Since you’re jumping in here somewhat uninformed, here’s a wall of text.
You know what I hate?
Whether in business or hobbies, I hate when someone bashes something without providing a better solution.
There has been better solutions suggested in this thread. Unfortunately there’s so much to sift through, you might have missed it.
It appears 1up did the best they could and ultimately it will show as a failed gamble. In order to sell it retail, they had to make their own cheaper joysticks and buttons and keep the weight and materials to a minimum to hit that price point. Unfortunately, at $250 or $300 they sold only a few units during black Friday and barely a trickle after. I know that for a fact because I see the same quantity online and in store. People could get a ps4 or xbox cheaper.
Cost was not the problem, if what I’m seeing here is a value comparison. Besides, these cabs are not supposed to compete with modern consoles so that’s kind of a weird comparison.
No, these cabs had a lot of hype before customers actually got their hands on it. The Street Fighter version was debuted at Evo this year on the show floor and almost every one of those fighting game fans said they felt cheap, and had problems with the LCD viewing angles. A1Up tried pitching these to people who are familiar with quality controls, and they got exposed from the jump. you can’t cheap-out on controls! That was the first sign of exposing the creators of these cabs as not really understanding the arcade experience. One of the primary pillars of the arcade experience IS the controls!
I appreciate their effort and it's a shame the demand for nostalgia isn't higher. I hope the failure isnt so bad that it makes future attempts unlikely but that is probably it.
The demand for nostalgia is still here. The shame is in their execution and cost cutting decisions. For that, I cannot appreciate their “attempt” because their QA problems could have been avoided if A. They actually had experience with arcade cabs , B. didn’t only focus on their bottom-line.
So for those bashing these units, what is the alternative for someone that has little time, little room, no real woodworking tools or skills, and only $200 to $300 to spend on bringing back something similar to what they remember from 35 to 40 years ago?
First, many people would spend up to an extra $100 to replace the cheap controls to get a more authentic feel. So let’s say the budget is closer to $400 at the end of the day.
Secondly, let’s say the “little room” a person might have is enough space to assemble these cabs.
Let’s assume that person doesn’t have the space to paint as well.
So, under tat criteria, it’s been suggested in this thread that pre-cut CNC’d cabinet kits would be the best way to go. You can get a high quality kit that assembles similar to these, and can get you 70% there. Can’t paint? No problem! Some kit suppliers have no-paint solutions like laminate surfaces that eliminates the need to paint. Wiring can be easily achieved with some research. Let’s face facts, if you came to this site to learn how to mod these cabinets, you can come here to learn how to properly wire one from scratch.
If you’re creative with acquiring parts, secondhand can be cheap and still be higher quality than what comes with these cabs.
What could 1up have done differently?
- not cheap out on parts, especially the monitor and controls
- actually QA the parts that comes with it (there are numerous reports of bad lcd’s/dead-pixels, damaged wood, rub-away graphics)
- properly and ethically market these things
- use a JAMMA wiring standard (they must know that people are going to want to mod these things. Why not embrace that to their advantage and allow an easier time to do so)
- have a constancy between their prototypes and production units that have been vetted by people who understand the arcade experience
- not rely on an outdated version of mame. Especially with the dodgy licensing these emulators adhere to. Look at what Nintendo did, they built their own emulator for their classic consoles, no doubt by using “free” emulator
source as a starting point.