155 replies to this topic

[PCH Parts Express]

Ms. Pac-Man was a total success and a sensation in the amusement industry. It was a game changer. What did it have going for it? Shall we dissect it in hopes we can learn the essence of success? 

 

Pleasant and effective signage (lit sign above the screen).

Affordable play.

Easy to learn.

 

Please add to the list.

[PCH Parts Express]

We have noticed that people do not like the idea of making a commitment to buy a car and controller without more info, or whatever. They don't like commitment. 

[Pappy]

If we ever can get back to the lets just get some track time and run our cars slots would be much healthier. The more people you can get in the more the word spreads.

 

Tony,  

 

I can't tell you how many times I sat in my raceway all evening and not a soul walked through the door. If they just wanted track time to just run their cars there was plenty of time to do it, but they never showed up. 

 

I don't know what the answer to this is. I can tell you this, you only get out of anything what you put into it. A few people will put a lot into it and always win and the rest of them will just quit. Seems like people today just want to be entertained. They can't do anything and they don't want to put in the time to learn.

[jimht]

If all that's sold are race cars, then the buyers will only show up to race.
 
So, a question:
How many cars under the counter can be sold to a mother looking for a toy for her four-year old to play with once a week for an hour or two?
 
Wrong responses:
 
None.
I don't sell toys.
Mothers don't come in here.
Mothers can't maintain the cars.
Four-year olds don't come in here.
Four-year olds can't do this.
Four-year olds can't see the cars on the track.
 
Well, there goes a huge amount of expendable income that we ought to be tapping into.
 
Obviously, if one asks the same question at Wally World, Target, ToysRUs, etc the answer would be quite different.
 
Cheater keeps going on about how the cars aren't the issue. I disagree.
Sure they are, a serious part of the issue. 
We had the right sort of cars in the '60s and now they're worth a fortune.
It isn't because they were fast then or now. 
 
If the best way to advertise is word of mouth then getting a bunch of talkative women into raceways (because they have four-year olds looking for toys to play with) would be a great way of addressing the subject of the thread.
 
It's never too late for an optimist, is it?

[Samiam]

Groupon.
 
You make doodely-squat but it puts people in your store who otherwise may never have set foot in your raceway. And then they put it on Facebook. Or book a birthday/Scout/company party. Or buy a starter set. The new people to this hobby have to start somewhere. My mom bought me my first car and controller after three rentals. Now, fifty years later I have a hundred, hundred and fifty??? I lost count. 

Get 'em in the door first.

[Gator Bob]

[Gator Bob]

We grew up in the age of the electro-mechanical revolution. 
 
If kids could race slot cars on their phones... it might keep their interest for a few minutes.

[jimht]

The thousands of kids I've rented cars to in my raceway have as much fun doing it as they have doing anything else for fun.
Short attention span theater maybe, but how's that any different from what kids do with anything they play with?
 
But... the only thing most raceways have to sell is the hobby and kids aren't too much into hobbies, just toys.
And, while parents will spend a few bucks on toys, they don't try to get their children into "hobbies", eh?... especially expensive hobbies that their progeny might get bored with quickly.
 
So, comes right back to the product being sold... should be fun, not just racing.

[Pappy]

What you need to do is build a ramp in your raceway where the kids can roll down it in the boxes that the race sets come in. They usually have more fun playing in the boxes than playing with the toys that come in them anyway.

[Gator Bob]

Jim, like? ... Arrive and drive.

 

Kid brings suit and helmet. Track owner keeps car in 'tip-top' shape.

Mom can drop the kid off and go go shopping at Victoria's Secret and 'run errands'.

[MattD]

I didn't think the profit picture was as bad as Greg says it may be. If that's the case, there may be not for profit tracks open in three-five years. No doubt the future for a wooden commercial track will be a group of friends or one real diehard that put a track in somebody's garage or basement. I figure that is really the only possibility for the future and even that may be done in 15 years or so.

1/32 home racing will probably stay a somewhat viable hobby, though.

The funny thing is that there were five-ten reasons guys raced cars and were part of the raceway scene back int he '60s.

Fun – we were kids hanging out, renting track time, just playing around.
Modeling – real modelers liked building accurate models of real cars and "practicing" with them.

Speed/competition – Serious racers built cars and ran the weekly organized races for trophies/prizes.

Curiousity – Lots of tracks were in high traffic areas and got lots of "walk-in" business from curious people/kids.
Family time – A few parents found it a great way to have fun and be with their kids.

How many of those reasons still exist today? One main reason – guys that want to race in organized racing for the speed and building skill, modeling to some extent.

I know there are examples of the other reasons, but from what I read here and see locally that isn't the case very often.

The biggest detriment is probably distance. Very few people live within 30 miles or more from a track. I'm sure that is generous. I guess very few tracks are in high traffic/walk-in areas. Family time to play together, not when it takes longer to travel than to play. I would hope most tracks are clean and inviting places, but it's not like that here. Without a good income everything suffers.

