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[AmuroChan]

I'm looking to purchase a few arcade cabinets for my home. Anyone know of any online retailers that are reliable and have a good selection of arcade cabinets? I'm looking for classic cabinets like The Simpsons, Marvel vs Capcom 2, T2: Judgement Day, Time Crisis, X-Men The Arcade game, etc.

 

[cobaltorange]

Why not just get a multicade?

 

[baphomet]

I'm looking to purchase a few arcade cabinets for my home. Anyone know of any online retailers that are reliable and have a good selection of arcade cabinets? I'm looking for classic cabinets like The Simpsons, Marvel vs Capcom 2, T2: Judgement Day, Time Crisis, X-Men The Arcade game, etc.

That's not a thing.

You'll have to get out there and look for private sales. They're probably gonna be a couple grand each, and unless you're willing and able to troubleshoot and repair them, they may not be what you want.

 

[AmuroChan]

Why not just get a multicade?

I looked into that briefly, but ultimately what I want are the classic arcade cabinets.

That's not a thing.

You'll have to get out there and look for private sales. They're probably gonna be a couple grand each, and unless you're willing and able to troubleshoot and repair them, they may not be what you want.

Curious. How do modern arcade places obtain their machines? Like if I were to start a new arcade business tomorrow, where would I go to buy a bunch of arcade machines?

 

[poodaddy]

I looked into that briefly, but ultimately what I want are the classic arcade cabinets.



Curious. How do modern arcade places obtain their machines? Like if I were to start a new arcade business tomorrow, where would I go to buy a bunch of arcade machines?

I don't know why that dude said that, he couldn't be more wrong. There are absolutely specialized commercial providers of arcade machines and parts. Betson Enterprises is the biggest, with Shaffer Distributing being number 2. AMA Amusement is a big one too. M&P Amusement has been around forever and does full refurbs of classic systems. Coin Op Parts ETC sells refurbs as well, great ones. They've also got what ya need for maintenance as well.

 

[AmuroChan]

I don't know why that dude said that, he couldn't be more wrong. There are absolutely specialized commercial providers of arcade machines and parts. Betson Enterprises is the biggest, with Shaffer Distributing being number 2. AMA Amusement is a big one too. M&P Amusement has been around forever and does full refurbs of classic systems. Coin Op Parts ETC sells refurbs as well, great ones. They've also got what ya need for maintenance as well.

This is great. Thanks. Will go do some research now!

 

[Ceallach]

Just be sure you are willing to learn how to do all the maintenance and troubleshooting. You will be replacing parts lol

 

[StereoVsn]

Just be sure you are willing to learn howntondonall the maintenance and troubleshooting. You will be replacing parts lol

Yeah, I can only imagine all the potential problems. From CRT monitor issues to capacitors to more, older CABs will be a lot of work.

 

[poodaddy]

Yeah, I can only imagine all the potential problems. From CRT monitor issues to capacitors to more, older CABs will be a lot of work.

They certainly are, yeah. That being said, these days CRT's aren't typically used in cabinets, even older ones. Generally, it's well worth your while to gut your cabinet and put a reliable LCD with relatively low power draw and a high peak brightness in there, then just strobe for CRT effect. It'll kill brightness to do it, but if you go with a bright TV it'll be fine. CRT's are brilliant, but it's truly not worth the pain.

 

[StereoVsn]

They certainly are, yeah. That being said, these days CRT's aren't typically used in cabinets, even older ones. Generally, it's well worth your while to gut your cabinet and put a reliable LCD with relatively low power draw and a high peak brightness in there, then just strobe for CRT effect. It'll kill brightness to do it, but if you go with a bright TV it'll be fine. CRT's are brilliant, but it's truly not worth the pain.

I wonder if newer Mini-LED or even glossy WOLEDs can be the solution here (OLEDs are pricey though).

 

[BennyBlanco]

I almost bought a tekken 5 DR machine for like $400 a few years ago that was mint but ultimately decided against it

If you have an arcade near you talk to those guys.

https://yestercades.com/

this is where I almost bought mine from because they are always rotating their lineup

 

[Valonquar]

Look up arcade auctions in your area. Expect to pay $300~$4000 depending on what you want. Be prepared to learn a lot about repairing electronics.

