Budget Atari and Capcom arcade cabinets to see release this fall!

[Skeeter]

I like Asteroids Deluxe

I love Gravitar

 

 

Those two games were a big draw for me and the Atari 12-1. Gravitar is awesome, tough as nails, but a great game and plays great on these A1UPs.

[negative1]

Livestream of galaga cabinet assembly by georgef511:

 

later

-1

[Machine]

I am getting the Costco 6in1 for sure. I use to own a Gravitar arcade and sold it 15 years ago. Big regrets!

[4300]

Had some time over the holiday to work in this thing some more. Put on done green t-molding and started on the backlit marquee. Need to finish the molding around the controls and get some brackets for the marquee yet. For those wondering, I'm up to about 30 bucks on this project.

[+GoldenWheels]

Looks like the Deluxe model is available at Walmart now as well, and currently at a price of $380

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Deluxe-Edition-12-in-1-Arcade-System-with-Riser-Arcade1Up-Atari-Graphics-815221025172/827734225

 

Everything else is 50 bucks off including Pacman & Galaga.

 

My wife was begging for a Christmas present idea for me already and I thought of this thing. I've talked my smack, but it's got the special controls set ups, which is how I said they could get me. I think they got me. Now I want it. Worst comes to worst it goes n the office at work.

 

So now I want it...but the 12 in 1s you link to, it's "GamerCandy" via walmart selling those. I'm not sure about Walmart's marketplace vendors, but those with 0% feedback make me nervous. Maybe I'll go kick around the store and buy my own present...

[NE146]

So now I want it...but the 12 in 1s you link to, it's "GamerCandy" via walmart selling those. I'm not sure about Walmart's marketplace vendors, but those with 0% feedback make me nervous. Maybe I'll go kick around the store and buy my own present...

 

Good catch.. man, didn't realize that. I really dislike these 3rd party vendor sales on the major retailer websites. I guess stick to Kohls or Best Buy!

[+GoldenWheels]

 

Good catch.. man, didn't realize that. I really dislike these 3rd party vendor sales on the major retailer websites. I guess stick to Kohls or Best Buy!

Yeah Best Buy is lookin like the place...guess I better give Santa the word.

[128Kgames]

Remember Marshall's and one of its partner stores has the 12-in-1 for $299 (search previous posts).

[+GoldenWheels]

Remember Marshall's and one of its partner stores has the 12-in-1 for $299 (search previous posts).

Hmmmm...we actually just got a Marshalls up the road (25+ minutes, I'm in the sticks) from us a few years ago. Thanks!

[128Kgames]

25+ minutes - I would definitely call to make sure they have it.

[NE146]

Yeah by their very nature, it's a crapshoot if Marshalls/TJ Maxx ever have anything. But hey sometimes you get lucky.

 

Kohls does list available stock on their website but I'd still call to make sure since it's probably not updated in real time

 

Best Buy you can just order it to your door, or store pickup of course.

[JBerel]

In saw between 4 and 6 units at two different kohls I was at this weekend. Both had them tucked in a corner. They didn't look like big movers, but who knows?

[Skeeter]

I'm up to three now, picked up Galaga this morning for $249. I know some Walmart's were marking them down even further, but my local store had them back at $299. So I bought online for store pickup while they were still $249 there. Now I see online is back at $299 as well so I made it just in time there it seems. So I got both Pac-Man and Galaga at the Black Friday price and the Atari Deluxe at $325 as I had a store credit at Best Buy for $75. Overall, I'm happy with what I paid and I'm happy with all three cabs so far.

 

Also of note, my Walmart had finally set up both a Pac-Man and a Galaga for play in store in a center aisle. Before, and all through Black Friday weekend, they only had a Galaga up way in the back and it had the plexiglass cover over the controls so you couldn't play. IMO, if they had done that before they might have sold a few more.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Skeeter

[JBerel]

I'm launching a new Kickstarter business selling attractive dust covers for these things. The first run should be available on January 2nd to coincide with the grousing wive's, peak dust collection, and the official wearing off of novelty. Early backers get a free Atari VCS at the conclusion of their indiegogo product release.

