The problem with MAME cabinets is getting the roms. It is for me at least. Have been having a heck of a time getting just the ones I want. I don't want to download 128GB image files. I'm really considering the Street Fighter cabinet, but even for as small as it is, I really don't have any room for it.

This goes for anyone interested - send me a 2TB (at least) hard drive (internal or external) and $70 and I'll send you back a fully configured Hyperspin setup with all the emulators and roms. You don't need to use Hyperspin if you prefer another front end or just need all the roms, but it's there and fully configured. Only changes you'd need to do is go into each emulator and configure it for your controls.

I love the game list, but I’m not sure how well mix of vertical and horizontal games is going to work.

Also, how well the spinner feels is the most critical issue for me.

ok... so you want a lit up marquee...

things to consider and to make happen...

light and power... the cab has a proprietary power source, so you're going to either have to tap into that, or have a power strip in the cab to provide AC to both the cab and light.

plexi / backlight marquee... I don't believe the existing marquee is translucent and the existing marquee is not going to be a standard size, you're going to have to make or order something special, and to do it right where it looks correct is $$

Gameroom solutions should make a retrofit kit for these...it is right up their alley. They already offer translucent marquee printing. They also sell a 12v LED strip kit with power supply to backlight it. You will still need to get your 12v power supply tapped into 110vAC somewhere.

Unless it's just a mocked up illustration, that definitely shows Centipede stretched to horizontal. No bueno.

I agree with your concern about the vertical vs horizontal games. It will be interesting to see how this is handled.

For what it’s worth, in the YouTube review by the puppet guy, he plays Tempest and it clearly appears to be letterboxed with vertical bars on the sides to retain the correct aspect ratio. These bars on the sides seem to blend in very well during gameplay and are not noticeable. But when he clears a level and the game flies to the next level, it is clearly seen.

Of course, this is only a video of a pre production game. Hopefully this is how it will be done, though.

In not an electrical engineer, but this isn't a difficult job. I've created more complex things than this would be. And I know a guy for printing custom marquees.

I love Tempest but would never want to deal with a 300 lb. vector unit. I wish the Asteroids cab had the Tempest artwork and design but I understand why they went this way. I know Asteroids is more popular. Although, I can’t get why anyone would like Asteroids more than Tempest these days.

Here’s a quick update video.

A real Tempest is 240 lbs. You guys do realize that's less than most pinball machines weigh?

Forgetting the initial cost and repair (which I have no arcade repair experience), I’m done carting anything up my steps (with three tight 90 dergree turns) that I can’t break down to sub 100lb weight.

Yes, you know a guy

Other places online that print custom marquees won’t print licensed images... try getting a made to size Centipede backlit marquee from a regular place... the custom guy you know might do it, but most likely not the regular places unless they have the license agreement.

The regular guy wanting to accomplish this task is going to have a hard time. Not trying dissuade anyone from trying, it’s just going to be a challenge

I totally agree. Good luck getting a reputable shop to print a marquee for you. But, you’d be amazed what you can get for cash off Craigslist. With a little searching anyone can find a guy.

You guys have clearly never tried.... One of the best reproduction artwork producers out there has no issue printing a custom one-off marquee for someone. I had one created for a cabaret cabinet. It was not that expensive either. They are very busy though, so you may have to wait a while. Mine came quick (within a week), but I've heard that's not typical nowadays.

MAME is free, roms can be downloaded here...

https://www.arcadepunks.com/all-hyperspin-downloads/

I’ve built some pretty ridiculous stuff... mind sharing who the fella is?

Pm me if you need to , much appreciated

Between this and some of the mame cabs I see in the game room pics thread it blows my mind the quality of vids some of you guys are willing to put next to your $50,000+ pin collection (with an extra $5,000+ in mods). I don't think there is any doubt from anyone that's into vids or been around vids much these are going to be garbage. You will certainly get what you pay for.

Imagine going into someone's game room and seeing immaculately restored vids and then one of these hunks of junk sitting in the lineup. Think about how absurd it would be for someone to sink money into modifying it and trying to upgrade it. The only difference is in this case the real deal or a good quality item is only a few hundred dollars more, not thousands.

Really should be a pic of a zizzle or something but the point remains the same and I can't figure out how to change pictures on mobile .

