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I want to own an arcade


Syzygy1

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On 8/4/2019 at 11:30 AM, Flojomojo said:

That's awesome. My dream arcade doesn't have any other people stinking it up, which makes the upkeep, storage, and cost kinda moot. Having it all virtually makes the most sense for me.

 

"Demented shut in with no friends" almost sounds like a bad thing. Unlike these lonely millenials, I crave solitude these days. 

My recently minted lone wolf arcade in my basement is perfect. Two cabs, one guy. Vintage 80's Vinyl records on a brand new turntable, 60" 4K TV in the background showing whatever. 

 

Only down side side is that I have to share it with an ill mannered cat. 

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Agreed, MAME is the best way to get introduced to arcade games.  You don't even need to make a custom MAME cab, just running it on any PC is fine.  I'm happy using an Xbox controller for it till I'm able to get a Tankstick in the future...

 

If you're worried about which ROM sets to get, I recommend getting MAME .197 and IA-rcade.

 

It lets you download any ROM for any system off the Internet Archive which is legal.

 

Trust me I remember what it was like being 16 and having big dreams and hardly any cash.  You got whole lifetime ahead to achive them eventually.

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On 7/23/2019 at 2:00 PM, Syzygy1 said:

I'm 16 (going to be 17) and I want to own an arcade when I move out of my parents' house. Thing is, I don't know a lot about money so it's going to be hard. I also need to know about space, what games I want, and how to make it like a real 80s arcade. I intend it to be similar to John's Arcade and have it in my basement. And I don't know how to repair any games.

 

Win Publishers Clearing House or the lottery and do this:

 

https://www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories.html#fortress

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I would just build a MAME cab... and since I'm a huge fan of shoot em up games collecting the ones I want would be insanely expensive. Collecting the genre on consoles is expensive enough. I currently don't have the space for a single cab atm but I do enjoy all of my favorite arcade games on my PC.

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Yes. The older the original cabs are the MORE expensive they become - if you want to get them back into good shape. You might find a jalopy that's got rotted particle board and a gassy monitor. Restoring that alone is going to cost you several hundred straight away. That's just one game!

 

Good thing about emulation is when you fix/upgrade your host PC, you're taking care of ALL of your arcade games at once. All of them are getting a fresh new host. And you might even get new features with new versions of emulators.

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and if you really want to start cheap - do what I did - get an Arcade1up cab on closeout at Walmart (you can find some of them for $100 or $150), add a riser, and convert it to a full MAME cab using a Raspberry Pi. I made a 70 in one Vertical Cab, with a better 8 way joystick, 2 action buttons, and pretty soon I'm going to add a trackball. Plays every game I want, in a brand new cab, with a great, customizable menu system, and all told I spent under $300 for it.

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On 8/8/2019 at 12:58 AM, MrMaddog said:

Agreed, MAME is the best way to get introduced to arcade games.  You don't even need to make a custom MAME cab, just running it on any PC is fine.  I'm happy using an Xbox controller for it till I'm able to get a Tankstick in the future...

 

If you're worried about which ROM sets to get, I recommend getting MAME .197 and IA-rcade.

 

It lets you download any ROM for any system off the Internet Archive which is legal.

...

I don't think it checks which rom files are legal; you wouldn't be left with many to play if it did.  I suppose it's usefull if you can't be bothered downloading the rom files yourself.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I did a segment on my podcast about this very same thought.. I figure that you are going to need at least $500,000 to do it right. Getting the right space in the right location for your arcade is key, almost more than obtaining the working machines and finding someone who can fix them when they go bad, because at some point, they will.

 

The free play option is the right way to go in this day and age. charge $10-15 for people to play as long as they like, hire the right people to run it when you're not there, and hopefully you can break even.

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7 hours ago, Rendclaw said:

I did a segment on my podcast about this very same thought.. I figure that you are going to need at least $500,000 to do it right. Getting the right space in the right location for your arcade is key, almost more than obtaining the working machines and finding someone who can fix them when they go bad, because at some point, they will.

 

The free play option is the right way to go in this day and age. charge $10-15 for people to play as long as they like, hire the right people to run it when you're not there, and hopefully you can break even.

If you're competing with Dave & Busters or Chuck E. Cheeses, then sure, but if you have the right location with a high amount of foot traffic and are wise in how you buy games for a specific audience that is interested in gaming in your area, then you can make do with a lot less than that. As the old mantra goes, Location, Location, Location (and a good landlord that doesn't hate arcades and fun)! That alone makes one of the biggest differences.

