GAME PARLOUR ..XBOX or PS2###

freshseasons said:

Hello ..i am shortly opening a gaming parlour with 14 console capacity....but i am in a delima ...i want to know is it ok to stuff all of them with PS2 or XBOX or should i go for combo...i have put up world Class ambience and i want the Machines to match them....presently i think is about having 6 PS2 and 4 XBOX and 4 High End PC with multi player Facility...
See is this good ....!!!!! Can i improve ?????

Click to expand...

well first of all heartly congratulations for thinking such a concept in india .....

now about PS2 and Xbox ....well xbox is comparetively very new console than ps2 so depending on the games u want to inculde in ur parlour u can decide....... well almost all the games out out for both the consoles now but xbox supports DVD and HDTV playback and its graphics are smoother, the 5.1 sound is richer, the framerate is better ...so xbox stands better in terms of graphics also max polygon rate for xbox is 125 M/s and for PS2 its only 75 M/s and many other graphics parameter ...more over when it come to onlline gaming xbox is easy to deal with ....while with ps2 u have to hustle around ...but as ps2 is very popular ...the no of games on ps2 is more ....so u have lot better quality of games available on ps2 ...for u after all what matter is the games the people want ...as ppl mostly want to play racing kind of games in parlours....... ps2 has much better games availble....

as far i think ur config looks good ....but i think u will end up spending heavy on high end pcs(i m making assumption that u r looking for high resolution gaming in PC as it needs high end graphics card ) ....a decent graphics card for HDTV gaming will equal the price of xbox or PS2 .......and moreover graphics card becomes obsolute after a year or two ......so i wouldn't suggest u to go for high end PC ...at this point ....as things on high resolution gaming has just started rolling and it will take some time so i think u should leave that aside for a year or so ......
one more problem that comes with PC gaming are that the PC's have to tweaked and managed (drivers,game bugs,game patches)properly to get the best or optimum performance ....which will need lots of expertice .....(if u want to look it like world class i woudn't suggest u that ...if u plan to go for money making by low quality ,low resolution, slow frame rates u can go ....or u can limit the games to less system resource hungry games like RPG's ,RTS's,or last generation multiplayer games like CS,quake3, etc..)
so my suggestion to u is that ...just get on started with gaming consoles and later on jump to high-end PC if things become stable on PC for high resolution gaming ...or just stick to games i have told above !!

if u want more u can always ask ......"advice is a virtue that comes free "

plz do tell me where r u going to put this up ....i would like to visit this place as soon as it gets materialised

Dear imgame .....Thanks so much for the appreciation and information....welll this is being started from City Nagpur from Maharashtra..( Centre of india ) Right spot.. he he and i want to spread this even if this thing doesnt suceed or takes a hell of a effort...( But somewhere i think i will )...anyway there are quite a some parlours around the town but what i am doing is thinking big...i mean we are talking gaming here and Cheezzz look to the awareness of the people.....The teens are waking up ..
I have decieded to go for 10 Ps 2 and 4 XBox in the beginining. I have checked up upon the Reliance Web World...( i am giving quite a good ambience than them ..will post some pictures on the site )..just 4 days to start .. Anyway the level of gaming there is quite immature and costly ....i wish for a multiplayer games on Unreal Tournament..2004...at 20 rs Per hour..
Hmmm about the graphic Card issue on the Pc's well frankly i think you are too right...the prices are going to be way high....but then i am not paying for the graphic cards in a long run ...the costomers will for the service i give them...So i think i will just about negate the factor ( Hell i dont want to earn money from this ..i have a passion of opening a chain of these parlours )
So lets keep the fingures crossed...hey got any idea when is PS3 and XBOX 2 Gonna hit india... or world...????
I dont want my costomers to check these on the net first ...i had rather have them check those Xbox2 and PS3 at mine..You have any idea if people are open to my investing in the city and them handling it on 20 percent Profit...i mean should be a good deal ...Cheezzzzzzz! So much and so little time...

