Why it's a good thing to require quarters/tokens

[Dreamwriter]

My friends and coworkers have all asked me why I was spending around $60 to add a coin door, and then $30 for tokens, and wasn't even going to have a credit button.  Wouldn't a button be cheaper and easier, less annoying?

Well, just now I was playing a game (Super Dodgeball), and having trouble with a team.  I was down to my last quarter, and had to use it to continue, so the pressure was on.  It ended up with one of my guys (a small one) against one of his guys (a big one) - even more pressure.  And I won!  Got to keep playing against the next team.  You just don't get that feeling with a button you can press for infinite credits.

[MaximRecoil]

I could marathon Super Dodge Ball (the Technos 1987 version) in the arcade. It is a great game.

And, if someone needs to ask why you would want a coin mechanism on your machine and require that it be used; they will probably never get it, no matter how you explain it to them.

[arcadepcnut]

I dont get it can someone explain?! I use the coin returns to select credits...everyone that has ever played over here...20 or so different people have never complained or asked why I have it setup for infinite credits. You push it 4-5 times start playing and when you run out of inserted credits most people push it 10 or more times the second time. I dont see the need for tokens even though my arcade machine has a coin door and working mechs. Noone that has played over here has ever even suggested it. They almost unanimously agree that infinite credits is "cool". I would think it would be a hastle handing out credit tokens and keeping up with where they are and who has how many...not to mention extra costs that could be spend somewhere else. Convince me.

[SirPeale]

I dont get it can someone explain?!

It's more satisfying to win a game on skill rather than throwing a bunch of 'money' at it.  When you don't have to *pay* to play, you don't care, because you can just toss more 'money' at it.

When you're that close to winning, and you're on your last quarter, you're going to be that much more careful and better with your skillz.

[Dizzle]

I think there's a certain "cool" factor that comes with dropping a quarter into the machine.  I had mine set up with credit buttons, but after a while, it started to bother me and I disconnected them going for the coin mechs instead.  The experience feels a lot more authentic now, and that's pretty much the reason I built one of these things.  It's all personal preference though.  I still have a way to put in credits with a remote control if I wanted to, and most games have a freeplay option.

The other plus is that I use my machine as a piggy bank for my 2 year old daughter.  Anything I put in there for playing games goes straight to her!

[fatfingers]

The other plus is that I use my machine as a piggy bank for my 2 year old daughter.  Anything I put in there for playing games goes straight to her!

 

[severdhed]

i have only coin mechs on my cabinet as well.  when if first built it, i had coin buttons, but it just took away that arcade feeling.  i modified my coin mechs to use things other than quarters...i didnt want to spend a bunch of money on tokens right now(baby on the way) so i bought some quarter-sized washers from lowes.  i just keep them in a little bowl that i set on the control panel...but it just feels more authentic when i have to insert one to keep playing.  my friends all liked my cabinet before, but they agree that forcing the use of the coin mechs makes for a much better experience...i wouldnt do it any other way.

[javeryh]

You can also give your kids $5.00 worth of tokens/quarters and let them play until the money runs out.  It's a good way of letting them play - but not too much.  Also, they will strive to get better so their $5.00 lasts longer...

[ppilot]

I realized way back in my 2600 days that it wasn't nearly as much fun as the arcade.  If I lost a life early on the 2600, I'd just hit reset.  In the arcade, I usually only had 4 quarters to spend, and was determined to get the most out of them.  I had some of my best games after poor starts, because I had to 'make up' for a lost life if I died early.

I try to play with my home machines the same way.  I only keep a small amount of change, and so playing it 'costs' something.

[pcates]

Buttons are great until a kid puts in 99 credits, then walks away from player 3. The other kids start whining about the guy not moving. It takes a long time to kill off 99 lives in xmen.... My other games take quarters/tokens, which is much better until 1 smart ass kid takes all the tokens

[Kremmit]

Scrolling shooters, scrolling fighters, and platformers are just plain dull when you can walk up to them and know you're going to play through to the end in exactly 24 minutes, no matter how bad you suck.  It's not gameplay anymore, it's just going through the motions.  The whole challenge in those kinds of games is in trying to get good enough to play farther than you ever did before, until one day you're finally good enough to reach the end.

Plus, there's an adrenaline rush when you're fumbling around in your pocket for that last quarter/token, and time's running out, and you pull out a handful of dimes, pennies, and lint, but no quarter.  The clock keeps on ticking, and you're looking for that quarter you KNOW is in there...

