What console games do you think are worthy of building a cabinet for?

[yotsuya]

I think when you see cabinets themed after college or pro teams, favorite beverages, or TV shows, it's a "mancave" mentality.

[pbj]

So there's an actual Diablo Mecanico game? 

[yotsuya]

So there's an actual Diablo Mecanico game?

See, I love custom themes like that. To me, it's preferable to using a non-arcade related theme just because you like it. I love spaghetti, I'll never theme anything to it.

[opt2not]

My Canuck's cocktail is a better example of my hypocrisy.

[Howard_Casto]

So there's an actual Diablo Mecanico game?

See, I love custom themes like that. To me, it's preferable to using a non-arcade related theme just because you like it. I love spaghetti, I'll never theme anything to it.

This^^^^

Either make up a theme for a visual aesthetic, or base it off a real arcade machine.  You don't base it off a game that isn't on the machine or isn't very fun.  Why? 

Because when people walk over and see your nifty Zelda arcade cabinet only to find that Zelda isn't on it and/or Zelda plays very badly on it, you've lost them... they'll never play again.

Custom themes are MUCH more preferable to that because you can continue the theme on your front-end of choice and then the theme is presented as a sum of it's parts, not individual games on the machine.  Nobody plays on a Penny Arcade themed machine and expects to find a game called "Penny Arcade"... they understand that it's a multi-game machine. 

*edit*

Just for the record, don't make a "Penny Arcade" machine or a machine with the word "MAME" in it.  Every time you do William Sessions pumps a kid full of heroine out of spite. 

[Aceldamor]

So there's an actual Diablo Mecanico game?

See, I love custom themes like that. To me, it's preferable to using a non-arcade related theme just because you like it. I love spaghetti, I'll never theme anything to it.

This^^^^

Either make up a theme for a visual aesthetic, or base it off a real arcade machine.  You don't base it off a game that isn't on the machine or isn't very fun.  Why? 

Because when people walk over and see your nifty Zelda arcade cabinet only to find that Zelda isn't on it and/or Zelda plays very badly on it, you've lost them... they'll never play again.

Custom themes are MUCH more preferable to that because you can continue the theme on your front-end of choice and then the theme is presented as a sum of it's parts, not individual games on the machine.  Nobody plays on a Penny Arcade themed machine and expects to find a game called "Penny Arcade"... they understand that it's a multi-game machine. 

*edit*

Just for the record, don't make a "Penny Arcade" machine or a machine with the word "MAME" in it.  Every time you do William Sessions pumps a kid full of heroine out of spite.

I think when you see cabinets themed after college or pro teams, favorite beverages, or TV shows, it's a "mancave" mentality.

I'll agree with part of what you guys said. I'll have to say though, I'm not building an arcade for everyone else, i'm building it for me. Using Howard's example, if I was a Zelda nut and had a themed room in that motif, I might make my bartop look like a piece of the triforce, or at the very least have the art heavily inspired by Zelda; as a bartop with a Mario theme would be out of place in the space. Should it have Zelda on it? Maybe. I would have built it my way and put games on it that I enjoy...again I didn't build this cab to seek other's approval. Perhaps that get's into Yot's "mancave" thing, but not every cab builder is a purist so to speak. They want to make something that is reminiscent of their childhood, for their child, fits the motif of their space, etc.

Something like a cab is almost always a center piece of a room, it either completes a room's design, or sets it.

[yotsuya]

... not every cab builder is a purist so to speak.

True dat.

Over the years, I've seen a lot of projects. The ones th at impress me look like they were pulled out of an ops warehouse, preserved for all time. I get Joe Six-Pack wants a Bud Light video game playing machine to go with his blue flame rugs, and I don't begrudge him for that, but that doesn't mean my personal preferences change any.

