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Arcade1Up at Target

Read More Arcade1Up So, I accidentally bought my second Arcade1Up, an Atari's Asteroids machine. Of all the cabinets that Arcade1Up released, this was my least desirable.…

It’s been a long time since I talked about Arcade1Up, the company that makes ¾ sized arcade cabinets for an affordable price for general consumers. My first purchase was the Street Fighter II cabinet for $300 in November 2018, and it was honestly one of the coolest things I own. I grew up losing so many quarters to various SFII machines and had always wanted to own my own cabinet.

I bought four cabinets within the year and then realized that I actually have no more spaces for these arcade cabinets. It also got really expensive, when Arcade1Up started bundling risers in their cabs, in addition to light up marquees… while the additional upgrades are welcomed, it also made them more expensive at $500.

Looking at their current offerings, their average price is about $600… basically making their products no longer affordable to the average gamer. I think at that price point, serious gamers will probably prefer to look at their own custom arcade or just investing in an all-in-one full-size cabinet, like their competitor, At Games.

In fact, looking at At Games, I’m beginning to think it’s a better value overall. They’ve taking pre-orders for their Star Trek digital pinball machine right now. I really want it, but priced at $1,500 (excluding the $100 shipping), it’s out of my budget.

Anyway, bringing back to my budget, last year, there was a Black Friday deal going around for the 2-player Marvel Super Heroes Countercade at Target for $100. I actually never saw it on the floor, I’m assuming Target never put it out or that it was sold out. Then last week, I happened to see these things at Target, selling for a discount.

It was an impulse buy, something that I somewhat have buyer’s remorse once I brought it home. While I love the Arthur Adams’ Thanos artwork and the arcade joysticks, buttons, and light-up marquee … the screen is just too small 8 inches. It’s so small that the 2-player playboard actually hangs outside … making the whole thing look awkward and unpleasing.

That’s not the only Arcade1Up news, it would seem that Arcade1Up and Target are entering into an exclusive arrangement to display their “Infinity Gaming” tablet in the electronic area. I didn’t see a price on display, but searching online, it’s $500 and $1,000 (for the 32-inch table). It’s definitely not in my price range, but I thought it was cool to see them in a retail store, outside of Walmart. I am hoping to see more products at Target in the future.

Update: I just realized that you couldn’t actually just buy an Infinity Gaming tablet at the stores, you have to order it online.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

Infinity Gaming

Read more Weekend Gamer and Technology.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Arcade1Up Wave 2: Mortal Kombat II, Final Fight, Golden Tee, Space Invaders, and Karate Champ

Read More Arcade1Up So, I accidentally bought my second Arcade1Up, an Atari's Asteroids machine. Of all the cabinets that Arcade1Up released, this was my least desirable.…

With CES 2019 (Consumer Electronic Show) running all week, our favorite home consumer arcade cabinet maker Arcade1Up announced their Wave 2 of games:

Mortal Kombat II (Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3)

Final Fight (Final Fight, 1944, Ghosts 'N Goblins, Strider)

Golden Tee (GT Classic '01, Golden Tee '2k, Golden Tee '99, Golden Tee '98)

Space Invaders (Space Invaders Color, Space Invaders Black and White)

Karate Champ (Karate Champ, Bad Dudes, Burger Time, Caveman Ninja)

I’m really excited about these new games coming out, because it sounds like they did okay (and maybe made some money) on the first wave to continue on this venture. I’ve already bought Street Fighter II, Pac-Man (what a beautiful machine!), and Asteroids (intending to mod it with a Pandora’s Box).

Looking at the Wave 2 lineup, only two games are on my want list: MK2 and Final Fight. I’ve always been a SF2 fan vs MK2, but I can understand the appeal: “realistic” animation and bloody violent. The artwork for the cabinet looks awesome. As for Final Fight, I mainly want it for the 1944 game (I love shoot ‘em up)... but still, I know I’ll have a lot of fun if a friend can jump in to help the beat ‘em up game. It’s kind of funny, but pre-SF2, most of the popular arcade games that I love were co-operative beat ‘em up, which Double Dragon made popular. In fact, now that I think about it, I kind of wish Arcade1Up would release Double Dragon and other beat ‘em games in one cab.

Anyway, as far as I know, according to their website Wave 2 is coming out “as soon as February”... but I’ll keep an eye out at Walmart.

