So.... I inherited an old Japanese Game Center

I don't know what the arcade scene is like in Chiba but surely you can get this place running and turn a profit if it's anything like other areas in Tokyo?
 
I'm so jealous i feel embarrassed for myself.

Gratz OP, take good care of it. One thing i would do is keep the gems, sell whats left and reopen it with some new cabs + the gems kept.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

PS: i miss Japan so much, next year hopefully.
 
Linkyn said:
This sounds like the beginning to an '80s teen movie.
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It needs to have an old gaming master who mysteriously appears out of nowhere to train you since the gaming world as we know it is about to be annihilated by King, the company behind the Candy Crush Saga games. You are the chosen one.
tumblr_lyzbn3sZmJ1qc2pw4o1_500.gif


Oh, and be sure to have the love interest kidnapped by by your childhood best friend who has fallen into darkness and is your nemesis.
billy-mitchell-tie.jpg

Billy Mitchell, "Video Game Player of the Century"
 
You're a lucky son of a bitch, OP. Best part is if you (well, your girlfriend) owns the whole building, you can do pretty much whatever you'd like with the Game Center.

Whatever you do, don't break up with her. :lol
 
mrklaw said:
Maybe not a movie, but you could probably make a fun YouTube series where a bunch of gaijin gamers try and get a dusty old Japanese arcade renovated and all the hilarious escapades that ensue.

Loveable Japanese Grandma would be the icing on the cake. Language barrier, generation gap etc - perfect
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It needs to becomes a sitcom of some sort. . While you are working on some of the machines you get a call from the family of your old friend who has suddenly died of cancer. You attend the funeral and realise that he has two children who are twins. During the funeral you learn that the children are now without any parents because the mother had abandoned them when they were very young. The twin's relatives start to argue over who will take care of them and the twins both run away and you try and help to find them. After finding them you realise that none of the family members want to take care of the kids and you bring them back to the game centre but during the way back, a miniature schnauzer ends up following you back home. What you don't know is the dog can talk.

The series will be based on you juggling the life of a new father, a new owner of a game centre and your new found relationship with this talking dog who seems so familiar to you. I was thinking of calling the show different scrotes. I am sure this show has not been done before.

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xk0sm0sx said:
Is your area a populated area, where Japanese salarymen can drop by and play after work?

Also, if you can, write the exact location, people like me might come down when we go to Japan :).

One more question, since the arcade came from the 80s, are you sure there isn't a single porn game among them? ;)
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There are many, many porn games.
 
For those in Tokyo looking for a retro game center, I know of one in Takadanobaba that has quite a lot of retro games but never really all that busy. It's right next to the station (not on the side where Godsgarden is). (Mikado Game Centre)

Based on nothing but the traffic that place gets, I doubt you could really turn this back into a profitable game center OP, but it's still pretty awesome that you inherited this. Looks like you have some potential buyers in this thread too, including possibly Hideki Kamiya...that's pretty neat.
 
Tokyo-dweller, here. I'd love to buy one or two of those cabs and help you find buyers for the other stuff. Maybe we can work something out?
 
Dwayne said:
PM me if you want, I can hook you up with some guys in Europe who will buy the lot. They refurbish and then move the cabs on. Saves you having to pick it apart or worry about condition etc.

If you can get there, pull all the PCBs from the non dedicated machines, should be worth thousands alone.
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Came here to post this.

In Japan the cabinets are nearly worthless and really do get tossed out all the time which is a huge shame since nobody makes CRTs anymore, but in Europe a decent condition Aero City will set you back 600 euros and up. You have a pile of Aero City machines as well as some rarer types.

Your options are:
1) Get them bulk sold to the guys who do bulk imports.
2) Strip them for parts and sell those.

Whatever you do, open them all up assuming you can find the keys (drill the locks if you cant), and remove any game PCBs inside (they'll be big and obvious and generally hooked up with a 56 pin edge connector), also check any store rooms for racks/piles of PCBs. If you find a bunch and take clear photos of them I can probably identify the majority for you and advise of rough prices. Then you'll want to find a working cabinet and test them all, if you're new to it then find someone local who isn't (depending on where you are I might have friends to help here) for that, because while some games are worth 4000 yen, some are worth 100000. Might even offer to buy some myself depending on what you find, I'm a pretty hardcore collector.
 
Wow, jelly here too.

Hopefully whatever you do works out, so either you take good care of the stuff, preserve it (ad reopen the centre?) or sell to those who would make good use of it.

If the floors are yours then I would personally consider doing something, maybe not a game centre exactly, but definitely keep some of the cabs there. Consider a cafe, sandwich bar etc. Something good for all ages could never go wrong, I say. Heck, turn it into a nursery/daycare centre. Japan could do with more of those, no?
 
Man, you are almost as lucky as the guy who found a huge dungeon under his tiny apartment. You pretty much got a damn goldmine. Clean them up, turn them on and put up a huge sign in front saying "Retro gaming" and you will have an infinite income forever as long as you can keep those machines from falling apart.

We have this "retro gaming" hall here in Czech Republic and there are always a ton of people there from mornining to evening.
 
Guys I don't think opening that up as an arcade will bury the OP in gold and riches.

Best course of action would probably be selling the machines into the west as people before me have suggested. And keep your favorite machine for yourself.
 
That would be a shame if you just sell them all off, at least make the movie first.

'Fantastic Inherited Eighties Game Center Of The Girlfriends Grandmas Old Chiba Building'
 
Do you need to sell them? Could you not just keep them for yourself or is the building cost/rent an issue?

Either that or please donate them to a games museum so they can be played by future generations. Selling them for money would be a mighty shame.
 
The first thing you should do is post more pictures in the May Pick Ups Thread so we all know who is truly king of the nerds. Then you should hold a competition on NeoGAF of which the winners receive an invite to a party there.
 
keisuke999 said:
Going to go there soon to take a full inventory.

So far, I know it has:

Raiden V, Metal Slug X, Street Fighter Alpha (Zero) 2, Pocket Fighters, UFO Attack, Sega Tetris
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This is the greatest list of items I have ever read.

"Good for you." I say as my eyes burn ruby red with an envious rage.
 
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