Yeah, I mean, build what you want, but ... you know

[opt2not]

Over the years, I've seen a lot of projects. The ones th at impress me look like they were pulled out of an ops warehouse, preserved for all time. I get Joe Six-Pack wants a Bud Light video game playing machine to go with his blue flame rugs, and I don't begrudge him for that, but that doesn't mean my personal preferences change any.

This is one of the biggest indicators between people who really experienced the arcades and those who are just getting into the hobby 'cause it's the cool thing right now.

[Aceldamor]

Over the years, I've seen a lot of projects. The ones th at impress me look like they were pulled out of an ops warehouse, preserved for all time. I get Joe Six-Pack wants a Bud Light video game playing machine to go with his blue flame rugs, and I don't begrudge him for that, but that doesn't mean my personal preferences change any.

This is one of the biggest indicators between people who really experienced the arcades and those who are just getting into the hobby 'cause it's the cool thing right now.

I guess....honestly It's all down to personal artistic preference and space...I spent at least 1 day a week in an arcade, i'm sure many of which Yots knows of considering he's a fellow AZer, that doesn't mean I have the space for dedicated repros, nor does it mean I didn't appreciate my time in arcades because I don't want one. I've seen amazing cabs, from restorations, to repros, to originals. I've also seen the quality of every one of those categories go from "um..i'm not sure what i'm looking at." to "Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that is ZOMG WTF amazeballs!". Short of an actual restoration/repro which has to be spot on, literally every other cab is a matter of personal preference as to what is "pretty".

Loving this discussion btw, It's cool to know other's thoughts on it, but I think at this point we're hijacking and perhaps if needed to continue we start a new thread.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, I'm over being critical about stuff. Build what you want. But I ain't handing out gold stars for the sake of it, either. I know what I like. If someone's cab makes them happy, that's all that matters.

[opt2not]

What's that, we should abolish the UCA's because of everyone's personal preference?  Sure, I'd sign that petition. 

[dkersten]

Either make up a theme for a visual aesthetic, or base it off a real arcade machine.  You don't base it off a game that isn't on the machine or isn't very fun.  Why? 

Because when people walk over and see your nifty Zelda arcade cabinet only to find that Zelda isn't on it and/or Zelda plays very badly on it, you've lost them... they'll never play again.

Custom themes are MUCH more preferable to that because you can continue the theme on your front-end of choice and then the theme is presented as a sum of it's parts, not individual games on the machine.  Nobody plays on a Penny Arcade themed machine and expects to find a game called "Penny Arcade"... they understand that it's a multi-game machine. 

I would say there is merit to this.. when I did Wylie's Wars for my buddy and his kids, the moment we unveiled it his kids pointed to the artwork and said, "I want to play THAT game!" 

Then again, if you like a concept, run with it.  Haters gonna hate.  They don't have to have it in their gameroom/mancave/livingroom/garage, and they sure as hell aren't paying for it.  Who cares if someone who has been doing it longer thinks it's dumb?

[yotsuya]

Either make up a theme for a visual aesthetic, or base it off a real arcade machine.  You don't base it off a game that isn't on the machine or isn't very fun.  Why? 

Because when people walk over and see your nifty Zelda arcade cabinet only to find that Zelda isn't on it and/or Zelda plays very badly on it, you've lost them... they'll never play again.

Custom themes are MUCH more preferable to that because you can continue the theme on your front-end of choice and then the theme is presented as a sum of it's parts, not individual games on the machine.  Nobody plays on a Penny Arcade themed machine and expects to find a game called "Penny Arcade"... they understand that it's a multi-game machine. 

I would say there is merit to this.. when I did Wylie's Wars for my buddy and his kids, the moment we unveiled it his kids pointed to the artwork and said, "I want to play THAT game!" 

Then again, if you like a concept, run with it.  Haters gonna hate.  They don't have to have it in their gameroom/mancave/livingroom/garage, and they sure as hell aren't paying for it.  Who cares if someone who has been doing it longer thinks it's dumb?

Oh yeah, time to break out the hater word. Just because you express an opinion, it doesn't make you a hater. A hater would imply you actually gave a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about it.

