I believe setting up a cybercafe is more than just having a lot of computer with games and fast internet connection. How about hardware recommendations? Especially in dealing with modem, router, switches...which is the most reliable one?

What about legal matters? Licensing? Operating hours?

Software licensing... which online game needs license and which is free to install without the need of paying for license every month? How much is the license for game A? How much is the license for game B?

Serious talk only please... hopefully this thread will help those who want to open a cybercafe.

This post has been edited by soulfly: Dec 30 2006, 08:40 PM

i hav no experience about cc as in don own one, but i juz hav a lil` interest in how cc operate, since i do come across cc programmes and had develop one for my school project. I'm just giving my opinion here, and only using examples...

About Legal Licensing:

OS
Branded Pc: if you're ordering like... 50 gaming rigs from Dell, i think they do bundle on site licensing for winXP. so OS should'nt be a problem.

Rojak Rig from ur average pc shop: yes, this is the concerning one. pirated os are commonly installed in pc shops, and its dangerous when ur running a business. i'd suggest getting a package from an authorise distributor of winXP. it'd be cheaper. its the same as founding a company and buying workstations for your company.

Game Licensing
Example of LAN Games:

DoTA:
since dota is a mod from warcraft 3: tft, it seemed to me that u need a full-site license. i'm not sure gaming licenses are the same as OS, coz MsWindows Xp can be like, 1 package, 1 installation disc, 50 on-site license for 50 pc only. but i've no experience in gaming licenses. but it'd be terrible if u need to purchase 50 license for your cc.

NFS Series:
In most wanted, there are LAN settings, so its possible to run NFSMW for ur cc, but not for NFS:Carbon. NFS carbon does not hav any lan setting, unless the new patches come with them.

CS:
?? no comment. i hav no idea...

Example of Online Games:
Games like RO and RYL are not free, but the client distribution is free i think. therefore the owner of cc do not hav to pay for licensing fees. only players need to buy accounts [*starter pack i think], or access times.

Example of Free Online Games:
Games like Maple and SuperDancerOnline are free in terms of distribution and accessing, so i guess there should'nt be a problem.

About hardware:
In terms of hardwares, its very subjective. i'd suggest using LCD monitors for saving spaces, and placing ur cpu on top of the racks to save spaces.

About the networks, i guess u havto find a contractor to setup ur shop lot before moving in those hardwares, to place all network cables and plugs ready. A normal modem will be enough to me, as normal adsl modems can handles to 6Mbps. Now, would you be subscribing to Streamyx? or seeking for Jaring for a faster dedicated line [*T3]?

Getting a Cisco or BlueCoat bridge with around 30 - 50 ports [*if you're running big size cc] wil be sufficient.

What I think will be faced
Since there are like... so many hardwares [*if you're operating on over 30 pcs], i find these big size operation cc to hav signal issues. customers will not hav good reception on their mobile phones. this might not be a problem, but can anybody suggest a solution?

Operating Hours
There are not alot of cc that opens on 10am, but i've seen quite alot of such scene - "teenagers sitting outside of cc early in the morning [*around 9 to 11] waiting for the cc to open, especially during after-exam times, or holiday times. However, not alot of cc will open at tat time, mayb only during noon. Some even only open at 2pm. This means that you're losing customers, but is it worth to open earlier just for 10 customers?

And also, will you open ur cc till 2am? I've seen crazy ppl who goes to cc after hanging out with frens, and after clubbing at midnite. there are also crazy students who goes to cc at 9 and play till 1-2am. Will it be legal for cc to operate at such hour?

anything else?

ps: anybody dares to install illegal [*in here, pirated] softwares?

Regarding the OS licensing, if not mistaken OEM XP should be no problem since it can be considered bundle together with the computer, right? Budget wise, I read somewhere saying that using OEM license is more cost effective compare to open licensing, though the cons is that the license goes away with the PC if the PC is thrown away... not a big issue though.

Anyway.... is XP Home fine enough for cc usage? Or should we get an XP Pro instead?

Most of the CC are using Home, Pro is preety useless anyway for a CC... IIS and etc those function are preety useless for a CC

Regarding to your post, yes, OEM OS are MUCH cheaper compared to Stand Alone License. The difference could be of Rm1k. Moreover, most cc will choose to go for Branded pc [*like Acer or Dell], which bundles WinXP together. That alone saves alot of cash, besides the good services [*albeit on Dell have my trust].