Update: Official release dates will be Final Fight and Space Invaders will be out February, Golden Tee in June, and MK and Karate Champ in September.

Below is a video of me playing Pac-Man for the second time on the Arcade1Up machine, if you’re interested in seeing how the game runs. Pac-Man Plus seems like a hacked version of Pac-Man, but it’s incredibly difficult to play. You can see me just struggling to make it to the second level.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Arcade1Up: Asteroids

Read More Arcade1Up Ever since the arcades went away, I’ve always wanted my own personal arcade cabinet. A few weeks ago, I saw these Arcade1Up boxes at Walmart, and looking at the box art, they appear to be “full sized” cabinets for $300! …

So, I accidentally bought my second Arcade1Up, an Atari's Asteroids machine. Of all the cabinets that Arcade1Up released, this was my least desirable. I recognized that these games are important, but these games (Asteroids, Major Havoc, Lunar Lander, and Tempest) were just really way before my time. In fact, when I was going to the arcades, I never saw these (and if they were there, I never played them).

I bought the cabinet, because it’s being sold on Walmart.com for $199 (down from $299). I went to the local store and asked them to price match their website, and they did, so I have Asteroids. It’s fine, I figure I am going to mod this machine down the road to run MAME or a Pandora’s Box.

All these Atari games had very crude vector/wire-frame graphics. If you’ve ever played Tron or Star Wars (from 1983), you’ll know what I’m talking about. Like all early arcade games, they are HARD. Control is not perfect (and confusing sometime), but you just deal with it. After a few gaming sessions, I wonder how kids, in that era (1979-1981) enjoyed these games?

The best game in this arcade is Tempest. This game is really fun, but unfortunately, the spinner controller that came with this arcade is crap. Universally, everyone who used the spinner said it’s complete garbage. The reason is that it’s a resistance/clicky wheel, compared to the free-spinning wheel of the original arcade machines. How that got passed anyone in game design is beyond me.

Anyway, Tempest is just great. If you’ve ever played any of its clones (Storm or Web War) or games that inspired it, it’ll feel like home to you.

One of the reason why I love Tempest is that it reminded me of a 1983 fixed-shooter game called Gyruss. This is one of two games that I can beat on a single quarter in the arcade. There are seven levels, you and start off at Pluto trying to reach Earth. It’s really fun, unfortunately, not many gamers out there have played this game.

If you are interested in digging up this classic, you should know that it was designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, who also wrote/involved/produced in my other two favorite games: 1942 and Street Fighter II.

Anyway, there are a lot of people that just doesn’t understand why anyone would buy one of these machines. Most of it is from the old-school arcade collectors, who all hate these little machines. I get why they are upset, but as a fan of these Arcade1Up machines, I will explain who or why someone would want these:

Price: You can get these machines for $300 or less (as low as $150 in some area). Real arcade machines were all commercial machines, so they can cost as much as $5,000 for a new unit.

Size: They are small-ish, you can fit these in any bedroom or gameroom.

Weight: They weight about 60lbs, so a grown adult can move these around.

Game: If you are a fan of a certain game, like Street Fighter II or Centipede … it’s a must in your collection.

Availability: You can walk in any Walmart and pick up one of these machines. Real arcade machines were never meant to be sold to the public.

Art: They’re kind of a nice piece of art. Even if you don’t love Pac-Man, that machine artwork and design (especially with the red edges) is just a beautiful piece of art.

Nostalgia: There’s a segment of older games who remembered going to the arcade and want one in their home.

Modders: If you don’t love the game that came with the cabinet, you can mod it to your liking. A lot of modders out there have already put in Raspberry Pi or Pandora Box, and they look great.

A lot of people also said that for $300 they can get an Xbox One or PS4 or a Switch, and that’s true… but they could never replace the experience of these old arcade machines.

At the end of the day, if you like something and want a company to succeed, you should stand behind it. Arcade1Up is a brand-new company, this is their first product to market (launched in mid-October 2018). I know they are learning some hard lessons (the cheap paint on their control panels, defective game roms, bad controllers, quality issues, mono-stereo design, retailer exclusives/price negotiations), but I hope they can get over these roadblocks.