[arcadepcnut]

sorry guys...at least you tried. I guess I cant be convinced. I like pushing a button to insert quarters much better than inserting quarters. that was my favorite thing when I built my first mame machine...a arcade machine that dont need quarters or tokens...just push the coin return and start playing.

*no kids to save money for
*I played enough arcade games when I was younger and put real quarters in. No need for that feeling. I dont miss it.
* I never play games that are continued on a quarter as the last quarter would make a difference. who am I fooling? myself? Is an extra button press any different that an extra quarter insert?

So I guess to sum it up...its all a mental factor. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

[MaximRecoil]

So I guess to sum it up...its all a mental factor. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

Everything that we like or dislike is based on a "mental factor".

Real arcade machines typically have coin mechanisms. Real arcade machines typically require a coin to be inserted before you can play the game.

If you had never seen a real arcade machine in your life, would you have come up with the idea to build one? Since people who build these machines are obviously doing so because they enjoyed playing these machines in the past, and not because they thought of something that no one else has thought of; there is an obvious template to go by; and that template is a real coin-op arcade machine which includes a coin mechanism whose use is required to start the game. Some people are more concerned with accuracy than others of course.

Plus, the sound of a coin dropping through the mechanism and landing in the bucket is just plain cool.

[Dreamwriter]

* I never play games that are continued on a quarter as the last quarter would make a difference. who am I fooling? myself? Is an extra button press any different that an extra quarter insert?

It's different when you have limited quarters.  You can always press that button and just keep playing - but if you run out of coins, that's it, you have to stop playing, as it takes more time (not to mention effort) to open the coin box and get coins out than most games give you to continue.  And as was mentioned, games like shooter games would be absolutely boring with infinite credits, you'd beat the game on your first try.  Why ever play it again?  In fact, home game system shooters get bad reviews when they have infinite continues for that very reason, it makes the game extremely short and have no replay value, and removes all necessary skill.

[rohan]

Plus, the sound of a coin dropping through the mechanism and landing in the bucket is just plain cool.

This may seem strange, but that is the main reason I don't put my machines on freeplay.

[1UP]

I have to agree--the ultimate cool factor when friends play my machine was always "Wow, it even has the coin slots!" 

It's personal choice though.  Some people just want to play.  Others like that "cha-ching" sound of a token rolling down the chute and plopping in the coin box.  Some like the adrenaline rush when you've got to get that last quarter in before the game ends.  And sometimes it's just nice to be able to add health or lives at a crucial point when you absolutely do NOT want to start over.  I say, ALL OF THE ABOVE!  That's why I have a switching system to allow either button and coin use, or coins only! 

True story:  Back in the early 80's, my cousin's uncle (no relation to me) owned one of the largest arcade/mini-golf/go-cart/waterslide places in Phoenix.  GolfLand.  The place they actually shot the Napoleon waterslide sequence for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.  Man, I spent so many summers in that place.    Anyway, once we realized we were all somehow related, I got the privilage of being able to go in, any time, and I'd be handed a big sandwich bag full of tokens.  We're talking probably $20 worth--a very big deal for a 12-year-old kid.

This is basically how I learned how to get all the way thru Space Ace.  With that many tokens, it was only a matter of time before I figured out all the moves.  It was cool at first, but after a while, it just felt cheap.

A couple years later, the business was sold to someone else.  I noticed a complete difference in the way I played when I had a limited number of tokens in my pocket.  There was an urgency, a thrill I had been missing.  My games were tighter, and I didn't have the luxury of being sloppy.  And that was when I found I could not only get thru Space Ace, but I could do it on one quarter!  In Ace mode! 

I find it's the same when I limit my playing at home to a handful of tokens.  It's mostly a personal nostalgia thing (cha-ching!), but  it also keeps me from spending too much time fooling around with games.

Plus, an arcade machine just does not look authentic without a coin door!  Friggin Sweet!   

[NoOne=NBA=]

*no kids to save money for

I use mine to save money for the next upgrade or cab purchase.

[ppilot]

sorry guys...at least you tried. I guess I cant be convinced. I like pushing a button to insert quarters much better than inserting quarters. that was my favorite thing when I built my first mame machine...a arcade machine that dont need quarters or tokens...just push the coin return and start playing.

Well heck, there's no need to be sorry!  Build it the way you want!

[leapinlew]

sorry guys...at least you tried. I guess I cant be convinced. I like pushing a button to insert quarters much better than inserting quarters. that was my favorite thing when I built my first mame machine...a arcade machine that dont need quarters or tokens...just push the coin return and start playing.

