Guide to Arcade Activism

[J Dogg]

Does your local arcade let the DDR machine waste away into disrepair? Black Lab has written a useful article with tips about how to persuade the arcade manager to get things fixed. It might not work in all circumstances, but if your arcade needs some help, reading this guide is a good way to start!
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[martywuzcray-z]

this was well written, but here's my bit...

as an arcade manager myself, nagging the mgmt or arcade employees these days doesnt really work at all... alot of arcades these days use outside contractors to fix their machines... somtimes asking to get it fixed is just something the mgmt turns and nags someone else to do... especially since most of the technicians dont carry the proper parts to fix the machines...

one thing i know that does help is finding the proper service and parts distributor companies (such as moss, happ, or even channelbeat) and passing along the info on the parts they will eventually need to fix the machine...

befriending the staff helps alot too... many a bribe i've recieved to fix our machine... in exchange to better service in the machine itself... (and maybe a few credits to test )

most common prob of course would be those sensors as mentioned in the article by testing them from the 4 corner method, or letting the techs see it within the game input test menus... most of the time this doesnt need to be replaced... just cleaned from the dirt and stuff around the sensor itself which usually causes the sensor to stick...

well hope that helps too... maybe i'll write an article too...
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henshin...

[davidbrit2]

Good article, but it leaves out the ultimate "last resort": break the machine so badly that they have no choice but to get it fixed. Ha ha.
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Methadone Rehab Forum

[THE RidGE]

[Semedi]

As a former arcade manager, let me throw in some input as well...

That article provides good suggestions to approach the situation, but don't always expect results. The problem with DDR is that there's different "levels", for lack of a better word, to how broken the machine can get. When most games have something in them break, that's it... the game becomes out of order and you can no longer play it. When something inside DDR breaks, it's usually still quite playable. Gradually over time, more and more things inside the DDR machine will break, and slowly the gameplay on it will get worse. However you'll find lots of arcade operators won't put the game out of order, or spend time fixing it, until it actually completely stops working. This is why you find a whole lot of DDR machines that are in dis-repair but still work somewhat. The arcade owners won't place the machines out of order unless they absolutely have to, because in their eyes it's an immediate profit loss... when they should be thinking more long term in keeping their customers happy.

Bottom line is this... arcades are really difficult to keep repaired and working smoothly, and the larger an arcade is the tougher that becomes. Most arcades have several games out of order on a constant basis, and whoever is in charge needs to prioritize the order they get fixed in. Here's the problem... if you're running an arcade, are you going to spend time fixing a game that has a few problems, but is still on the floor making money, or are you going to fix a game that's completely broken and making nothing? If you expect to keep your job, you're going to be fixing the completely broken games

It's unfortunate, but that's just the way things are in lots of arcades...

[StoryTeller]

All of the advice here is great. While I've never worked in an arcade, as manager of a retail store, the pressure from the owner/ceo/whoever's above me is always on maximizing profit. While a good working machine is more profitable in the long run, a day with an out of order machine means bad news when that day's totals are reported in (out of order means no one spending money on it, customers will start going else where, it costs time and money to replace/fix broken parts).

When I used to live in sacramento, the Country Club bowling alley had an excellent machine (2 in fact) and was busy most of the time. at 75 cents a game with an average of 1.3 players per game that's about a dollar every four and half minutes (less time for people who fail, more time for people who spend a lot of time selecting songs... it averages out). In a 5 hour block of time from 6 to 11 on weeknights, you can expect to make $60. That's $12/hour. Looking only at the peak time from 6 to 11, in a week you'll make $420, in a year that's well above $20,000. While business isn't ALWAYS that steady, it's not taking into account the higher traffic for extended hours on weekends. $20,000!!!!!!!111oneone While players may be able to appeal to a managers desire to make his customers happy, figures like this are what's going to make him happy.

If you haven't caught where I'm going with this, what I recommend we do to get good machines at our arcade is this: Do a little research at other arcades in the area. Find out what they're doing to attract ddr'ers and also the "occasional" players. Make a report that includes things like the following and how they influence potential players' decisions:
Machine functionality (is it usualy broken? do the buttons all work)
Difficulty (If it's too high, first timers are going to give up quickly)
Volume (Higher is better, but consider its affect on other people who don't enjoy ddr. There should be some kind of balance. Also, higher volume will attract more customers)
Location (Visibility and foot traffic going by. Also, if the machine isn't on carpet, there's often problems with the entire platform sliding around)
Impact on employees (If the 'demo mode' volume is up, the constant noise may bother employees that are forced to work nearby... other factors may exist on a case by case basis)
Types of players (No one wants customers who are rowdy and detract from the quality of the establishment. What's the demographic? In regards to customers... how much money are the willing to spend per visit? Do they buy drinks or engage in other activities such as other arcade games, bowling, movies, etc.)
Freebies, Discounts, Promotions, Tournaments (Boomers and other arcades have specials on certain days that bring in extra business. Is the location a good place to host parties?)

I'm sure there is other factors, but hopefully you get the point. Think details, features and benefits. (Features = What does DDR do. Benefits = What does DDR do for the customers/owners) This may sound like you're becoming some kind of Sales Rep for Konami, but there is a lot of power in facts and figures. "I Know" sounds a lot better than "I Want". If you really like the game, it may be worth your time putting together a report like this. I'm probably going to be doing this myself for both the Poway Fun Bowl and the Mira Mesa Edwards Movie theater. If anyone requests, I'll post those reports on here somewhere when I get to it.

[martywuzcray-z]

lol... had u noticed the people who commented so far all have some management experience? lol

i seem to also notice that "fixing" a ddr machine isnt as easy as fixing say a broken controller on a mvc2 machine... if one panel goes out... there's alot of things that have to be considered as to why it may be out liek the sensor being worn, or perhaps not enough spacing in the sensor itself to work, or the wiring is blown, or the i/o board is bad, or worse case scenario... the motherboard itself is bad...

but hey... back to the written article... there is absolutely nothign wrong with talking to the manager... do it with a level head, and hope u get some results somehow... when they notice people dont come and play as much... maybe they'll do something...
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henshin...

[NOD]

[Semedi]

[NOD]

Yeah I've told them that was what needed to happen and it still hasn't been fixed. It's been like that for several weeks.

Update:

They degaussed the screen. It's amazing haha.
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Look out!!! It's Nodzillaaaaa!!!!