PC Gaming Utopia - Opinions Please

[rdj001]

• Not sure if this should be in Computing / Gaming or Business so apols if this is the wrong forum **

I run an IT MSP and it seems the vast majority (of our much younger) workforce are gamers. All spend muchos chop on their rigs and spend their lunch times discussing their latest build or planning their next gaming sesh.

This got me thinking....

In the US, there are various large superstore type venues specialising in gaming kit, both components and complete systems. In the UK, most of this need is fulfilled online and whilst delivery times are much improved these days, it is still a bit of a faff returning components and I believe hobbyists would actually enjoy going to a location where they could talk to experts about compatability and buy stuff there and then over the counter. This could be coupled with a cool cafe, build to order services etc etc and become a bit of a gamer destination.

I live in East Anglia and I am not aware of anything like this (at least within one hour drive for Bury St Edmunds). I guess I am envisaging the bd-child that would have spawned from a Maplins / original PC World / (USA) Circuit City / (USA) Micro Center hook up with the IKEA cafe thrown in for good measure.

Forgetting the commercials for moment - is the proposed idea a place that people would actually be interested in going to? The computer gaming industry is supposed to be worth about $200bn annually (receiving a real boost during lockdown) and is predicted to continue to grow. The PC element is a significant portion of this and I am told continually upgrading components is addictive to those in that world.

The picture in my minds eye is somewhere really cool, welcoming, focused on community without even the merest hint of teenagers bedroom.

Opinions please - if you are a gamer, would you travel to such a place.

[Mr E]

The problem all places like this have is that people will turn up, take all the advice and then buy the bits online for 7% less.

[rdj001]

Yup - the commercial model will need some thought but I have some ideas there. I guess I was interested from the gamers perspective rather than the business owners perspective. Is this a case of build it and they will come?

[vaud]

In these kinds of cases you should ask "if there is money to be made in this space, then why haven't Currys / John Lewis / etc invested?

I don't see a model that would allow enough stock to be kept to satisfy demand while having enough space, staff, etc - and being vaguely competitive with the likes of Amazon, CCL or Scan (the latter two offering prebuilt and tested machines) - or higher end like Alienware from Dell.

[Mr E]

I think a venue that was primarily a social space (cafe, gaming is always more fun when you can smack the guy next to you etc.) with a sideline of advice/parts to build stuff might work.

Concern would be that online play is pretty compelling. Why would I go somewhere to do something I can do at home?
A multiplayer VR offering might be compelling, a few operators already in this space (I’ve done it with the kid and it’s highly amusing)

[essayer]

Interesting idea.

I guess SideQuest are worth a look.

Not sure if you’d ever be able to make margins work on components vs Scan et al. And second hand seems well covered by Cex. Given it’s all Steam/Epic marketplace controlled, a community place where people can play their games on your hardware might be fun. Bring your own mouse and keyboard, use our monitors/desktops/VR etc

[rdj001]

Cheers all, thanks for the input.

To move off the commercials / profitability side of things - let's assume this business could be run as a hobby / not for profit where it was more focused on providing a service to a community rather than profit driven.

Not sure about going down cyber cafe / turn up and play route.

In my minds eye, i see somewhere as 'cool' as an Apple store (very subjective i know) as a front of house displaying the latest and great kits with lots of pre-built rigs. There would be sufficient storage space out back to carry the most commonly requested coimponents, a build area where tutorials could be run and then a cafe (bit like a sports cafe but showing e-sports).

If you are into gaming - what, if anything, would make you take a trip?

[mikef]

I imagine you would quickly end up with a whole lot of outdated kit with very low resale value, while buyers get the latest kit online. Any physical stores I have bought IT from in the US and UK, with the exception of Apple Store, have all gone bust

[jimmyjimjim]

rdj001 said:

In the US, there are various large superstore type venues specialising in gaming kit, both components and complete systems.

Microspender for the win. 20 minutes away from me. I'll quite often buy from there when their prices are comparable. Where they score is in availability. Which counts for less in the UK with the ease of next day delivery.

[Haltamer]

Oddly, I've noticed a couple of PC Hardware shops with impressive stock around Southend in places I wouldn't expect - Full stacks of GPUs and hardware inside!

Was driving past so I didn't get a chance to stop in and have a proper look.

Used hardware could be a good offering; A CEX-esque shop - As others have noted, most younger PC Gamer types will be looking for bargains on Ebay etc. in my experience:- Even now I've got gainful employment, I'm rather less interested in dumping large sums on the latest GPU when a £300 2080 at CEX will do 90% of the job for 15% of the cost.

LAN / Tournament style events could help too, but I'm not sure how most would feel about dragging their kit out, or if they would necessarily have the means to.

[gangzoom]

Horizon scan what direction what one of the biggest graphics card producers are doing. If I'm reading their last quarterly report right (I might have read it wrong), 77% of their income and growth has come from the 'cloud'. Gaming is mentioned, but in the context of what games require their technology to run, and Geforce Now was the only product they highlight by name.

