arcade goodness at Big Lots

[Atari5200]

The Big Lots by me just got a shipment in of the Midway full size arcade machine, they call it full size but it's significantly shorter, I believe height is 62". It is set up for 2 players with a 15" monitor and has like 15 games or so, like Robotron, Sinistar, Defender I and II, Rampage, and others.

 

$249.00 for it.

[wccw mark]

The Big Lots by me just got a shipment in of the Midway full size arcade machine, they call it full size but it's significantly shorter, I believe height is 62". It is set up for 2 players with a 15" monitor and has like 15 games or so, like Robotron, Sinistar, Defender I and II, Rampage, and others.

 

$249.00 for it.

the big lots my wife works at has a konami arcade for $249.99.has contra,castlevania,super basketball,track & feild,frogger,and a few other games on it.my wife works there and could get 20% off if i want one,i just dont have the room for it,unless i got rid of my fire shark arcade machine. Edited November 12, 2007 by wccw mark

[Atariman]

The Big Lots by me just got a shipment in of the Midway full size arcade machine, they call it full size but it's significantly shorter, I believe height is 62". It is set up for 2 players with a 15" monitor and has like 15 games or so, like Robotron, Sinistar, Defender I and II, Rampage, and others.

 

$249.00 for it.

the big lots my wife works at has a konami arcade for $249.99.has contra,castlevania,super basketball,track & feild,frogger,and a few other games on it.my wife works there and could get 20% off if i want one,i just dont have the room for it,unless i got rid of my fire shark arcade machine.

 

Sweet! Is it the Elkhart Big Lots (formerly G.L. Perry's?)

[wccw mark]

The Big Lots by me just got a shipment in of the Midway full size arcade machine, they call it full size but it's significantly shorter, I believe height is 62". It is set up for 2 players with a 15" monitor and has like 15 games or so, like Robotron, Sinistar, Defender I and II, Rampage, and others.

 

$249.00 for it.

the big lots my wife works at has a konami arcade for $249.99.has contra,castlevania,super basketball,track & feild,frogger,and a few other games on it.my wife works there and could get 20% off if i want one,i just dont have the room for it,unless i got rid of my fire shark arcade machine.

 

Sweet! Is it the Elkhart Big Lots (formerly G.L. Perry's?)

sure is.there supposed to be putting together an instore display up soon(the arcade game is in the upcoming ad)man,i bet that display model is gonna get broken quickly,them kids run wild in that store at times.

[RickHarrisMaine]

The Big Lots by me just got a shipment in of the Midway full size arcade machine, they call it full size but it's significantly shorter, I believe height is 62". It is set up for 2 players with a 15" monitor and has like 15 games or so, like Robotron, Sinistar, Defender I and II, Rampage, and others.

 

$249.00 for it.

the big lots my wife works at has a konami arcade for $249.99.has contra,castlevania,super basketball,track & feild,frogger,and a few other games on it.my wife works there and could get 20% off if i want one,i just dont have the room for it,unless i got rid of my fire shark arcade machine.

 

Sweet! Is it the Elkhart Big Lots (formerly G.L. Perry's?)

sure is.there supposed to be putting together an instore display up soon(the arcade game is in the upcoming ad)man,i bet that display model is gonna get broken quickly,them kids run wild in that store at times.

 

 

They had this setup at Target a year or so ago. I wanted one then, but it was about $500 or so. I checked it out, the monitor is a bit fuzzy, I thought, and the gameplay wasn't that great. I'd still like one though, and would actually prefer the Konami one if possible, but my wife told me the only place for it would be the same location as my X-Box kiosk, and I don't really want to get rid of that...I mean, I can make that a full-on MAME machine if I want, I think.....

[128bytes]

Scathing "that's why it ended up at Big Lots" review

 

 

Modding it

[NE146]

You can't even begin to call that thing an "arcade" machine.

[darthkur]

Scathing "that's why it ended up at Big Lots" review

 

 

Modding it

 

 

The "Scathing" review link just produces a blank area where the text should be. I could not find it elsewhere on their site.

I've heard that these units are quite cheaply constructed.

[Albert]

Scathing "that's why it ended up at Big Lots" review

 

 

Modding it

 

 

The "Scathing" review link just produces a blank area where the text should be. I could not find it elsewhere on their site.

I've heard that these units are quite cheaply constructed.

Yeah, I got the same thing. I was looking forward to reading the review, as I've never seen one of these machines..

 

..Al

[joeybastard]

I've played them before in Target. The monitors are nothing special, small, kind of fuzzy and the colors look slightly off. The controls feel very cheap. I think an adult playing Robotron on this thing is sure to eventually snap those joysticks. I can't make a reasonable comment on the sound, Target had it pretty low but I'm sure that's for the in-store display. I'm assuming you can make it louder on your own machine. Even at $250, I'd say it's overpriced. You could buy a Gamecube, Midway Arcade Treasures and Pelican arcade stick for less than $100. Throw in a TV from Goodwill for another $20 and you've got a better setup than this. Although Robotron would still need a regular controller in my scenario.