 

[SScorpio]

Look up arcade auctions in your area. Expect to pay $300~$4000 depending on what you want. Be prepared to learn a lot about repairing electronics.

And most importantly, take properly measurements space in the final area. As well as clearance on any 90/180 turns. These weren't made for normal homes, and they are large, and very, very heavy.

 

[Ceallach]

They certainly are, yeah. That being said, these days CRT's aren't typically used in cabinets, even older ones. Generally, it's well worth your while to gut your cabinet and put a reliable LCD with relatively low power draw and a high peak brightness in there, then just strobe for CRT effect. It'll kill brightness to do it, but if you go with a bright TV it'll be fine. CRT's are brilliant, but it's truly not worth the pain.

I've been lucky the CRT in my MVS is still holding strong asf. I've had to do some degaussing but for now it's solid.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Is it even possible to get good CRTs anymore?

A retro arcade opened recently by me. Huge collection of classic games but the screens ranged from "bad" to "atrocious". It was really sad to see.

It got me wondering if CRT arcade cabinets are just going to fade away forever. I guess they could be replaced by LCDs. But for me a huge part of the charm is seeing those games on a real CRT in native resolution.

 

[SScorpio]

Is it even possible to get good CRTs anymore?

A retro arcade opened recently by me. Huge collection of classic games but the screens ranged from "bad" to "atrocious". It was really sad to see.

It got me wondering if CRT arcade cabinets are just going to fade away forever. I guess they could be replaced by LCDs. But for me a huge part of the charm is seeing those games on a real CRT in native resolution.

Unless something changes, this is the case. The last major CRT tube factory closed in 2012, with the last major runs of CRT TVs in 2015.

So were over a decade since any tubes were made. There are drop in LCD replacements, but the refresh rate and zero lag just isn't the same.

 

[baphomet]

I don't know why that dude said that, he couldn't be more wrong. There are absolutely specialized commercial providers of arcade machines and parts. Betson Enterprises is the biggest, with Shaffer Distributing being number 2. AMA Amusement is a big one too. M&P Amusement has been around forever and does full refurbs of classic systems. Coin Op Parts ETC sells refurbs as well, great ones. They've also got what ya need for maintenance as well.

Most of what you posted is companies selling shitty amusement games like the raw thrills stuff you see at Walmart. Or the generic ticket stuff that fill up a Dave and Busters.

Those "great" refurbs the others are selling is them shoving lcd monitors into old cabs and charging 10x what they're worth.

$3000 for this abomination is hilarious, and there's plenty more that are just as bad on there. Marvel Super Heroes is a ~$250 game. So they're charging $2750 for this piece of shit cabinet.

 

[baphomet]

Curious. How do modern arcade places obtain their machines? Like if I were to start a new arcade business tomorrow, where would I go to buy a bunch of arcade machines?

They're usually privately owned collectors machines that the barcades are paying to rent. Or the bar's owner is also the collector. I've seen both.

 

[Comfortgel]

I'm looking to purchase a few arcade cabinets for my home. Anyone know of any online retailers that are reliable and have a good selection of arcade cabinets? I'm looking for classic cabinets like The Simpsons, Marvel vs Capcom 2, T2: Judgement Day, Time Crisis, X-Men The Arcade game, etc.

You're about 20 years late to the game. Most of those large retro arcades you see, like Galloping Ghost have been buying collections and parts for years and many of them are on their last legs even with regular maintenance and love. You're looking at easily $2500-3000 for a semi-restored, working arcade machine, not counting transportation to your home (usually a single shrink 48" pallet on an LTL lift).

I have owned a handful of *real* arcade games in my lifetime bought from the CEC I worked at as a teen (Pac-Man cabaret, Time Soldiers, and QIX) and even when parts were plentiful, they were a major, major headache to work on. I now own a couple of the A1U replicas, and while they're nowhere near the arcade experience, they're close enough for my man cave / bar. The OG's are extremely awkward to move, and are FAR heavier than you think, especially the multiplayer machines you mentioned. Do you have double-wide doors in your home at least 36" wide? How about the room where you are putting them? If it's not on a cement floor like a garage, you can probably have one machine - any more than that and you need to reinforce the floor from underneath. When I say these are heavy, I mean these are heavy heavy.