oh so u r from nagpur ...(i m from a place near to nagpur and very very much smaller than it!)......i didn't see that before ....i know what place is nagpur like i have lived there for quite some time....its very ambitious to start something like that .......it doesn't matter where u start !!....i hope u start it good ...as i often come to nagpur i will definately like to come to ur parlour if u tell me where it is.....offcourse i will pay u the charges............actually i think even if chrage 25/- to 30/- people will come and play .......

and about PS3 and Xbox2 not in very near future ...not atleast by the say may-jun 2k5....so approx a year to go .....i can guess ......
gaming is the maximum money making and profitable industry in the world....be it game desiging ,hardware,parlours......anyhting.........so i won't be amazed if u make profit exponentially.!

best of luck!

xbox and ps2 are old enuff to have established games for their pc's
yet ps2 has a wide range and variety
since u are opening a game parlour ... u cant possibly keep all the games
u have to have certain KEY games .... like say NFSU ( for sure) , quake 2 even ( just cuz im a fan )
unreal tournament .., counter strike, doom3
now most of the games are available only on one platform ... so i guess ur deciding factor is the games u want to keep
theres no point as far as i see in keepin a combo ... unless u reaallllyyy want some games that are there in the other console ...
so look into this ..before u make a decision ..
as for ur pc setup ...
extremely high end pcs are definitely not required. .. instead get more no. of pc's ... otherwise urs would be a "small" pc multiplayer environment if u know what i mean
im sure htere must be multiplayer cafes in nagpur too ... each having a min. of 10 pc's ... even tho u have the added attraction of ps2's/xobox's ... i suggest u compete with them in every aspect to play safe if u know what i mean
this is just my opinion .. but since u are venturing into the unknown i think u should consider all facts/possibilities ..

xbox2 no ones heard much abt
ps3 isnt gonna be anywhere ard before end 2k5-2k6 ... MINIMUM !!!

for ur needs ... u dun even need a good soundcard ... since u cant have speakers everywhere
ull need a good set of headphones ...( the studio style ones )
so onboard audio will do on ur pc
as for the graphics card u can go for 9800 pro .... 256 mb version ..
and go in for amd 64 bits ...
each pc for less than 40k is a good choice ... 9800 pro will ensure compatibilty with games uptill doom3 ... in good resolution/frame rates ... with most eye candy on ...

since ur going in for it commercially i dunno if u should go for ps2's with mod chips ... they will allow u to play pirated cd's as well .. but like i said since u are gettin into it commercially this is gonna be a very big risk factor for u .

again this is just my opinion but i would really appreciate u giving it some thot ....
last but not least the idea is very exciting for lack of a better word .... and i would love to have helped in some way
take care ... best of luck .. and cheers m8
PS: would love to see those snaps

Cheeez Thanks theraven, Well i do have 10 spare computer ...but thats moslty like net Cafe ....most of them are running on Celeron...i liked your idea ...i think i will do this...i will give a totally different floor for just the Pc games...i think Xbox can be connected to Lan ..but can we play multiplayer games on xBox...???
Besides that can multiplayer games be played between PS2 and XBox ...Can we tie them up with Pc....
About Game titles i have made a staunch promise..there will not be single Pirated Copy on the Parlor....no copying and nothing..i think i will make enough money to be afford most of the titles...Argghh Hell all of the titles.. And other thing...Can i network Two cities so that people from two cities play games against eachother..or something like this forum ...only people instead of interacting with keyboard interacting with Gamepads...A sort of Kawabonka ...but for Xbox's and others...???

Did someone said Gaming, & Hardware, well Fear no more, GX is here

1st the marketing & bussiness prospective

For commercial purpose a PC for gaming in a Game parlor is Highly not recomended, consoles are better suited, besides consoles last for a long time then a PC, no matter how high end PC U but it will become slow in 2 years for gaming, & then it will be hard to sale the old stuff & get a new, who is gonna buy an OLD PC, also U will have only gaming in the parlor, not net etc, so Y U need a PC

