MAME can do all that in less space...

(speaking as a guy with 23 vids himself... )

I like having these vids, because it limits just how large my pin collection can be, which is a good thing for me.

I voted keep them since you don't have a bunch. Seems the classic vids are always hits during parties/get-to-gethers at least at my HArdcade. But MAME if you have the urge for more lol!

Ditch....I dumped all of my vids (except the 60 in 1 and the linked Rush 2049s) and have no regrets.

Ditch centipede and dk, easy to replicate in MAME. Tron has the spinner, cool joystick, and UV lighting (and great art). You should have kept tron pinball, would've complimented it nicely

Since I got back into pins, I've lost all interest in arcade vids. Even MAME, when I see one in a room I think "get out of here MAME, and make room for another pin!". That's my personal feelings, but you asked .

Ditch the vids. Don't get me wrong, I like video games too, but, pinning is 100 times better. You can play vids on a gaming console, a good MAME or computer.

Replace them all with vector games.

I've got both a Battlezone and an Asteroids.

Battle zone is coolii

I am in your exact situation. One cocktail 60 in 1, ms PAC man , joust, bubbles and 2 pins. I have a new pin coming so I am lending one of my pins to a friend. Need more space ! Ms pm might have to go as she is on the cocktail Also. But the diversity works with the look, feel and guests.

I am ditching another vid soon. I have it figured out to where I can get 6 pins, 6 vids, a dart board and a pachinko machine into my setup. I am pretty proud of myself to have squeezed so much in! Now I just need to complete a couple deals to get up to 6 pins

I wouldn't get rid of Tron. Great classic game.

I'm actually adding more classic vids. I have a mame box. But I also collect vids that doesn't have standard controls. Battle zone, tron, discs of tron, cyber sled, etc. plus with the stupid pricing on pins vids are a real deal right now.

Vid ditching seems to be a trend, space / weight versus value is nowhere near pinball and the CRTs are an expensive, heavy liability.

Sadly, the most useful, sure-fire video game to have in a pin room seems to be a Megatouch. Yuck.

Not so much for Tron. You'd have to have one heck of a Frankenpanel to get the controls right.

Coming from a guy with 25 cabs in his house, and another 10 disassembled in the garage and another ~15 gone through the garage in the last 12 years, you will want to keep the ones you really like. MAME, while great for 'preserving' the bits that play the game, actually is not exactly like the real game in many cases. Poor sound, off colors, glitches, and most of all -- not quite authentic controls; especially for anything other than straight digital joysticks.

Trackball, spinner, analog joystick like games just don't feel the same in Mame compared to a real board to me. It's like playing Virual pinball vs. Real pinball, just not to the same degree.

Coupled with the fact that configuring MAME to pick the right build number (they're constantly breaking old stuff just to add new stuff/re-working the code architecture to be 'pure') and the right rom versions, and then configuring input, dealing with 4 way joysticks not working for 8 way fighting games, and 8 way sticks not working for 4 way maze games well, it's just a lot of work.

Honestly, if you do want something that plays a large number of "true" classics (not everything like Mame including bootlegs/etc..) without all the configuration, hardware, etc.. issues, consider the PhoenixArcade "ArcadeSD" board. It's pricey--$330 shipped but is plug and play (after downloading a single zip of all the roms from a separate site); and best of all works great with a single 49 way digital joystick and automaps it into 2/4/4 diagonal/8 and even 49 way modes (for Sinistar). It switches automatically, no levers to move, no configuration per game, etc.. I own two of them, one for a vertical monitor, and one for a horizontal monitor. Plus they do updates every 3 or so months to add 3 or so new games and fix any bugs. It's pricey, but compared to pins, it's not and well worth the cost. For under $600 in a self-build starting with a vertical monitor Jamma wired cab, you can build one quickly.

True. That's why my main 'keeper' video collection is all stuff with either Vector monitors, or driving/shooting controls that can't be easily replicated in MAME.

I struggle with the "ditch the vids" thing all the time but haven't been able to bring myself to do it. In my collection I feel I need to have dedicated cabinets for Battlezone, Tempest, Asteroids, Tron, Star Wars Racers, and my Lethal Enforcers multi shooter. I'm also funny about Pacman having an original joystick so that can't be MAME either. Then there's Centipede, hard to get proper trackball placement on a multi panel...

Anyway, you can see the dilemma. Right now I'm keeping my vids. I still love them and having a well balanced gameroom is important to me. I'm keeping my pool table and air hockey too. But I wouldn't be surprised if the pin bug wins out in the end. It's a strong little bugger.

On a related note, slots are the same way. A Game Maker and / or Game King allows ten games of chance in the space of one. Problem is if you like reel spinners like I do. Then they encroach on the pins.

I find a small number of vids can round out a collection nicely especially for family, friends, parties for ppl who are not really into pins. I have a ms pacman cocktail and its great, women love to play it and it doubles as a table to set drinks and snacks on.

I like a nice mixture. Most of my vids won't be leaving anytime soon. And like others have said, MAME is just not the same.

If you like classic vids all you really need is one nice MAME machine.

It depends on what you value. As a kid of the 90's, I remember growing up playing video games in the arcade (TMNT, Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, ect). These can be done on Mame but they lack that wave of nostalgia that goes along with a dedicated cabinet fully restored. I actually prefer to play pinball which was something I did far less as a kid, but the nostalgia of a arcade cabinets keeps me coming back to vids. I like the setup of an arcade, mostly vids balanced by a few good pins.

In the end it comes down to space constraints, practicality and the overall enjoyment factor. People keep saying Mame, but ask them if they think owning a virtual pinball machine is the same as owning the original and I bet they would say no; same thing applies to me and it is why I can't go Mame for vids. Keep em!

