WHY WON'T THEY PLAY!!?

FIGHTCLUBArcade

I have a Mini-Arcade with cash prize tournaments in Frank & Son, a warehouse collectible show. (hello people who recognize me). A lot of the of the people there are not playing my arcade, because:

1. I Suck
2. I'm not good
3. I won't win
4. Nah... do you have WoW, Wii, and anything else that's not an Arcade game?

I have a few regulars who just use my arcade to practice, which is fine, because that's one of the purposes of my Mini-Arcade. I have all the current fighting games, but everyone stays away from titles that don't have Street or Marvel in the titles.

I have Cash Prize Tournaments for the first to come customers, I've yet to fill up my arcade to actually have a solid tournament.

So, what am I doing wrong? I am actually showing them $20 and $50 bills, showing them they can win it, and they run away from my Arcade.

It's only a one time admission for unlimited play. I rephrase, One price to play all day.

WHY WON'T THEY PLAY!!?

NickRocks

do you have mvc2

FIGHTCLUBArcade

NickGuy0320, post: 7665905, member: 20554 wrote:

do you have mvc2

Yes, you can play it on the PS2 setup. And you can even bring your own Stick if you like.

NickRocks

FIGHTCLUBArcade, post: 7665939, member: 79976 wrote:

Yes, you can play it on the PS2 setup. And you can even bring your own Stick if you like.

FIGHTCLUBArcade, post: 7665939, member: 79976 wrote:

Yes, you can play it on the PS2 setup.

FIGHTCLUBArcade, post: 7665939, member: 79976 wrote:

play it on the PS2 setup.

FIGHTCLUBArcade, post: 7665939, member: 79976 wrote:

PS2 setup.

FIGHTCLUBArcade, post: 7665939, member: 79976 wrote:

PS2

ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?!?

FIGHTCLUBArcade

NickGuy0320, post: 7665948, member: 20554 wrote:

ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?!?

I have no idea how that happen, my mouse is acting up. Sorry

Trouble Brewing

He means MvC2 sucks on PS2.

How are you promoting your tournaments? If you're just relying on walk ins, that's your problem.

FIGHTCLUBArcade

Trouble Brewing, post: 7665988, member: 5950 wrote:

He means MvC2 sucks on PS2.

How are you promoting your tournaments? If you're just relying on walk ins, that's your problem.

I'm pretty much front and center in the show. I even have some home consoles setup with TVs. You can't miss me. People often approach me and ask what I'm doing. I tell them, and they give me the Oh I not good enough to play, but do you have FPS, because I guess there CoD arcades out there. I also promote via web and at Comic Conventions. I'll be at the Long Beach Comic Con this Sunday. I tried posting flyers at my old college, but they took them down.


I also have MVC2 on PS3, people who play say they prefer it on PS2, because it looks better with no lag.

Geese Pants

You can at least promote this at your region in Regional Matchmaking....................and try not to come off as so desperate.

FIGHTCLUBArcade

Geese Pants, post: 7666041, member: 1292 wrote:

You can at least promote this at your region in Regional Matchmaking....................and try not to come off as so desperate.

Opps, do I sound desperate, I really more annoyed. I really cleaned up this post before I posted it. I need more hardcore players, I've already given up on most of the people in F&S.

eltrouble

As previous posters have mentioned, you might want to consider doing more advertising for your mini-arcade. Learning how to use social media has become the norm now, and you should start utilizing online media to spread the word. Facebook, twitter, video game forums such as this, etc etc. Spread flyers if you need to.

Is your mini-arcade only open on Wednesdays and Thursdays? If so, the vast majority of the hardcore fighting game players demo that you're targeting are all going to Super Arcade.

FIGHTCLUBArcade

eltrouble, post: 7666187, member: 50728 wrote:

As previous posters have mentioned, you might want to consider doing more advertising for your mini-arcade. Learning how to use social media has become the norm now, and you should start utilizing online media to spread the word. Facebook, twitter, video game forums such as this, etc etc. Spread flyers if you need to.

