Play MS PAC-MAN for 50 cents????

[GroovyTuesdaY]

I stopped in to eat at a mexican place tonight and i noticed they had some arcade machines there , so i thought " KEWL! I feel like playing a quick game  "  So, i waltzed into the game room and they had  about 10  games there.  Most of them were sit down driving games and a couple pinball games, but what stood out to me was there DUAL GALAGA / MS PAC-MAN cocktail machine.   I thought "hey, i haven't tried one of these dual machines yet" So i went to plop in my quarter and to my TOTAL SHOCK they wanted FIFTY CENTS to play!!!!! I was rather pissed to be honest.  I thought what a bunch of crap and i didn't even waste my money.    
The moral of the story and my question is WHY ARE PLACES CHARGING SO MUCH FOR GAMES LIKE THIS?   I had no trouble putting in a quarter, but 50 cents adds up quick when you KNOW your not going to last long lol.
Anyway, i digress  **sighs**  I just needed to vent the frustration out. lol    Anyone find places charging that much for ms pacman?   That was first place i have EVER seen that charged that much for such old classic games.  Oh well, i just came home and played MAME. Screw them! LOL.

I FEEL BETTER! thanks for listening lol.

groovy~

[bloodyviking77]

Here in Australia we are blessed with many things. Sun, surf, barbeques, prawns, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts and Paul Hogan.

However, one thing we are not blessed with is cheap arcade games.

My local pub used to have a galaga cocktail (incidentally, a bootlegged romset that isn't in mame AFAIK - the starfield moved from right to left) and charged AU$1 per credit.

That's roughly 70 us cents.

But after a few pints of guinness, who cares
 That darn machine nearly drank more of my money than  I did!

[shmokes]

MMMMMMM.....Naomi Watts.

[paigeoliver]

50 cents is the norm for the new machine. The reason being is simple, it cost the operator nearly 3 grand, and this isn't 1981 anymore, even at 50 cents per play it will take years to pay for itself. Unlike the original Ms. Pac-Man which was 25 cents a play, and would pay for itself in a couple of months.

[SirPoonga]

50cents, lucky you, $1 here.

[GroovyTuesdaY]

Well, why the hell is it costing THOUSANDS for cocktails?   I mean  isn't that why consoles came out to begin with so you could play the arcade games at home for a fraction of the price? Sheesh.  In my oppinion i think someone , whoever they are, are seriously ripping people off when they sell those machines for that much.   I mean you can rebuild one of the old games for 400- 500 hundred, why pay thousands? Thats just not being very wise or concious of your options as a buyer if you don't look for the better deal.  
NUTS! NUTS! NUTS!  And if you are one of those who really would pay a dollar for galaga, well.....i don't know what to tell you lol.  It almost sounds like it should be a JEFF FOXWORTHY joke :
You might be a redneck if you pay a dollar to play pac-man ....
LOL i'll end on that note lmao.

GroovY~

[IG-88]

I took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge in K.C. last summer and they had a game-room, probably 50+ games. That exact machine was tucked back in a corner, and it was a $1 a game, (4 tokens). Ridiculous! Upon futher inspection it was the cheapest one in there, (unless you like those stupid "Crane-type" rip-offs) I tried playing a Jurassic Park, but at 6 tokens for about 2 min., I gave up and went to the bar, it was cheaper!

[Minwah]

Doesn't sound bad to me.  At least you have the chance to play it if you want.

All games in the UK are

[SirPeale]

I'll second the .50 being high, but on the machines I've seen it has .25 continues...

[chasmosis]

50 cents seems high to me too, but I'd think that any operator that wants to stay in business is going to get as much out of a machine that the market will support.  

If no one played the machine for that price they'd either lower the price (not very likely) or move the machine to a more profitable location.  

[Sephroth57]

that is kind of rediculous for a game that they made 20 years ago. it probably cost them a grand or more for that machine (why i dont know) and i guess they need to make a profit. but really who will pay that for Ms Pacman unless your a junkie and you just needed to play at that moment. around here arcades are pretty well priced though, anything non sitdown, like fighters, adventure, always no more then 50c, sitdowns are almost always 1$. ive never played a game that was more then 1$ not counting doing doubles on DDR but its worth the 2$ for the crowd you draw freestyling doubles  

[Stingray]

I came across a restaraunt this weekend that had Ms. Pac Man and Galaga out in the lobby. This was not the new dual machine though, it was two vintage cabs. 25 cents a play, I played them both a couple times. Wouldn't have played either for 50 cents.

