My arcade is Game Galaxy in Nashville, TN.

Biggest reason why we do ok is because these games are my collection. I don't consider them part of an "investment" so the place makes money and pays the bills and my stuff gets played and people enjoy it.

Here's the thing though:

People WILL spend 50 cents to a $1 on new fighting games. They aren't there to play the computer in them, they are there for the comp. That is what drove SFII and MK and KI and Tekken for years and still holds true. If it is exclusive you have a window to make money and people WILL show up.

Classics are purely nostalgic. People expect to pay 25 cents from 1981 to 2011, 30 freaking years later. You have to be kidding me. We have tons of classics in there but I started moving out the good stuff because it's not worth it to keep them running.

People come in and say how much they love the place and won't spend a quarter after walking around admiring for 20 minutes.

We do ok because we have a variety. 12 pins, drivers, fighting games, Japanese games, all sorts of stuff, and you NEED console fighting games as well to drive repeat players and tournaments....and we have a game store in the place too. All of that means you can have your arcade and still eat,