Some updates on the older cabinets, here's a review of a newer Asteroids cabinet.
reddit :
https://www.reddit.com/r/Arcade1Up/comments/aran9v/i_got_a_version_20_asteroids_cabinet_here_is_a/user : ruinedxistenz
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I got a "version 2.0" Asteroids cabinet. Here is a list of the changes I discovered from launch cabinets, most are very positive!
Control panel, kick panel, and both side panels appear to have a thin plastic protective coating; this one has an ultra smooth and slippery surface that feels a lot different from the launch CPs. Upside is that you probably don't need the plexiglass protector anymore with this. Downside is 3/4 of the pieces with this finish I found an occasional hard "bubble," and also the artwork seems to pop a bit less as it adds a slight haze to it. I can't really take a good picture of this coating, but the difference between it and the original painted panels is significantly different in both look and feel - very little friction - feels slippery, doesn't feel like paint will come off at any moment, but a bit duller color.
The little white plug power cable holder which fills the hole in the back panel of the cabinet is now a slightly smaller black plug. I didn't find much difference, maybe just a part change.
The Arcade1up sticker on the top back panel now is now much smaller - it only takes up 1/4 of the right side of that panel, instead of a centered sticker that takes up 3/4 of the panel as was the case with the launch units.
The unit is packed differently; there are new kinds of packing foam employed and more pieces are individually wrapped in plastic instead of just being wrapped together. Pieces are now also in different boxes, for instance the marquee is packed with the monitor, facing outwards with no other wood near it; the original packing had the marquee amongst a bunch of smaller panels in a different box, with the face of the marquee up against more wood - which resulted in friction and scratches in transit. The infamous and useless gold stickers on the outside are gone, and this is definitely not a return as direct from Target.com and packed immaculately.
The monitor had a QC approved sticker on the back, which I don't recall from my previous 5 assemblies - maybe it was there but I don't remember it. The monitor is literally perfect - zero dead pixels, zero stuck pixels, zero light bleed. Note after buying 7 cabinets total, this is the *only* cabinet that had a perfect monitor - at the minimum virtually all of them have some amount of light bleed. The ribbon cable is now also taped to the back of the monitor for transit, which also is new I believe.
Since its Asteroids I will add its still the same old crummy spinner, though its a bit looser and easier to turn than the launch unit I returned - still has the detents and nowhere near a real spinner, but this is easily replaceable now with 3rd party alternatives. And the sound still lags with no high score saving - so they didn't change the electronics basics.
These changes overall add up to a much lesser chance of getting a damaged unit that will last longer over time without getting banged up. In fact, aside from the air bubbles possibly caused by the new plastic coating process this cabinet had by far the least damage, almost perfect in fact. I will probably ask for replacement CP as it has a chip under the sticker (didn't happen during shipping) and quite a lot of air bubbles - but many probably would be ok with what I got as its not super noticeable.
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sounds promising.
later
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