NET-topia arcade attracts young Internet gamers to Longmont mall location

LONGMONT — “I was in Asia for 12 years and noticed that there were Internet arcades on just about every block,´ said Dean Tenenbaum, chief executive of NET-topia.

His friend since seventh grade had been noticing a similar trend in various parts of the United States. Realizing the business potential, the pair combined their experience and resources to bring what they call an interactive computer productivity and entertainment center to Longmont in April.

Tenenbaum returned from Tokyo in early 2003 and worked with his friend, Jon Willig, to remodel and set up NET-topia in Longmont’s Twin Peaks Mall. Tenenbaum, who taught English and computer science in Tokyo, describes his impetus for NET-topia as a love for gaming.

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Willig, NET-topia president, brings computer and retail experience from his other computer venture to the new business. He has owned Run PC, a sales and service company in Longmont and Fort Collins for 17 years. Run PC custom built the high-speed 3-D graphics workstations and supplied all the hardware, computer equipment, furniture and fixtures.

The Longmont store fills a space in the mall of about 1,100 square feet with 15 PCs and four X Box live console gaming setups.

“We probably have one of the fastest connections in town hooking them all to the Net — a microwave dish that gives us a five-megabyte download speed,” Tenenbaum said. Marketing material promises speeds that are up to five times faster than T-1 connections.

In addition to gaming capabilities, NET-topia offers color and laser printing, color scanning, faxing, video conferencing, e-mail access, rumble chairs, CD creation and file storage, and one-on-one training.

Willig estimates that the initial investment for the store ran about $40,000. Using Run PC to acquire equipment at cost helped keep costs down.

“Pay is good in Japan, and Jon has two stressed-out credit cards,” Tenenbaum said, explaining the source of initial financing.

“One of the biggest expenses is having to have licenses for all the gaming applications,” Willig said. “We have about 10 titles so it runs us about $400 per system for just those. You have to pay royalties on some games, too.”

A benefit of the mall location is that it offers foot traffic. The NET-topia partners also are hooking up with other operations in the mall to cut marketing expenses.

“We’re working together with some of the other stores to do cross-promotional ads,”

Tenenbaum said. United Artist Theaters is one of the businesses they’ve teamed up with. “We put our poster up in there and give discounts to people with movie ticket stubs,” he explained.

“We’ve not spent any money on traditional advertising,” Willig said. “It’s all walk-in traffic and word of mouth.”

NET-topia holds the space at the east mall entrance. “We’re close to the movie theater, which is open later,” he added. The Internet arcade stays open until 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends. “The mall is also safe so parents feel it’s safe to drop off their kids here,” he said, pointing out another benefit of the location.

Tenenbaum maintains an air of caution in the middle of praises for the space. “Crossroads was very populated when I left here, and now it’s deserted. People in this mall know that story, and it’s still a little scary. Gart’s pulled out recently, and that’s left a big empty space.”

Appealing to a diverse audience seems to be one of the strengths that’s starting NET-topia off with a boom. On weekdays from 10 a.m. until about 2 p.m., customers who are either in town for conferences or locals come in to browse the Internet, download info, burn CDs and fax. Students come in to take tests online as well.

“At 2, I turn off the classical music and turn on the techno,” Tenenbaum said. “At about 10 p.m. I switch to rap or hard rock because we’ve got mostly high school and first- or second-year college students.” He adds that a majority of the clientele are gamers.

NET-topia offers hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and membership rates. PC network gaming starts at $5 per hour, console network gaming starts at $2 per hour and all-night lockdowns eight hours of play with pizza and soft drinks thrown in — starts at $25.

“I’m happy because we’re breaking even now, and that shows promise,” Tenenbaum said. We’re paying the bills and have saved enough to open another store in Fort Collins. The new location opened the end of July.

“The computer business is a tough market, and margins on hardware keep shrinking,” Willig said, explaining why opening NET-topia was a good investment. “It was a way for me to branch out with a similar idea — to jump into another business and generate new revenue.”

Because of the foot traffic NET-topia brings into the mall, other malls are approaching Tenenbaum and Willig with interest in bringing the Internet arcade in. Long-term goals are to turn NET-topia into a franchise. “We’d like to have a turnkey operation,” Tenenbaum said. “About once or twice every week someone comes in saying they’re interested in doing a franchise.”