I hate the Dallas Cowboys. I don't give a crap if Johnny Come Lately builds a 21 Jump Street themed cabinet. Its not my cup of tea, but I certainly don't hate it.

[harveybirdman]

An arcade cabinet is art. No one will ever convince me otherwise.

[yotsuya]

An arcade cabinet is art. No one will ever convince me otherwise.

[Aceldamor]

Either make up a theme for a visual aesthetic, or base it off a real arcade machine.  You don't base it off a game that isn't on the machine or isn't very fun.  Why? 

Because when people walk over and see your nifty Zelda arcade cabinet only to find that Zelda isn't on it and/or Zelda plays very badly on it, you've lost them... they'll never play again.

Custom themes are MUCH more preferable to that because you can continue the theme on your front-end of choice and then the theme is presented as a sum of it's parts, not individual games on the machine.  Nobody plays on a Penny Arcade themed machine and expects to find a game called "Penny Arcade"... they understand that it's a multi-game machine. 

I would say there is merit to this.. when I did Wylie's Wars for my buddy and his kids, the moment we unveiled it his kids pointed to the artwork and said, "I want to play THAT game!" 

Then again, if you like a concept, run with it.  Haters gonna hate.  They don't have to have it in their gameroom/mancave/livingroom/garage, and they sure as hell aren't paying for it.  Who cares if someone who has been doing it longer thinks it's dumb?

Oh yeah, time to break out the hater word. Just because you express an opinion, it doesn't make you a hater. A hater would imply you actually gave a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about it.

I hate the Dallas Cowboys. I don't give a crap if Johnny Come Lately builds a 21 Jump Street themed cabinet. Its not my cup of tea, but I certainly don't hate it.

I don't think anyone is hating on you Yots, nor do I think you are hating on anyone else. You know what you like and respect even that that doesn't appeal to your personal preferences. I get it and feel the same way. 

[yotsuya]

Either make up a theme for a visual aesthetic, or base it off a real arcade machine.  You don't base it off a game that isn't on the machine or isn't very fun.  Why? 

Because when people walk over and see your nifty Zelda arcade cabinet only to find that Zelda isn't on it and/or Zelda plays very badly on it, you've lost them... they'll never play again.

Custom themes are MUCH more preferable to that because you can continue the theme on your front-end of choice and then the theme is presented as a sum of it's parts, not individual games on the machine.  Nobody plays on a Penny Arcade themed machine and expects to find a game called "Penny Arcade"... they understand that it's a multi-game machine. 

I would say there is merit to this.. when I did Wylie's Wars for my buddy and his kids, the moment we unveiled it his kids pointed to the artwork and said, "I want to play THAT game!" 

Then again, if you like a concept, run with it.  Haters gonna hate.  They don't have to have it in their gameroom/mancave/livingroom/garage, and they sure as hell aren't paying for it.  Who cares if someone who has been doing it longer thinks it's dumb?

Oh yeah, time to break out the hater word. Just because you express an opinion, it doesn't make you a hater. A hater would imply you actually gave a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about it.

I hate the Dallas Cowboys. I don't give a crap if Johnny Come Lately builds a 21 Jump Street themed cabinet. Its not my cup of tea, but I certainly don't hate it.

I don't think anyone is hating on you Yots, nor do I think you are hating on anyone else. You know what you like and respect even that that doesn't appeal to your personal preferences. I get it and feel the same way. 

Oh, I know, brother. That was more a general rant against the word "hater" than anything directed any anyone.

[opt2not]

Oh snap, I didn't realize they released an English translation for Policenauts!  I just looked it up, thanks to this thread. 
And no, Policenauts also wouldn't make a good arcade cabinet.  I'm not a hater, it's just playing Snatcher or Policenauts standing up would make for a terrible experience. Those games are sit-down investment games, with their great music, art and atmosphere. You'd be doing them an injustice by forcing people to play them standing up, and on arcade controls.