Is your mini-arcade only open on Wednesdays and Thursdays? If so, the vast majority of the hardcore fighting game players demo that you're targeting are all going to Super Arcade.

got the facebook, got the twitter, I promote in comic conventions, and i'm located inside the famous Frank & Son Collectible Show. We get Stan Lee 2-3 times a year signing autographs. in fact, he's coming down again Nov 10th. (Awesome Right?) I want to start a youtube, but F&S is in process of being a major network tv show. I might do google ads, but I want to get my business a little more spify before I invest in that. My location inside the f&s is not settled. they are moving me left and right to make way for events, like Stan Lee, WWE Super Stars, the voice Jack Skeleton from Nightmare before X-Mas. If you're coming down to Long Beach Comic Con this Sunday, you'll see me and the F&S Crew promoting Stan Lee. I'll have my e-mail sign ups for tournament events. i'm doing everything by the book, i could go down to Walnut and talk to guys down there at the Super Arcade, but i have to be all Solid Snake about it, cause I'm competition and it's low to go to other's business to promote your own.

I'm hoping SRK will do the trick. So far so good.

eltrouble

FIGHTCLUBArcade, post: 7666254, member: 79976 wrote:

got the facebook, got the twitter, I promote in comic conventions, and i'm located inside the famous Frank & Son Collectible Show. We get Stan Lee 2-3 times a year signing autographs. in fact, he's coming down again Nov 10th. (Awesome Right?) I want to start a youtube, but F&S is in process of being a major network tv show. I might do google ads, but I want to get my business a little more spify before I invest in that. My location inside the f&s is not settled. they are moving me left and right to make way for events, like Stan Lee, WWE Super Stars, the voice Jack Skeleton from Nightmare before X-Mas. If you're coming down to Long Beach Comic Con this Sunday, you'll see me and the F&S Crew promoting Stan Lee. I'll have my e-mail sign ups for tournament events. i'm doing everything by the book, i could go down to Walnut and talk to guys down there at the Super Arcade, but i have to be all Solid Snake about it, cause I'm competition and it's low to go to other's business to promote your own.

I'm hoping SRK will do the trick. So far so good.

Probably not a good idea to directly interact with Super Arcade's customers. If Watson (the manager) finds out you've been sniffing around, he might go apeshit on you.

FIGHTCLUBArcade

eltrouble, post: 7666268, member: 50728 wrote:

Probably not a good idea to directly interact with Super Arcade's customers. If Watson (the manager) finds out you've been sniffing around, he might go apeshit on you.

exactly, that's why it's low, and i'm no solid snake (ha ha ha). I'm surrounded by people with self-esteem issues who rather pay 10 bucks to play yugioh cards than play my games unlimited for only $3.

I will find the hardcore crowd, just a matter of how, and as cost efficient as possible. Also, I really need to get my spot settled inside f&s before I go all out

Dander

this is pretty cool. I can't imagine any reason for why people wouldn't play if you are really offering money to them. It might be that they are too shy to play in front of a lot of people like that. I'll see if I can stop by sometime.If it's free money you're offering, I'll play any game. But I don't know that I can make it during the week, which is when F&S is open, correct? Or has it been extended to Saturday's?

FIGHTCLUBArcade

Dander, post: 7666288, member: 4939 wrote:

this is pretty cool. I can't imagine any reason for why people wouldn't play if you are really offering money to them. It might be that they are too shy to play in front of a lot of people like that. I'll see if I can stop by sometime.If it's free money you're offering, I'll play any game. But I don't know that I can make it during the week, which is when F&S is open, correct? Or has it been extended to Saturday's?

We are open Weds And Sats. Unlimited play is only $3. I use HD 1080-CRT TVs and PlayStations, because it's a retro / living room themed setting. Sorry no XBox 360, Microsoft does not let people use their systems for business, as read behind everything they make.

