Is a midway 12 in 1 worth buying?

[rapoza609]

I've been collecting vintage games for years but I've never bought an arcade cabinet before. I have an opportunity to buy a midway 12 in 1 from someone local to me. I understand it's not a real arcade machine but I'm considering it because I have a smaller budget to Mork with and limited space in my game room. They are asking $150. Is this thing even worth my time? I've heard good and bad about it.

[Bill Loguidice]

Worth it is always a tough question to answer. It's a fairly small scale cabinet with a fairly crappy TV as a monitor that doesn't quite display all of the games the way they're supposed to be (the scaling is off). The controls are also mediocre. I'd really have a hard time recommending it as anything beyond a novelty, so it'd be tough to pay more than $100 for it. Maybe you can negotiate? (I'm basing my thoughts on my experience with it when it first came out all those years back. Some of the things I didn't like about it are probably a bit hazy at this point.)

[rapoza609]

Thanks. Yeah, those are the complaints I've mostly heard about it. If it's cheap enough I may get it, and I agree on the price.

[Keatah]

Haggle it down, then replace the crap 'tronics in there with new stuff for MAME. Or just build up a bartop MAME from the get go! Far more satisfying than dick'n'round with somebody else's crap.

[racerx]

As long as you understand what it is, $50 wouldn't be too bad.

[+save2600]

You talking about this thing?

 

 

where the average person playing it, is larger than the cabinet?

 

I remember Target selling these at one time for around $200 on "clearance". Saw one at a PawnUSA in Madison recently for $150 and one at TJ MAX (still palletized) of all places!

[rapoza609]

Wow...I didn't realize it was that small!! Holy crap. Well thanks for saving me the trip down to look at it, lol.

[+save2600]

Wow...I didn't realize it was that small!! Holy crap. Well thanks for saving me the trip down to look at it, lol.

 

There's a "bar" top model too. In case you happen to have one of those Sauder "ready to assemble" pressboard bar things to plop it on. And warp.

[Keatah]

Reaching DOWN to the controls has gotta suck. It'll be unpleasent to play.

[Osgeld]

yea cause you could never screw together a MDF box for it to sit on and rise it up... if someone were to give me one that's what I would do, but as is, you know its at best OK, and requires another 10-20 bucks in materials + your time to fiddle with it... your call

 

(hell just get a foot locker to set it on lol)

[Bill Loguidice]

yea cause you could never screw together a MDF box for it to sit on and rise it up... if someone were to give me one that's what I would do, but as is, you know its at best OK, and requires another 10-20 bucks in materials + your time to fiddle with it... your call

 

(hell just get a foot locker to set it on lol)

 

That's actually what they did most of the time at retail. It was put on pallets.

[+save2600]

 

That's actually what they did most of the time at retail. It was put on pallets.

 

That's actually how *they* ship ALL arcade games. Even the faux ones.

 

'Cept the ones so large, they have casters underneath. Or are boxed/palletized in sections to where you need a pallet jack and/or several 4-wheel dolly's to move. Ugh.

[TPA5]

I mean if it was under $100 I'd probably do it to be honest. If it's built even semi-decently you could MAME it, thus saving yourself the time of building the cab, sourcing the controls, etc since that's all done already. If it's a little too low as other people have mentioned you could very easily raise it up abit, or simply get a bar-chair and have a sit-down style cab.

[rapoza609]

Looking at the pictures, it appears that the lable on the front door is damaged/peeling in the corner. Might just be best to save my money for a real arcade cab or Mame.

[Bill Loguidice]

I mean if it was under $100 I'd probably do it to be honest. If it's built even semi-decently you could MAME it, thus saving yourself the time of building the cab, sourcing the controls, etc since that's all done already. If it's a little too low as other people have mentioned you could very easily raise it up abit, or simply get a bar-chair and have a sit-down style cab.

 

All you'd really get out of it is a basic shell. I'm pretty sure the controls don't adhere to the expected standards (and they're pretty poor even if they do) and the "monitor" is just a crappy, small CRT TV. So you'd be paying $100 for something you'd have to essentially gut. Honestly, for $100, it would probably be worth just leaving and playing as-is.

