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


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I would love to have something like this, but I'm running out of room as it is.

That's really the only reason I wouldn't consider this. The price is too good for what is there, and I highly suspect basically off the rack type everything with it outsourced probably from china like the iCade 60 etc boards. That alone would allow the price range of $400 to make sense at profitability. As it is after I got a month ago and rehabitated a multicade cocktail machine I have just no room at all. I'd be all over that Street Fighter II cabinet for that game alone, even the possibility of throwing other games that use up to 6 buttons at it as well with some tinkering makes it a very tasty option.

 

If you break this down it makes so much sense.

 

When I got my multicade cocktail it was missing one big key component, the modern wells and gardener 19" 5:4 ratio LCD screen that screws right into the thing and they run around $200 or so depending on the supplier. The cheapo board inside, the iCade itself either my 60 model or the newer with the 400ish on it they're around $40-50 out of China (+$10-20 bought direct in the US from a US seller.) If you figure what the usual costs of particle board, joystick panel board, the art and plastics, the price of arcade average quality sticks, buttons, and speakers run you can easily pop out even with a license a unit like this at the $400 range and still have a moderately decent profit off it. I'm using MY end pricing and it's still under what they're asking, and they'll get mass unit bulk part discounts to them and they're not assembling a damn thing other than throwing it into a box or set of boxes in a bigger box for ME to assemble. I wouldn't be surprised if they made a $100 on each one they sold before or after the licensing fees from Atari/Capcom.

 

As for me I'd be better off using my cocktail. I could easily replace the board inside there with the newer more stable multicade for $50~ with 400 some games, but then I'd have to also get a kit to have a SF2 style set of buttons for both sides too whatever that expense may be as i'm currently limited to 4 buttons now of which two of them are the 1P/2P start buttons as it is.

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Looks interesting, but it's a shame about the size. For the price I'd have imagined they would have bundled a lot more games into each model. For me while the novelty is there, it's tough to justify only three games for $400. I am curious how the buttons and trackball will feel.

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The inclusion of Breakout is a little bit of head scratcher to me. I know the name carries weight and is a staple of the black &white era, but (to me)... lost it's luster when Arkanoid was introduced. I know Atari's Avalanche (quasi Kaboom) doesn't carry the same gravitas as Breakout but it's a superior game. All of that goes by the wayside since they are both spinner games, which is another head scratcher for Breakout used w/ a trackball - meh. Crystal Castles would be more fitting...

 

I like the selection of the Atari vector one. Major Havoc alone would've sold me. Some purists would scoff since the dedicated had a roller. I played a ton of Havoc on a Tempest and was accustomed to the spinner dial as part of the control scheme.

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For me while the novelty is there, it's tough to justify only three games for $400. I am curious how the buttons and trackball will feel.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were a user-friendly way to add other games, or sub out the logic board with your own PC. If the works are any good, that could be tempting as a cheap(ish) DIY cabinet.

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I wouldn't be surprised if there were a user-friendly way to add other games, or sub out the logic board with your own PC. If the works are any good, that could be tempting as a cheap(ish) DIY cabinet.

 

Good point. I'll be curious to see what kind of hardware is powering these things once consumers get their hands on them.

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A couple things that are no doubt being considered, size-wise: the build-it-yourself component, and the price point. Even as small as it is, that's going to be one heavy box (or boxes). Making it any taller--and heavier, and more expensive--negates a lot of the convenience and price point appeal and sort of undercuts the whole point of the thing.

 

I don't have anything against small cabs--I love cabarets--but a scaled-down full-size cab isn't the way I'd have gone with something like this, although I can understand why they did.

One of my buddies had 3 real CRT cabinets roughly the same dimensions as these, wasn't to bad to move around as he collected uncommon Golden Age cabinets. Considering that CRT adds another 60+ pounds to the weight, this should be movable by one person with LCD monitor.

Edited by enoofu
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Out of curiousity I called the company to see if they had any other dimensional data, I am curious on the width and depth, they did not have or could not provide at this time. I was told they are projected to go on sale September 28th. Not sure why but the Asteroids Deluxe has my interest, I think its due to the button layout that I was used to back in the day. If anything its very cool to see these type of items coming out.

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I guess it's hard to know without trying one in person, but my fear is that the size is kind of in no-man's-land between big and small. Too big to have the "carry it from room to room" freedom of a bartop or iCade, but too small to provide the advantages of a full-sized machine (comfort, display size, stability). If I can't comfortably stand in front of it and play, then it's not for me. I never sit on a stool to play my MAME cabinet because standing is the only way that feels natural to me.

 

I realize that the products need to make money in order to be justified, but I hope the masterminds behind the design actually have enough respect for the source material to make sure that a quality gaming experience can be had. Because, to be honest, I'm growing pretty fatigued with all of these poorly conceived products that have been burped up over the years to cash in on nostalgia, while not even bothering to make sure the game experience is serviceable. If I play a game on some modern nostalgia product and the poor design prevents me from playing anywhere near the level I can on proper controls, then it's completely useless, IMO.