You also need to ask yourself, like truly ask yourself - do you want these machine to have a 100% authentic arcade experience, or is the 90% experience good enough with replicas? For me after having the real deal, the reps are a far better value. The amount of time I honestly play them is less than an hour a month, and I have two of my dream machines (Dig-Dug and TRON).

I can answer more questions if you have them, and I'm not trying to scare you off vintage arcade collecting, but most people aren't aware of all the work that goes into owning one (or more).

 

[AmuroChan]

You're about 20 years late to the game. Most of those large retro arcades you see, like Galloping Ghost have been buying collections and parts for years and many of them are on their last legs even with regular maintenance and love. You're looking at easily $2500-3000 for a semi-restored, working arcade machine, not counting transportation to your home (usually a single shrink 48" pallet on an LTL lift).

I have owned a handful of *real* arcade games in my lifetime bought from the CEC I worked at as a teen (Pac-Man cabaret, Time Soldiers, and QIX) and even when parts were plentiful, they were a major, major headache to work on. I now own a couple of the A1U replicas, and while they're nowhere near the arcade experience, they're close enough for my man cave / bar. The OG's are extremely awkward to move, and are FAR heavier than you think, especially the multiplayer machines you mentioned. Do you have double-wide doors in your home at least 36" wide? How about the room where you are putting them? If it's not on a cement floor like a garage, you can probably have one machine - any more than that and you need to reinforce the floor from underneath. When I say these are heavy, I mean these are heavy heavy.

You also need to ask yourself, like truly ask yourself - do you want these machine to have a 100% authentic arcade experience, or is the 90% experience good enough with replicas? For me after having the real deal, the reps are a far better value. The amount of time I honestly play them is less than an hour a month, and I have two of my dream machines (Dig-Dug and TRON).

I can answer more questions if you have them, and I'm not trying to scare you off vintage arcade collecting, but most people aren't aware of all the work that goes into owning one (or more).

Hey there. Thanks for the very helpful feedback. My game room is going to be my basement which I'm gutting and redoing the whole thing (work to begin in the Spring). For me, I'm totally ok with replicas if the experience is close enough to the original. When I said classic in the first post, I just meant those classic games, not that the cabinets themselves have to be the original.

 

[Revreign]

I understand this is not at ALL what you are asking for, but I wanted to at least mention the Atgames Legends Ultimate. I bought it a few years ago. You can set up an external SSD with some software called "OneSauce" which gives you basically every arcade game ever (except nfl blitz), and all consoles up to PS1 era. My children (10, 8 and 3) play it literally every single day for 2 years now. It's one of the best purchases I've ever made. The hardware is very well made. It feels as good as any arcade machine I've ever used.

 

[Comfortgel]

Hey there. Thanks for the very helpful feedback. My game room is going to be my basement which I'm gutting and redoing the whole thing (work to begin in the Spring). For me, I'm totally ok with replicas if the experience is close enough to the original. When I said classic in the first post, I just meant those classic games, not that the cabinets themselves have to be the original.

No problem. If you're looking for those A1U machines, I would hurry since they basically just went out of business. There's enough aftermarket support to keep them going for quite some time, but they will start becoming rare soon.

Best of luck!

 

[Valonquar]

Also invest in a GOOD hand truck!

 

[SScorpio]

Hey there. Thanks for the very helpful feedback. My game room is going to be my basement which I'm gutting and redoing the whole thing (work to begin in the Spring). For me, I'm totally ok with replicas if the experience is close enough to the original. When I said classic in the first post, I just meant those classic games, not that the cabinets themselves have to be the original.

That's more manageable, but be careful. With the death and sale of Arcade1Up people will be overcharging for them. Start searching now and jumping on any deals for cabinets you want.

