Pinball arcade truck. Is this viable? What would you change about it?

[Silver]

Arcade trucks have gotten popular here in the states. What most people seem to be doing is fitting cargo trailers with consoles and flat screen TVs and charging $100+ per hour to bring it to a party of some sort.

My idea is similar. What I want to do is fit an air conditioned trailer with about 15 pinball machines. My business model would only charge $30 per hour, but the machines take quarters.

The advantages would be that I stand out from the crowd by offering something different, if mom and dad are tight on cash for a birthday party it's only $30 per hour and the guests can pay to play themselves, and it attracts an older crowd so I might get things like bachelor parties.

The main downside is that kids today generally prefer shooters and might not be too interested in pinball.

Three questions: Should I go through with this? What would you change about it? Should I charge 25c or the standard 50c per play?

[Harold Mansfield]

Sounds like an expensive undertaking for a dead entertainment option that only attracts a very small niche. Also pinball machines are fragile, precision machines made with real glass. Not sure I'd want to be taking them around on a truck.
Just from hearing the idea, I'm not sold.

What city are you in? Who do you see as your target customer and are there enough of them to sustain you year round?
I've been to a lifetime of bachelor parties, and the only type of bachelor party that this would attract are the non drinking, religious kind...which actually should be a niche, but again, how many of those are there a year in your area?

I'm biased, but I think when it comes to games and expecting people to pay you to provide them for special events, I think high tech is the way to go, not low tech.

[Silver]

I'm in Tampa FL. There's a pinball arcade near me that does pretty well, but they market it as a museum.

I think my target customers are birthday parties that the parents want to keep G rated, without violent or sexual themed video games, corporate events, and bachelor parties. Also you mentioned the drinking thing, and there's a bar/arcade in the area that does really well. I wouldn't provide drinks, but I certainly wouldn't avoid parties that had them.

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm in Tampa FL. There's a pinball arcade near me that does pretty well, but they market it as a museum.

I think my target customers are birthday parties that the parents want to keep G rated, without violent or sexual themed video games, corporate events, and bachelor parties. Also you mentioned the drinking thing, and there's a bar/arcade in the area that does really well. I wouldn't provide drinks, but I certainly wouldn't avoid parties that had them.

Here's one of those times where you know this better than the rest of us. I don't see it but I can only imagine it where I live, in Las Vegas. You know your town and I assume your target market better than we do, so you may see an opportunity there that we just can't see from where we are.

I say if you really believe in it, and think the market is big enough to make a living from it not just the first few weeks, but for months after that and on, then do your homework, crunch the numbers and take a chance.

[Silver]

Here's one of those times where you know this better than the rest of us. I don't see it but I can only imagine it where I live, in Las Vegas. You know your town and I assume your target market better than we do, so you may see an opportunity there that we just can't see from where we are.

I say if you really believe in it, and think the market is big enough to make a living from it not just the first few weeks, but for months after that and on, then do your homework, crunch the numbers and take a chance.

I'm just a little gun shy because I have to do a lot to save up for this. I've been flipping/restoring pinball machines for some time now and I'm estimating I'm going to need around $100,000 to pull this off.

I'm worried that the kids aren't going to want anything to do with this because they're all being raised on first person shooters.

That's where I'm gun shy. Something like this is going to need birthday parties to make the bulk of the business. I don't know if any kids these days have ever gone out of their way specifically to play pinball. I would guess very few.

If it did work, it would be a slow start, but after I get the first couple of birthday parties and the kids discover pinball, they might want it at their party.

I think the major question here is with the rise of first person shooters will kids even like pinball? I know I can squeeze out a party here and there, but to get this going along, 7-12 year olds are going to actually have to like it.

[Silver]

Actually Mr.Google answered my question for me.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/do-kids-like-pinball-yup

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm just a little gun shy because I have to do a lot to save up for this. I've been flipping/restoring pinball machines for some time now and I'm estimating I'm going to need around $100,000 to pull this off.

I'm worried that the kids aren't going to want anything to do with this because they're all being raised on first person shooters.

That's where I'm gun shy. Something like this is going to need birthday parties to make the bulk of the business. I don't know if any kids these days have ever gone out of their way specifically to play pinball. I would guess very few.
This is a real concern. Kids are fickle and they want to play with the cool, new stuff like XBOX's and VR experiences. They won't respect or be entertained by nostalgia and have only seen pinball machines in museums and maybe at the local T.J. McChucklenuts. So you cannot hope that they are going to be any kind of sustainable target market because they didn't grow up with them. Heck, half the themes on the greatest pinball machines like the KISS machine, and the movies of the time, they've never even heard of.

You'd have to have all Marvel comics, Star Wars, and Angry Birds themed machines to get them to even notice them.

On the other hand, there are some bad ass machines out there today. I see it, but will kids?