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I think that looks like fun actually

It’s not about money or prestige in my game room. I prefer novelty and fun.

Some people don’t have a problem parking a moped next to their mustang.

Considering the gameplay is identical to that of the full size, the comparison to a Zizzle is laughable at best. Sure, if you are putting games in your game room just to be a show-off of how much money you presumably have, that's fine. But again, your condescension is clouding your vision and not allowing you to see what market these are actually targeting. To think that someone cares about vids as much as their pins, is another narrow minded POV. I am sure there are vid fans with restored cabs who may have a ratty pin as well, because it is fun for them...not their main focus. Why is this so hard for some people?

100% this. These are just fun toys.

I've never known a child playing with toys to turn one down because it wasn't "high class" enough to associate with their other toys.

But it isn't identical that is showing my point exactly. You are mislead in the fact that it's the same thing and it's just as good. They aren't. It's a watered down and compromised version... Just like a zizzle. Look at the controls, look at the screen, look at the quality of the materials, look at the emulation, the lag, the size, etc.

I'm not saying you have to have immaculate games and be just as into vids as you are with pins. I'm simply warning you guys not to fool yourselves if you think you are getting an amazing deal that's "just like the real thing". If you want to think of it as a toy that's fine, but in this case the toy in Canada cost like $499. I've bought plenty of real cabs for that and less.

You guys are all free to spend your money how you'd like but as always "you get what you pay for" will ring true.

It’s cute that you think a Tempest is heavy. Try moving a Spy Hunter around someday. Every time I move mine, I have to check and make sure my spleen is still intact.
You are right though...those vector games are beasts, but totally worth the pain!

I couldn't agree more... I may be cancelling my order this weekend, Ill give it a few days to decide, I already own almost all of the games represented, and have very nice mame counterparts that look and function as the real thing for the games I cannot find or just don't have the space for. I just want my kids off of my darn games when my friends are over to play games... to be continued

Thanks!

I like the way you think! I’ve been building cabinets from scratch for friends, and one thing I’ve learned is that the nostalgia factor is a BIG factor. People need it to feel like an old cabinet, look like an old cabinet and play like an old cabinet.
The folks at 1UP have their heads in the right place, but they are trying to hit a price point. Plus they have to make it small enough to ship economically.
I think these units will sell like hot cakes around the holidays though.
Then once the new-ness wears off, you’ll see a glut of them FB marketplace, Letgo, etc...And that’s when I’ll move in for the kill...I don’t want the cabinets, I just want the guts. Those monitors with he integrated PCB and ribbon cables are going to make my life SO much easier.

I highly recommend the build-your-own route...it is very rewarding! Here is my latest creation, designed to hook up to a big screen tv with hdmi inputs.

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Someone's going to have to explain arcade punks to me. I guess I don't understand it. Like I said, I don't want to download gigs worth of image files. I want to download only the games I want.

And I'm putting them on a Raspberry Pi with RetroPie. So I'm not sure what Hyperspin is and if that even works for RetroPie.

I park my Jeep and my Batman next to my Mustang.

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It is actually more work to pluck individual games out of an image, than to just download it, install, and let it be. You will need some kind of system to load the games/emulators. That is where Hyperspin comes in. Here is a tutorial on how to setup Hyperpie on Raspberry pie. Hyperpie and Hyperspin both do the same thing. https://gameroomsolutions.com/hyperpie-setup/

This thread seems to have the right audience for this jukebox/gaming system I built and going to list for sale or trade.

- Jukebox software has over 20,000 songs and several thousand music videos.

- Hyperspin configured with thousands of games. All the games for the following system are installed. Play the games from any emulator using a USB SNES gamepad I have configured. Play all the MAME trackball games using the trackball on the kiosk. Actually be able to play all trackball, spinner and driving games using the trackball.

MAME
Atari 2600
NES
SNES
Genesis
Sega Master System
Daphne (laserdisc games)

- Android game system with Play Store access. Hundreds of Android touchscreen games are already installed and you can use the Google Play Store to download any game you'd like to play.

- Connect the kiosk to your home wifi and stream Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, TV shows, Spotify, Pandora, Sirius, etc. It's a full 23" touchscreen PC installed in the kiosk, so you can do whatever you'd like - you're not limited to the installed games and jukebox. I use the kiosk as an extra TV in the gameroom. I'll play pinball while watching football or whatever.