 

On the plus side, it really doesn't take up that much space, and, if I recall correctly, you could plug other stuff into the TV if you wanted to. I think the actual emulation is pretty good, too, so I bet it would be easy to swap the display for something better, and maybe experiment with swapping out the controls (if needed).

[Flojomojo]

I've been collecting vintage games for years but I've never bought an arcade cabinet before. I have an opportunity to buy a midway 12 in 1 from someone local to me. I understand it's not a real arcade machine but I'm considering it because I have a smaller budget to Mork with and limited space in my game room. They are asking $150. Is this thing even worth my time? I've heard good and bad about it.

 

Is it that thing that was selling at Target about 10 years ago? I suspect it is ... in which case, avoid. It's tiny, the monitor is small and bad, and the controls are crap. I buy all kinds of re-created retro junk, and even I took one look at this thing and said, "yuck." It's not worth it, especially for $150, even to, as you say, Mork with. Go see it in person without a commitment to buy, and you will understand. It's neither retro nor well done.

 

https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/53325-do-not-buy-the-midway-arcade-machine-at-target-450/

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=123507

I would appear that the person in this video has never played a real arcade game.

[Austin]

They are neat but $100 is way too much. A friend of mine paid $50 for his, and I think that's about worth it if you can afford the space. Any more and you are paying too much for what you are getting. The joysticks sit way too tall and the buttons aren't real buttons--they are tiny and mushy. For 12 games you can get for $10 on a modern console, this thing takes up a heck of a lot more space and is sub-par in quality. At least it's light--very easy to carry up some stairs.

[Keatah]

..or load into the garbage truck.

[Osgeld]

if someone was giving one away (for cheap) I would might it as a base for a mini arcade, I have plans drawn out for more or less bartop sized mame on a stand up pedestal

 

little router magic easily cram a 19-22 inch crt computer monitor (oh look there's a practically brand new 20 inch 1280x1024 flatscreen CRT viewsonic sitting in the basement, with speakers) and add a base to rise it up

 

little power sanding, sanding sealer, and paitence with paint .. same as doing one from scratch but the "wood" is already cut for you lol

Edited January 30, 2016 by Osgeld

[Keatah]

It's like buying a kit you have to disassemble before you can begin assembly for real!

[Osgeld]

sounds better than sheet MDF with no shape heh

 

hell < 50 bucks for router templates no design involved other than extending the base ... I might hammer it out and burn it once im done lol

Edited January 30, 2016 by Osgeld

[Jeremy Popp]

I recently acquired one of these for free and have been playing it. The biggest downfall for me is the monitor; the colors are all washed out. Otherwise, it would be an nice addition for someone who doesn't want to mess with upkeep on a real arcade, or have the expertise to build a Mame. It takes up a lot less space, and when I play, I use a stool to sit on, and it's fine. Controls are cheaper than arcade quality, but don't feel horrible - there are micro-switches I can hear clicking. Positives are that it has A/V inputs, and suited for cramped areas. If I had to place a best-fit target audience, I would say it's children. It feels like a child’s toy as opposed to a dedicated adult piece of hardware.

 

For hardcore Robotron fans, it may be worth it due to dual stick support. It plays really well.

[Relicgamer]

On 1/27/2016 at 9:25 AM, Bill Loguidice said:

Worth it is always a tough question to answer. It's a fairly small scale cabinet with a fairly crappy TV as a monitor that doesn't quite display all of the games the way they're supposed to be (the scaling is off). The controls are also mediocre. I'd really have a hard time recommending it as anything beyond a novelty, so it'd be tough to pay more than $100 for it. Maybe you can negotiate? (I'm basing my thoughts on my experience with it when it first came out all those years back. Some of the things I didn't like about it are probably a bit hazy at this point.)

I know this is a old thread.  But no thats not true about the monitor.  They are really good. The only way you know this is that you have to plug in something into the a/v underneath and select it. The rom they used in the cartridge is the problem.  I know this because when I used my imported sega Saturn with sega rally its rather beautiful and clean for what it is. It would be alot better if it was converted to rgb but far a/v its very good. Im going to pull my monitor out and use it for other vintage game consoles and use a larger monitor in the cabinet.