 

When I used to sell arcade machines, I helped a lot of arcades get running on amounts like $50k, $80k, $100k, $250k,, etc. If you're looking at doing a retrocade, then many of those games can be had for cheap (the challenge is in maintenance though, and the pickings are very dependent on what other people might be selling out of their collections. Supply is continually dwindling on 80's/90's games, while demand remains high). Some have reported doing really well on that model, but it's not a guarantee at success. 

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An arcade is going to have to be clean, have completed ceilings, have games in working order with nice monitors, and be conveniently located. Not to mention have some space between the games and not be overcrowded. There should be 80's music with 80's style patrons. Otherwise why bother going through the trouble of going outfox the arcade experience?

Edited by Keatah
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Aim for a cocktail.

 

Just bought one delivered to me for $165 and only needs the glass cover which is like 45 delivered.

 

They need a lot less space, and are easier to work on since they open from the top.

 

Plus you can do your homework on it, eat, drink, etc.

 

 

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On 9/4/2019 at 7:49 PM, PikoInteractive said:

Aim for a cocktail. 

Just bought one delivered to me for $165 and only needs the glass cover which is like 45 delivered.

They need a lot less space, and are easier to work on since they open from the top.

Plus you can do your homework on it, eat, drink, etc.

 

A lot LESS space?  One cocktail and two small stools eats up the same space as 3 full size cabinets.   

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On 9/6/2019 at 5:56 PM, Turbo-Torch said:

 

A lot LESS space?  One cocktail and two small stools eats up the same space as 3 full size cabinets.   

 

Why would you ALWAYS have it set up with 2 stools tho?

 

Can be your coffee table and you bring over a chair or two when you want to play.

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  • 1 year later...

Well, I'm 18 (going on 19) now and I have a debit card. I'm going to get a job in September. I was thinking of putting two or three arcade machines in my basement: Galaga, Dig Dug, and Nicktoons Racing. They are enough to keep me happy. I just want a nostalgia paradise room like Neil Cicierega's in "Aaron." Plus, I'll learn how to fix arcade machines. My dad will help.

 

My dream is to rent out a large space in New Jersey when I move out (probs to Jackson, cus Six Flags operator rep) and fill it with arcade games and some amusement rides (probs Zamperla. Big rides for the adults and little rides for the kids), but that's gonna be when I get a bigger and better job that the one I'll have in the fall.

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Yeah, arcade cabinets are not cheap. I did see a Sega New Astro City for sale on BEEP's online store for 88000 yen + shipping a few months ago. I wish I'd had the money and a bigger house, but I don't.

 

Anyway, advice: buy Neo Geos. They can have up to 6 games at a time, depending on the model, so they save a lot of space. The games are good and cheap for arcade games. You could spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on individual arcade PCBs and have each one in a dedicated cabinet taking up its own space or you can spend comparatively little money on Neo Geos and Neo Geo cartridges and have them occupy considerably less space. This was one of the selling points of the Neo Geo when it was new and it remains true now. Obviously with less cabinets, that means less people can play at once = slower cash intake, so you have to figure out the balance between number of games and cabinets and other stuff.

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19 hours ago, Syzygy1 said:

Well, I'm 18 (going on 19) now and I have a debit card. I'm going to get a job in September. I was thinking of putting two or three arcade machines in my basement: Galaga, Dig Dug, and Nicktoons Racing. They are enough to keep me happy. I just want a nostalgia paradise room like Neil Cicierega's in "Aaron." Plus, I'll learn how to fix arcade machines. My dad will help.

 

My dream is to rent out a large space in New Jersey when I move out (probs to Jackson, cus Six Flags operator rep) and fill it with arcade games and some amusement rides (probs Zamperla. Big rides for the adults and little rides for the kids), but that's gonna be when I get a bigger and better job that the one I'll have in the fall.

If you only are looking for the arcade experience initially. Then you could go a cheaper route with a modern made arcade cab that has an LCD screen in it and one of those 60-in 1 game board sets in it. Lost of the arcade operators around here use those 60 in 1 boards in the machines they sell and put on their routes. They keep the legit stock units in their personal collections in most cases.

 

But I say this because at least where I live, you can get a modern made multicade system for about $2000. That would have quite a nice selection of games to choose from at any one time and you can usually customize them to a degree. You would spend the same or just a tad less on a dedicated cabinet like Galaga or Dig Dug in good working condition.

 

And you do need to be prepared to work on them. They require maintenance like anything else, but arcade cabs tend to break if you don't use them routinely. They also break when you do...LOL!

 

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