Our industry is evolving and I'm confused. We started out operating "gamerooms." Then we graduated to "arcades." Now we've graduated to FECs, LBEs, CECs, UECs, and probably 13 or 14 others. Here at Chilton Vending, it's not nearly as complicated. We have LWGs (Locations With Games). We have small LWGs which can be anything from a laundry mat to a truck stop to a local tavern or sports bar. We have medium LWGs that would include most bowling centers and theater installations.
Our large LWGs would be in the 50 to 100 game size installation, which would be in a multiple event location with a large arcade (don't even think about reducing that to initials). The super size category would be along the lines of an amusement park installation or some other installation with over 100 total pieces. This way, it's all LWGs: just small, medium, large, and super-sized, sort of like ordering a meal at McDonald's. I've even got a name for the GameWorks and Dave & Buster's installations...they're FLWGs (Fancy Locations With Games).
Someone said something years ago about keeping it simple, and I've tried to respect that in our business. It makes life easier. I know my business pretty well (we've been in the industry 53 years) and I'm not sure I could categorize my locations by the latest fad titles. I bet I could hire some of the new industry consultants and they could explain it to me.
Maybe that's it: we've come up with all the complicated terms to keep the consultants employed! Every time I open a new industry magazine, someone I knew as an operator yesterday is now a consultant. If you just call it what it is, a location with games, it doesn't have near the complex sound or intimidation factor as something that sounds like it came out of a medical dictionary. Whose going to hire a consultant for $1,500 per day to open a "game room"?
Another idea is that maybe we had to come up with more complex titles to justify purchasing the new expensive games. Can you imagine a guy saying he just paid $20,000 for a game to put in his "game room"? Do the fancy names increase game earnings? I've been in game rooms that didn't cost $20,000 in total.
It's pretty much the same game just in different locations, and more, or less, of them. I have Cruisin' Worlds and San Francisco Rushes in all sizes, shapes and types of locations. I operate redemption centers in all the categories except the smallest installations. Even then, there are games available where you can operate redemption with just one prize game.
There are those who will continue to complicate an otherwise simple issue for whatever reason. As for me, I'm an operator who is proud to provide "Locations With Games" of all sizes.