How tell if the cabinet is original?

[jimmy_bored]

I see a lot of people advertise that a game is 100 percent original.  Specifically I am interested in how tell if the cabinet is original.

Thanks,

Jimmy

[WaRpEd]

Hey Jimmy,
Based on my experiences you need to find someone with an original cabinet of the type you want to buy.
For example an original Gauntlet cab is made out of plywood and not MDF.
Monitors need cap kits and all need replacement parts at some point which may not be available. Buttons and joysticks wear out and an arcade operator will want to repair a machine fast to keep the dollars coming in.
Unless you find that "15 year old Brand New" machine sitting in a reputable warehouse ( It happens rarely) and you will pay a premium for the elusive only got 100 miles on it and was at granma's house.
Anyway take time to look over the cab outside first then open it up. Spend some time looking at the wiring and connections do the look OEM or not.
Does the monitor have it's OEM labels with the date of manufacture?
Same applies to the mainboard like new or replaced?
If not walk away better to be sure than expensive repairs later.
Cheers

[RandyT]

I see a lot of people advertise that a game is 100 percent original.  Specifically I am interested in how tell if the cabinet is original.

Pretty much what WaRpED said, but it will be pretty obvious.  Does it look 20+ years old?  Are there signs of some sort of abuse (scratches, cig burns, peeled labels, gum stuck in places you didn't know existed?)

Some of the above is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the big thing is that the manufacturers name, logos, copyrights, serial numbers, etc. should be all over the inside of the machine.  Bootlegs were a big problem, so they went out of their ways to make it obvious.

You also want to do as much research on the game in question as possible.  If the game had WICOs in them, and the one you are looking at has some Supers (or Chinese knock-offs) then not only is it not 100% original, you can probably assume a lot more of it isn't, or that the seller probably doesn't really know and isn't interested in finding out.

RandyT