100k is a moderately equipped arcade (that's going through bad sources like Channel Beat, who will likely dick you over. I saw that happen a couple of times.), not even something really extravagant. Some of you guys really aren't seeing the whole picture, which I didn't either. The space alone, especially if you end up in a mall, is stupidly expensive if you want to be in a reasonably good location (unless you get lucky). Some of the larger kiosks in a mall, not even one of the actual shops themselves, can run upwards (totally dependant of the mall, for example, Opry Mills, which is the "big shit" mall here, does this) of 20k per
month. That's not an exaggeration, either. A friend of my family's here who started his own makeup line rented one for about four months, which ended up in him having to refinance his house to pay the rent for the large kiosk. Mall rent can be horribly overpriced. Then you have to think about the crowds in the mall, what kind(s) of crowds come to that mall, are there lots of troublemakers (gangs and so forth), will you need to have a serious security system (yes), how much will have to go into remodeling, etc. IF, and that's a capital "if", it's done right, you can potentially make a lot of money running an arcade. I'm just trying to say that anyone going into such a business needs to know all the costs involved and be able to handle that before getting in over their heads. It's a sucky thing to see an arcade go down the tubes. I've worked at two as both were doing so (no, it wasn't my fault), and now all we have are dumb little "mini" arcades where little wannabe gangstas harass the hell out of you whenever you try to play something. It's not cool.
And by all means, I totally wish the best of luck with opening an arcade. Especially if you come to Nashville and open one.
Just make sure you know everything you can about everything that's going to have to be taken care of all the time, make sure you've got a good head for money, learn some basic electronics if at all possible so that you don't have to shell out tons of money for repairmen (believe me, some of the companies charge a pretty penny for their workers to repair troublesome machines), be able to do everything you can that would be required in the day to day workings of your arcade. You'll save money, you'll learn more, and you'll save money, while saving money (did I mention that you'll save money?).
Good luck, and if you want it bad enough, then you can do it. There's always a way.