Anyone who has ever ventured into this please, Ps2, Ps3 and Ps4…saidia kias.
What could be your ideal location for such? It’s known students are known for this but again general youth and @uwesmake are now used to.
What could be approximate budget excluding the renting cost? Requirements?
Pros and cons?
Reviews? Good or bad? Hardships?
Maoni leteni priss.
Having worked at such an establishment in 2011 before joining uni…I can share a few things.
- This business is almost impossible to account for. You will only make serious cash if you are the one supervising.
- Ideal location: Dont just look at the population, look at their pockets. A PS location in Githurai would fail despite the high population due to low purchasing power. You have to find a balance i.e rich kids who are not rich enough to buy their own play stations. Places like Kasarani, Roysambu etc would work because of the high population and average income.
- Target market is males below 30 years. Mostly between 12yrs and 25 yrs. So ukipata room iko next to a busy kinyozi serving this group, you will be in business.
- Approximate cost, no idea. Ongea na @Electronics4u akwambie current prices za hizo PS
Hardest Part: Accounting for cash. Unlike Cyber Cafes that have a billing software, gaming does not. Your best shot is to do it yourself. If not possible, spend at least one or two random days each month to know the amount of cash generated by the establishment on average…lakini bado utakamuliwa.
Overall: I would avoid if not doing it myself.
Pros
-Good return on investment
-Low startup capital required (25k for a refurbished PS4)
-Guaranteed revenues from day 1
Cons
-Chance of being 'gongwad by your employee is very high. No way of establishing how many times a particular game was played.
-Seasonal business. Mostly busy when kids are on holiday ama during weekend.
-The consoles are in high demand so probability of being robbed is also high.
Budget itakuja kitu kama 115k.
25k ->console
10k->for games.
10k->for two additional controllers (for multiplayer games ama just for backup)
50k->to buy basic furniture+fittings (seats, lighting, basic interior design and electrical work.)
10k->for two additional controllers (multiplayer games ama for just for backup)
10k-> city county license (not sure about the actual cost. You can find out. Should be the same licence kama ya msee wa movie ama mpesa shop)
My Advice
Go for it!
Target kids. Avoid targeting guys who have id cards. Kids wil not scheme on how they’re going to rob you at night. Uni and colle guys will. Kids don’t mind spending. It’s not their money any way. Your best bet in terms of location is in high density residential areas. Avoid locations that are near alcohol dens because your joint will become an extension of the bar. If you’re able to get space smack right inside the estate the better. You can actually avoid kanjo in this way and kids will spend more time at your biashara than at home.
Don’t allow any alcoholic beverages or cigarettes in your premises. Goes a long way in creating trust from parents who are the ones actually chucking cash.
Vipi, kuna wakubwa walidai ati gaming ni ya watoi
Gaming ni gharama
√Chukua PS4 console (about 30k) plus 40 inches and above screen
Chipped is good for more games
√X box one (about 30k) na izo screens (kila mtu na starehe zake
√Server computer with heavy graphics card (70k
√Licence ya gaming ya Kenya Film classification 2K
Instal IP CCTV Camera, hii utakuwa unacheki chenye inaendelea hata ukiwa tao kwa ofe ama kwa gari yako thru phone
√Have heavy back up batteries incase of blackout
√Weka iyo biz tao ukitaka ishike
√Rooms (30-50k) per month-need to know agents for an ideal location. Hii biz mtaani hushika only when schools close.
√20k licence ya kanju na fire extinguisher
√Nice couches and tables(100 k plus dependin on the number of machines
Now do the maths.
Lets say you charging 2 bob per minute and you having 10 machines
2×60×10=1200×10 hours ->12,000 per day is a good target
This kind of business is the worst and you are bound to lose more money than you will make. Especially if you are using consoles xbox, ps etc.
The maintenance costs are a bitch. You will be replacing or servicing pads every 2wks because of button mashers or some frustrated loser tosing the control after a game.
The consoles themselves are very susceptible to dust so wherever you set up, you best not be near vumbi.
Theft is a must like you have been told up there. You will lose either control pads, full consoles, cheated off revenue or all 3. Investing in some good cctv might help.
Accounting for games played will still be your biggest headache. Unless you use computers with some very good specs for todays games, your only hope of accounting for revenue is to hire @Liberty
I wouldnt advise you to venture into this. I have done it and its more trouble than its worth. This business is like running a bar. Unless you have all the time to be there to keep an eye on things, you wont make it.
Hatukusema ni ya watoi, tulisema ni ya watu hawana social life.
And the feelings poured like el nino rains:D:D:D
Hehe…rink?
Hehe…this is for an ideal situation, comparing to what Nairobilay has written. What could be approximate budget for interiors which could include lighting, gypsum ceiling, wallpapers etc?
I cud hook you up with interiors guy…depends with what you want
Usisahau kuna license fee ya MCSK…4k?
Yep ya music na audio visuals ama display
plus another 5 - 10k to kanjo for any signboard/advertising outside the shop
Ukiwa na mtu wa ndani hapo kanjo hizo licences zote unazilipia bei ya chini…but wacha nicheze chini
Naona ushapewa mawaidha, wacha tu nisisitize. You don’t have to start big, @kev’s idea, while very viable, is for someone with millions to invest. I have some experience with estate gaming arcades so lemme share:
You don’t have to have the latest playstation or XBOX console. Start with chipped consoles like PS3. You should buy at least 2.
Kids have a lot of money to spend on games. By kids I mean anyone from age 5 to 15. I’d encourage you to deliberately discourage teens over 15 and adults from playing at your place because those fuckers are the very same ones who will steal from you. They also get rowdy and chew mogoka and consume alcohol, which will make parents order their children to never play at your place. Don’t chase them away, just make the place kid friendly, which will turn off the ‘cooler’ older kids. Children also think you’re doing them a favor by letting them play at your place, so they’ll listen when you tell them to stop doing something.
Peasants also have money to spend on games. There was a time when dirty kids (machokosh) would come to play and at first I seriously thought of chasing them. But with time they became my biggest customers. Some of these kids would spend on average, 100 bob per day on games. Some didn’t even have shoes, but would earn upto 300 per day from begging at matatu stages for “shilingi kumi ya chai”. And they never used to go to school so would spend even during low season (when other kids are in school). But they’re also scavengers so won’t think twice about stealing from you.
Make the place as open as possible. Most estate PS joints are shady AF. Parents imagine their kids are mingling with gangsters. But if you make the place easily accessible to anyone, even the parents will start giving their children money to play at your place. There are times when your place might act as a sort of day care, ie a parent giving you something like 200 shs and telling you “wacha huyu mtoto wangu acheze hapa nikimbie town”.
Consider diversifying, for example, selling movies, toys, accessories, even ice cream and candy. While playing PS, a child might see a poster for a movie he’s interested in, or a toy. Some will save their lunch money for a few days to come buy that movie or toy. You can also provide photocopying services, ecitizen registration etc
Having internet will earn you extra income. People will come to buy mixxes or new songs that are trending. Or make special requests, like a movie that was released in 1990 for example. Also, you can connect two or three PCs to provide cyber services and also for kids to play online games. A site like friv.com has silly looking games that don’t need the latest graphics cards, but you’ll be surprised how much time and money kids spend on the site.
Finally, like you’ve been told, make sure you have time to spend at the place, otherwise utaibiwa. Also, when you spend time at the place, you might notice trends that your employee would never bother to tell you about. Like for example kids requesting for a particular game that when installed will bring you more customers and revenue.
All the best!!!
Hio biz ya gaming inaendelea aje maze?