-S

[eightbit]

that is kind of rediculous for a game that they made 20 years ago. it probably cost them a grand or more for that machine (why i dont know) and i guess they need to make a profit. but really who will pay that for Ms Pacman unless your a junkie and you just needed to play at that moment. around here arcades are pretty well priced though, anything non sitdown, like fighters, adventure, always no more then 50c, sitdowns are almost always 1$. ive never played a game that was more then 1$ not counting doing doubles on DDR but its worth the 2$ for the crowd you draw freestyling doubles  

These games aren't free their popularity has gone done and expenses of running an arcade have gone up.

Ms Pac/Galago Upright $3699 - http://www.kmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=765559
Ms Pac/Galago cocktail $4199 - http://www.kmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=765560

I hate it when people whine... Nobodys forcing you to pay to play... At least not in this country any way...

[Harakiri]

I think they are aware that some people spend that amount like you to play those rarities!


Or they're lost in time and they still think that Pac-man is a new game!  

[GroovyTuesdaY]

that is kind of rediculous for a game that they made 20 years ago. it probably cost them a grand or more for that machine (why i dont know) and i guess they need to make a profit. but really who will pay that for Ms Pacman unless your a junkie and you just needed to play at that moment. around here arcades are pretty well priced though, anything non sitdown, like fighters, adventure, always no more then 50c, sitdowns are almost always 1$. ive never played a game that was more then 1$ not counting doing doubles on DDR but its worth the 2$ for the crowd you draw freestyling doubles  

These games aren't free their popularity has gone done and expenses of running an arcade have gone up.

Ms Pac/Galago Upright $3699 - http://www.kmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=765559
Ms Pac/Galago cocktail $4199 - http://www.kmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=765560

I hate it when people whine... Nobodys forcing you to pay to play... At least not in this country any way...

Exactly right! No one did force me and thus i REFUSED to pay that kinda money.Its NOT worth it!   I about crapped when i seen the one in the link you posted that was selling at kmart for $4000.00!!!!! All i can say is ,  TO BAD SO SAD to the dumbass that spends 4000.00 on a that cab.    
**cough** ...rip off ..** cough** rip off...

g~

[Lilwolf]

quick notes...

you are paying for a license to make money... Even starroms can't be used for cash...  In fact... other then ebay... you wont find a way to do it for cheaper..

They are selling like hotcakes (compared to any other new arcade machine out there)... why?  people love pacman.

Are they made to be in someones house?  NOPE..

And at 50c - $1.50 a play... you can start considering what you are willing to pay for a happs ms-pacman joystick (30bucks)...  So if you would consider playing 20 times at a mall.... get yourself a good joystick and enjoy it at home with the proper controls..

I've heard they are the best of the 4ways out there right now.  I used one it it played MUCH better the my wico... but my wico works good enought for me for now... So I'm not worrying about it.

[Yander]

This whole topic is all the more reason to build your own mame cabinet.

[GroovyTuesdaY]

This whole topic is all the more reason to build your own mame cabinet.

PREACH IT BROTHER!!!  HEHE

[Jakobud]

This whole topic is all the more reason to build your own mame cabinet.

Exactly.  Stick it to those ---daisies---.

[DARRYLICSHON]

I had a friend that i was going to build a mame cocktail cab for , but at the last auction he told he ordered one for $1000.00  , i just laughed to my self and said shame.

[Xiaou2]

 I dont think many realize the way the market is today.

 To sell games cheaply... you have to have a very large customer base.  In the 80's... there were arcades all over the place... so it was easy to generate the sales needed to keep cost down... of say,  Manufactureing and distributing MS.Pacman machines...

  Also, at that time video games were the rage.  There wasnt as many entertainment options like today... and the technology that comprised them was so ahead of its time that people were flocking to the machines in droves.  However... after a while the  'fad' wore off... and people didnt play as much... to the point of causing the huge video game crash.  Many companies went out of buisness... and others struggled to maintain survival.