I like a few vids. I have Tempest and a multi-cade.

I have Lunar Lamder and Tron in to que to be restored.

Keep Tron and get rid of the rest.

I only have a couple pins and about 10 vids at the moment. I want at least one more pin, but there is no way I'd only want one or the other. I also have a nice dart board. Variety is better.

Major Havoc!

I say keep them. They're always a hit at my parties with the kids.

I have three classic vids (Tron, Centipede, Donkey Kong).

I voted to keep them, especially DK!!!

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MAME sucks. If you want to go down the suck road just get a MAME and a Hyperpin and your collection is complete. Two crappy machines and plenty of space to fill up with something fun.

Mame sucks? I highly disagree with that man. Mine rocks like you wouldn't believe. Custom built, heavy computer power, 1200 watt sound system, and about 2500 games on one machine. Not everyone that comes here is a pin-fanatic, some people like arcade games, some like to bowl or play gun games, etc. I try to have at least a few of everything. We're actually building a second custom Mame to go next to this one. Never played a Hyperpin machine in person, but I have it on my laptop. Just about the same as the pinball games for sale on the ipad or android, but much better selection and free.

Vids can potentially be expensive too. Rare vectors can fetch a lot of doll hairs (saw a Solar Quest on Ebay last night for $2.5k and it'll sell). Only MAME if you want variety and simply don't have the room, it's considered sacrilege by vid collectors unless you have a custom.

Then again, the only game anyone truly needs is a dedicated Gravitar!

Love vids, got 8 classics right now and shopping for more. I'll take a Z80 and an AY-3-8910 over a Intel i7 and a 1200 watt sound system every time.

I also have a 1954 Seeburg Jukebox who's amp is rated at 25 Watts. Think your 1200 Watt system sounds 48 times better or is 48 times louder than my juke? Let's race.

That is why I stopped getting them. They are big and hard to move. Love having them but hate moving them. The taller ones will not stand up in my enclosed trailer and that is a big problem.

So what shade of rose are the glasses you're wearing?

Don't get me wrong (I was just being a smart ass......I'm good at it), some of that stuff is cool especially that old Jukebox but a modern high powered system is going to sound better.....won't look better but it should sound better. Also MAME machines run the original code.....so properly executed it will play EXACTLY like the original.....just on a nicer screen and with better sound.

I'm struggling with the same thing myself, but I've got about 6 Japanese arcade cabinets (candy cabs), two woodies, and a couple Crazy Taxi upright driving games.... I've got room for 2 more pins before I need to let go of any vids. I wouldn't mind getting down to about 4 candy cabs, two drivers, a woodie, and have room for a couple extra pins.

In your situation, though, it seems like you're heavy on pins and light on vids... In your 15-game-collection of pins, probably there's something you can let go of easier than the vids. Gotta keep things diverse - I'm going for that now myself, after being vid-heavy for basically the whole time I've been collecting.

Then again, the only game anyone truly needs is a dedicated Gravitar!

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Nope, the Juke probably doesn't sound better, but it does sound very good if you refurb it correctly and is in no way 1/48th as good like watts braggarts would try and make you think. There are no rose colored glasses involved when I say I would take a 1970's Marantz 60 WPC receiver over anything made today selling for 10 times the price.

Yes, Mame runs original code but through all different circuts and processors, and in general all the controllers are different than intended. The end results are not the same. Vids were no different than pins, designers and programmers spent months and months and months working on controller geometries and game speeds and strategies to make it just right. Drop in a PC with MAME and a control panel loaded with generic microswitched controllers does not duplicate what they worked so hard to make. To a very casual gamer playing a few games it is unnoticable, to a serious collector or player it is sacrilege.

Ditch them--at my house!

If its a MAME discussion I always chime in

Vids are COOL!

MAME is COOL!

Tron is COOL!

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I assure you audio-wise it would crush your juke. It doesn't have the nostalgic crackle of a record granted, but pound for pound there's no way that seeburg is putting out the bass response this system does. Not to mention I probably have 5000 songs on it. How many does your seeburg hold? 100? Been down the jukebox road, they're cool but I took it to our cabin. In the space several arcade games take up and a jukebox I can put in 4 pins or a bowler. Besides, the mame machine audio can be outputed to our main amp, and the video goes to every screen in the place including the 120" projection via HDMI matrix when we have tournaments.
The each their own man. For the space it takes up I'm a fan of a good mame machine. But then again I'm not an arcade game collector. I'm a pinball guy.

Second this. Put it into your 60-in-1 and see how you like it. The iCade board is fun and cheap, but certainly has some emulation issues. I had a Tron vid many years ago as that's what I grew up playing back in the day. Sold it to make room for more pins, and don't regret it. Yeah it looked super cool, but just didn't get any play. Like you, the multi-game machine gets lots of play at parties.

If you play the vids and enjoy them, keep them. If you don't, sell them and move on. Good luck!

Lose that junk! I had 66 classic games at one point and sold or junked them all no regrets. The reason I junked all my stuff was that I hated dealing with the other collectors/repair ppl.

Convert the Centipede to a 60-in-1 (add joy and buttons). Centi's are great cabs for conversions because of the existing trackball.

Ditch the Tron and get a nice Mario Bros or Joust cab for classic horizontal game; ArcadeSD or 19-in-1.

Ditch the DK and get an Asteroids and patiently wait for Clay Cowgill's multi-vector board.

... but if you're not interested in vids, get rid of them. But I like them in my gameroom.

I had four Vids, I kept one cabinet and have what it takes to play 3 different boards in it.

you want to buy a mega touch lol