- HDMI input in the kiosk so you can connect any home game systems like Xbox, Playstation and use the kiosk as a dedicated TV for your games. Connect a cable box to the HDMI and you have a full 23" TV with remote.

- USB ports installed on the front of the kiosk to easily connect the gamepad, other controllers, USB sticks, etc. Additional USB ports available inside the kiosk as well.

-Audio output is a 1/8" audio cable that you can plug into your own speakers, receiver, sound system, etc.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/l0lG8mBFQDYr3IhB3
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4AlHslhwnH2adzq02
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JvfOIjuAVfnzhHCE3
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ogsWisstkREANf0D2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vvfRy8s5QeLyg1XD3
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iDPyVeQI3lTWCIpu2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/w9Gp20QqwqtFYn9a2

I have a few RetroPie images fully loaded, but never tried them out myself since I stick to PC builds. I'll see how large they are and host them if you want.

I tried to download one of the Raspberry Pi images from Arcade punks the other day. But after 2 days, it didn't download a single bite from the torrent.

I plan on building my own all you need is some plywood some Hands-On ability which I happen to have thank goodness as well as some tools and a Jamma board kit what you can get 60 games in one for a lot less then that entire package would be for one. Between the material and the Jamma board you could probably build one to your liking for about 400 if you have a monitor already which can be an old computer LCD screen

There are space saver styles as well.

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I'm guessing you meant to quote the guy I was responding to. I'm saying that Tempest is NOT heavy... less than a pinball machine. I've been a collector since the 90's, and have moved hundreds of games. And yes, Spy Hunter feels like it's made of brick.

Now I’m getting a hankerin’ for some bbq.

Well, that was a fun read. Lol

I guess I AM missing the market, because for someone that doesn't care about having an actual cabinet or perfect emulation, a plug n'play like this has 12 arcade games, takes up no room, and costs less than 20 bucks. Alternatively, you could buy PS4 and a $20-$30 arcade compilation for the same money. If I was your hypothetical single mom, that's an easy choice.

Again, they seem to be selling well, and that's great. I just found it surprising.

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Of course there is a market for them but this IS a forum for people that are actually passionate and into pinball and arcade machines. Even though there is definitely a market for them, most of us just aren't it. Looking around at any of the arcade forums and you will see the resounding opinion is the same. They are marketing the hell out of it and will probably sell a ton to the general public. Awesome. People will be happy with them for a couple of months until all those crappy Chinese buttons go out of them and they'll be curbside. People that have bought Chinese Micros know this, the general public doesn't. So we call it out as it is.

I bought a set of speakers as a general consumer. They work great for me. An audiophile would probably tear them to pieces because of how terrible they are to them. They are fine for me and I'm happy to have and use them... but bringing them to an audiophile convention and trying to convince everyone they are awesome is going to be a tough gig. A foolish one and I know that. "These $200 walmart speakers are just as good as your setup. I can hear the music just fine."

This IS a forum where there are a lot of knowledge on the subject of arcades so naturally they are going to get torn apart. Expecting anything different is foolish.

Whoops double

Can't wait for me & my friends to hunch over & play some Rampage. It's going to be so much fun My chiropractor is going to love me!!

If I hadn't discovered that I could buy full sized arcade games a long time ago I would have been the perfect customer for one of these units. I definitely see the allure. Minimal commitment with just enough authenticity.

They have real arcade controls that could be swapped out for other parts and they are simple enough that they won't intimidate people. Little kids would love these! I definitely would have purchased one for my kids when they were small if these were available.

Anyone who has ever been on any BBQ forum or BBQ facebook page knows this is 100% accurate.

Read somewhere that the monitor has different inputs, Might be a candidate for a JROK

Have a dedicated original Defender but the other Williams heavy hitters are hard to find in my price range.

If these can me moded I'll probably pick one up. Hopefully someone will figure it out like they did on the nes classic.

I doubt that we’ll see a plug and play mod like that. These look pretty locked down. One youtuber took it apart and there’s no usb connection on the board. You’d have to solder a connection to get access first.

I wonder about the screen. It’s connected by a ribbon cable so the video processing might even be on the main board and not on the screen. You might even need an lcd controller to connect it to a raspberry pi.

It looks easy to switch out the buttons and joysticks, but the size might be an issue.