 

 

In terms of adding more games, I'd be happy if I could even add just Breakout to the Asteroids cabinet because that's the only one with an actual spinner. Hopefully they rethink that one.

 

You cannot play Breakout without a dial control. PERIOD. This is the type of crap I find particularly infuriating with classic gaming nostalgia products: when companies re-package and market classic games without the controls to actually play them. It's like, they're so blatant and brazen with their scheme to monetize nostalgia that they don't even bother trying to uphold a pretense of caring whether or not the consumer can actually play the game after they pay for it.

Edited by Cynicaster
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You cannot play Breakout without a dial control. PERIOD. This is the type of crap I find particularly infuriating with classic gaming nostalgia products: when companies re-package and market classic games without the controls to actually play them. It's like, they're so blatant and brazen with their scheme to monetize nostalgia that they don't even bother trying to uphold a pretense of caring whether or not the consumer can actually play the game after they pay for it.

 

I never agree with the decision to play paddle/spinner games with a joystick or gamepad. While I acknowledge some people like using mice for such games, it personally drives me nuts. Trackballs are only marginally better, and certainly not in a product like this. Unfortunately, when it comes to making mainstream retrogaming products, it's almost always a battle with necessary compromises, usually of an economic nature. At scale, saving even a few pennies makes a big difference.

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Unfortunately, when it comes to making mainstream retrogaming products, it's almost always a battle with necessary compromises, usually of an economic nature. At scale, saving even a few pennies makes a big difference.

 

I 100% understand that, and I don't blame the companies for trying to scrape pennies from their NVC to improve their margins.

 

But this is kind of my point. If it is thought that a spinner is too costly to include, then as an extension of that same thought process, Breakout should be deemed an infeasible game choice accordingly.

 

I wish companies would stop charging money for games and providing no way to play them, hoping that people just won't notice. Joysticks do not work in place of trackballs and spinners. Touch screens do not work in place of joysticks and buttons. Drives me crazy (if you couldn't tell).

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I don't have much faith in this company after looking at their website. They are just a middleman LLC toy distributor in NYC. Anyway I might actually stop by their office in Manhattan and see if they have a display of the cabinets? I'll also ask them why the latest info on their website is about Pets movie from 2016 seriously that is their current flagship product. They also have Kawaii Cubes, Hatchimals novelty plush, Rock & Roll figures.

 

Earlier this week Tastemakers, LLC., gave the first sneak peek at the hottest toy of the year, Arcade1Up at New York Toy Fair 2018 (booth #6372). Was anyone there ?

 

Anyway below is the company info. That's a lot of nice words for "we sell cheap crap at 5AndBelow and Walmart" :

 

About The Team

Tastemakers is a global product development, manufacturing, sales/marketing and distribution company specializing in the youth and lifestyle consumer product businesses. Combining creativity and dynamic understanding of the marketplace, Tastemakers develops unique on-trend products. Quick to market development times, in depth strategic distribution and strong retail partnerships are key benefits Tastemakers brings to partner relationships.

Edited by thetick1
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That's OK ... someone has to get the licenses to the games, perform some degree of quality control, market the things, and get them in stores. Of course they're mass produced in China, because everything like this is, from iPhones to Xboxes. It could be an interesting thing, no need to let their BS mission statement turn us off. That language is for wholesalers, not us.

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That's OK ... someone has to get the licenses to the games, perform some degree of quality control, market the things, and get them in stores. Of course they're mass produced in China, because everything like this is, from iPhones to Xboxes. It could be an interesting thing, no need to let their BS mission statement turn us off. That language is for wholesalers, not us.

 

All true.. but most of the chip designs and architecture are in the US. I know that for fact as far as iPhone and Xboxes. Playstations are Japanese designed. The only electronic products I know still made in the US are some Intel & IBM processors and IBM mainframes. All IBM mid range and Unix machines are designed in the US, some off shelf parts from East Asia and to save money it's all assembled in Mexico.

Edited by thetick1
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^^^ this

No one gets into something as risky as manufacturing out of passion alone. There's no point in bankrupting yourself to make a product that no one will buy.

 

Software is another matter -- especially if developer is working for someone else --

 

But when we see amateurs trying to produce hardware for the first time, out of pure passion, well, that's the story of entirely too many Kickstarters and Indiegogos.

 

The pursuit of profits isn't evil unto itself. I struggle with the tension between "art" and commerce myself. I remind myself, one has to eat before being able to produce cool toys.

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I hear alot of people talk about getting MAME cabs for $200 or less, but Ive never found one in the DC area, plus add a control board. Most non=working arcade cabs for sale are $300+, usually $600.

 

For $399 you gt a nice clean good looking cab with a working LCD. The key to me is whether or not you can utilize the 'guts' to put something else in the cab with the LCD and controls :) - If thats the case then getting a nice new cool looking cab w/LCD (ok a bit short) for $399 doesnt seem half bad.

 

If someone has a lead on a $200 arcade cab in the DC area let me know :)

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