are beatmania machines illegal in the U.S.?

[Kσn]

this is my plan, every time I have money to buy a game, I will buy it, and put it in my house. When I get enough, i will save up enough to open an arcade somewhere. Where to start, well i am getting a job in April.. I will start saving up right at that point!

[afex.racer_X]

I hope you're not planning on putting more than say...3 in the house. You do know how big arcade machines are dont' you? I take it your family has some money then if you can actually fit multiple arcade machines in your home. You should probably keep them in the boxes if they come in them. Just my opinion. Wouldn't want someone damaging brand new games.

[Kσn]

Originally Posted by afex.racer_X

I hope you're not planning on putting more than say...3 in the house. You do know how big arcade machines are dont' you? I take it your family has some money then if you can actually fit multiple arcade machines in your home. You should probably keep them in the boxes if they come in them. Just my opinion. Wouldn't want someone damaging brand new games.

Well, my plan is not to always take them out. When I get DDR, Beatmania, and ITG2, thoose will be the ones I will take out. I also plan on at least a para para paradise machine to add eventualy too, because they are not that expensive anymore.

[Dreamcube017]

Gee... wonder why that is...

Anyhow, big things take time. I can guess about how you're thinking through it, and it's not a bad idea. But from the list of things you need, it looks like those games are gonna be in your house for quite some time. I don't know very much about running a business, but I still think you should take a business class or something in that area so you know exactly what's going on. Also, try asking owners of other arcades (owners of other arcades in other areas) what they did to get started and what prosidures they went through. Sort of an informational interview and then take notes on what they say. You might just get some very useful information out of them.

Well, that's my advice. Well, good luck on it and I hope you succeed.

Oh, and you can always get your friends to help you with fundraisers and stuff.

Hmm.... I do think you're on the right track though.

I mean on buying things.

Buy games,
Get those first so atleast you have something.

Rent space:
Then you have somewhere to pu them.
Insurance and stuff:
So then you can have everything set up and ensurance and a lawyer for all the legal stuff.

Employees:
Now you can start highering people.

That's just my thoughts on it.

Oh, if you start out with a really small place and only about three games, you won't need any employees just yet. Although I don't know if it will make much profit. But anyhow, you wouldn't really need that many (if any) employees because the place would be small enough to where you could watch over the entire thing from the counter.
Then from that, you could spend that profit on other games.

Oh yeah, also, as stated before, you'll wanna have another job besides that one.

So what you'd be starting would be sort of a mini-arcade.

Well there ya go. That's my two cents. I hope it helped.

[otaku1313]

My idea for you:
Open an arcade, IMMEDIATELY get either a USED ITG2 or a USED GF or DM machine AND A GOOD FIGHTER (this is critical), preferably fairly updated. GF is going to garner a lot of fans nowadays, and Drummania beside it would show people how cool it would be to play in kind of a band. Your fighter should be fairly underpriced, like 50-75 cents per play. You'll get a lot of fans coming in to play eachother if you can hold tournaments and get the word out to the community.

You're out of luck when it comes to bm, KBM, IIDX, PPP, Mambo a gogo, and Pump It Up, and DDR (any mix) isn't really that attractive right now (just look at ITG2 r21). You have to set it up in a fairly dense area, and not overprice it. That can be tough if you plan to make money, but stick with it for a few months at least. Tell the players their machines won't be there if they don't put money into them, but make everything like $1.25 or less for 3 songs.

If that pulls through, get pop'n Music (IF YOU CAN FIND ANY MACHINES HAHAHAHA). Girls LOVE the game and if there is someone good around who can show off, the guys will want to play too.

After that you should be pretty much set, but remember that you'll need to do maintenance on the machines unless your distibutor provides GOOD service (and VERY few do).

[afex.racer_X]

Originally Posted by otaku1313

You're out of luck when it comes to bm, KBM, IIDX, PPP, Mambo a gogo, and Pump It Up, and DDR (any mix) isn't really that attractive right now (just look at ITG2 r21).

Are you serious? Not to be a dick or anything but DDR not attractive? DDR will get more play than any other bemani game you put in an arcade. Not only are people who have been playing it for years play, but kids..adults everyone plays DDR. Pop'n will make as much as a IIDX if not less. So if you're going for bemani first get DDR. And i've noticed that DDREX gets more play than SN

[valius]

Originally Posted by otaku1313

You're out of luck when it comes to bm, KBM, IIDX, PPP, Mambo a gogo, and Pump It Up, and DDR (any mix) isn't really that attractive right now (just look at ITG2 r21). You have to set it up in a fairly dense area, and not overprice it. That can be tough if you plan to make money, but stick with it for a few months at least. Tell the players their machines won't be there if they don't put money into them, but make everything like $1.25 or less for 3 songs.