If it did work, it would be a slow start, but after I get the first couple of birthday parties and the kids discover pinball, they might want it at their party.

I think the major question here is with the rise of first person shooters will kids even like pinball? I know I can squeeze out a party here and there, but to get this going along, 7-12 year olds are going to actually have to like it.

You're hoping to revive pinball and make 7-12 year olds love it? I'd have to test market that before jumping in. Take some kids to an arcade with machines, give them some quarters and let them go wild. When they're done, get some feedback. Yes, from kids. Why not? You know they'll be honest.

[Freelancier]

There's a pinball arcade near me that does pretty well, but they market it as a museum.
That's your biggest clue right there. It's a declining market. You don't enter a declining market unless you can do it cheaply and generate cash fast and then sell off the remains at the end of 2-3 years.

I think instead if you get ahead of the curve with VR games, you'll have something interesting to provide, but doing parties is a hard market, just because you have to have something that no one else has, otherwise people can just go down to play Laser Tag and have just as much fun for less money. Or to the beach. Or to Busch Gardens. Or...

[Harold Mansfield]

There's an app called Pinball Arcade that has all the great machines from Bally, Williams, and others. It's a great app that you can play on your phone, XBOX, Windows, iOS, Wii, and PS4. As much as I like pinball machines, it's very cool playing them digitally and you have access to hundreds of machines.
Pinball Arcade | Real Pinball (http://www.pinballarcade.com/)

I know for people like us who grew up with them it's not the same, but for digital kids it's better.

Something to think about.

[MyITGuy]

I'm estimating I'm going to need around $100,000 to pull this off.

Think much higher!

The trailers go for $50K on the used market
The tractors go for $45K on the used market
A generator would be approximately 10-15K

So your already looking at $110K just to provide a base platform (Assuming you go used vs. new), then add in the costs of all the arcade games themselves ($3K-$5K) each and you are easily exceeding a $200K investment

Some other items you may want to give some thought to:
-Tractor Trailers are generally not welcome in residential neighborhoods, if they can even make it into the area at all or have space to setup once you get there (Think about blocking driveways, parking for all the guests of the party and etc)
-Cost of fuel/oil/maintenance on the tractor to deliver/pickup the trailer.
-Cost of fuel/oil/maintenance on the trailer to operate AC and games.
-I'd suggest charging the price you need by the hour, rather than by game play. This would be bad form on the part of the host, and parents carrying cash/spending it on these games are both a thing of the past, especially when I can hand over my tablet which has plenty of games available to play.

[MyITGuy]

Actually Mr.Google answered my question for me.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/do-kids-like-pinball-yup

I don't know if you can keep it limited to pinball, but they do like games. This is why Dave & Busters and Chuck-E-Cheese are doing pretty well...at least IMO since they are always packed when I'm there or passing by.

[Harold Mansfield]

I don't know if you can keep it limited to pinball, but they do like games. This is why Dave & Busters and Chuck-E-Cheese are doing pretty well...at least IMO since they are always packed when I'm there or passing by.
Yeah, but those places also have food, drinks, and TV's for sports (at least D&B does).

[Silver]

I don't know if you can keep it limited to pinball, but they do like games. This is why Dave & Busters and Chuck-E-Cheese are doing pretty well...at least IMO since they are always packed when I'm there or passing by.

Well I've got a knack for refurbishing games. I'm just trying to find a creative way to put that to good use.

Are you saying if I included some driving and shooting games I might do better?

[Harold Mansfield]

Well I've got a knack for refurbishing games. I'm just trying to find a creative way to put that to good use.

Why not do THAT as a business? That seems much more plausible, with a lower bar of entry, a bigger target market, more profitable, less overhead, and just all around makes more sense.

It's also something you can do part time as you grow it without taking a huge expensive leap that puts you in immediate debt and up against a financial wall. You could do on location calls, and have people send machines in.

If this is your core skill, I like the idea of repairs, service and restorations much better than trying to run a truck full of pin ball machines. And I'll bet if you can refurbish and restore games you could also do vintage vending machines, coolers and other mechanical things that people love to collect which is a target market with much more money to spend.

[Silver]

Why not do THAT as a business? That seems much more plausible, with a lower bar of entry, a bigger target market, more profitable, less overhead, and just all around makes more sense.

I like your thinking.

[kimoonyx]

There are entire turnkey high volume retail video game store options available lower that 100k. This is the world I live in and what I do. Please trust me when I say this. You are making a mistake with this idea in 100 different ways. however. If video games are what you are in to you can make it work if you pivot your thinking towards a brick and mortar store. Most of the trucks, even the new gen ones, supplement some other income. And they cast was less than 100k to start. I have an insiders view on this. turnkey - brick and mortar - retro and new gen video game store. that is where you want to look.