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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.
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:
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.
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