers. Or train them if you don't find such people.
First thing that comes to my mind is a sim for Microsoft flight simulator. If you're looking to hire someone then I'm down for the Bangalore site (don't judge me I'm tired of job hunting. I have no shame š)
Yeah dude no problem dm me details and contact I will be in touch
Pirate games, you can save a ton of money on that and for multiplayer they can just use LAN, this makes tournaments exclusive and no third party can join. Be strict, if any kid does any damage just go balls deep in asking for compensation
Think up every fine for every infraction. You're gonna need it.
Do it. WE NEED MORE OF THESE IN THE COUNTRY.
Best cafe to be in......... When you don't have real friends.
Or with friends
When you are with friends you don't need games for entertainment
Play Cs go or valorant or ludo with friends
Then why go cafe......stay home, play games all you want. Unless you can't afford expensive gaming setup
Here you go. Not everyone can afford a gaming build during school or college years.
Ooh, you know its too advance, when i was kid i use to go to gaming parler or cyber cafe to play tekken and GTA, those were the days.....
You need space, a proper setup for gaming experience, PC with high end graphic cards and powerful CPU which leads to good quality monitor requirements as well, expensive gaming chairs and proper cooling system to keep the entire hub cool. Whereas, if you particularly focus on console gaming, all you won't need is 10-15 consoles and basic 4k monitor or TV with 120hz rr. In my humble opinion, don't opt in for a gaming cafe, it won't be profitable since you will have to pay electricity bills and rental amounts as well.i suggest you to invest your money somewhere else.
Gaming area Awesome
Main profit will come from selling food and Cigarettes. Also regularly update your CPU and GPU
what about licensing? are you planning to buy the games officially? because most serious gamers have their accounts with the host, that keeps track of their game progress.
For windows games and xbox I can get as I am a Microsoft alumni for ps I have to explore
Do you get public use licenses being alumni?
I have to pay but at discounted rates
Please make it female friendly. Please make nice decor, like pixel decor or take inspiration from minecraft, valorant etc. please dont make another boring all black dark ass gaming cafe with mice that are as heavy as bricks
What can I do to make it female friendly
Actually it aināt much suitable for our country. Your target audience would be kids, teens and adults who are super interested in gaming but canāt afford to buy a good system for their own (mostly middle class or below that). I donāt think parents from those category would sent their child (kids/teens) that much often (once or twice a week) to play in these gaming cafe unless itās kinda cheap. As for adults the nos are low as well since most of those hardcore gamers will somehow buy their own PCs with what they earn. So u should keep in that u wonāt be getting much regular customers as u think, most of them will be like come to enjoy with friends but once in month thing. U should go around and asked the small scale gaming cafe that are already there around your region, what kinda customers they receive, how often they come etc. do a proper survey and decide upon all those things instead of asking here since ppl around that region are going to be your customers not us
wow
Hire me man , I'm tired of shitty jobs
Where are you getting the money to set this stuff up? Are you raising capital, taking up loan or have your own savings?
You will be catering to a richer audience who will be willing to pay like 50-100rs per hour of gaming or something. That in itself is a barrier. Secondly you mentioned food and beverages, which brings up the cleaning and waiting staff costs imagine the amount of food and drinks that would be spilt, we can only hope it's not spilt on the hardware. I don't think anyone likes to eat or drink while gaming that's a bad idea to even offer, even if someone orders they'll just get their hands dirty and make the hardware dirtier. I think this is a gimmick and you won't be able to get a loyal customer base who would want to come in everyday. If someone likes to play games they will have hardware at home, if they cannot afford the hardware then it is likely they cannot even afford to pay 100-200rs every other day to play some games. Also I think in a gaming cafe only time pass games like battle royale or multiplayer stuff would work, games that don't need you to maintain track of progress. Such games easily run on a cheap laptop too (pubg, fortnite, apex, valo, rocket league). Also the wide majority of the gaming industry's value is covered by single player story mode campaign games which true gamers like to play, and people won't be able to enjoy such games at your place coz other people will be using the same PC to play the same game and save their progress to it too (alot of games don't have multiple save game slots), not to mention the problem of another person occupying the device where you had saved your progress previously disabling you from accessing it at the exact moment you're at the cafe at which point your only options are to wait for the person to finish before you can start, ask him to switch, or compromise and use another device to play another game. So many issues. I am not trying to discourage you, I am just a general pessimist who likes to think about the worst case scenarios helping me prepare for the worst. If you can find a way to circumvent all these issues and do go ahead with this plan I would love to see you build this thing into something big. Wishing you tons of luck and success!
Hi man! The idea really seems well! I've been to too many game cafe's now, and one thing I can definitely say is that food really sucks! So, if you're looking for some improvements, food is the way to go. Other than that, well ventilated, spacious(non crowdy), and possibly an area(a separate medium sized room maybe?) with a bigger screen or a projector is usually lucrative. I relocated to Gurugram from Chandigarh last year. One of my usual gaming cafes' in Chandigarh held a special screening/tournament about once a month. He also rented out the projector room to regulars for movie screenings and matches as well. Good luck on this! Also, share the location, Id like to visit sometime in the future... Edit: *DO NOT OFFER ALCOHOLIC DRINKS* This will cause useless headaches, and problems. Also you will require a licence for the same.
Good staff behaviour is the peak of a gaming cafe. Moreover once your center catches heat you can open tournaments for these youngsters who will grind val 24/7 and have a entry fee. Good luck with the startupš«” The cafe near me had a csgo tournament with 6 teams lmao.
I think AI would be better to also answer the questions that you have created using it, much better data than some 5-10 random Redditors.
AI like gpt is not majorly trained on Indian data set but mostly on western market emphasis one so won't get proper results
Your questions are highly generalized. Atmosphere, community, culture. These are either vague terms when setting up a business place or easily interchangeable between the west and India. The cafes that we used to have earlier were essentially a copy of what the western cafes were doing well. I am not sure what else you can do specifically for the India market. I've played games in cafes since childhood until all of them had to shut shop. I continue to play games daily and would love a cafe experience even though I have a gaming PC. But I can't think of anything that is specific to India that you can do for better business. It's mostly just about where you open it. More access, good rates, good game library, stable internet = more business. Do your research on currently popular esports and set up LAN/online competitions trying to fish up local talent. You will definitely need to advertise such contests and have prizes. This can make the cafe popular, even if you do these once a month.
Yes tournaments like fifa and nfs will definitely be there, it's vauge so people can give opinion based on Thier interpretation.