Internet cafe licensing

phoenixbbs

<div class="IPBDescription">Not sure if this has been covered...</div>If there isn't anything in place to allow an internet cafe to license NS2 for a couple of USD or UKP a day, it might be worth thinking about.

A low price based on a per-day fee (irrespective of the number of users there that day who use it) might be enough to encourage more full-version sales, while getting the game more widely recognised.

Perhaps even allowing free use by internet cafes might be a smart move in the long run, as the surroundings aren't optimal by any stretch of the imagination, and again will encourage sales when the user buys their own kit if they enjoy it.

Thaldarin

For a game that only costs £12 it'd be more beneficial for a cafe that would have a large use for NS2 to just buy individual licenses rather than pay per day.

SentrySteve

are internet cafe's (I assume they're primarly used for gaming, like a LAN center) popular somewhere in the world? There's been a few LAN centers open up around where I live (eastern USA) but they all seem to go out of business fairly quickly.

MasterPTG

No, they are generally fairly sparse.

The reason they keep going out of business is not because of the owners aren't knowledgeable or smart (although some are...). The reason lies squarely within their market demographic's disposable wealth and gaming/social tendencies.

Not to mention, LAN centers have very slim profit margins because if they charge much more than what the computer (or consoles) costs at an annual rate, then people just play at home.

Phoenix: LAN centers always buy a certain number of games or licenses for the games. They never pay 'an hourly' rate for games. It's cheaper just to have a license management system where a certain # of licenses for said game is always available over a LAN network. If the game gets more popular than the # of licenses, just buy more.

ghost in the shell

I've yet to hear of an internet cafe on the east coast but there's a lot of them in Britian I've been told

PseudoKnight

Yes, LAN centers (internet cafes, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_bangs" target="_blank">PC Bangs</a>)are quite popular in specific parts of the world, most notably South Korea and other parts of Asia. They're not profitable in the states for a number of reasons, but some exist. We have a few over here that I've heard of, but they go under easily. I think the most successful ones are more internet/coffee and less lan/gaming.

I always thought, given the small margins over here, that you wouldn't want to charge much if at all for internet cafe game licenses. You won't make much money and it just discourages them from carrying your game -- unless your game is ubiquitous.

Matenrou

There are some popular internet cafes where I live, I would not say it's dead here :P. Some of them host "nightgibbs" each night where you play for 10 hours straight in the middle of the night and they are quite popular. Seeing NS2 on these cafes would be really fun and perhaps raise interest.

Perhaps you could show it off at the next dreamhack summer 2010 :P
<a href="http://www.dreamhack.se/splash/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.dreamhack.se/splash/index.html</a>

marks

There's a gaming lan cafe opposite my university. It looks like it's closed within the last year. Ironically it's owned by the same dude who owns the fnatic e-sports organisation, their office is on the second floor. Was pretty unreal walking down the street one day and spotting a huge fnatic logo on one of the 2nd floor windows :o

GDWhite

I helped make one, and ran another.

Very profitable. Both knocked out competition and generated revenue for the surrounding area, including the pizza parlor/bar next door.
You know you're good when you bring out the adult gaming community.

Harimau

<!--quoteo(post=1742630:date=Dec 6 2009, 01:15 PM:name=GDWhite)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GDWhite @ Dec 6 2009, 01:15 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1742630"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You know you're good when you bring out the adult gaming community.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You are good. The closest lan center to my place does get a lot of custom, but... well it's full of adolescent kids, many of which just play WoW... and they are very stereotypical in that respect. Greasy hair, lack of showers and whatnot. Not a pleasant place to be in for an extended period of time.

NeoSniper

<!--quoteo(post=1742610:date=Dec 5 2009, 05:42 PM:name=Matenrou)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Matenrou @ Dec 5 2009, 05:42 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1742610"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->There are some popular internet cafes where I live, I would not say it's dead here :P. Some of them host "nightgibbs" each night where you play for 10 hours straight in the middle of the night and they are quite popular. Seeing NS2 on these cafes would be really fun and perhaps raise interest.

Perhaps you could show it off at the next dreamhack summer 2010 :P
<a href="http://www.dreamhack.se/splash/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.dreamhack.se/splash/index.html</a><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So THAT's where Basshunter recorded his Boten Anna and DotA videos ...och hon can banna, banna dig so hort!... *trails off singing*. Or was it just the DotA video the one with the LAN party?