Snaaake, how much is your time worth?
how long would a newbie spend slaving over a hot soldering iron swearing at a couple game pads? $10 for the pads...say $10 for the iron if he can't borrow one
ok, I guess he could go with an Ipac, but that's gonna be
$43+$12 shipping from ultimarc
what if a, oh, say a college student in a dorm wanted to have a CP, but didn't have any tools, and wasn't takin any woodworking courses? how much would beer/cash would he have to slip the instructer to use the shop to make some laser cut panels..um I mean use the cnc router ..errr... Probably only have regular tools like table saws and shapers and routers and such, so how many hours would he be in the shop and how much would it cost him to be there?
(or the newbie could buy a whole whack of tools and bits)
joys and buttons from bodroberts $30+ shipping
1/4 sheet of some kind of drawer quality ply (maple/birch/whatever) easily cost $10
so parts only we're getting up there, not counting the box,tools,time..
obviously this kit isn't for everyone, but it sure as hell is a nice compromise for a newbie between:
buying a ready made xarcade box or similar (with zero feeling of accomplishment and inferior products/materials),
and:
getting all dusty/losing fingers /buying tools if you don't have them/lot's of feelings of having "built this with my own two hands" kind of stuff we do..
it's like the snap-tite model kits you got before you were allowed to use model glue, but after you were done playing with die cast cars... it's a happy middle ground before jumping in with both feet..
I'm sure more than one person thought, "Wow, building a real arcade control panel... that's a great idea, but it would be too hard/timeconsuming/etc...i'll build one later when I have more time"
It may not be for us, but if it brings more people to the BYOAC fold (eventually -when they see how easy it was with the kit and want to do a different CP, or a whole cab), then I can only see it being a good thing for those people (and therefore, us as well) to have that niche filled for them.
I don't know.... more selection is better. more options is better. more people getting their feet wet, and possibly getting into building their own later - is better.
this kit isn't for us regular posters, it's for the lurkers, the ones who don't want to take the plunge yet.. the folks who can't do it from scratch for one reason or another. but still want a CP. and still want to feel like they built something themselves. accomplished something.. If i'm totally off base, if those people don't exist somewhere out there, the product will fail. if, as I believe, there's people who do want such a product, these guys will have it for them.
<sorry rampy, but i gotta steal this one time>
*shrug*