[voltz]

If I ever did any sit-down variations, they'd most likely have to be a horror type, whether it's Resident Evil, Haunting Ground or Clock Tower.

They'll have to be using a mirror back glass or otherwise they wouldn't be able to present themselves.

[Howard_Casto]

Over the years, I've seen a lot of projects. The ones th at impress me look like they were pulled out of an ops warehouse, preserved for all time. I get Joe Six-Pack wants a Bud Light video game playing machine to go with his blue flame rugs, and I don't begrudge him for that, but that doesn't mean my personal preferences change any.

This is one of the biggest indicators between people who really experienced the arcades and those who are just getting into the hobby 'cause it's the cool thing right now.

If mean in the way that old timers will give you the correct advice that you should almost always listen to and will eventually regret if you don't then, yes, that is the difference. 

We are like the crazy old men that man the gas station at the beginning of a horror movie.  Ignore our warnings at your own peril.  "And if yeh ain't gonna buy no gas den git out of my store ya idgit kids!!!"

[dkersten]

Oh yeah, time to break out the hater word. Just because you express an opinion, it doesn't make you a hater. A hater would imply you actually gave a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about it.

If you aren't hating on it then you aren't a hater.  If you believe it shouldn't exist simply because you have a more refined taste than the one who wants it to exist... well then I would say you are a hater.  There is a difference between saying it isn't your style and saying it should never have been done.

Speaking of haters, I saw the movie "Steve Jobs" last night.  I liked it, but probably not for the reasons others would.  The basic gist of the movie was probably supposed to be how this guy was a visionary ahead of his time, failing to create and sell something for over a decade until he finally persevered and people recognized his genius despite his personal flaws.  I didn't see that.  I saw a guy trying to sell what people don't want because of his own beliefs of how things should be.  He raged against the ability to take a product and make it what you want and after the third try he finally sold people on what HE thought they should have, not what THEY wanted to have.  That's the genius of Jobs and Apple - a closed ended product that nobody wanted and now people WANT to change their life to fit the product instead of finding a product to fit their life.  Any time you have that level of polarization you will have haters.  I'm an Apple Hater.  I won't admit that some of the products they make are cool and some are even the best at what they do the day they come out.  I don't give it a shot because it goes against two things I believe: find the least expensive way to get the best product and then use that product for everything it is capable of, not only what it was designed to do.  When I see someone with an iPhone in their back pocket I judge them immediately by it.  I classify them as a specific type of person.  And when someone buys an Apple product just to taste the Kool-Aid and then later tells me they made a mistake and goes the other direction, I am warmed inside by the fire of my hate.  When it comes to Apple, I'm gonna hate, and I am not ashamed of it.  But if you are going to build a Play-Doh themed arcade cabinet, more power to you.  Just do it well and you will get nothing but kudos from me.

[Howard_Casto]

I'm not sure how the topic changed to this, but Steve Jobs was a pompus ass.  He acted like he personally invented every Apple product when, in reality he did exactly what the "hated" Microsoft did....  look at what companies with actual talent were doing (like Xerox), totally rip them off, and package it better with a better marketing campaign.  The only difference is, once in power Microsoft went on to innovate the entire industry with powerful desktop and network infrastructure while Apple just kept putting tired old products in shiny cases selling them for 4x as much as their competitors. 

How come nobody ever does a documentary of the Woz, he's actually interesting and I would love to know more about his life. 

I'm under the philosophy that the unwashed masses are often a bit on the slow side, so yeah, you need good marketing to get through their thick skulls sometimes.  Once you've hooked them though, you need to have a product worthy of the trickery.  Nintendo did the old switcheroo with the NES, tricking parents into thinking it was more than a game console and god bless them for it... they saved the home console industry.  Apple on the other hand ticked people into paying more for a watch that does less than the iPhone they already have in their pocket. 

