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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    45

    Looking to startup an internet gaming centre/cafe in the UK - advice needed!

    Hey all!

    Myself and 2 others are very interested in setting up an internet gaming centre/cafe. We are currently putting a business plan together and trying to get an idea on costs and would like some advice if possible?

    This gaming cafe will start off with 23 pc's (3 staff & 20 client), along with 3 Xbox 360's, 2 PS3's and 1 Nintendo Wii, all of which will be online. Obviously during peak hours all pc's and consoles will be in use.

    We are wondering what type of connection/line you would recommend to install. Based on price and performance for the centre. Or even if you can point us in the right direction it will be of great help Many Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    3,207
    where would be the location of this cafe? this might help us advise on internet connection.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    61
    1 tip for you. Don't go for any ADSL line. Cable is your best bet to keep latency down.

    I would recommend a 100mb backbone at least. These can cost quite a bit so make sure you reserve about £250 / month in your budget.
    Chris Priestland
    Host Centric
    www.host-centric.co.uk
    Host Centric is part of the JMF Group which has been provisioning web hosting since 2003

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    45

    Costs

    We are looking into the cost of leasing a large enough building within our area (south-west) - ideally it will be near a city centre. But we have yet to decide which local city.

    I also think we need at least a 100mb, however I'm unsure on costs for 100mb or more.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,200
    Quote Originally Posted by Lokei View Post
    We are looking into the cost of leasing a large enough building within our area (south-west) - ideally it will be near a city centre. But we have yet to decide which local city.

    I also think we need at least a 100mb, however I'm unsure on costs for 100mb or more.
    A dedicated 100mb full duplex internet connection will cost a lot of money, probably over £1000 a month. 100mbit might be a bit much. A 10mbit should be enough.
    If I were you I would just get several SDSL connections and do some load balancing.
    Custom Cloud Solutions - innoix.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    767
    If your not in a Cable area, you maybe in a SDSL area where you can get 2Mb U/D on 10:1 contention for around £130+vat a month... There is nothing wrong with ADSL if thats all you can get, my guess if your in a large/major city or near a college or university to even think about a venture like this.. so connectivity shouldnt be a problem.

    With the right router you can join multiple internet connections up and route specific traffic through specific lines, works quite well.., ie, one for PCs and one for games consoles.

    You could even look at Game Servers, host private matches for subscription base etc.

    Look luck..
    SOA/SaaS/Cloud & Hosting Technology Evangelist
    Note: Any opinions expressed are my own and not of anyone else or my companies.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    286
    Good luck - me and a friend thought about doing this about give years ago, decided the costs were fairly high and it'd be risky since we were in a college town where it's likely that most of our possible players already had their own computer/consoles at home...
    Nexcess - Magento and Wordpress Hosting Specialists!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    45
    Whats the best connection you can get for £200-250 per month? :/

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Dallas,TX
    Posts
    160
    Make sure you also have a solid wireless setup for those who just want to come in for the coffee and internet. I wouldn't put all your focus on just gamers, perhaps separating the building into two areas so that older folks would be comfortable coming in to relax and have a cup of coffee.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Greece
    Posts
    390
    Dont know much about UK lines but you should use load balancing.
    You should also consider the way that you will administer the machines (how you are going to be paid by the customers,how are the games going to be installed to the clients,what are you going to do with the game licenses etc).
    There is also the issue for the hardware (PCs,routers,network,cables) etc.
    Hope you find your way
    NOT a webhost!helping here just for the fun of it!
    G(r)eek inside.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    188
    With the rise of the fast internet connection, the local internet/console gaming place, LANLords, went out of business. Although many of the pcs were in use during peak hours, most of the gamers preferred to buy a monthly pass to use their home computer, connected to the LAN to game. I would suggest having two areas, with the same 20 person capacity. One as you already have setup, and one area with RJ45 & power jacks & monitors for the home computer crowd. Also, only allow headphones.

    Another thing that is key is having sponsorships from Bawls/other energy drink, as well as prize sponsorships for events (such as grand opening, monthly/biweekly events, holiday events) from hardware vendors, as well as software vendors for weekly events.

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