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I agree with the earlier post that these are a fad. Once the nostalgia wears off, people will start dumping them for cheap. For $400, you can build a nice MAME PC and throw it in any old arcade cabinet. It makes for a great project and you can get exactly the setup and games you want with better performance. Just buy a license for Launchbox and *acquire* some ROMs from the internet and you're ready to go.
If the nostalgia ever wears off, then at least you have a PC.
Quoted from swampshroom:I think it is definitely worth it. Your right, way to many games. But spend an evening going down memory lane and putting them into a favorites list and you will be so happy you modded it.
ETAPrime on YouTube is where I got most of my mod info from. Super easy after that.
+1 for ETAPrime. Great channel.
Also, the too many games thing is real. I have way more fun with just 60 games on my MAME cab than I ever did with 12,000+.
Quoted from JodyG:These aren't targeting people who are hard core enthusiasts and know how to set up Mame. They are for the average Joe who who doesn't have the space or time to roll around a mildew filled, cigarette burned 30 year old cabinet into their family room and set up and configure mame.
I agree. I was just offering the MAME thing as an alternative option. Most people don't even know what MAME is. It's a rabbit hole though once you get started. Tons of fun setting everything up just the way you want and seeing the games come to life.
Quoted from chooch:Building the PC is the easy part but setting everything up to have a nice front end can be overwhelming. I have a MAME machine that cost a few grand when new and it has a really nice trisync crt monitor however the front end is dated and I dread having to start all over. Setting up another front end is pain which is why the machine pretty much just sits there and collects dust.
That's why I suggested Launchbox. You can set the whole thing up in 15 minutes and have a nice arcade front end with BigBox. Anyone with access to YouTube can have a nice setup in an afternoon. Heck, I didn't even build my PC. I just bought a Dell Optiplex with a 3rd gen i7 for $95 shipped and it plays everything well without a graphics card.
Tankstick: $200
https://shop.xgaming.com/products/x-arcade-tankstick-trackball-usb-included
Dell Optiplex with i7-3770: (They sell at auction for about $100-$120)
ebay.com link: Dell Optiplex 7010 DT 500GB HDD I7 3770 8GB 1
Launchbox Premium lifetime license: $45
https://www.launchbox-app.com/
Games: Free online at archive.org
https://archive.org/details/MAME_0.209_ROMs_merged
MAME Emulator:
https://www.mamedev.org/
You could build a machine in an afternoon for less than the 1UP with the potential to play thousands of games. With the trackball on the Tankstick you can play things like Golden Tee, Centipede, Marble Madness, etc.
Quoted from chooch:Last time I looked into upgrading mine Hyperspin was the front end of choice which was not easy to setup.
Hyperspin is an absolute nightmare. Or at least it was last time I tried to use it too. Got a LaunchBox license and never looked back. There are different skins you can download from the LaunchBox community, but the stock one looks extremely polished.
I just don't get it, even after reading all these posts. If you want something smaller, it's more financially efficient and smarter to build a bartop arcade like this one. It'll run the games better, and you can customize your game library at any time. It also makes for a great family project.
Quoted from LilRocky:Pricing on the new cabs is BS at $700. I remember paying $400 on the old TMNT cab and being sour about that price hike, but $700 for the new cab that has the same games and only adds a stool and wifi is pretty upsetting. I see the new XMen cab is also riding the $700 boat. Looking forward to the releases on Tron, T&F, and Dragon's Lair, but not looking forward to the new pricing model.
The only reason I would ever consider paying that much is for specific hardware like the Star Wars yoke, but even then you're only getting 3 games. For $700 you can build an emulation PC in less than a day that can play thousands of games.
Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:True, but I play my One Ups way more than the giant high speed MAME rig sitting next to it because they are easy to use, look neat, and I can have guests over that use it without helping them out every 3 minutes. Slowly expanding my One Ups and will eventually sell/trade the high end MAME. I found I spent more time configuring my MAME than actually playing it.
I agree with much of what you said, which is why I keep my games list to the top 150 I'll actually play. I also plan on upgrading to the Ultimarc RGB LED buttons so they light up appropriately for each game and menus. That way it's self explained. It's a lot of work, but it makes for a fun project and the end result is really fun with tons of flexibility. I'm not knocking people who buy Arcade 1UP machines. I just choose a different path that works for me.
Quoted from Lethal_Inc:Unless they do Tron or 720
I wouldn't be surprised to see both of these eventually. I think the future of their platform is games that require specific controls that would be hard to otherwise emulate. The Star Wars game they came out with is a great example of this.
Quoted from kool1:Tron cabinet looks so good but the game is just so-so
I love the Tron movies. One of my favorite franchises of all time.
The game... sucks.
Quoted from Mudflaps:The Tron cabinet is iconic and one of those pieces of gameroom eye candy you can’t ignore.
But yeah, the game blows!
So true. That cabinet just oozes nostalgia and badassness.
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Hoover, AL