If that pulls through, get pop'n Music (IF YOU CAN FIND ANY MACHINES HAHAHAHA). Girls LOVE the game and if there is someone good around who can show off, the guys will want to play too.

Ummm... I'm sure plenty of people will agree that DDR is definitely more attractive to the average consumer than ITG2, considering that it's... well... DDR! It was featured on Burger King and it already is synonymous with "dancing video game" for the USA, so there is absolutely no reason you SHOULDN'T put DDR in your arcade. Supernova may have disappointed the hardcore player, but it will not disappoint the average consumer who doesn't know much about DDR in general. There are still some nice easy songs in SN and hopefully this trend will follow by the time you're looking into the next DDR mix when you start an arcade.

If you've money to spare, I'd also recommend getting an FX Pump It Up cabinet just because it looks really good and has a mix that is an improvement on the last mix (with the exception of looks)... particularly, you are near Chicago, which definitely has people interested in playing PIU (and you don't have to deal with the "4-panel stigma" hurdle).

pop'n music, as above poster, said... might actually work as well. Considering the number of Japanese schoolchildren who like playing the game... depending on your area, people might just play it, since it requires WHACKING stuff anyway. But I've heard of places with sunken pop'n music machines, so I don't know how receptive the Chicago area is to a silly game.

ITG2... depends on the future of ITG or Roxor's plans for new dance games. This one will be your call, considering that your arcade will not be opening for a while yet, and Roxor might actually have moved to a different platform for rhythm games by then (rumors fly around that it might be PIU, but this is RUMOR)

DM/GF/Fighting games should also be priority, since this is more favorable to an American audience than even DDR is... who doesn't want to play pretend-guitar or a game involving drumming?

Redemption games involving tickets would be necessary to make a profit, since supposedly THESE games bring in the most dough in the first place.

There's more stuff... but other people are far more knowledgeable than I. I'd recommend talking to deepbluevibes on this forum, who's planning to make an arcade of his own and is looking for the right location.

EDIT: Well, above poster beat me to it for DDR. :P pop'n music is risky, but a little less risky than IIDX, which feels more intimidating than the colorful pop'n machine.

[i am ryc3]

Only legal Bemani machine to my knowledge is legal in the united states. is DDR USA which is basically equivilent to a DDR 3rd mix, Hip Hop mania. :X Those machines are crap IMHO. Since Konami pulled their Arcade division for the United states a while back. I forgot when.

[valius]

Well, Supernova is legal in the US as well, which is why our Supernova cabinets have American licenses which DS Supernova and DDR Supernova JP don't have.

[DeMarcus]

techinically extreme is legal too... but only like a couple machines... so like 99% is bootleg...

[afex.racer_X]

Well considering the fact that about 99% of all arcades in the US have a DDR of some sort, I don't think anyone would press them all about bootlegging the game. But the rarities like IIDX and Pop'n are a different story. I think those are the ones Konami has a problem with.

[Enderkask]

Originally Posted by DeMarcus

techinically extreme is legal too... but only like a couple machines... so like 99% is bootleg...

Extreme is not legal. 99% are bootleg, sure, too bad even the legit ones are still illegal here, even if they are legit.

Secondly, to the original poster:

Buying a game, keeping it in your house, and then saving up for another game is a very bad idea. All that time in your house, the game will get outdated. You don't want outdated games, people don't play outdated games. Ask anyone up in Toronto from these forums how often their Pop'n Music 6 machine gets played. When I go to visit, I've never seen anyone play the game.

What you should do is keep saving your money until you can buy 5-6 games at once, or however many you want to get before the opening. This way, you can buy the latest, or second newest version (if money is tight), of the game and garner more interest.

In addition to being able to buy the later versions of the game, keeping thousands of dollars in an interest bearing savings account will earn you money, and help you to achieve your goal faster. Buying a game and having it sit in your house will earn you nothing.

[Dreamcube017]

Hm, that's the good point.

[DeMarcus]

Originally Posted by Enderkask

Extreme is not legal. 99% are bootleg, sure, too bad even the legit ones are still illegal here, even if they are legit.

care to uh try that one again... that made no sense...

[Enderkask]

Originally Posted by DeMarcus

care to uh try that one again... that made no sense...

DDR Extreme is licensed for Japan. Even if isn't a bootleg, the songs are not licensed for use in the US, therefore, illegal. At least that's my understanding of the situation.