 

Prototype stage

 

Pre-Order now to receive your new dust cover right after the holidays.*

 

*specific holiday not guaranteed

Edited November 27, 2018 by JBerel

[negative1]

ok, i've putting the pac-man machine through its paces for the last couple of hours.

took about 30-45 minutes to fix, but i took my time, since i had seen all the how-to's,

i knew what to avoid.

 

mine is as good as it gets

- no light bleed

- no dead pixels

- no felt tip filled in dents

- no dead monitor

- all parts listed and present

- red trim intact

 

everything was exactly as it was supposed to be, parts wise,

and build wise.

 

first the fun pac-man charms:

------------------------------

Decked out my pac-man machine :

top - (left to right) pac-man neo geo pocket version, clyde stuffed,club namco pac-man collectors watch in front, and pac-man gameboy box.

Bottom - (left to right) hallmark pac-man ornament, dot.s pac-man, ghost, micro pac-man, tiny pac-man.

 

 

next up, diagnostic test, power up,

hold both player start buttons:

the fail came because i didn't press

up on the joystick at the right point (duh).

---------------------------------------------

 

high score 3rd game : 727 490

-------

 

will have an in depth review coming up.

 

- will break a million tonight

- going for killscreen in a few days

 

issues

-----------

- flimsy materials

- horrible sound, there is a constant hiccup, or clicking going on the whole time

- the joystick is flat out terrible, due to the height of it, and the feel

(too much give), will be replacing and gutting the machine once i get the proper parts.

 

overall, a nice curiosity, but not really meant for serious play.

 

later

-1

Edited November 28, 2018 by negative1

[JBerel]

Just an observation: for such a dedicated Pac-Man fan, you really need one of these. Cheap knock offs just ain’t gonna do.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Namco-Ms-Pacman-Galaga-20-Year-Reunion-Arcade-Cocktail-Cabinet-Class-of-1981-/283251086558?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10

[negative1]

Just an observation: for such a dedicated Pac-Man fan, you really need one of these. Cheap knock offs just ain’t gonna do.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Namco-Ms-Pacman-Galaga-20-Year-Reunion-Arcade-Cocktail-Cabinet-Class-of-1981-/283251086558?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10

 

Thanks, but interestingly i have already owned a ms pac man cocktail several years ago

(it wasn't working), along with a cocktail gyruss machines. boy were those suckers heavy.

anyway, they got way more use out of being a table then anything.

 

also coincidentally, arcade 1up is coming out with a line of cocktail tables,

including pac-man, space invaders, and street fighter 2, and possibly

ms pac-man. not sure what the cost will be though.

 

they are terrible for playing games that take awhile, your neck gets completely cramped,

and your hands are at horrible angles too, killing your wrists.

 

i buy things usually, because i'm a sucker for some of them.

as i keep saying 'collectors gonna collect'.

 

later

-1

Edited November 28, 2018 by negative1

[negative1]

Ok people, sit back and relax.

 

Here we go again, but this time its with Pac-Man, at home,

and not in a store.

 

Yes, there are tons of reviews out there, but have any gamers,

and i mean dedicated, real, or expert gamers tried these out?

 

I'm not going to bother going over the pro's and con's or the

basic information about the games, sounds, lists, etc. as they are sometimes

personal opinions, or have already been gone over many times already.

 

I am an expert at Pac-Man, and have killscreened the arcade game,

and several home ports also. I can do patterns or play freestyle

to get perfect eats on all the early boards too.

 

-------------------------------SKIP------------------------------------------------

 

tldr version:

==============================

Controls are not arcade accurate - but actually do the job for average players,

they are terrible for intermediate and expert players.

 

Games play near arcade accuracy - framerate, and response is decent,

graphics are blocky and pixelly of course.

 

Screen angles are shallow - but colors are pretty vibrant enough in most cases when

looked at head on.

 

===========================================================================================================

 

STOP READING HERE, IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

 

 

-------------------------------SKIP------------------------------------------------

 

 

The long picky review follows:

 

I am going to go into boring gameplay details,

response times, and control mechanics for the games i know.

