Arcade Machines

[Australian Ninja]

Originally Posted by HD Boy

Cheers man. Do you build them? I'd be willing to pay up to 2k for a really well built one.

If money were no object, you could order a custom built cabinet or refurbished cabinet from various places.

However, if you want something that is functional and cheap you'd be better off hunting down an old Jamma style generic cab on ebay (within Australia, if you don't want to pay the price of a small house shipping from overseas!)


You can then just change out the arcade board (PCB) and put other games in (as some collectors / archivists do), have a single game, or strip out the insides and customise the insides with whatever CPU/ compter you wish to chuck in there. You may need to buy a screen, this is something you really need to read up on if you go for an actual arcade mahine over a computer monitor, as there are many issues when dealing with old screens, and compatibility.

All joysticks and buttons etc are available to buy easily and cheap online for decent parts you buy Sanwa arcade parts for example - they are easy to find. Just ask some of the dudes here who customise their arcade sticks (console sticks, but arcade parts, plenty of places to buy the parts from). Or head on over to Couch Warriors http://www.couchwarriors.org/real/index.php forums/facebook for advice specifically on buttons / joysticks, where to buy from, how much and all that.

A lot of people buy their parts from Asia, this local site is an okay place to start browsing, but best to look up the actual compaines themselves for comparison prices, shipping etc.
http://www.gaminggear.com.au/joysticks/



Another option, if you want a REALLY nice cab, is to actually get someone to build you a custom cabinet (just the cabinet, as in a carpenter / hobbyist etc) to your specific measurements, this would cost a bit, but once you have it, you can add decals, get it painted just a flat solid colour or whatever you like, depends on whether the aesthetic matters to you at all.

I'm likely going to go with this option myself in the next couple of years, seeing as I just moved into place with a small garage, and eventually I want one single game retro machine (eg Galaga or similar) and one dedicated custom MAME PC cabinet. Also, there is a shop in my town that makes pretty much anything out of wood (shelves, desks, tv cabinets) to order so I won't be paying to post anything (of the cabinet exterior).


It's relatively cheap to buy a computer, load up the full MAME set on the PC or a hard drive (whatever runs fastest with the particular setup), but it's usually best to have your top 100 games etc in a directory to make it easier to find the games you want at the right time, have it run at normal speed etc. Or have games by genre eg 1on1 fighters with fighters, shmups with shmups etc.


You can download the MAME set(s) online, or if you have download limitations, order the set on DVDs (just google it, loads of people sell them from the UK, US, ASIA etc, even thought it's illegal, they don't don't own the MAME games!)

So yeah, find something old and not broken and fix it up (like SOX's cabinet) or get something built. But don't waste your money on an inferior machine, or be in a rush to get something. Keep hunting around on ebay (and ebay UK and US, to compare prices and models etc) and get a fair idea of what cabs are worth so you don't get ripped off. And keep in mind that majority of old machines will need SOME sort of work.**

Here's some over priced machines from the UK, if you've got five thousand pounds to spare, you could get one,.... but they are pretty ugly as well as expensive.
http://kudos-gamesroom.com/5-arcade-machines


**Many collectors buy old machines and restore them, often they are not in working order, and they usually source parts from differents sellers etc, it's rare to buy a complete and whole working cab, unless someone has fixed it up to sell (for profit) or it's come straight from an old chip shop or warehouse where it's been in a 'han solo in carbonite' like period of suspended animation - protecting it from the ravages of time.

[Australian Ninja]

Originally Posted by SOX

This is relentless

These spambots sure do rack up a lot of frequent flyer miles. Every post from a different country.