In fact, I hope they turn a profit and release more cabinets in 2019, because I’m very interested in getting more. If I can find these for $200 or less, I will probably end up owning a complete set. I might not have the room, but I will surely make the room.

NEWS: It looks like Space Invaders is available for purchase NOW in the UK. According to John Morris, who purchased the cabinet, he said, "These are available in the UK, although I am not sure about stock levels. Try very.co.uk or Smyths Toystore if you are looking for one."

I probably wouldn’t buy Space Invaders, but it’s cool to see another cabinet for sale from Arcade1Up… even though it looks like it might be a UK exclusive or something.

Below is a video of me play Tempest and giving my thoughts on these machines.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Update: Arcade1Up Street Fighter II Championship Edition and Riser

Read More Arcade1Up Ever since the arcades went away, I’ve always wanted my own personal arcade cabinet. A few weeks ago, I saw these Arcade1Up boxes at Walmart, and looking at the box art, they appear to be “full sized” cabinets for $300! …

This is just an update on my Arcade1Up’s Street Fighter II arcade cabinet. After purchasing the official Arcade1Up Riser, and playing the game for the last couple of weeks - I’ve been very happy with the machine.

However, I did want to address some issues that you may not be aware of.

Riser

Four extra screws were included to attached the cabinet to the riser. Unfortunately, the cabinet’s bottom are not pre-drilled, meaning you may accidentally damage the cabinet or artwork.

The Riser will only elevate the machine to about 1 foot. This means if you’re really tall, the cabinet is still going to be too small for you.

No artwork on the Riser, apart from the boring Arcade1Up logo. Wish they come with some other alternative artworks.

Control Board

After just three weeks of playing on my SF2 Cabinet - the control panel artwork is starting to rub off (see image below). This is a problem that Arcade1Up is aware of and will be sending out replacement decals and a clear plastic cover for protection. Future cabs will automatically come with the protective covers. Still, you would think with some beta testers, they could’ve corrected this problem before it went to manufacturing.

I’ve already mentioned that I did not love the ball joystick, as it turned out, the ball will fall off the stick when I’m playing.

Most SF2 fans have already replaced the joystick ball with “Batstyle” replacement tops, which is selling for $4.50 on Amazon.

I think over time, especially if the joystick breaks, I may replace the two joystick units for a metal/quality part with longer sticks.

Speaker

Only one speaker to create mono audio. The original Street Fighter II game is encoded in Stereo, so you are missing some subtle nuance in the original stereo mix

There are only three options: Off, Medium, and Max. (Wish there was a slider, as the “Medium” is still quite LOUD).

Software

There’s no way to update the software. If a game is broken (such as Gauntlet crashing at level 31), Arcade1Up will have to send you a brand new board

There are no additional settings. For example, an “easy” mode or additional display settings.

No highscore saves after you reset the game. This is could be a blessing, because if someone saves a rude name - it’s not permanent. Still, it would be nice to have the ability to save game profiles.

Availability

Based on my location, I’ve only seen these machines at Walmart and Gamestop. I have not seen them in stores at Target or Best Buy (they are online only). The Gamestop I went to actually don’t have the arcades in stock, you’ll have to order it online and pick it up in stores (I don’t know if this is the case for all Gamestops).

Prices are all over the place. Walmart is the cheapest, their price is $299 for the cabinet and $39 for the riser. Since the stores can set their own retail prices, some are selling it at $399 (retail suggested price) for the cabinet and $49 for the riser (Amazon is selling the riser for $130!) For Black Friday, these arcade machines were on sale for $249, which is the cheapest I’ve seen.

Some CostCo started selling Arcade1Up with an official stool, but was quickly removed on November 30, with Arcade1Up stating, “Due to unforeseen business circumstances, Arcade1Up will not be available at Costco.”

Some cabinets are rarer than others, based on popularity. For example, I’ve never seen certain titles at my local Walmarts.

These arcade machines are only being sold in North America and Europe. Arcade1Up have said that they’re working on distribution for the rest of the world, but for now, America first.

Wish List

I’d also like to see a cheaper version, perhaps only Arcade Tops only for $150 or less. The top will include the monitor and control panel, but you’ll need to add your own table or Arcade1Up can sell an additional five foot “Riser” for another $150.

