Dream come true(warehouse raid video)

[BadBrad]

[horseboy]

God, that was awesome. How do people find those? I want one.

[Loki]

Talk about a goldmine! 

[fjl]

It is but only for us arcade nerds. Everyone else would just view it as old junk. 

[shorthair]

That was a long time ago....I didn't know about MAME till '03, let alone that they still had games shacked away. (I'd forgotten that Tempest was played 'right-handed'...no wonder it was so much harder since I've gotten a panel.)

[spacies]

Man,

I would be running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Almost in a panick!, lol.

Amazing.

But I only saw 1 Williams, a Joust, near the end.

Anybody know more about that vid?

[torez]

Eh, saw two Omega Race upright and one sitdown cabinet.

That is some warehouse ... now imagine all these working, cleaned up and plugged in  ... and you running around like a little boy 

[SavannahLion]

Warehouse raid?

I just about creamed my pants. All the warehouses I um... visited... were just all abandonded buildings. Nothing more interesting than a hidden chamber/warehouse above a train tunnel. I'd trade away half of my explorations for a warehouse like this. I bet none of it works, but man, I'd sure as hell enjoy fixing them up and turning it into a giant personal arcade

So... anyone got the story behind this?

[SirPeale]

But I only saw 1 Williams, a Joust, near the end.

I watched for like five seconds, and there's a Defender almost right off.  Haven't watched the rest yet.

[shorthair]

Speculation, but given the quantity and apparent quality of the games, I bet most of them worked.

[spacies]

But I only saw 1 Williams, a Joust, near the end.

I watched for like five seconds, and there's a Defender almost right off.  Haven't watched the rest yet.

Must have been when it was buffering 

[ArtMAME]

I can't watch it for very long  ... I get ferklempt  before I have to stop the video and catch my breath...

[shardian]

Dang. Those guys don't seem to have a clue do they?
There was like a row of about 8 star wars machines about 2 minutes into it.

Timeout! That is a warehouse in WV! I wonder if it is still there...

[paigeoliver]

I think they might have a clue, since one of the guys was that "Evil Exidy" guy. A star wars isn't a big deal when you are a big time collector who already certainly has the best example of the gazillion of them you have already ran into. The things that actually got my notice in that video were the "Thief" and the Red Baron.

There really aren't many warehouses like that left. The stuff in that place looked like it had been there since 1990 or so (early Jamma games seemed to be the newest things there). Even if the owner owned the warehouse free and clear it still doesn't make a lot of financial sense to store $30,000 worth of games in a warehouse for 11 years (I guessed pretty high on the price). Even at $300 a month the owner would have gotten $40,000 in rent during that time period. Probably a lot more since I was VERY conservative on the rent.

[FrizzleFried]

My god there were HUNDREDS of games...dozens of pinballs,  pool tables,  parts,  equipment.  What in the hell was the purpose of that warehouse?  I mean ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---,  all the dust on everything...did the owner just die or something?  I'd LOVE more info on this "warehouse"...hell,  i've NEVER been to a working arcade that was that huge...

[paigeoliver]

The video is 6 years old. I promise you that the place is either already clear, or the owner wants unrealistic prices for the equipment. It is more likely that the place was clear within a week or two of that video being shot.

And actually, you don't even NEED to be the guy who makes the finds. Just knowing the guys who make the finds is usually more than enough. I have never been to a warehouse raid in my life. But I had buddies who made the finds. The fact is that their wives were not going to let them bring home 90 games. Buddies who make the finds can be almost as good, and they usually end up doing all the legwork. Sure, you might end up bringing home a Space War instead of a Star Wars, but Space War was a pretty sweet game.

Back when I was really into collecting my various collector buddies of the finding type located lots of games for me. As often as not the serious collector guys don't have the room for everything they find. There are about 400 different classic era games worth owning, and almost no one has the room to actually have all of them.

So when the serious collectors make finds they have to prioritize. Just being an acquaintance can really help out. They might only be able to swing taking home one game, but they FOUND a Speed Freak, a Pooyan, and a Turbo. They will probably grab the Speed Freak, but they don't want the Pooyan and the Turbo just to sit there, so they will pass them on to their friends. I have even got phone calls that went like this "Hey Paige, this is John, I'm in this place, no, no, you don't need to come down here (John is guarding his source), but they have (list of 20 games), and the guy wants $75 each for them, I have room on my truck for one more, what do you want? You can meet me at my work tomorrow to pick it up.".

See, in the example given John set me up with something. He guarded his source because he wanted to sneak as many games under the wife's radar as he could. He knew that I was a crazy bachelor, and if he just gave his source away then I would go get ALL OF THEM, but he still let me in on the action.

My god there were HUNDREDS of games...dozens of pinballs,  pool tables,  parts,  equipment.  What in the hell was the purpose of that warehouse?  I mean ---Cleveland steamer---,  all the dust on everything...did the owner just die or something?  I'd LOVE more info on this "warehouse"...hell,  i've NEVER been to a working arcade that was that huge...

[thefreakhouse]

But a geek can still dream....

Both my wife and my jaws we're dropped watching this. I've seen it before but it still conjures awe in me.

A few days ago my wife found an online article about guy bought a farm in Portugal. When they went into the barn they discoverd a large collection of vintage european sports cars all coverd in thick dust.

