I think I want to buy an arcade cab.
Along with my affection for Classic home console games, I have always really enjoyed classic 80's arcade games my favorites being Centipede, Donkey Kong, Galaga, and MS Pac Man. I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a cab for awhile now, but I really have no idea where to even start. Obviously I want to do my research, so I figured this would be a great place to start. Any tips? Suggestions? Would it be best to pay a premium and find a arcade shop, or hope to find a jewel in the rough? -- I do realize 30 year old machines can be fickle.---Just wondering what kind of insights everyone can offer.
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Extremely helpful. I am member and I've gotten all kinds of arcade games,parts,and advice.
Along with my affection for Classic home console games, I have always really enjoyed classic 80's arcade games my favorites being Centipede, Donkey Kong, Galaga, and MS Pac Man. I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a cab for awhile now, but I really have no idea where to even start. Obviously I want to do my research, so I figured this would be a great place to start. Any tips? Suggestions? Would it be best to pay a premium and find a arcade shop, or hope to find a jewel in the rough? -- I do realize 30 year old machines can be fickle.---Just wondering what kind of insights everyone can offer.
Why not buy an old arcade cabinet, and turn it into a MAME cab? Unless you want one for collection purposes, this would be a good option: you can paint it, make it as fancy as you want with all kinds of buttons, trackball, joysticks...
Along with my affection for Classic home console games, I have always really enjoyed classic 80's arcade games my favorites being Centipede, Donkey Kong, Galaga, and MS Pac Man. I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a cab for awhile now, but I really have no idea where to even start. Obviously I want to do my research, so I figured this would be a great place to start. Any tips? Suggestions? Would it be best to pay a premium and find a arcade shop, or hope to find a jewel in the rough? -- I do realize 30 year old machines can be fickle.---Just wondering what kind of insights everyone can offer.
Why not buy an old arcade cabinet, and turn it into a MAME cab? Unless you want one for collection purposes, this would be a good option: you can paint it, make it as fancy as you want with all kinds of buttons, trackball, joysticks...
As for where to start, Craigslist. Do some research, though. If you are patient, you can get a good deal. Don't spend "retail" prices on stuff, as they are 3-4 times what you can find them for on CL. Also, eBay is not a good price guide for arcades. One of my favorite lines to laugh at on CL is "These sell for XXXXX on ebay all the time" which means they are trying to sell it for more than it's worth, but trying to justify it by looking at retail prices on ebay.
Also, if you have any experience in electronics and woodworking, you can find a real beater and get it fixed up pretty easily.
gutsman and I are both over on the KLOV forums, as are a few other members here. I'm pretty Sure DreamTR is over there.
If it's the later, buy a JAMMA compatible cabinet. Boards that go by the same standard (a good majority of the games released in the last 20+ years or so) can be swapped in and out in a plug-and-play manner (kind of like a home console, if you will).
For a first-timer, something along the lines of a converted Street Fighter II cab is a good pick. It's JAMMA, it has the added buttons and wiring connectors required for them, and it's cheap!
Galaga or Ms Pac are good starters. There's a mod that you can do to a Millipede board where you can switch between Centipede and Millipede. I have a ton of Nintendo cabs and love them.
I built a MAME cabinet from scratch about 5 years ago. It's great, but I never got around to finishing it. The monitor I want is too expensive. It's functional as I have a computer monitor hooked up to it, but it's not finished. Looking through, I don't believe that I have a decent photo of it, but here's a couple early construction photos. Maybe one day I'll finish it. Just to note, I'm pretty much inept when it comes to woodworking. My dad did a lot of the cutting of the wood.
But as for what game to get, get one you love the most. That'll keep you hooked.
http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/ele/2425739043.html
It's Jamma, so you can switch out a ton of other cool games if you ever get bored with that one. I like that game too.
I've never seen Knights of the Round in the arcade, is it similar to the SNES game?
I'm currently using a modified Xbox to run MAME, but those XBOX controllers really blow.
Even with the multitude of games, I always seem to come back to the same 7 or so.
I'm currently using a modified Xbox to run MAME, but those XBOX controllers really blow.
That's why you invest in an arcade stick. I used to use a Namco PS1 arcade stick with a PS1->XBOX converter.
I have thought of doing the whole MAME cab thing, but I would definitely not alter a perfectly functional game, as they're hard enough to find without removing one more from the limited supply. However, apartment living does not really lend itself to having a lot of space for building. (Not really for collecting either, but I make room for that!!) I can do some minor technical work, but nothing huge due to limited workspace, therefore coming up with the idea of going "retail", but I'm sure there's a huge premium for "High profile name games"
I've never seen Knights of the Round in the arcade, is it similar to the SNES game?
I'm currently using a modified Xbox to run MAME, but those XBOX controllers really blow.
Even with the multitude of games, I always seem to come back to the same 7 or so.
What I did was to buy an already made (and old) mame cabinet (in Mexico, copyright law is poorly enforced, so you can find these in mexican "ebay" easily). Mine didn't came from this ebay I mentioned, it came from a guy that owned an arcade local, and wanted to get rid of his stuff. I don't know if you can get one in the US as easily.
Though my machine is old, It has many games, and I have the perpetual goal to upgrade it to Hyperspin, and make a super arcade machine... but since I'm busy/unskilled/lazy, I'll settle with the games that came with it for now.