 

================================================================================

Background -

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have been playing videogames from the days of pong, breakout and space invaders

I stopped playing them in the late 90's, and 00's when deluxe units were the norm.

 

I do know most of the Atari, Williams, Namco, and Capcom library inside and out.

 

I am NOT an expert at every game, but have played all of them either extensively

in the arcade when they originally came out, at home in MAME, and in pretty much

every port on PC, console, and remake that has come out.

 

Hardware control experience

----------------------------

I have used arcade controls, buttons, trackballs and spinners since they came out.

 

I have home versions of those controls, and actually don't use dpads or analog stick

on any console unless I'm forced to.

 

My preference is always dedicated controls for arcade games.

 

 

Arcade gaming habits

-----------------------

I play arcade games, or ports pretty much every day, through the 80's, I stopped

in the 90's, and then picked up mame, and played it every day for a few years.

stopped again, until the 2nd year of the xbox 360. got gameroom, and pretty much

every arcade game, and port on those systems. I have continued this when ports

started showing up on the xbox one. I have played them on the playstation also,

but only the original and PS2, and now the PSP 2000.

 

Lately, over the last couple of years, I have been playing arcade ports and games

everyday for a least a few hours. I usually place in the top 1-10 place on games

that I'm an expert in, and below that on other games.

 

======================================

Now with that out of the way, lets get to the cabinets.

 

 

time spent playing

==========================================================================

I have spent at least 5 hours with the cabinet. 1 hour in the build, and

the rest just testing out both games, and playing 1 game for nearly an

hour straight.

 

Namco Bandai - Pac Man and Pac Man Plus

==========================================================================

Condition of cabinet - Since this was a brand new purchase everything was

actually what is purported to be:

- Red Trim

- No Dead Pixels

- No screen bleed

- No markings on panels with markers

- Correct parts, and correct number of them.

 

Durability - the cabinets are super flimsy, and shake when you play. I have a

feeling if you look at it the wrong way it will probably collapse. You have

to be very delicate if you want this thing to last. It's not that I'm rough

on games, I actually own an arcade cabinet of Blasteroids, and its nearly

exactly mint, like when I got it 10 plus years ago.

 

Ergonomics - I have a small chair that I use, and since my games are long,

I don't have a problem with the size. The joystick is too tall, and 'loose',

so that impacts my gameplay.

 

The thing that killed my wrists, was that the nice gentle 5-10 degree(?) slope of the

arcade was gone, and now it's just this flat panel. i would definitely hike those up

somehow with supports to make it feel better.

 

Gameplay -

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pac-Man

=========

- Played deep into 50+ keys, and around 700k score.

 

What is there to say about Pac-Man, its one of the simplest, easiest to

grasp games. Eat dots, avoid the ghosts.

 

There is deeper gameplay if you want to learn patterns,and even more

if you want to learn grouping and getting perfect play.

 

Most people don't care that much, and just run around randomly and

last a few minutes.

 

I've been playing this game since the 80's, and mastered it back then.

When the Xbox 360 came out, I got back into it (although I did try

earlier 8 bit versions), there and also through MAME.

 

I always use arcade joysticks and adapters, so I'm used to adjusting

my gameplay to those. Yes, I could play with Dpads (or shudder, touchscreen),

but if you want to do precise turns and patterns forget it.

 

Obviously, I am getting used to this stock joystick, since the patterns work.

The timing is the same, so everything else should work.

 

The emulation is passable, there are some glitches and hiccups when playing,

but nothing that is a show stopping. The sound is average, with distortion

due to the cheap speakers. Also there is a constant clicking or hiccup

at low volume going on the entire time, maybe due to bad emulation of the

sound, or interference.

 

Overall, it's Pac-Man, not much else you can say about it.

 

 

Pac-Man Plus

============

- I have yet to delve into this game, and played several short games of it,

just to make sure it works.

 

Basically, this lesser known sequel didn't gain any traction in the arcade,

and that's why nobody really knows or cares about this game.