The advantage of the cloud is you don't have to faff with local hardware, or waste time building stuff. The social bit is separate, but people now barely want to leave their house for work, making an effort to socialise for playing games, not sure how that would work?

https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announce...

[xeny]

gangzoom said:

Horizon scan what direction what one of the biggest graphics card producers are doing. If I'm reading their last quarterly report right (I might have read it wrong), 77% of their income and growth has come from the 'cloud'. Gaming is mentioned, but in the context of what games require their technology to run, and Geforce Now was the only product they highlight by name.

The advantage of the cloud is you don't have to faff with local hardware, or waste time building stuff. The social bit is separate, but people now barely want to leave their house for work, making an effort to socialise for playing games, not sure how that would work?

https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announce...

From that link

NVIDIA said:

“Our strong growth reflects the broad industry platform transition from general-purpose to accelerated computing and generative AI,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.

Cloud for ChatGPT et al, not for gaming.

[vaud]

Indeed, gen ai is consuming demand for high end cards. Not gaming.

[gangzoom]

xeny said:

Cloud for ChatGPT et al, not for gaming.

100%, and the Cloud is now the majority of profit/buissness. It's bit like Porshce is essentially an SUV manufacturer. If you were running their business which area is going to grow over the next 5-10 years?

That should help OP work out if there is potential demand for the services they propose?

[rdj001]

Hi, great feedback.

We do a fair bit with cloud (both public and private) so have a reasonable grasp on its potential and limitations. There have been several attempts to offer cloud gaming at scale and I don't believe it will take over from local desktops anytime soon. As has been mentioned AGI and even things like Tesla's DOJO are providing Nvidia with bulging order books.

None of the replies thus far have suggested that this is an untapped market (at least within this deraphic) so will ponder further.

Maybe I am just jealous that our US chums can nip to their local gaming superstore for a one-stop shop. I worry that without this type of local store, we may as well just accept that everything will be purchased through some almighty Amazon-esque behemoth. I believe BMW, Audi, Mercedes are all starting to introduce the agency model where you purchase the vehicle online and simply use a network of dealers for collection / servicing. Personal relationships and engagement seem to matter less and less.

Old man shouts at cloud etc.....

[Sterillium]

The VR is an interesting extra - I recently did an "untethered" VR experience where you walk around freely in a huge space. SO munch better than the wires, cables and pods alternative.

[snuffy]

rdj001 said:

Forgetting the commercials for moment - is the proposed idea a place that people would actually be interested in going to?

I play PC games pretty much every day, and my PC is quite meaty and new bits get bought every once in a while. But I'm not at your younger age end of the market (i.e. I'm in my 50s).

As a general comment about buying stuff in a shop is that rarely do they have enough stock. I've often gone somewhere with the intention of buying something, because I want it now, only to return empty handed because they don't have it, so now I don't bother trying; I buy everything online.

So would I be interest in such a place ? No.

Would younger people be interested in such a place ? I don't know, but what you nearly always find is what people say they will do (i.e. they will say they will do something as opposed to saying they would not do it) and then actually doing it very rarely the same.

[rdj001]

snuffy said:

As a general comment about buying stuff in a shop is that rarely do they have enough stock. I've often gone somewhere with the intention of buying something, because I want it now, only to return empty handed because they don't have it, so now I don't bother trying; I buy everything online.

So would I be interest in such a place ? No.

I guess that is partly the opportunity. Most shops are woeful around customer service and it is hellish frustrating to go somewhere to find they are out of stock. Real-time inventory which can be checked before you visit and an ability to reserve seems like a no-brainer : especially for a tech related company.

[zippy3x]

rdj001 said:

Maybe I am just jealous that our US chums can nip to their local gaming superstore for a one-stop shop. I worry that without this type of local store, we may as well just accept that everything will be purchased through some almighty Amazon-esque behemoth.

As much as most people view Scan as a mail order behemoth, they are actually a family run concern and have a "front of house" very much as you describe. They are a 20 minute drive from me, but the only reason I go to their store is because I can have something back at home within an hour, and I'm very impatient when it comes to new shiny things I want .

Their counter staff are all young and very knowledgeable when you ask questions, and will point out any incompatibilities in the kit you order. I imagine if you asked they would wheel someone out to talk through a build with you, but i've never asked.

Would I travel 20 minutes to socialise? Not a chance. But then I'm a fifty something grumpy old grey beard techy.

These kids of today have never had to set dos high, configure emm386.exe, or had to manually set an IRQ line. What would they even talk about. Probably what colour their case LEDs will be. PAH!

In all seriousness, if Scan was further away, I'd just mail order everything

[mikef]

Stock feels like it would be a challenge. Take video cards, which should be a higher-margin item. Overclockers list 176 different nVidia GPU cards, and they don’t have the concession to sell the original nVidia Founders Edition cards. You could just stock the lower-end makes and not all the models, but many buyers will prefer to buy the exact cards they want because brand loyalty, matching components, aesthetics, reviews and recommendations, etc

So potentially a fair amount tied up in stock, which may not sell at full retail, especially as it ages and is superseded by new models