[rust2dust]

I would love to see an updated Hi def version of "braindead 13" in a dragon's lair style cabinet.....my favorite fmv title...

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

[dkersten]

I'm not sure how the topic changed to this, but Steve Jobs was a pompus ass.  He acted like he personally invented every Apple product when, in reality he did exactly what the "hated" Microsoft did....  look at what companies with actual talent were doing (like Xerox), totally rip them off, and package it better with a better marketing campaign.  The only difference is, once in power Microsoft went on to innovate the entire industry with powerful desktop and network infrastructure while Apple just kept putting tired old products in shiny cases selling them for 4x as much as their competitors. 

How come nobody ever does a documentary of the Woz, he's actually interesting and I would love to know more about his life.

The movie certainly portrayed him that way, which was incredibly refreshing.  Woz had a great part and the scenes really showed how bad Jobs treated him.  They had some flashbacks to the argument about how many slots to put in the Apple II, and Woz ended up winning it which really led to the success of the product.  The last scene with him was powerful, and they flat out admitted how Woz was the genius behind it all but Jobs was the face that everyone knew. 

All in all, if you lived through that history, the movie is worth seeing.  It isn't what you would expect and the acting is top notch.

BTW, my first computer was a Vic20, but my second computer was an AppleIIc.  I used the AppleIIc until my 3rd year of College when the 486's came out.

Back on topic, the console games that stood out for me were the fighting games.  I'm a computer gamer, so while I spent much of my youth at the arcade, my next hobby was programming and playing with those early computers.  Before I had a computer, I had the Atari and then Intellivision, but by the time the NES came out my Nerd time was split between console games and computer games.  Mario is about all that stands out from NES and SNES days (although F-Zero stands out as well).  When xbox and ps came out, my kids got the xbox and I played the fighting games with my son.  So if I were going to make a console themed cab it would focus on something like Dead or Alive...  Probably 30% of the time on my cab was spent playing DoA 1 and 2.  30% was spent on Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, and the other 40% on classics.  To set up the later DoA games would be cool, and the theme would be great for a cab considering the content...  Although not very kid friendly, lol.

[pbj]

The Ashton Kutcher movie was pretty good, I'm surprised anyone felt a need to make another Jobs movie.  Oh well, thus is insanity.

[harveybirdman]

The Ashton Kutcher movie was pretty good, I'm surprised anyone felt a need to make another Jobs movie.  Oh well, thus is insanity.

Speed
Blown Away

A Bug's Life
Antz

Armageddon
Deep Impact

Turner & Hooch
K-9

Abyss
Leviathan

Dante's Peak
Volcano

Tombstone
Wyatt Earp

Powder
Phenomenon

Top Gun
Iron Eagle

Misson to Mars
Red Planet

Ed Tv
The Truman Show

and so on, and so on, and so on...

[vwalbridge]

The Ashton Kutcher movie was pretty good, I'm surprised anyone felt a need to make another Jobs movie.  Oh well, thus is insanity.

Speed
Blown Away

A Bug's Life
Antz

Armageddon
Deep Impact

Turner & Hooch
K-9

Abyss
Leviathan

Dante's Peak
Volcano

Tombstone
Wyatt Earp

Powder
Phenomenon

Top Gun
Iron Eagle

Misson to Mars
Red Planet

Ed Tv
The Truman Show

and so on, and so on, and so on...

Pee Wee's big adventure
Phantom Menace

[harveybirdman]

 

[pbj]

and so on, and so on, and so on...

Better analogy would have been Infamous and Capote.  Two movies covering the same exact time period of the same exact person's life.  And Infamous was the better movie, but both were fine.

[Howard_Casto]

The Ashton Kutcher movie was pretty good, I'm surprised anyone felt a need to make another Jobs movie.  Oh well, thus is insanity.