2nd the technical part

Now coming to the multiplayer part, get a PS2 Multiplayer adapter, as they call it here in lkw for 4k, connect upto 2 PS2 & Play in multiplayer mode, the gaming console market is really old in Lkw older then Delhi I guess, so we get things, Pirated here soon, for good money, PS2 are selling like hot cakes here for 10k, from the last 1 year. XBOX is not recomended cos a PS2 is more popular then XBOX in India, even if U get XBOXes Customars will stick to PS2, cos they have more favoriot titles (Takken Series, Mortal Kombat serias, MGS2, etc, all console delights), besides XBOX legal games cost a lot, more then PS2

Don't worry about PC games, they are soon ported to the consoles, even titles alike Max Payne 2 & UT2003 which are DirectX based are ported to PS2, so Don't worry & miss the PC games, no one will like to play PC games in a game parlor in India, trust me, we already tried it here, this isn't a new concept

The best would be 8 PS2 & 2 XBOX, that will make a lot of money, & will never let your parlor low on customars, also try to find the PS2 multiplayer adapters in Nagpur, get a mod chip based PS2 & XBOX, belive me, going for non Pirated games will harm U a lot, as PS2 & XBOX are not legally available in India, so how do U think U will get the games in here legally which will play on Real PS2/XBOX, also consider the fact that

1) PS2/XBOX with Mod Chip won't play real games
2) PS2/XBOX without Mod chip, real version, are not available in India & won't play pirated games

It's upto U to make the last laugh but this is what I recomend, cos I see these tricks making a lot of money here in LKW & we are part of it

-----------------------------------------------------------

We have such game parlors here in lkw from a long time, I m going to one from the time when I was 9 years old & played my first 16-bit Sega Genesis, Ah! good old days, can't forget all the Mortal Kombat fights, he is still running the parlor, me & 1 of my other friends are his technical & money making game advisors, we tell him which games to buy which are commercially benificial, although we still ask for Single player games, like Resident Evil etc cos they are all time favoriots, they also make a lot of money. He runs 4 PS2 & all are full all the times, we usually go to him to play at night at about 8 or 8:30 only then we get them free to play, else they are over crowded

Gr8 initiative freshseasons, raven has covered most of the points. Both PS2 and X-BOX support online multiplayer through their services, but are u sure abt the ps2, x box thing cuz even though the consoles are priced properly the games are damn costly arnd 2-3k. I dont mean to discourage u but one shud look into all aspects b4 going wading in new waters.

PC game titles are good and cheap too. The idea of having headphones is good. Maybe u cud make a deal with some hardware dealer or distri to provide u with components @ a discount since u'd b buying almost the same components for most PCs. Also make a website or sumthng, and promote ur gaming cafe !

we both psoted at same time blade

Thanks gxsaurav and Blade runner for the unbelievable expensive advice....you know all your replies have only made me think to put up more gaming consoles...i think i will go for 12 PS 2 and 5 XBOX,...( i need to keep Xbox due to sheer variety factor...) ..Another thing i am giving World Class Environment with these things ( Climate control to manage Co2 level , AC, All non alcholic Drinks ...net attached to Concoles ..if ever they need.., And besideds game pads Guns and Steering wheels for Consoles, ....only thing i am really worried is about Sound...Each of my consoles is backed with a 21 Inches Flat LG Golden Eye tv ....that makes (12+5=17 ) 17 of those....
How in the world do i manage loud sounds from 17 of these televisions....Is head Phones really Viable...If it is i dont want my constomers to have Odinary Headphones . Any professional headPhones out there which will give surround Audio ( or Virtual 5.1 )...Or any other way to do this stuff...My Parlor Starts next week... And i have this stupid problem !!!!!Anyone can suggest something...Plueeeeezzzzzzzz!!!!

well u cant connect ps2 and xbox thats for one
for connectin long distance ... hehe .. well that im not sure abt
but like blade said ... online multiplayer
again like i said ... im saying again.. start slow with the well known and most wanted titles .. then u can expand to others
cuz initial investment is gonna be a lot
and just one more point .. buy the consoles in even multilples ... dun go for a number like 5 ..

also the fact being that ull need one game cd per console ... u cnat just pick up one game cd and run it on all ..
see what i mean ?? to play one game ... @ 10 ps2's it'll cost u 20k min right there ...
i aint sayin this to discourage u again ... im sayin .. invest slow ... with the best known games ...
and yeah .. go for the xbox too .. no doubt ... but u can do that at a later stage
i think starting with a pc and ps2 game parlour is gonna be a big thing anyways .. let it set ...