There are to types of Tournaments:
Micro-Tournaments is 6-11 first to come customers. Winner get a $7 Prize.

Grand Tournament is 20 people. Winner gets $20 Prize if they bought the prize ticket.
Prize Ticket is only $5, and it covers unlimited play admission for that day.
You can hang on to the ticket until you win that $20.
If you win the Grand Tournament without the Prize Ticket, then you win a Prize Ticket, so you can Win the $20 next time.

On that note, Fight Club Mini-Arcade will not be operating on Nov 10th. Stan Lee will be signing autographs and we have to make room for the craziness.

I also have Metal Slug 1-6, Time Crisis and many more light gun games, and A Free Kid's Corner, so there something for everyone.

Trouble Brewing

That format is probably going to be a turn off to most of the tournament crowd. We usually have a door fee, then pay to enter each game. Pot is then usually split 70/20/10 to first, second, and third.

FIGHTCLUBArcade

Trouble Brewing, post: 7666380, member: 5950 wrote:

That format is probably going to be a turn off to most of the tournament crowd. We usually have a door fee, then pay to enter each game. Pot is then usually split 70/20/10 to first, second, and third.

People rather pay a Door Fee AND Pop More Quarters than my flat $3.00 or $5.00 for unlimited play? Wow. I guess if they have the cash, they can spend it as they wish.

Trouble Brewing

I'm just telling you how things usually work.

A tournament capped at 20 people with a $20 cash prize isn't really appealing to most of us, especially with $5 entry. Usually a 20 man tournament with a $5 dollar buy-in would pay $70 to first, $20 to second, and $10 to third.

Your model might be more appealing to a casual audience, but casual audiences are also a whole helluva lot less likely to want to play in a video game tournament.

FIGHTCLUBArcade

Trouble Brewing, post: 7666443, member: 5950 wrote:

I'm just telling you how things usually work.

A tournament capped at 20 people with a $20 cash prize isn't really appealing to most of us, especially with $5 entry. Usually a 20 man tournament with a $5 dollar buy-in would pay $70 to first, $20 to second, and $10 to third.

Your model might be more appealing to a casual audience, but casual audiences are also a whole helluva lot less likely to want to play in a video game tournament.

I see your point, but there's fire codes and that prize ticket is good to you win the prize. Players can hang on to that ticket for the next tournament and only pay the general $3 fee.

Trouble Brewing

You say you want a more hardcore audience, but you're using a format that most hardcore players aren't interested in. I don't really know what else to say.

FIGHTCLUBArcade

Trouble Brewing, post: 7666449, member: 5950 wrote:

You say you want a more hardcore audience, but you're using a format that most hardcore players aren't interested in. I don't really know what else to say.

My Arcade is also a game and guitar store as well. So, time will tell how this pans out. Reads you live in China, so maybe CA people will learn to like my Mini-Arcade. Over here, Fuel is around $3.75 to $4 a gallon, so maybe they'll find my Arcade as more economical.

WTF-AKUMA-HAX

FIGHTCLUBArcade, post: 7666275, member: 79976 wrote:

exactly, that's why it's low, and i'm no solid snake. (ha ha ha) i'm surrounded by people with self-esteem issues who rather pay 10 bucks to play yugioh cards than play my games unlimited for only $3.

Hey no reason to make fun of your paying customers especially if they are paying that much, if you felt bad you would lower that cost of entry for what I assume are faster, more self run tournaments really.

Fighting Game Tournaments can take a lot of time or they can go quick. It takes experience and definitely learning from others who have been there and been thru everything that can and will go wrong.

Convention Gaming rooms can be hit or miss, but one day you might be able to reach this sort of status, checkout Youmacon this weekend:

http://shoryuken.com/index.php?p=20391

And like you said, the staff running the room and events are the ones more likely to be hardcore about it. I always talk to my convention staff about my game in the Street fighter 3: 3rd Strike, or to find the right guys to play, tournament winners or not there's strong players around - who sometimes don't enter the tournament being staff or "will just win again and be bored." Have to ask these guys about Duralath's streak of consecutive wins...