 Now here in 2004... there's only one true arcade left in our city... and Im not sure it will last much longer.   If they are hardly making money... and new equipment cost are outrageous... they either do not buy new games... or have to inflate the cost per play to make up for the rest.

  If everyone went to play games at the arcades on a regular basis like in the old days... then youd see a new boom in arcade game creations as well as reduced sales...

 However... because most new games are crap... and because home systems are superior.. most people will not go to the arcades.

 Now... you cant be too upset at the owners, because they get it from the manufacturers.. and you cant be too mad at the manufacturers... cause they have a lot of cost involved in running large scale operations.. with slow to no sales.   Its a wonder that Any new or retro re-released stuff is comming out period.   I think most of the new machines... while able to be put out and make money... are actually targeted at the wealthy collectors anyways.  

 IF it wernt for mame... you probably would not be complaining to play a game that you used to play so long ago for the extra quarter.  (Its more of a nostolgia than anything else).

  Oh and btw ... while some people get eaten to death in a game of pacman within a few minutes of play... others can last 20 minutues to a few hours on a single quarter.   With that kind of time per quarter input... imagine the low profit margin...



 
 

[GroovyTuesdaY]

Thats why i bought pac-man for the old atari 2600 , because i didn't want to keep plopping quarters, so the old atari was the next best thing heheeh.   Then, came nintendo and so on and so forth.
Well, those who lived through all the new inventions of consoles remember how kewl it was to buy the console version of your favorite arcade game!     I remember when bought my old NES, its SOLEY to play SUPER MARIO BROTHERS!  It was funny one day my kid asked me, " super mario used to be in the arcade?"  i just laughed and told him, " uh....yes! It was in the arcade BEFORE it came out on the old nintendo."  he just looked at me kinda goofy and i thought to myself, ya just had to be there lol.

groovy~

[paigeoliver]

Those k-mart.com prices for the reunion machines are inflated. If you really want one then call your local distributor, they will have them for less than that.

But, don't bother. The build quality on them is junk compared to the original machines. I have 20 year old+ games that are in better condition then the average reunion machine I see on location. Heck, I have an Out Run that was on location until LAST YEAR that is in much better shape than most reunion machines are (that is 18 YEARS on location).

What is wrong with them? The cabinet art is all stickers, and is easily damaged (while original Ms. Pacs were painted, although Galaga did have stickers). The quality on the marquee is crap, it looks like an inkjet print, not even silk screened (same for what little bezel art there is). The control panel overlay cracks easily (easier than the original machines it seems). The 25" monitor does not enhance gameplay, it just makes the game harder, while the added continue feature just ruins the skill factor of the games.

Also another factor is that there are a lot of people who are GOOD at Ms. Pac and Galaga. I usually get 20+ screens on Ms. Pac myself, which is like a 20 minute game. Not too bad for 50 cents. I haven't run into an actual Pac in the wild in ages, but at home I am usually good for 4-12 screens past when the ghosts stop turning blue, which is a REALLY long game.

[Wade]

Every reunion cocktail or upright I've seen has been $0.50... I mean they are $3-4k, it would take forever to pay them off at a quarter each!  No new games are coming at for $0.25 anywhere in the US that I know of.

Every time I see an original version of one of those games, they are still $0.25.

Wade

[Dave_K.]

Lilwolf hit the nail on the head.  You all are forgetting, these are REAL arcade machines by the original manufacturer with a license to make money.  The target market is not little johnny at home.  Its for businesses.  Yes maybe the market is still inflated according to us who can make them for peanuts...but its really the license you are paying for not the materials.

Yes, we are spoiled...and would never pay .50 to play these games when we can d/l the roms and play them at home on our homemade mame cabs.  But to everyone else who isn't in this hobby .50 or even $1 is perfectly normal for arcade games now-a-days.  Personally I'm glad there are still people out there willing to pay this much to play games as it means the industry isn't going to completely die just yet.  

[Sephroth57]

im just waiting for virtual reality to come out and make a huge gaming comeback for arcades. im talking like real VR not the FPS games they have now where you put on a headset and play with controls. I want to strap on a suit, actually move around, and swing a sword at some VR orcs. when that day comes, i will empty my savings account to buy one for my home hehe