Playing a long game with even the best sticks and poor slamming form is going to lead to failure for anyone, which is why folks tend to tired out between 20 and 50m in the 100m gauntlet.
but for the learners slamming about haphazardly is quite an adrenaline rush, and you'll hear stories about the Williams test cabaret machine getting picked up by the joysticks and bashed into the wall. #legend
I don't know what gorillas are playing Robotron these days. But I have a Robotron cabaret sitting on laminate floors and I never seen anyone put that much force into working the joysticks to physically move the cabinet off it's position. It takes a lot of force to move these cabinets, I can't imagine people wrestling around with these 300 lbs. boxes using 2 small joystick handles as leverage.
Cabaret are lower, and so the lower center of gravity, should in theory, make it actually more difficult to move around via the sticks.
The full cab, having more mass up top, would make it more likely to slide around via stick pushes.
That said... the casters being down, and on what type of flooring does play a big factor in cabinet movement. Carpet will often prevent
sliding pretty well due to friction... so at best, the cabinet might tilt / rock... especially if the legs were not fully deployed and locked level.
Where as a concrete, hardwood, epoxy... or other such smooth flooring... may result in a lot more sliding around.
Moving a cabinet isnt always as it seems. A lot of things are unconsciously happening.
1) A player may be causing a repeated rocking motion, that builds in strength after a few oscillations... thus, a push at just the right
moment in that oscillation, can cause an already slightly moving cabinet mass... to move far more drastically.
2) The player may partially lean and or Bump his mass into the CP, at the same time hes thrashing the sticks.
3) Rather than merely moving his arms... he may move his whole mass, and unite them into his hands, at the perfect moment.
Its sort of like water. On its own... its soft, fluid, weak. But when unified in force, it can easily knock a person out cold (wave).
A 180 lb guy, moving all his mass.. at an high acceleration + speed... can equate to a lot of force.
This is why most Arcade controls are ridiculously heavy duty in their construction. Thick gauge metal, large / and or larger number
of carriage bolts, a lot of support bracing...etc.