Edited November 12, 2007 by joeybastard

[128bytes]

Scathing "that's why it ended up at Big Lots" review

 

 

Modding it

 

 

The "Scathing" review link just produces a blank area where the text should be. I could not find it elsewhere on their site.

I've heard that these units are quite cheaply constructed.

Yeah, I got the same thing. I was looking forward to reading the review, as I've never seen one of these machines..

 

..Al

 

I got the same thing, because I was using Firefox. I then opened it using IE and was able to read it.

[Atari5200]

i'd rather have the Konami version.

[Albert]

Scathing "that's why it ended up at Big Lots" review

 

 

Modding it

 

 

The "Scathing" review link just produces a blank area where the text should be. I could not find it elsewhere on their site.

I've heard that these units are quite cheaply constructed.

Yeah, I got the same thing. I was looking forward to reading the review, as I've never seen one of these machines..

 

..Al

 

I got the same thing, because I was using Firefox. I then opened it using IE and was able to read it.

Their loss if they want to alienate a good chunk of visitors. IE is not an option for me unless I want to fire up Windows in Fusion and browse the site that way.

 

..Al

[Jess Ragan]

Yeah... Internet Explorer is like, soooo 1999 or some junk!

 

As for the Midway "arcade" cabinet, it doesn't belong in ANY time period. The joysticks feel cheap and have no throw to them. The cabinet itself feels like it was stuck together with plywood and superglue. The games aren't accurate translations... you'd think for the price, they'd have the decency to use a processor running Linux instead of some throwaway NES-on-a-chip. Wizard of Wor is the best the cabinet has to offer and even that is only a slight improvement over the Commodore 64 version. In short, it's Ultra-crap.

[+Psionic]

The cabinet itself feels like it was stuck together with plywood and superglue.

It was. :!:

[PressureCooker2600]

I called my mom and told her about it and she's still determined to get one.

 

I told her they may be cheap but she didnt seem to care. She was like, "oooohhh I love Frogger."

 

But I think they only have the Midway ones.

[Zwackery]

James McGovern, Thursday, 01 December 2005

 

A RetroBlast First: The "Stealth" Review

 

After many unsuccessful attempts by RetroBlast to secure a proper review unit of the recently released upright Midway Arcade Treasures game cabinet now available at Target stores nationwide, I decided to conduct a “stealth review” using a display unit at a local store. While I was unable to perform the usual dissection of the components, the in-store inspection and subsequent play testing provided all the insight needed to write this review. Is this unit a serious contender in the home use retrogaming cabinet market or just a poor attempt at recreating the arcade experience? Let’s find out.

 

Sizing it Up

 

The device stands 62” high and is 22” wide by 23” deep. While at first glance it appears to be fairly well constructed a second look dispels this impression. The unit is built from some form of particle board or MDF, though it was difficult to determine exactly what kind from the display model. Judging from the sides and front door, the stock used is approximately ½” thin. My guess is this is the same thickness stock used throughout, though the rear panel may be thinner. All in all, the entire piece seemed fairly sturdy, but this too was difficult to ascertain for sure as it was mounted on a Target store shelf.

 

 

Modular Construction

 

A close look at the cabinet’s sides and overall structure reveals a highly segmented construction. From the pictures below one can see where various portions of the game are fastened to adjoin the unit’s many parts. Also easily spotted are the many screws used to secure the components. Sadly, those fasteners can also be seen dotting the “finished” product.

 

 

Sadly the Screws go on Forever

 

Also of note, it is a bit of a stretch (or a hunch as the case may be) to call this a full-sized arcade game. At 62” high, a little over 5 feet, expect to sign up for some Chiropractic visits if you play this game for too long. On the Target store shelf, it felt ok, but on the floor it would cause this reviewer great pain. This is easily seen in the image below from the manufacturer’s website.

 

From Top to Bottom

 

The game station’s “marquee” is made of the same material as the rest of the cabinet and the artwork is simply a sticker applied to the surface. The marquee is not illuminated in any way. In fact the only light emanating from the game comes from the tiny 14” monitor. Above the monitor, they have placed a graphic of the control panel for each game available that shows what controls to use for each game. As with the rest of the unit, these instructions are overly busy and cluttered.

 

 

The 14” monitor truly disappoints and reeks of cost-cutting measures. While a display of this size would suffice for a tabletop, it looks decidedly tiny in what is billed as a “full-sized” arcade cabinet. The placement is also very odd as it is placed near the bottom of the bezel area with the control instructions taking up the other two-thirds of the available space above the monitor.