*no kids to save money for
*I played enough arcade games when I was younger and put real quarters in. No need for that feeling. I dont miss it.
* I never play games that are continued on a quarter as the last quarter would make a difference. who am I fooling? myself? Is an extra button press any different that an extra quarter insert?

So I guess to sum it up...its all a mental factor. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

I agree with Arcadepcnut. It's a mental thing and depends on each person. My mom would give me a dollar and say "I better not see me the rest of the night" as she bowled. Boy, have times changed - parents wouldn't dream of leaving their kids alone in a public place for that long. Anyhow, this taught me the meaning of ROI at an early age. Most games I play don't have a continue feature. Adding tokens/quarters has a wow factor for sure, but when me and the buddys get together for a long night of street fighter, plunking in quarters is an unnecessary bother. I like the idea of using quarters and tokens, but I personally want a credit button.

[javeryh]

That's why I have a switching system to allow either button and coin use, or coins only! 

I'd like to do this I think... right now I have a button on my CP for "insert coin" and sometime this week I'm going to be putting the finishing touches on my cab which includes wiring the coin door.

So how did you set this up?  Did you wire the coin button on your CP and the coin door into a switch and then run the one wire from the switch to the ipac or whatever?  Where did you mount the switch?  Out of sight?

[pcates]

Scrolling shooters, scrolling fighters, and platformers are just plain dull when you can walk up to them and know you're going to play through to the end in exactly 24 minutes, no matter how bad you suck.  It's not gameplay anymore, it's just going through the motions.  The whole challenge in those kinds of games is in trying to get good enough to play farther than you ever did before, until one day you're finally good enough to reach the end.

Your right... The kids enjoy it, mostly because they are under 10, and like being able to beat something. One of the games, I think either spiderman or the avengers tells you how many credits it took to finish the game. 4 kids spent the equivalent of $75 each to finish. 

So... No skill involved, only cash and time.... The plus side though, I can put a group of kids down there and not see or hear the for more than an hour

[leapinlew]

So... No skill involved, only cash and time....

I believe that summaries a lot of the newer arcade games. Quarter gobblers.

[arcadepcnut]

If you had never seen a real arcade machine in your life, would you have come up with the idea to build one? Since people who build these machines are obviously doing so because they enjoyed playing these machines in the past, and not because they thought of something that no one else has thought of; there is an obvious template to go by; and that template is a real coin-op arcade machine which includes a coin mechanism whose use is required to start the game.

I hate to say this but you have made a really good point. I am adding a coin door to my xbox breaktime driving cab just to make it look more authentic. So I see where you are coming for taking it a step farther.

however someone said games with infinite continues you wont play as long or require less skills or after beating it you wont play it anymore i think are mistaken. I play golden axe and altered beast a ton still to this day. After school me and a friend would play golden axe every day. He had about $2-3 even day but for me I like most people had only a dollar and he let me continue on his money. We got where whe could beat the game on .75 cents. Today I cant beat the game on less than $5 in credits. I mentally remember how much money the last time I played it that it costs. I dont just sitt there and first starting out put in 99 credits. I hit the button a few times to get started and then hit the button when needed to insert another imaginary quarter. So its not like what you guys are thinking. Fighting games is nice to go ahead when friends are over and insert a bunch of credits so when you beat them or they beat you the next player selects a character and goes at it....so you dont have the problem when the winnering player is fighting the computer because someone didnt get a quarter/token in time.
It looks like there is 50% bonus one way and 50% another...guess it depends on your style of play. the thread title made me have to come here and see why was the reasons I just had to convert to tokens. I thought I might be missing something.
Kinda like why you have to have a marquee or something. I understand. You dont have to have it....but it just looks nicer and make it look like what its supposed to.

I have working coin doors and mechs. I may just hook them up on one machine and try it. I'll still leave the coin returns as credit buttons. I'll get back to thread with more opinions once I have actually TRIED it. thanks.

[Dreamwriter]

One interesting sidenote to all this is me and a friend discovered an arcade game with limited continues - when using quarters!  Snow Bros. 2 stops letting you continue after a certain amount of credits

[shardian]

One interesting sidenote to all this is me and a friend discovered an arcade game with limited continues - when using quarters!  Snow Bros. 2 stops letting you continue after a certain amount of credits

Contra is the same way...

[NightGod]

Ditto on Lifeforce. And, um, Rastan and Shinobi.

