Video Game Action: 1984 Arcade
History
Seven buddies wanted to support their arcade game collecting and share it with the world. The strategy seems more like a pastime than a commercial one, yet it was successful.
It has been surprisingly simple for the Durham family, which includes brothers Devin and Jason, spouses Amy and Tammy, and pals Chris Stuart, Lincoln Whistler, and John Macdonnell.
There were no successful market trends at the time the downtown arcade launched in July 2005. The market for conventional coin-operated arcades was in sharp decline.
According to the data, sales of coin-operated machines in the United States decreased from 0.8 million to 0.3 million from 1994 to 2004. Over that time, game sales decreased from $2.3 bn to $866 million.
Even the 1984 team, which is a part of City Retrovision Entertainment LLC, had its doubts. The main obstacle they overcome to open, according to Chris Stuart, was trust in the concept. The group did not initially think that 1984 would cover operational costs.
Two Roles
They were taken aback, according to Jason Durham, when expenditures were covered in the first month. Since then, 1984 has increased its party area and game collection, which now includes such like Asteroids, Frogger, and Pole Position.
Having no workers increases revenue. Every member of the 1984 staff offers expertise from his day job to the arcade. They throw a wide net across Springfield’s commercial environment when taken as a whole.
Amy Durham, a development and research coordinator at Kraft Foods, is in charge of 1984’s retail operations. Independent film producer Jason Durham handles the audiovisual requirements for the arcade. Retail marketer Tammy Durham served as CFO in 1984. The principal designer of the arcade is Chris Stuart, who works as a freelance web and printed designer at Imaginaut.net. At day, Lincoln Whistler manages Reliable’s promotion and marketing, and by night, he does so for 1984. John Macdonnell is the Marshfield ranch’s manager and also oversees artwork and merchandising at 1984.
At 1984, each entrepreneur puts in a shift doing everything from accounting to pinball maintenance.
Games & Food
The success of 1984 is not surprising to American Amusement Machine Association president Mike Rudowicz, who is happy to hear about the film.
The Family Entertainment Centers, or FECs, are what are expanding in the arcade business. Like 1984, they have arcades but they also have restaurant and party areas.
Rudowicz claims that FECs are well-liked companies since they are affordable, simple to establish, and simple to expand.
Offering something that is impossible at home is the secret to creating a successful gaming facility. Additionally, the market is underrepresented and generally unaccounted for in industry statistics.
The income projections for now are seriously off. The arcade-style venue has, in fact, been surpassed.
Williams points to eater-tainment establishments as effective examples. Chain restaurants like Dave & Busters go well beyond simple snacks.
According to the 1984 team, they have seen parties leave their arcade in search of food. The owners of 1984 should keep that money.
Everything relies on their consumer base and whether or not they are acquiring many new clients. You’re not getting a decent turnover if it’s just locals, therefore you should give them a new challenge.
The future strategy, according to Stuart from 1984, is to start advertising and then maybe grow into a franchise or move to Branson.
This place needs to expand in order to accommodate another one.
You can read a few related articles here for more information on Springfield’s historic sites.