 

The display unit’s monitor quality was absolutely appalling. The colors were nearly non-existent and the classic characters of our favorite Midway games appeared pale and abnormally blocky as though they have been rescaled without proportion constraint. I was unable to access the monitor settings so I am unsure how much of this can be adjusted. I can only assume this is the display available and if so it is terrible.

 

If I was disappointed at the cabinet’s display, I was downright angry about the control panel. The layout is standard enough, two 8-way ball-top joysticks with six buttons accompanying each stick. There is a one and two player start button at the center top of the panel and a reset button to one side. Just above the control panel on the bezel, there are two small buttons which adjust the volume.

 

The joysticks appear to have been pulled from unsold Jakk’s Pacific games, and are abysmal. The ball tops are hollow and have a seam which runs around the equator of the handles which annoyed me at first touch. These would truly grate on my after the mildest of Robotron sessions. It is possible however that the shrill creaking and squeaking of the joysticks during game play might just take your mind off the blistering feel of the sticks themselves. They look cheap, sound cheap, feel cheap, and play cheap. The makers of this toy would have been better off had they installed the carpal tunnel-inducing Atari 2600 joysticks.

 

 

The player input buttons compliment the joysticks perfectly in that they are absolute garbage. I have seen buttons like these used on a Universal Lady Bug cabinet, but only for player 1 and player 2 start functions. At least those felt well made. The buttons are flat with little or no depression whatsoever in the center of the buttons. The button tops are barely 1/8” high from the control panel surface and can hardly be felt when pressed.

 

There is simply no tactile response from these things whatsoever. The remaining “administrative” buttons are about ¼” in diameter and complete the horror show of a control panel produced by Big Electronic Games. As with the rest of the plastic on the control panel, the ball tops and other buttons, the plastic feels unbelievably cheap. I know very little about plastic production, manufacturing, and forming, but I know the lack of quality when I feel it. The plastic used on these components feels like trash.

 

Screwed

 

The leading edge of the control panel is graced with two drywall type screws, I assume, holding the panel onto the cabinet. I cannot be sure that these are the screws supplied with the unit, but seeing them poking out of the leading edge of the panel really rounds out the shoddy appearance of this travesty.

 

 

A Usable Feature!

 

Below the control panel, where one might expect to find the coin door, this unit has a door the size of the lower portion of the cabinet that reveals two shelves inside. This feature is one of the most usable components included. The marketing material and website stated that the game has accessible A/V inputs in order to plug in another game console and I must assume the shelves have been included for this purpose.

 

 

You've opened a door...

 

The obvious question, of course, is why anyone in their right mind would want to play a modern console game on novelty controls and a display better suited for an ATM. The front door itself is made of the same ½” material and is graced with a hodge-podge of game title images reflective of the games included in this cabinet.

 

Artwork, Shmartwork.

 

The artwork all the way around is also sub-par. Big Electronic Games could not have put less thought into the presentation had they tried. It appears as if they were given logos from the included games, the Midway logo, and surprisingly their own (I would not want my name on this piece) and they simply threw them at the cabinet and went with whatever developed. The presentation is busy, unoriginal, and frankly gives this reviewer a headache.

 

 

Support System?

 

After all this, I browsed the Big Electronic Games website to investigate the support mechanisms and warranty information. The site has that, “not ready for prime time feel” and a little surfing confirms the feeling. Beware if you do decide to purchase this game, as of November 28, 2005 the instruction and extended warranty information are dead links and the FAQ is “Under Construction.”

 

This reviewer also attempted to contact support using the 1-800 number listed on the site, billed as a “full service & repair network & 24-hour customer support” line. The limited options available all resulted in recordings either providing partial information about the products or prompting a user to email a given address or to leave a message.

 

 

Is it Really That Bad?

 

Many of the transgressions listed here could be forgiven. While a bit “delicate” for a real arcade cabinet, the unit’s construction could past muster for a home use game. The lack of an illuminated marquee can be excused as a needed cost-cutting measure. The artwork too can be looked at as an opportunity for an enterprising Photoshop user to perform “field upgrades.”

 

What cannot be forgiven is the absolutely terrible quality of the joysticks and buttons of this offering. The layout too, for a cabinet featuring Midway (mostly originally Williams) games, is a mystery. A multi-Williams control panel layout would have gone a very long way towards improving the playability of Defender and Stargate and still provided all of the inputs needed for the remaining games. The display as well, especially considering the cost of a 19” color television monitor, is inexcusable.

 

Coal in Your Stocking

 

At a suggested retail price of $499.00 (there is also a tabletop unit for $299.00), and appearing near the holidays, this piece had the potential of being a real entry level option for aspiring retro gamers who may not have the time or skills to build their own or the available finances to purchase a more well made cabinet from any one of the many builders featured on these pages.