Speed
Blown Away

A Bug's Life
Antz

Armageddon
Deep Impact

Turner & Hooch
K-9

Abyss
Leviathan

Dante's Peak
Volcano

Tombstone
Wyatt Earp

Powder
Phenomenon

Top Gun
Iron Eagle

Misson to Mars
Red Planet

Ed Tv
The Truman Show

and so on, and so on, and so on...

I get what you are saying, but those films weren't made within 6 months of each other and they weren't documentaries of a guy who isn't even cold in the ground yet.  All this apple worship is extremely disturbing.   

[HaRuMaN]

Armageddon and Deep Impact came out in July and May of 1998.  3 months. 

[dkersten]

The Ashton Kutcher movie was pretty good, I'm surprised anyone felt a need to make another Jobs movie.  Oh well, thus is insanity.

Frankly I thought the same until I saw it.  Two sides of a coin and completely different movies.  The Ashton Kutcher one told a loving tale of the man's life, painting him as a hero.  This movie is not about his life, if anything it's about his character (in a negative way), and a story of the minutes before each of three announcements that each represented the culmination of years of development of what is essentially the same product.  The first two were miserable failures that lead to the near bankruptcy of a company, the last finally a success that catapulted it to the top.  In the meantime it painted him as a complete dick that nobody liked but everyone worshipped because he was the face of the movement.  In a way it tried to show his redeeming factors behind the façade that nobody liked, but really it just showed him as a complete ---uvula--- who shoved a product down the public's throat that they never even wanted, all so he could say "See, I told you that you needed it."

If this movie came out at the same time as the other one, then the Armageddon/Deep Impact analogy would hold a little water since they share the same main character.  I would say a closer analogy would be Basketball Diaries vs Bowling for Columbine..

[Howard_Casto]

Armageddon and Deep Impact came out in July and May of 1998.  3 months.

Sure, Sure, but they weren't accompanied by two made for tv movies about asteroids, an independent film about asteroids and an upcoming film about yet another take on asteroids slated to be released in a few more months.  Seriously Steve Jobs just isn't that interesting, or at least to me he isn't. 

[dkersten]

Armageddon and Deep Impact came out in July and May of 1998.  3 months.

Sure, Sure, but they weren't accompanied by two made for tv movies about asteroids, an independent film about asteroids and an upcoming film about yet another take on asteroids slated to be released in a few more months.  Seriously Steve Jobs just isn't that interesting, or at least to me he isn't.

lol, but then the asteroid wasn't the hero that millions worshipped as the closest thing to God.  As an anti-Apple guy I never really got the obsession with the guy, but to many his name is reverent.  These, of course, are the same people who will defend their Apple lifestyles to the death and line up three days in advance to get the next untested product.

I honestly think the negative reviews about the latest Jobs movie are because they paint him in a negative light.  Sacrilege to many...

[pbj]

Deep Impact is actually a pretty good movie.  I do have to laugh when Frito outruns the tidal wave by going up the side of a small hill on his dirt bike, leaving his parents to drown 100 feet away, but I think it holds up decently.

Armageddon was bad when it came out.

[wp34]

Deep Impact is one of those movies that suck me in whenever they are on TV.  I won't defend it but I do like it.

[Howard_Casto]

Armageddon was bad when it came out.

Yeah but to Bay's credit it was totally worth it for the animal cracker love scene with Liv Tyler in which HER FRIKKIN FATHER sings the score.  That's so screwed up I wouldn't think it possible. 

[wp34]

Armageddon was bad when it came out.

Yeah but to Bay's credit it was totally worth it for the animal cracker love scene with Liv Tyler in which HER FRIKKIN FATHER sings the score.  That's so screwed up I wouldn't think it possible.

I thought it was just me that was creeped out by that.  Totally ruined Tyler for me.   

[harveybirdman]

Yeah but to Bay's credit it was totally worth it for the animal cracker love scene with Liv Tyler in which HER FRIKKIN FATHER sings the score.  That's so screwed up I wouldn't think it possible. 

WORST

SCENE

EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pbj]

C'mon, she's not THAT weird looking.