Are you just looking to play those games, or you do need those cabinets with that artwork? Multicades take up much less room. AtGames' Legends Ultimate is currently the only one available commercially. Others are more bespoke and you're ordering from small vendors. AtGames currently has a sales and you can get one for $550 directly from them: https://www.atgames.us/products/legends-ultimate-ce-hd The cabinet is two players each with six buttons, a trackball, and two spinners giving you a good amount of input options for various games. Adding more games just involves some Googling and a USB drive.

Some Arcade1Ups can be softmodded. AtGames does make a four player control deck you can swap to, but it's expensive at $350.

The route I'd go if I knew what I knew now and was starting over. I'd get a TV cart with a nice 32-43" TV, and a pedestal for controls. Something a little custom that would let you swap in different control decks like AtGames does so you can have multiple options without needing to squeeze every type of input into a single panel. Then an Orange Pi 5 or Raspberry Pi 5 for the system. Or go PC if you have the extra funds and what to play modern fighting games on it as well. For lightguns for with Retroshooter, they are the absolute best value for the money.

And if you are building an arcade, but skimp out and get some pinball in there. With Arcade1Up dying, and their cabinets cooking themselves overtime. Once again AtGames is the only game in town for something commercial. Virtual pinball isn't 100% the same as it's simulating real world physics. But the low end of "home use tables" is ~$5,000 and that's a single layout. A virtual cabinet will be a fraction of that and let you instantly switch between hundreds if not thousands of tables instantly.

 

[AmuroChan]

That's more manageable, but be careful. With the death and sale of Arcade1Up people will be overcharging for them. Start searching now and jumping on any deals for cabinets you want.

Are you just looking to play those games, or you do need those cabinets with that artwork? Multicades take up much less room. AtGames' Legends Ultimate is currently the only one available commercially. Others are more bespoke and you're ordering from small vendors. AtGames currently has a sales and you can get one for $550 directly from them: https://www.atgames.us/products/legends-ultimate-ce-hd The cabinet is two players each with six buttons, a trackball, and two spinners giving you a good amount of input options for various games. Adding more games just involves some Googling and a USB drive.

Some Arcade1Ups can be softmodded. AtGames does make a four player control deck you can swap to, but it's expensive at $350.

The route I'd go if I knew what I knew now and was starting over. I'd get a TV cart with a nice 32-43" TV, and a pedestal for controls. Something a little custom that would let you swap in different control decks like AtGames does so you can have multiple options without needing to squeeze every type of input into a single panel. Then an Orange Pi 5 or Raspberry Pi 5 for the system. Or go PC if you have the extra funds and what to play modern fighting games on it as well. For lightguns for with Retroshooter, they are the absolute best value for the money.

And if you are building an arcade, but skimp out and get some pinball in there. With Arcade1Up dying, and their cabinets cooking themselves overtime. Once again AtGames is the only game in town for something commercial. Virtual pinball isn't 100% the same as it's simulating real world physics. But the low end of "home use tables" is ~$5,000 and that's a single layout. A virtual cabinet will be a fraction of that and let you instantly switch between hundreds if not thousands of tables instantly.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely give ATGames a look. I was looking at some A1U cabinets in the secondary market online and they're starting at around $700 and up.

 

[SScorpio]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely give ATGames a look. I was looking at some A1U cabinets in the secondary market online and they're starting at around $700 and up.

Ya, they were fine at the initial $300-400. Once MSRP got to $700 they just weren't worth it.

 

[Knightime_X]

Better to get a half cab with a pc and something like a 32-40in LED monitor supported above the cab.
It looks slick and will save you a serious amount of space.

Unless you want og boards and lots of headaches, this is the way.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Captain's Arcade Showroom - Play Pinball ...in a Pirate sort of way!

Buy, sell or play pinball machines at Captain’s Arcade Showroom. Official Stern Pinball distributor with pinball machines available for sale for your home, office or business. Family-owned and conveniently located in Orange County near Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside. Shipping and delivery opti

www.captainsarcadeshowroom.com

These folks do a large amount of auctions throughout the year.

You can find some good deals but it is competitive.