Maybe create a "Bring Your Own Game" cabinet, providing only the screen and joystick with 10-buttons. Screen can be HDMI-compliant to make it easier for Modders. This could be a really cheap way for fans to get into the arcade scene (since Arcade1Up doesn't have to pay a software license). Imagine the possibility, especially because there are some games that is just too expensive (or not available at all) for Arcade1Up to license.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/X-Men 4-player Arcade cabinet. They already have a 3 player Rampage machine, so I’ll understand for cost savings that the TMNT machine is only 3 turtles (but boo!)

House of the Dead/Lightgun rail shooter cabinet. I haven’t done the research or understand the technology, but this would be so cool if they can make this a reality.

Double Dragon/Final Fight/Beat-em-up cabinet.

Tetris/Bubble Bobble/Puzzle cabinet.

Again, despite all my gripes and minor complaints, I’m still very happy with my Arcade1Up cabinet. I know I will likely pick up the Fatal Fight arcade cabinet, should it become available. Of course, knowing that the sale price can be as low as $249, I am more comfortable holding out on a sale for now. Bargain hunters are already reporting that some Walmarts have slashed their prices to as low as $148, so I will definitely keep my eyes out for this deal!

Arcade1Up artwork rubs off

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Arcade1Up Cabinet

Read More Games Pathfinder: Kingmaker is not out yet, but I was so excited about this game coming out on GOG that I pre-ordered it. This game is based on the Pathfinder tabletop game, which was and offspring of Dungeon and Dragons…

Ever since the arcades went away, I’ve always wanted my own personal arcade cabinet. A few weeks ago, I saw these Arcade1Up boxes at Walmart, and looking at the box art, they appear to be “full sized” cabinets for $300!

After doing more research and contemplating on the pricing, I’ve decided that it’s actually a good deal to buy a Street Fighter 2 cabinet.

Putting the cabinet together was pretty easy to follow, thanks to the pre-drilled holes and easy-to-follow instruction book. All the parts are clearly labeled, and anyone with a Phillips screw driver can put it together in under 30 minutes.

Some minor complaints:

The ball joystick could be like later generation Street Fighter 2 fight sticks that I remember (they were more sensitive to movement and was a little taller).

The other complaint is that it’s actually not a full-size cabinet, but rather a 3/4 scale. To solve these complaints, Arcade1Up actually released a branded riser to lift the cabinet up to about five feet… which will set you back about $40-$80, depending on where you buy it.

Some praises:

The artwork is beautiful and high quality. It’s brand new and faithfully reproduced from the original Street Fighter 2 cabinets by Capcom.

Joystick and six buttons configuration - it’s how SF2 was meant to be played! Spacing is good, and includes a second six button for a challenger!

After some research, I found out that the suggested retail price to these cabinets are $400. Most stores were pre-selling them at $400 (originally published pricing of $500), but then Walmart announced they were selling it at $300 - forcing the other stores to match the $300 price. I wish they were cheaper, but you have to think that the margin is already thin at $300 if the markup price was originally $400 or more.

I do have my eye on the next Capcom cabinet (Final Fight, Ghost n Goblins, Strider, and 1944: Loop Master)…. And I also want both the Galaga cabinet (Walmart is selling these for $250 as a Black Friday sale) and Pac-Man (for the classic artwork).

UPDATE: After watching and reading about these Arcade1Up from collectors who owns original arcades, some agreed that old cabinets are very expensive, heavy, and requires a lot of maintenance of aging obsolete technology (CRT monitors). One guy said it took two guys to carry a 200 pound machine up one flight of stairs and it nearly destroyed him. Imagine having to move two or three arcade machines? One of the benefit of a smaller Arcade1Up is that it's only about 60lbs, and a grown person can move it around easily. The other nice thing about the Arcade1Up is that pricing at $300 is fair, some people said it's cheap compared to $1,000 for a real machine... Still, we'd all like it to be cheaper.

As for the ball joystick, you can buy replacement "bat" top styling and easily replace the ball. The batstyle is only about $5 each, so it's reasonably priced.

The other complaint a lot of people have mentioned is that they wish the marquee would light up. It is a cost-savings issue, so I understand why they didn't include it with this initial release. I would love Arcade1Up to offer a more expensive "deluxe" version that lights up or comes with a taller frame (instead of having to buy an extra "Riser" to lift it up to standing level)... because I would shell out an extra $50 to get those things built in.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic