2005/2006 Namco's Rockin' Bowl-O-Rama is a great videogame addition to a gameroom. Post your thoughts here. In The Big Lebowski thread, several collectors have expressed an interest in Bowl-O-Rama.
(Topic ID: 256728)
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Here's the commercial version, with a more substantial base, stainless steel speaker panel and larger speakers than the home version.
Apart from those differences, the home version appears to be identical.
Retailers price functional examples with nice cosmetics in the $2,500 - $3,000 range. Good examples do show up for sale privately in the $1,300 - $2,000 range, although they have become more scarce in the last couple of years.
There's a working home version on eBay now in Indiana for $1,500.
3c08983b3356d15300f69ff894c9925d32864b24 (resized).jpg8eeca9544e395ce6e749618072f879dbf18928bd (resized).jpgQuoted from Blitzburgh99:This is why I’ve shied away from picking one of these up. Lots of stories on KLOV about the hard drives crashing and they are not fixable. Maybe they aren’t as bad as what I’ve read? If not, maybe I will look into these again.
Namco still sells a large variety of replacement parts for Bowl-O-Rama. See link below.
While it is true that the floppy disc can fail, flash drive replacements are available on eBay for $75 and elsewhere. They can be tricky to install because the original software system was proprietary. That is the likely reason for the KLOV complaints.
Mine is still running strong on the original floppy disc. I do have a flash drive if it ever fails in the future.
Retailers have exploited this trepidation by buying up dead games on the cheap at auction, installing the flash drive and reselling at retail prices.
https://www.namcoparts.com/ECommerce/category/namco-parts/video-games/rockin-bowl-o-rama
6 months later
4 months later
My commercial model Bowl-O-Rama is available to fund my daughter's college tuition. PM me for a video demo.
It's fully functional, complete with dual spinning ash trays and dollar acceptor. The cosmetics are exceptionally nice, including an excellent original monitor and trackball.
I am in southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia.
Thanks for all of the Bowl-O-Rama inquiries. The game is sold, pending pick up. Pinside donation to be made.
2 years later
Quoted from MrBally:There was one on display at the recent AMOA/Amusement Expo. It did not seem as rugged as the 2005 version. The cabinet resembles that of a British jukebox.....
"Rugged" is an understatement. The original version is a beast (in a good way). . .but, heavy as hell and cumbersome to move.
Quoted from MrBally:Agree on the original, commercial model being a bitch to move. I didn't take a pic of it at the show, but here's one from last month's RePlay. The trackball on the new one feels like a toy vs. the bowling ball feel of the original.[quoted image]
That's disappointing. The hefty trackball on the original is the critical component that allows the player to maneuver the ball.
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