In comparing Home edition and Pro edition of WinXP, to me, personally, they hav not much difference. Pro provides better network configs and better encryption system, but both are utterly useless in cases of cc. They still function the same, and with a lil` tweek, they DO look the same. So i'd suggest going for Home.

p/s: anybody has any list of cc management programs being commercialised? Please list the name, the URL, and the price.

I have a friend also who is in a process of opening his cybercafe in Johor.
If not mistaken, he was complaining to me that he needs to buy each license for each game in a single PC. Means if you have dota, fifa07, needforspeed. You need to buy each game title. Also you need to renew the license each year. Kinda costly if you ask me.

i operate a cc in kepong call GamerSphere Internet Cafe, what i can share is its very important to scout for a good location first b4 & know the area well b4 attempt to open there. Its pretty usual that u wil need to pay some kopi to some revelant govt body so they wont come n kacau u la if u plan to open 24 hrs or getting the license. Some areas u even have to pay monthly 'protection fees'.

Currently there are 4 major companies that is holding the game license :

Sendi Mutiara - is the most expensive one as they are the one who hold the rights to Blizzard Games (ie warcraft3/dota)
about 2.8-3k per month for 40pc

EA (gamers.com.my) - Electronics Arts
about 800-1k per month for 40pc

New Era - they pretty much covered all the other games
about 450-600 per month for 40 pc

Eclub - counterstrike
about 400 per month for 40 pc

After u pay the monthly license fee to any of this companies, u can install whatever games they have. No need pay anything else liao, if stil pay then better dun open cc. zzzz

Hardware recommendations :
I think it really depends on ur budget la, 3 years ago the pc with some minimal upgrade like ram & graphic card can last until now. But now if do some homework on the upcoming games that is goin to be launch u will need some serious gaming hardware, unless u think dota is still goin to be hot for the next 3 years. One friend of mine, he open cc almost monthly basis but he's using lower range pc, the reason for him is he want to have ROI faster and for me i opened my cafe because im a gamer & its my dream so i invested in really considerably high spec pc for cafe use. Currently my cafe has 48 pc of this spec :

2.66dual core intel
1gig 667 ram
160gig hd
7600 GS & GT graphic cards
19inch LG LCD monitor
Microsoft mouse & keyboard
Altec Lansing speakers

the cost per avg pc cost me was about 3.2k(with window xp pro license) 3 months+ ago. If the area u are interested in opening a cafe, check what type of games they wanna play first & what type of race over there. For example, the malay ppl usually like to play CS games, war-type game and the chinese likes dota. There are many factors u have to think first b4 u open, i planned the whole thing for almost 6 months, took about 4months to scout for location and the other 2 doing homework on games/hardwares.

Just a summary, if u plan to open a cafe make sure its goin to be 40pc n above otherwise just forget bout it. If its a low cost one, a budget around 130k-160k maybe can liao and a high cost could be anywhere above 200k+..(for a 40+ pc cafe)

so... is it a wise choice to buy the licensing for DoTA from Sendi Mutiara if u hav like... 90% of your customer playing DoTA, and ur cc is always full a nights, or nearly full... from 2pm till 2am, until ppl hav to book places, and consider Rm2 per hr. is it worth?

and btw, does Sendi Mutiara's Blizzard licensing includes WoW?

ps: considering Rm3.2k for tat spec, and Core2Duo [*i presume], moreover with licensed Xp, i think its a good deal u hav. and with tat spec, many games can run kinda smooth, unless all ur customers want to play Oblivion with full settings, which is not possible to happen. many would play DoW, CS, Dota, these sort of games... don really need good specs.

sad to say it's usually a MUST to get license from sendi since thats what most of the ppl play nowadays. to know whether it is worth or not juz do a simple maths :

(Number of pc) x 10 hours x rm2 = xxx

thats roughly what most of cybercafe are getting a day if base on rm2.

WoW is a mmorpg game and does not need license frm sendi as far as i know they are dun have the rights to collect money for WOW.