First of all, rite now I m talking as a Business adviser

To start a new business with this much consoles is not recommended, infect it’s always good to start business with low investments even if U have a lot of money to invest, cos U are never sure how your business will go, what if your gaming parlor isn’t able to pull a lot of customers, U won’t even get money U invested, let alone leave the profit

Although, it’s up to U, I say start with 6 PS2 & 2 XBOX, remember it’s hard to find XBOX games so it is useless to start with 5 XBOX, start with only these & add more in the future when the parlor catches up in the popularity & demand, believe me, U will find these to be enough, cos starting with 17 consoles for the still nascent market of Gaming in India is a direct Loss. Since U already have a enough space for your parlor so U don’t have to worry about adding things in the future as U can easily add more, do not go for 17 consoles in the start, it’s a wastage of money

Start with 6 PS2 & 2 XBOX & add more in the future, when your parlor becomes popular & becomes over crowded with gamers

Now, I m talking as a Acoustics Guy

Although 17 or 8 TV will produce a lot of sound, & for that a headphone is recommended, but it will be a lot cheap if U simply use PLYWOOD WALLS for partition, I talked to a Audio buff friend of mine, he recommended me this, Plywood absorbs a lot of sound so sound from 1 cubical of a TV & PS2 will be trapped inside & won’t go out, to other cubical, Keep the headphones as an alternative, for those who want it, I have included a zip, showing the layout we use here, which we find the best & optimal layout, sound inside a cubical stays inside & doesn’t reaches out

This is what I recommend, don’t only ask to us, the gamers, ask the Carpenter or the Builder guy for the room, he will manage & make sure U have good ventilation system, as it will get real hot in the gaming parlor with a lot of crowd

the blue print

*img84.exs.cx/img84/1081/Blueprint.th.jpg

8) Thanks again Gxgaurav...and for the drawing even if i said u helped me a lot will amount to understatement...You Guys know your work...thanks

About the ventilation part there is no need to worry as its airconditioned...Hmmm about the ply thing well i dont think it can absorb most of the sound.. the best thing would be to put Cork on the ply...anyway ..lets check that part latter when actually we have put up with it...hmmm about the investment part i think i will go for 10 PS2 and thats it....No XBOX for now...and latter if the response is good i will increase the stuff.....Anyway
i think i will get a lot of crowd rest is just a speculation...but i hope you like this stuff....
And Gxgaurav is the drawing you gave here patented....i mean will i have to pay you...to use it,,,

Rs 20 for an hour??? They charge $5 and over for 1 minute at Vegas for new games. Of course these are The full game consoles, Like the ones from Sega which lets you hang upside down and stuff.. Afterburner is one of the originals in this regard... You press the after burner and you do feel the kick and yes you can do the Top gun inverse finger in it too.. Now for those you are willing to pay money because you never can do those at home.. You can prob get old systems rather cheap, prob a better bet on being unique than setting up PC's..

freshseasons said:

About the ventilation part there is no need to worry as its airconditioned...Hmmm about the ply thing well i dont think it can absorb most of the sound.. the best thing would be to put Cork on the ply...anyway ..

Click to expand...

It will get very hot unless there is a direct AC duct in the cubicle.. Also you can reduce sound a lot by putting carpet on the partition, separating 2 pieces and adding foam in the center.

Alientech Thanks for the advice ...i am putting up with 2 ..each a two ton airconditioner on both the sides ....so that way i think getting warm will not be problem...other thing ....you have any idea regarding those dedicated game consoles one can get ...something you mentioned one gets at Las Vegas...Can i get those in india...???? Would be pretty nice bet if i get those cheap....What ya Say..??

gx...check b4 u post...the ps2 is officially available in India-sony sells it 4 around 15k...xbox is yet 2 b released....btw, this is a good initiative freshseasons....i wish u all the luck...i know that u will need 2 make a big investment and i hope u can pull it off.....the advantage with an xbox is that u can connect 4 controllers whereas with the ps2, u need a multi tap adapter that lets u connect 4 players.