 

I wish it was different, but it is what it is. What to do? Just go play now while we can. I really don't want to race with four-year olds, though!

[Pappy]

I didn't think the profit picture was as bad as Greg says it may be.

It is. If your rent is super cheap and you don't care about making a profit you can keep one open. Summer usually kills 'em, no one comes in but the rent and utilities go on. 
 
You have to have a drag strip and something else to go with it like a full-fledged hobby shop.

[SlowToyCars]

Currently, rental cars on a King style track at half power are too fast for most people walking through the door. They handle well, and that's an issue. You want something that isn't easy to de-slot, but you want it to be hard to drive, where practice will make a significant difference in lap times. You don't have to retain attention for hours.

If a kid wants to play for 15 minutes, so be it. I am not advocating we completely destroy class racing. I'm advocating that it should be limited in favor of a new formula. Something far more appealing to the current generations. Rentals, collectible cars, no work, and reasonable speeds. The raceways in existence need to put focus on clean, smoke-free environments, and making the experience enjoyable.

Old school word of mouth is still the most effective form of promotion in the world. Gaining visibility is about promotion. Until we have a formula in place that provides that enjoyable experience, any promotion done will simply further destroy the image of slot racing as people show up and are disappointed.

[MSwiss]

"You want something that isn't easy to de-slot, but you want it to be hard to drive"

Unless you make a track with a T-slot, I don't see how that's possible.

My experience in ten years of being in business is that new people prefer easy vs hard.

[NSwanberg]

"Would it solve all the problems?... no, but it would be a way that  players that don't own super duper highfalutin overpriced "race cars" could have more fun on a slot car track. "

 

No such thing as a casual racer.

 

At Downriver Speedway moms are always fee. Word gets around. The players are paying the bills. JB just loves rental cars.

[Cheater]

The players are paying the bills.

Yes, but it is rather disappointing to see how many raceway owners don't seem to understand that fact.

[Gator Bob]

What would you do to revive slot car racing in your area?

[CoastalAngler1]

I didn't think the profit picture was as bad as Greg says it may be. If that's the case, there may be not for profit tracks open in three-five years. No doubt the future for a wooden commercial track will be a group of friends or one real diehard that put a track in somebody's garage or basement. I figure that is really the only possibility for the future and even that may be done in 15 years or so.

Fifteen years or so?  Check out P-1 Slotcar Raceway in Winter Garden, FL... this is happening now.
 
Side note: I caught two racers at the Outlaw race at SpeedZone PTC. They were leaving. If you fish, you might like that I gaffed them before they could get away. People just want to feel like someone cares.
 
One felt left out around 9 AM, I chased him to his truck where he was loading his pit box to drive 2.5 hours back home (pit area scarce, needed power at the only table left) - fixed that and he waited till 11:30 PM to run his only race in the D main of GTP. Thanks, Fenton!!!  
 
The other was a local who didn't think his car was worthy for NASCAR. This rookie grabbed some pliers and a block for some quick chassis straightening and made a fellow rookie friendship. Outlaw race rules are easy for anyone with a flexi car or Retro Can-Am to have some fun.

[Gator Bob]

These discussions always circle back to .. " the rules", the motors, bodies or tires.

 

IMO - Common .. sensible and enforced rules are a factor in stability and sustenance but does little to raise the 'visibility'.   

[MSwiss]

If Jerry doing a weekend at a Cart race, with a track under the grandstand, and only get 1 follow-up customer, I fear the situation is pretty from.

[Gator Bob]

 I fear the situation is pretty from.

 

Please explain?

 

I get the first part.

[MSwiss]

from = "dire".

My new phone is more evil than my old one.

I just typed in dire.

As soon as I put " on one side of it, it changed it to fire.

[Dennis David]

Interestingly you don't see these same threads in the mostly 1/32 scale forums where every week it seems there are new cars coming out from Scalextric, NSR, Slot.it, Scaleauto and BRM.

I understand that the BRM (1/24) scale race at BPR might have more non-local than local racers attending. All I'm saying is this might be all that's left in the future.

What I'm trying to say is maybe we're trying to sell something that just doesn't translate. Those of us who were into slot cars in the 60's-70's understand and can appreciate the cars we see at the commercial tracks, even the wing cars. We see thingie's and they bring back memories. For people who were not exposed to then hobbie then all they see is these buzzing hornets running around the track that kind of look like cars but it means nothing to them. They just don't get the same attraction. So much of our hobby is built on nostalgia.

[Gator Bob]

Got it ...

 

Well, if there was even a 1/2 way decent crowd that day and only one follow on ... the missing word (dire) is .... accurate.

 

Fire..  would have been more confusing than no word at all ... damn those autonomous gadgets ... lol