 

It's way harder than the original pac-man, and faster too. So it offers some

challenge.

 

The thing is, it can still be patterned. And since the prizes are all different,

in this case, the keys are now pancakes (Yes, Pancakes).

 

Pretty much every observation and issue I had with Pac-Man applies here.

 

It's a beefed up, harder version, and that's all there is to it.

 

=======================================================================================

 

 

Final thoughts

----------------

overall, i would give 1up arcades a grade of C for effort.

D for quality and longevity, B for emulation, C for graphics.

 

So an average of C overall grading, or 3/5 stars for the price.

 

Take into account the games you like, how much you will play them,

and how rough these things will be handled.

 

To me, I say they feel like they are breaking apart at any time,

because they are so flimsy.

 

If you don't play often, these things will last and look good.

If you do play often, they WILL wear out, the buttons, the controls, etc, eventually.

 

Modding the buttons and joystick, will do a lot of good for playing the

game properly.

 

A valiant, but in the end subpar experience, unless you're going for nostalgia,

and love Pac-Man, and are ok with the compromises.

 

 

later

-1

Edited November 28, 2018 by negative1

[mr_me]

Are you sure the problem is the lack of a 5-10 degree slope on the cobtrol panel. Ergonomically, your forearms should be roughly parallel to the floor or hands slightly lower than your elbows. Maybe you're sitting too high or too low.

Edited November 28, 2018 by mr_me

[negative1]

Are you sure the problem is the lack of a 5-10 degree slope on the cobtrol panel. Ergonomically, your forearms should be roughly parallel to the floor or hands slightly lower than your elbows. Maybe you're sitting too high or too low.

In the past I was used to standing. But nowadays, it's rare that I stand at an arcade game.

I have several stools, and chairs, so I guess I could try using ones at different heights.

 

I'm still working out a way to make this control panel tilted also, a 5-10 degree angle probably:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=77420.0

 

darnit, i was going to name my review, and forgot:

---------------------

title : ghost in the machine

 

alternate

 

ghost in a shell

 

because although you feel like you're playing pac-man, you're constantly

reminded that's it not the real thing.

 

later

-1

Edited November 28, 2018 by negative1

[PlaysWithWolves]

May you find someone who loves you like negative1 loves Pac-Man.

[JBerel]

[NE146]

There is deeper gameplay if you want to learn patterns,and even more

if you want to learn grouping and getting perfect play.

 

Most people don't care that much, and just run around randomly and

last a few minutes.

 

Modding the buttons and joystick, will do a lot of good for playing the

game properly.

 

-1

 

So -1 I have to ask.. do you intentionally hit the return key a lot, or is that some kind formatting from whatever access method you're using.

 

Because when I view your posts I always feel like I'm reading a haiku or something.

[John Stamos Mullet]

 

So -1 I have to ask.. do you intentionally hit the return key a lot, or is that some kind formatting from whatever access method you're using.

 

Because when I view your posts I always feel like I'm reading a haiku or something.

Yeah - I mean, it's not as bad as the people who punctuate their comments with ellipses (...) between every thought, like they are trying to sound extra dramatic, but it's REALLY hard to read your posts without getting a headache.

 

 

I was starting to THINK, maybe we discovered Christopher WALKen's secret AtariAGE account.

Edited November 28, 2018 by John Stamos Mullet

[negative1]

So -1 I have to ask.. do you intentionally hit the return key a lot, or is that some kind formatting from whatever access method you're using.

 

Because when I view your posts I always feel like I'm reading a haiku or something.

it's a forum issue.

 

yes, i could go on all day like this with a run on sentence that you would try to keep on reading and then your eyes would have to follow the screen all the way across over here, but then where would the line breaks go?

 

i am using the bbcode editor option, because doing multiple replies and quotes is terrible in the full option editor. and guess what, there are no line breaks at all and the text goes all the way across the screen, and you

cant even see where the replies end, or the line ends.

 

so i create a line break early, so i can see what i'm doing.

 

also, i create a lot of my posts in notepad, because i don't

want to lose my work, and then cut and paste the results here.

 

later

-1