PS2 is available, tell me will U buy Rs 3k games for it,

i never said that the games r cheap...i just said that u should not have said that the ps2 is not available officially. sony sells it officially and that was my point. y dont u accept that instead of asking me if i would buy a game 4 3k???

all you guys are drooling over which games the xbox and ps2 support. but the biggest frustration i have with my ps2 is its inability to connect to a network (w/out a network adapter)and no online gaming with dialup, only broadband. my freind told me the other day that sony is launching a newer version of the ps2 which supports 10/100 LAN. that is good. freshseasons, i recommend more pcs and less ps2s.

One basic question : how much do u want to invest and in what time do u intend to recover it back and what profit margin do u expect?

calculate ur total investment including the location setting up furnitures, advtg etc. and see whether u r getting the required profit margin.

i will recommend starting with few consoles so that risk is less. later on u can increase the numbers. Quality is what should matter not the quantity. don't think of going head- on with reliance. thay have a greater advantage over u.

My parlor Starts Day after tomorrow...i presently have 6 PS2 and 4 XBOX..
And i have 7 places still vacant...Tell me what do i do ....What should the remaining 7 places have...PC or PS2 or XBOX...
I have invested 4 LAkhs till now...( GOt everything cheapest at the bulk rate ) ..( the setup the cabin .....the AC ..the Furniture..( the Reason i have done everything cheapest is because i Run a construction company but still there is absoulty no compromise with the ambience... ) Please help me with the remaining 7 vacant places...i dont want to compromise with the Quality of the gaming hardware...

keep them vacent, add chairs, & some gaming magzines, a PC for New games Info, but one PC only

@fresh dude snaps and a plan would really help picture everything better man

if you have already invested 4 lakh (in ps2s and xboxes) that means you must be aiming at essentially single player gaming. no multiplayers like counter-strike or command and conquer (they have a huge market too)

@anishcool: X-box and ps2 both support multiplayer if u r not aware

offcourse as i said before u can go for a bit higher price for the quality u r providing ....

My heart still cries for those 7 vacant Spot ...Please do you think this can be done...install 4 High Config Pc ...Lan them all...and install a ATi 9200 Card on 4 of themmm....give Microsoft Steering wheel....and Logitech joyStick... What you think ..Please tell me...i can charge 30 Buck for that config...as 25 against PS2....

9200 nah dude get aleast a 9600 and then charge 30! lol !

You mean 4... 9600...and Charge 30.. ..by the time i recover the costs pal..longhorn will be out...And Still what about 3 spots they are empty..
Still you think 9600 is a good idea ..remember this is not for my personal use ...a Gaming parlor..

nonetheless get a nice dx9 card atleast man ...
i think 9200 is dx 8.1 ...

Yes it is the 9200 is a dx8 based thats why i dint recommend it in the first place. Another option is the 9550 @ 5k which is a dx9 based card. But i'd still go for the 9600. Since ur giving ppl world class features @ ur gaming cafe, u better have the components to match it.

RightHo Bladerunner ......you have convienced me....Yup i'll be getting 9600...atleast....will match it ...i suppose...Thanks pal....You opened my eyes...

Netime mate !

@freshseason: i assume your parlour is up and running, and you now have more than adequate experience to guide nebbies lyk me
i am plannin 2 start a gaming parlour in jamshedpur, within next 15 days...need you guidance for the same
i was plannin 2 have 10 mid range gamin pc, for multiplayer games, 5 consoles and a pool table... i jus wanted 2 knw, if n how can i configure ps2 for multiplayer and any other points you would suggest i keep in mind.

^from where did you dig this thread out which is 6years OLD?

Zomg priceless. All your old threads are belongs to alpaca . I be locking it ! if you have questions make a new thread if you want.