And these "gaming geeks" can surprise you, a player who can't put together a Makoto 2 hit chesto combo for years, is setting up traps and keepaway to take advantage of any mistakes with Naoto in Persona 4 for a major win streak. Its just about what exactly they're interested in and what they want to put time into. I'm gonna have to toughen up his scrub Makoto even if he told me not but 1 thing about how to play Persona 4, was my first time ever. Universal "Shoryuken move" turned the tides a little bit, dang it man why didn't you tell me about that?! -Because it could beat some of my stuff!

FIGHTCLUBArcade

WTF-AKUMA-HAX, post: 7666485, member: 69818 wrote:

Hey no reason to make fun of your paying customers especially if they are paying that much, if you felt bad you would lower that cost of entry for what I assume are faster, more self run tournaments really.

Fighting Game Tournaments can take a lot of time or they can go quick. It takes experience and definitely learning from others who have been there and been thru everything that can and will go wrong.

Convention Gaming rooms can be hit or miss, but one day you might be able to reach this sort of status, checkout Youmacon this weekend:

http://shoryuken.com/index.php?p=20391

And like you said, the staff running the room and events are the ones more likely to be hardcore about it. I always talk to my convention staff about my game in the Street fighter 3: 3rd Strike, or to find the right guys to play, tournament winners or not there's strong players around - who sometimes don't enter the tournament being staff or "will just win again and be bored." Have to ask these guys about Duralath's streak of consecutive wins...

And these "gaming geeks" can surprise you, a player who can't put together a Makoto 2 hit chesto combo for years, is setting up traps and keepaway to take advantage of any mistakes with Naoto in Persona 4 for a major win streak. Its just about what exactly they're interested in and what they want to put time into. I'm gonna have to toughen up his scrub Makoto even if he told me not but 1 thing about how to play Persona 4, was my first time ever. Universal "Shoryuken move" turned the tides a little bit, dang it man why didn't you tell me about that?! -Because it could beat some of my stuff!

I'm not laughing at my customers, that was a misplaced period. I'm laughing at the idea of going to another arcade to promote mine. Also, my price is the cheapest, you can play unlimited arcade titles in a living room theme area for only $3. As compared to the groups of people who are not confident enough to play, they pay $10 to play yugioh cards and only maybe win a box of cards, not cash like my business. they don't even want to practice.

OMG its a duck

Why not just have some claw machines and racing games for the arcade stuff, and full blown CoD/Guitar Hero stuff for the consoles? Doesn't pandering to soccer moms and children make more money than pandering to the hardcore players?

FIGHTCLUBArcade

OMG its a duck, post: 7666565, member: 37440 wrote:

Why not just have some claw machines and racing games for the arcade stuff, and full blown CoD/Guitar Hero stuff for the consoles? Doesn't pandering to soccer moms and children make more money than pandering to the hardcore players?

It does actually. Today I had some great kids come in and they had a blast. I made good money and we all had fun. Starting now, I've no longer searching for hardcore fighting gamers, I'm treating the younger crowd like kings and queens, letting them have tournaments, and giving them cash prizes left and right. Everybody won today. The hardcore gamers are few and rare at Frank and Son. I'm making my Mini-Arcade a social center for jr. high kids.

Geese Pants

Well................it's never easy to cater to everyone.

GordonsBeard

Another problem solved by the SRK Saiko Team.

Good job buds, lets go get a burger!
Ha Ha Ha Ha

FIGHTCLUBArcade

GordonsBeard, post: 7677526, member: 70048 wrote:

Another problem solved by the SRK Saiko Team.

Good job buds, lets go get a burger!
Ha Ha Ha Ha

Cheers and Thanks for everyone's suggestions and advice.