 

Instead, Big Electronic Games has simply thrown together an absolute piece of rubbish and tossed it into the market in time for the holidays in a blatant attempt to capitalize off of the recent nostalgia surrounding classic arcade games. Their attempt to break into the retrogaming market with this offering is just shameful. Frankly that shame is shared by Midway for allowing their games to be featured on this platform and by Target as well as other stores, for attempting to pass this off on their customers.

[Zwackery]

Newsgroups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting

From: "Clay Cowgill" <[email protected]>

Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 22:07:51 -0800

Local: Fri, Dec 9 2005 1:07 am

Subject: Re: Target multi game - intersting info

 

> Someone mentioned that the emulation was identical to the MW board, and

that

> the menus were almost identical. Though I thought that arcadeshop had

hired

> them out to do that board. I wouldn't think he could produce it for

someone

> else. However, I have no idea what the actual situation is there. Maybe

> Clay will speak up if he can?

 

 

Well, hey, I was just waiting for someone to ask!.

 

Of course I'm NDA'd on the subject as to most of the particulars, but yes,

we were involved with the product. We worked under contract to do the

software development and help bring up the hardware design. (Our software

solution is optimized to run on hardware with very limited RAM and CPU

resources-- a good match for a very cost sensitive device like this one).

 

 

The hardware wasn't directly done by us (we worked with another contractor

that implemented the ASICs and handled the final hardware design). If

someone tears into it it's kinda anticlimactic-- a couple 'block blobs' (COB

packaging) and a little memory. That's about it!

 

 

I must admit that I've been conducting a little science experiment

collecting the feedback here before people got any sort of bias knowing any

back-story about it. :-P

 

 

(Clearly the product wasn't intended for readers of this newsgroup.)

 

 

That having been said, it really *is* fully emulated. (...and quite

accurately so with the exception of the TV output instead of a full-on

arcade monitor.) One of the early comments to the contrary was from someone

who had pitched a competing design that we beat out. I didn't feel like

getting in a pissing match over it. No, it's not a Nintendo or Genesis. :-P

 

 

I will say that every 'negative' that people mentioned here was not the

first time it had been thought of... When it came right down to it though,

the costs couldn't move and the delivery date was set in stone. If the

retail price point was going to (really) be $499 and not $397 that might

have changed some things, but the channel buyers know what will sell at what

price points and the product needed to go out the door at the $397 mark and

still make everyone a profit at that price.

 

 

Like most engineers, given my druthers I'd probably just work on 'unlimited'

price stuff with 'open ended' timetables, but alas, that's not the kind of

thing you can sell by the truckload at Target... That having been said, all

indications are that it's going to do quite well in its intended market. I

suspect you'll see more.

 

 

-Clay

 

 

P.S. Some years down the road when the NDA's expire and if anyone's

interested in hearing them, I do have some good stories to tell about the

project. :-)

[Lord Helmet]

How long does the NDA last? I always like some good behind the scenes stories

Edited November 13, 2007 by Lord Helmet

[RARusk]

Here's a question:

 

Can the motherboard output RGB or is it strictly Composite/S-Video?

[Shannon]

I saw this in the big lots ads this weekend. Luckily I picked up an Awecades units last year. Unfortunately I never seem to be able to find time to tinker around with the thing.

[darthkur]

Thanks to Zwackery for posting the review and saving all of us Firefox users from having to resort to the diabolical IE.

[128bytes]

James McGovern, Thursday, 01 December 2005

 

A RetroBlast First: The "Stealth" Review

...

After all this, I browsed the Big Electronic Games website to investigate the support mechanisms and warranty information. The site has that, “not ready for prime time feel” and a little surfing confirms the feeling.

 

 

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black

 

However, I still give the reviewer credit for not holding back and giving a thorough, honest assessment of the machine - that happens far too rarely nowadays. We should let the reviewer know, if there is a place for feedback on his site, that he needs to make it Firefox compatible - he may just not know any better, but that doesn't take anything away from his writing or reviewing skills.

Edited November 13, 2007 by 128bytes

[Zwackery]

Thanks to Zwackery for posting the review and saving all of us Firefox users from having to resort to the diabolical IE.

 

No problemo!

 

The only reason I still have IE around at all is that the university makes us use Blackboard, and only with IE do you get all the features that Blackboard supports.

 

Anyhow, I'm interested to see how many of these things Big Lots actually moves, and if there will be a post-Xmas slashing of prices. I'd like to get one of the units just to hack around with it.

[NE146]

Funny how people make such a big deal about browsers.. IE, Firefox, Opera. They're just friggin browsers. For the WEB.

 

Personally I got like 3 or 4 on any one pc of mine.. doesn't really matter.