Arcade Cocktail Machine

[Trinity]

I have been wanting one for a long time. I'm looking at this one at the moment,

 

  https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Ms-PacMan-Galaga-20th-Anniversary-Cocktail-Table-Arcade-60-games-Sticker/324220360336?hash=item4b7d0a1690:g:6mIAAOSwQX1fAi8X

 

But, I have questions. Like if, Is the joystick a true four way so that Pac-Man plays right? And if so, How does a game like Centipede play without a track ball? And are these Jamma boards the real deal? No lag, No bugs, True roms, Quality? Does anyone here have experience with something like this machine?

[Trinity]

Or this one, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Classic-red-oak-cocktail-table-arcade-game-Ms-Pacman-Galaga-Pacman/333670909387?hash=item4db05605cb:g:wDMAAOSwGL9eUEek

 

Only two games I think. But the the cabinet seems well built at 150 pounds.

[BDW]

If you're willing to pay 1000+ I'd avoid these reproduction cocktails. The 60 in 1 jamma boards they come with have really poor emulation, the joysticks are usually bottom tier, and the lcd screens are usually lower quality.

 

For 1000+, you should be able to find an original cocktail cabinet with the game of your choosing. Or you could buy a cocktail cab kit and use proper leaf switch joysticks with a Raspberry Pi for emulation. Going that way you'd end up well under 1k with way better results.

[Cynicaster]

I've played on a machine basically exactly like the one in the posted link - not sure if it is the exact one, but very close - and it's just not very good, IMO.  Certainly nothing I would remotely consider parting with $1000 to obtain.  

 

Part of the "problem" (in quotes because it's not actually a problem) is that here in 2020 we are absolutely spoiled with the quality of emulation that is freely available at our fingertips for such a breadth of classic hardware platforms, so when you encounter shoddy emulation it's hard to accept it.  When I played on the multi-game cocktail in question, it was definitely better than nothing and some games played better than others.  But I was quite taken aback by how poor the emulation was on certain games, especially the sound.  Frogger would glitch out completely and was pretty much unplayable.  The joystick was one of those toy-grade super-clicky Zippyy things that worked but felt quite cheap.  

 

I understand the allure and therefore value in a fully "finished" product that requires no DIY tinkering to get up and running, and I think that is the type of thing a product like this seeks to exploit.  

 

If I'm being fair, I'd concede there is a decent chance you'll really enjoy this thing as it is.  But of this I am absolutely certain: with just a little bit of DIY spirit, you can get so much more for much less money.  

 

 

 

 

[mgas]

"with just a little bit of DIY spirit" says it all!

 

You can buy awesome Arcade style joysticks. You can order giant stickers to match any artwork you can download. Your neighbor has a garage full of wood tools and would love to help you build a cabinet if you don't have the skills. And there are a TON of online videos how to build and set-up RetroPie. For a weeks worth of part time effort, you can build a beautiful arcade style cabinet with tons of video games at your fingertips. And you get to tell everyone that sees it you BUILT it!

[scotty]

On 8/19/2020 at 7:20 AM, Trinity said:

And are these Jamma boards the real deal? No lag, No bugs, True roms, Quality? Does anyone here have experience with something like this machine?

There is no such thing as a 60-in-1 "real deal" board.  Fire up any version of Mame, and you will see at the top of the list....

 

"60 in 1 MAME bootleg (version 3.00)"