[DaveMMR]

I think if you're going through the expense and effort of recreating the arcade experience, a coin door is almost a must.  It really adds *so much* to the overall package, especially when you consider how many games are "ruined" by being able to slap a button without blinking to continue until the very end. 

I've gotten so many "wows" just over the addition of a coin door than anything else in my (still under construction) cab.  I don't know why, maybe because it removes that last telltale clue that a regular computer with Windows is lurking in the wood and makes it seem more "authentic" to the casual eye.

Plus it makes a great, interactive "coin jar" at the end of the day.   

[RandyT]

Let me just say that a real coin door is one of the nicest touches one can have on a full blown stand-up machine.

But....the whole "gotta win on the last quarter" thing is a little weak in practice.  You do, after all, own the key to the door and could easily give yourself extra credits whenever you like, quarters or not.  So if you have that ability, and choose not to use it, why not just crank up the number of credits you want to "spend" right at the beginning of the game and tell yourself that's all you'll allow?

Seems about the same to me.

RandyT

[MovingTarget]

sorry guys...at least you tried. I guess I cant be convinced. I like pushing a button to insert quarters much better than inserting quarters. that was my favorite thing when I built my first mame machine...a arcade machine that dont need quarters or tokens...just push the coin return and start playing.

*no kids to save money for
*I played enough arcade games when I was younger and put real quarters in. No need for that feeling. I dont miss it.
* I never play games that are continued on a quarter as the last quarter would make a difference. who am I fooling? myself? Is an extra button press any different that an extra quarter insert?

So I guess to sum it up...its all a mental factor. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

I've got to agree with you.  For me, I remember only having a dollar or two to play with back in the 80's and I got enough of dropping the quarters in back then.  I remember seeing a Centipede machine in the late 80's that was on free play and I was so excited that I didn't have to drop quarters in to play my fav. game!

So when I built my own machine I truly didn't want a coin door.  I totally agree that having one makes it look more authentic, is a very nice touch, and is a total throw back to require someone to put in a coin, but for me I hated that part. 

Maybe it's because I grew up back in the 80s and went through those motions so many times but everytime I press that credit button I feel like I dropped in a quarter except I get a flash of joy that I really didn't.  Kind of feels like I just got something for free...a "mental thing" I guess.

Plus, if you've got a cup of quarters or tokens sitting next to your machine...well, that just seems a little weak to me if you're going after that feeling of digging in your pocket or getting that investing/make my money stretch feeling, but that's just my opinion.  I would rather play the games because that's the part I liked.

Also, for me, I built my machine with my own theme so although I play classic games and the basic look is classic, it's NOT an authentic machine (which I think is also cool) I built it for me and I didn't want a coin door.

[1UP]

That's why I have a switching system to allow either button and coin use, or coins only! 

I'd like to do this I think... right now I have a button on my CP for "insert coin" and sometime this week I'm going to be putting the finishing touches on my cab which includes wiring the coin door.

So how did you set this up?  Did you wire the coin button on your CP and the coin door into a switch and then run the one wire from the switch to the ipac or whatever?  Where did you mount the switch?  Out of sight?

Any button can be disabled by cutting the ground wire right?  So you just extend the ground wire that runs to your coin button to some point in your cabinet, cut it, and wire a switch in between. (I have mine mounted inside the coin door.)  When you want to allow coins only, you flip the switch to "off" and when you want free play, you flip it "on".  You'll need a dedicated ground wire for the coin buttons only, i.e. it shouldn't "daisy chain" to any other buttons from that point.

Here's another true story:  A couple years back, I brought my machine in to work for a few months.  I was working at an effects studio, so the boss wasn't too thrilled, because we were running out of time on the movie we were working on, and a lot of the guys were spending too much time (hours sometimes) playing because they could just keep hitting the coin buttons, and had no self control to just decide it was time to get back to work. 

So we came up with a compromise--the machine could stay if it was either time limited or if it took only quarters.  I didn't want to bother with figuring how to time it out, so I flipped the above mentioned switch and it was now quarters only.  However, I felt guilty taking money for a Mame machine, so I started handing out tokens to the guys who wanted them.  It was a nice handful too, but it turned out they actually made them last, knowing they would have to come beg for more if they ran out right away.  It worked!

When the job was done, and I moved on to my next gig, I emptied out the coin box--and found about $50 worth of quarters inside!  Some of the guys had been donating, knowing that it had cost me a lot to rent the truck when I brought it in.  I'm sure some of it was just that their weekly token ration was not enough...  Either way, it gave me enough laundry money for a whole year.