Nintendo Cabinets?

[maraxle]

I know a guy who has a bunch of empty Nintendo cabinets (Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, etc) for sale.  Does anyone have an example of one of these converted for 2 players, or are they generally considered too small?  I'm looking at a 4 button layout for each player, as I play mostly older games.  I'm guessing that the cabinets are too small for a trackball or spinner in the middle.  Am I wrong?  I hope I am.

[Iori]

I was considering maming a R-Type Nintendo cab for a while because I could get a good deal for it.  You wouldn't have tons of room on it, but I think that you could easily do a 2 player 4 button setup with it.  If you want a trackball and a spinner I would think that this cab style would be too small unless you want to customize the cp so that it is larger than the one that is already in there.  I don't know much about that but I have seen examples of people doing that in the past though...

[Jakobud]

Its no wider than any other cabinet from that era.

[arkowi]

Yeah, I was wondering about this also. I am planning on using an older cab myself. I asked around on here and the general feeling is there should be no problem.

[Spaced Invader]

I just built a two player caberet (this one's 29" wide) for my little brother and its fun as he11 to play...nothing like bumping and elbowing the other player in a mad game of KOF!  

Opinions will, of course, vary...but an old Nintendo cab is way big enough.

[Zeitgeist]

I picked up an R-Type cab for Mameing & I also have a Donkey Kong cab which is pretty close (panel, Marquee, & monitor glass all can swap out).
You have basically about 20" x 7" of realestate in which to mount your controls.
The panel; itself is a bit larger but you must account for locking clips & the base edges.
I laid this out on paper this morning & if you tried realy hard you can fit two sticks with 6 buttons each as well as a 2.25" trackball in that 20".
I'm not saying that it'll be comfortable, but if that's what you want, it is do-able.  
Goodluck
Z

[paigeoliver]

Plenty big enough. These cabinets often came in 2 player configurations in the first place (Mario Bros, Playchoice and Vs. Unisystem), and many later got converted to multi-button fighting games anyway.

If you have a choice then look for a Mario Bros. machine, as they were a couple of inches wider than the others.

[Stingray]

I'm building a CP for an early style cab. It's only 23 inches wide, but I managed two 8 way sticks with four buttons each, plus a four way in the center. It all fits nicely, but there's no room for anything else like a spinner.

-S

[maraxle]

Thanks everyone.  I appreciate the info.  One of my friends is considering one of these.  However, I ended up passing on the Nintendo cabs, as I was able to get a big Aqua Jack cab for around the same price.  It is in better shape and had a couple of nice joysticks with it, plus the control panel can pull out like a drawer, so I just had to get it.