3.2k is juz for the normal 2.66dualcore, not the C2D... if wanna get C2D then prepare to add another extra 600-1k la. The reason i get Intel is because i like the Game On advertising materials that they provide but not everyone can get some good deal from Intel also la, so have to know some ppl n etc. Im lucky that my friend is quite influential in the cc market, thats why i get some really good deals & promo stuffs. I think alot of low spec pc can run the games that u mention easily, but dun forget EA juz launch battlefield2142 and the upcoming crysis & c&c3.... those games are gonna rape the lower spec pc very hard.

Good info [gs]JackMin! I believe this kind of information is what people want to read.

Anyway... Eclub got any website?

Eclub website : http://e-clubmalaysia.com/index.html

Anyway the only games that doesnt require any $ for their license is MMORPG type since this type of games collect revenue frm players & game cards sold to them.

Connections : anything that is SDSL should be good, even a ADSL 2mb SUCK big time!! but SDSL usually available at commercial areas or klangvalley/kl areas only

Branded or non-branded : personally i prefer those non-branded since they are usually cheaper & can be easily configured to suit ur needs. Most importantly is the warranty issue, can u get the faulty parts replace with a 1 to 1 within 24 hours? This is very important as every hour that your pc isnt operating means losing $$. In fact those ppl who i sees who open cafe n using branded pc like dell, acer n etc are ppl who doesnt have much knowledge on computers lol, they definately wont be getting a 24hour on site service or parts change(unless u sign those agreement with them like dell which they will extra charge u more).
Another reason not to choose branded is their casing are usually easy to break in (espcially ppl who steal ram), thats why have to choose a really proper casing which will be hard for them. i beleive 95% cafe has experience this type of probs, even mine i have encounter such probs but ive rectify the probs now(hopefully).
Then again if those robbers really wanna break in ur pc, u cant do much, but i would rather them take a longer time & frustrating for them as well.

This post has been edited by [gs]JackMin: Dec 6 2006, 12:02 AM

which means that u can just install the game client, correct? no need to obtain any kind of license?

besides Warcraft/DOTA and CounterStrike .... what other LAN games which is hot played at cafes currently?

This post has been edited by soulfly: Dec 6 2006, 12:16 AM

yes u can install any MMORPG clients without obtain any license. beside dota/cs, very hard to say cause it really depends on the location. For example, my place im starting to get alot of ppl playing battlefield2142 & fifa now. Can say it depends on how well u try to intro a game to your customers. But games like fifa is quite ok la for any location since majority young teen/adults likes football.

there's one cafe in my town charging RM3. they still doing pretty well.
probably due to:
comfortable environment, road side, 50% pc got LCD flat screen, less pc problem,
all can go battlenet if not mistaken.

they mostly full after dinner.



regarding game licensing fee...
i saw some cafe in KL installed with lots of free beta online mpog game.
that can attract gamer and get them addicted, while game is free.
example, gunbound, ryl, ......
so, cafe owner must constantly be updated on free beta game.
just install them on pc, some ppl go cafe see what other playing and they follow too.
some go there dunno what to play, they click on the programme icon on desktop.


This post has been edited by liquidoice: Dec 7 2006, 11:34 AM

Probably it's not a good time to set up a cybercafe. I heard that in Sarawak, all new cybercafe permit has been frozen. Darn those idiot government.

How bout installing a webcam to monitor the operation of the cc..
Since nowadays there are many thief..
They usually pick hidden pc to play and then steal usually
RAM,Cable...

I've caught some...(although i'm not the owner..)
I seen that they open the cd panel and through that they can steal...

Any solution..?

This post has been edited by hr_elie: Dec 8 2006, 12:06 PM

Due to many parents complains and also many illegal cc turned into a gambling outlet. That's y the cc license frozen.

usually cc install cctv. webcam cannot zoom on the thief.

there wont be a good time to set up a cybercafe even if the govt permits, the relevant govt dept will make it hard for you to open one unless u give some kopi, sad to say thats how it works. Anyway majority of the cc around malaysia, dont have license. Some ppl think only gangster will come ask money frm u, but now 21st century is different... its those with 'badge' who will come n ask money frm u.

For the security, its very important that u install cctv and its on for 24hours... u wont know wat happen & also u need it for insurance purposes.

This post has been edited by [gs]JackMin: Dec 8 2006, 08:45 PM

Some people said that it's still possible to have internet service (the classic cybercafe) without gaming if you're running under computer shop. Dunno how far true is it.

how to survive without gaming? almost everybody has screamyx and their own PC.