As a teenager there was an abandoned building in the small town where I lived. It hadn't had anyone operating in it for a decade or more. We snuck in once and discovered a wherehouse filled with original marquees and signs from buisnesses dating back to the 50's and 60's.  (A&W, Standard, Sambo's, etc) all still in their shipping  boxes. Sadly, the building burned down a few months later.

I am sure many of us who appreciate old arcade machines would die for an opportunity like this...and I have hope there are still a few forgotten gold mines sitting out there....and I'll still be looking for them.

[bfauska]

...you don't even NEED to be the guy who makes the finds. Just knowing the guys who make the finds is usually more than enough...

I just want to let everybody know that if they ever need somebody to help rescue a warehouse full of cabinets in the western half of Washington state... that I will be there for you.  It would be difficult, but if you NEEDED somebody to take some surplus games off your hands I volunteer.  Really.  I'll be there FOR YOU. 

I suppose if it's OK with anybody around me, I may need to ask your assistance sometime.  I hope it never comes to it, but heaven forbid I happen upon several hundred (or even dozen) arcade machines, I may need to seek help, and I feel like I could ask here.


Here's to each one of us someday having to take on the daunting task of finding homes for oodles of hidden cabinets 

Later,
Brian

[ahofle]

Man I don't know whether to classify that as a dream or a nightmare.  Dream if I could just buy the whole warehouse.  But trying to pick one or two games from that amazing lot would drive me to insanity.

[SavannahLion]

Even if the owner owned the warehouse free and clear it still doesn't make a lot of financial sense to store $30,000 worth of games in a warehouse for 11 years (I guessed pretty high on the price). Even at $300 a month the owner would have gotten $40,000 in rent during that time period. Probably a lot more since I was VERY conservative on the rent.

At $300 a month in rent, I would live in that warehouse. In my old home town, it isn't uncommon to have people living in old rail cars, above heavy equipment garages. Heck the school district even attempted to sell an old school building (the school I went to!) and the guy offering to buy it wanted to convert it into a home. The district pulled out of the deal when they realized they would lose funding from the State.

Of course, it probably depends on a lot of other factors and relative rents/mortgages. I live in a house with an $1800/month mortgage. I lived in an cottage where my rent was $575/month. Finding a cottage for rent at that price that isn't in the slums is next to impossible. Having a mortgage like that for a small house is common. I can safely bet that the cost of renting a warehouse of that scale in this city isn't going to happen.

If a warehouse in this city went on the market, filled with arcade machines, for $300/month, I'd ---smurfing--- hump it.

[horseboy]

The stuff in that place looked like it had been there since 1990 or so (early Jamma games seemed to be the newest things there).

Well, a Spiderman caught my eye towards the end. That came out in 1991. Factor in at least a couple years in service, and I would say 1993 or 1994 would be a safe bet. Although, I'd bet most of the games have been there since 1990 or so.

[ChadTower]

I bet this is the other end of the Farmhouse Find building.

[shardian]

I saw a relief pitcher conversion. relief pitcher was a 1992 game.
What I found neat was that the majority of the games appeared to be in very good cosmetic condition.
What I didn't find neat about the video was that the cameraman would flash by real quick on all the interesting machines, but he would take a closer look at some crappy Jamma game everyonce in a while. WTF??

[Crowquill]

Taking several breaks to avoid motion sickness, I finally made it through.

Relief Pitcher was the newest one I saw too.

I was amused by the Millipede converted to Capcom Bowling (even though hardware-wise it makes sense). It's around the 12:33 mark.

Mr Do in a DK cab also struck me as odd.

Two of the greatest experiences I've had as a gamer were walking through operator's warehouses. At one of them I was astonished to see Space War and Joust 2 sitting in the same row.

[tophatne1]

man... i can only watch this video in sections. Insane!

[ARTIFACT]

after reading the whole thread... i dont even wanna look!!! scared!!

[telengard]

Words fail..... WOW      

[shardian]

Bumping this up for a good reason.

I just talked with Jon Exidy about this video. The warehouse is right in my backyard. Here are some interesting notes:

- The place had approx 4000 games.
- The infamous Star wars row - there were approx 20 of them...and almost all of them worked.
- The place has an additional warehouse just outside of town.

I think I'll harrass...I mean ask if I can get in to see what is left. Wade has been there before, and they weren't very open to dealing. They do still have some stuff, but I would assume that the "good stuff" is all long gone.

[Magnet_Eye]

but what was the deal? did they pay a fee for everything in there? Was the place abandoned and they got it all free? I mean, what's the REAL STORY here?

I am guessing they made themselves a friggin fortune.

[protokatie]

So, THIS was the warehouse Heraldo was supposed to open up on live TV, eh? 

[shardian]

Started out $100 a game, then went to $150 a game after a few truckloads. You gotta remember though, this was 2001 and the home collecting thing was still an underground scene. The operator probably just thought of all of the games as worthless hunks taking up space.

[Angry_Radish]

A few days ago my wife found an online article about guy bought a farm in Portugal. When they went into the barn they discoverd a large collection of vintage european sports cars all coverd in thick dust.

http://www.intuh.net/barnfinds/

Nice stuff there too! :-)