Game centers take business to next level - East Bay Business Times:

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The 46-year-old Fremont engineer, a 20-year veteraj of the semiconductor industry, is the first of a relatively new As the operator of Rivalution in Pleasanton, MacPherson is one of the first to test the franchis e concept in the nascent, highly fragmented gaminvg center industry. Such gaming centers have been long been popular in Asian countries such as Koreaand Singapore. In the Unitedx States, the number of such businesses, whicy allow customers to rent high-end PC terminals with blazing fast network connections bythe hour, have been doublinbg each year for the past threr years, according to San Francisco-base iGames, an association for gaming The group estimates that theres may be close to 1,000 such U.
S. centers. More than a dozeb gaming centers operate in theBay Area. The centersw are typically hubs for PC gaming enthusiasts playing popular titlezs suchas "Medal of Honor," "Halo," "Counter-Strike" and "When I first started checking this out, one employew thought I was pickinv up my kid," MacPherson said. "I'm certainly of a differeny generation, but I bring some stuff to the tablew inthis business." MacPherson is not without his youthu connection.
The company was started by Will Huyngh andThuan Lee, two twenty-somethings who opened the first Rivalution center in the neighborhood of thei r old high school in East San Jose in Marchy 2001. The following year, the two opened anothefr center in SouthSan Jose. Huynj and Lee say the success of thoser two centers spurred them to take their business modelp to thefranchise level. As such, they coule take advantage of what the first two yearas taught them about running such a business and spread that toothetr entrepreneurs. "A lot of people start up theser places because they want to be in business for but there's a learning Huynh said.
"There's a lot we can offefr them, so it's a win-win situation." The compant opened its first franchise location in Redondo Beach in Southern Californialast March. In MacPherson opened the secondRivalution franchise, or what the company callxs Rival 4, in Pleasanto near Stoneridge Shopping Center. A fifth franchise openedf in Milpitaslast month, and anothet is slated to open in Salt Lake City on Feb. 21. Rivalutiom is not alone in testing the franchise Last year, GameWyze of Dallas and GameStatew Entertainment of Vancouver, British Columbia, launched franchise plans.
Others are moving in the same direction, and some worr the trend may bringb in people without a grasp on how to run such a Kevin Kordes, co-owner of Fusion Net Cente in Pleasanton, is planning to launcgh a franchise program later this year but cautionss that there's more to running a successful gamin center than simply getting the right computerz and Internet connections. "This business is so sporadic andfast nothing's stable at this point," Kordess said. "There's a specificv formula you haveto follow. It just doesn'tg happen.
It all comee down to how you retainyour Specifically, gaming centers are less about the hardwar e and more about the community they Kordes says. Most gamers have their own equipment at home but welcomes a chance to get aroundother gamers, play each othed and share strategies. Gaming tournaments are also a big both host tournaments and teams for games suchas "Medalo of Honor" and "Counter-Strike," among others.
Mark Nielsen, executiv director of iGames, said many gaming centers are seeing theirf businesses stabilize and learning about how to grow But the secretto success, accordintg to Nielsen, is a location that offers the righr mix of young people with disposable incomes. Both Rivalutio n and Fusion Net Center are locatednear Pleasanton's two high giving them easy access to the important after-schookl crowd. "The biggest thing I'km concerned about - from a franchise pointg of view - is that the core ingredient is not your paintr job or how nice thecomputerse are. It's all about the community," Nielsen said.
"Yoi can't go around and set up centers just becausd onedoes well."