Cab styles you don't see people make very often. - Poll added.

[paigeoliver]

Since I have been kind of hard on people lately about cabinet design I decided to dig up some more off beat original cabinets to show that there is room for a lot of different kinds of cabinets. Some of these you will laugh at, some might give you some ideas. Some would be really easy to build, others would be a nightmare.

Cabinets will follow in individual posts.

[paigeoliver]

The R2 Unit. Simple, angly, and it looks like it would be right at home shuffling around a rebel base.

[paigeoliver]

The early Atari look. A lot of Ataris cabinets in the Pre-Vector days looked a lot like this. Stainless steel control panels and no marquee.

[paigeoliver]

The block stacker. Take a big rectangle, stack it on top of another one and you get the block stacker. Note, those side sticks are NOT angled!!!

[paigeoliver]

I can't decide if I should call this one the garbage bin or the cigarette machine. Note the separate legs, fiberglass bezel and coin mech on the bezel itself?

[paigeoliver]

The Coffin. Put a lid on that thing and you could bury someone in it. The material on the lower front appears to be soft vinyl.

[paigeoliver]

Now that we have seen the coffin we can see the fridge. As wide as it is deep. I believe the monitor might have originally been viewed on a mirror in this one, as I can't see any other reason for the cabinet to be that deep (those 23" B&W monitors are really shallow and don't need a deep cabinet).

[paigeoliver]

Great legs!!

Instead of building the more common modern 2 piece style you could instead just mount your machine on pinball legs for truly easy transport.

[paigeoliver]

I call this style the microfilm reader. Terribly complex in both shape and amount of different materials used. At minimum I see wood, plastic, veneer, what looks like stainless steel and diamond plate.

[paigeoliver]

Who needs a control panel.

You know, you don't really NEED a control panel at all. You could just mount your joysticks and buttons right on the monitor bezel.

[paigeoliver]

The octagon.

Some of the earlier cocktails were designed for the middle of the room and designed to look a lot more like furniture.

[paigeoliver]

The pinball.

The best place for an arcade game? Could it be a pinball cabinet?

[paigeoliver]

The school desk.

Very small cabinet with a built in chair.

[paigeoliver]

The cupholder.

Honestly I would like this wrap around panel more for holding beverages on a cab then I would any of those fold out cupholder things I have seen.

Also, I used to own a cabinet in this style. The game may have only used one button, but the drinkholding function made up for that. Can't recall the title of the game, but you pressed the button to drop a bomp from your plane.

[paigeoliver]

The doghouse.

Simple to build, simple to transport, although you have to sit on the floor to play it.

[paigeoliver]

The wallmount.

You can build this one if your spouse thinks your cabinet is going to mess up the carpet. My alternate name for this one is the condom machine.

[paigeoliver]

The weirdo.

A true example of why you shouldn't do something just because you can.

[paigeoliver]

The Pong.

Roughly half the games made in the early 70s came in a cabinet shaped almost exactly like this. The example given is rather uncommon because it actually has a marquee.

[paigeoliver]

Tiny driver.

A driving cabinet that is both subtle and a space saver.

[paigeoliver]

The shark.

For the celibate gamer only.

[paigeoliver]

The Shark Jumper.

For when the whole thing has gone on way too long and stops being cool.

Note, I did put this one here for a reason though, look how low down those handlebars are.

[nexus6]

thanks for posting these collection of unusual oldschool cabinets.
i've never seen the most of them and i like the classic designs.

[spriggy]

The early Atari look. A lot of Ataris cabinets in the Pre-Vector days looked a lot like this. Stainless steel control panels and no marquee.

Very Good paige  .....anyway
Early Atari wins hands down imo.  Doesn't stand out like dog's balls to much... but different enough to make you look thrice.  Simple lines makes for easier building.  Gives me ideas already..

[Teebor]

The block stacker. Take a big rectangle, stack it on top of another one and you get the block stacker. Note, those side sticks are NOT angled!!!

LoL'z angled  

[paigeoliver]

I just thought I would clarify that since I have that control panel sitting in my closet! 

The block stacker. Take a big rectangle, stack it on top of another one and you get the block stacker. Note, those side sticks are NOT angled!!!

LoL'z angled  

[paigeoliver]

Plus, I think the blockstacker style has some possibilities. It allows for a 3 foot wide control panel that DOESN'T hang over the side while being paired with the ever popular 21" PC monitor. Plus, you could probably get all your cuts for the whole thing made at the hardware store since they are all rectangles.

[ArtMAME]

The Shark Jumper.

For when the whole thing has gone on way too long and stops being cool.

Note, I did put this one here for a reason though, look how low down those handlebars are.

Check out the Hottie next to the Fonz machine...  

Would love to see her bend down and grab them handlebars...

[paigeoliver]

Yeah, I left the girl in the frame to illustrate how low the handlebars were.

[vrf]

Would love to see her bend down and grab them handlebars...

She's probably like 80 years old now.

[FrizzleFried]

Comedy GOLD!  Thanks Paige!  I vote for THE SHARK!  I could MAME that sucker and damn would it be a conversation piece...when I am taking a friend to the hospital with a puncture wound to his arm!  DAMN WORLD CLASS BOWLING!!!!!!

[ArtMAME]

Yeah, I left the girl in the frame to illustrate how low the handlebars were.

NICE!!! 

[KenToad]

I think the Octagon is awesome, would love to have a table/cocktail like that.

Thanks for posting this collection, Paige.

[ChadTower]

The R2 Unit. Simple, angly, and it looks like it would be right at home shuffling around a rebel base.

Made in China and pissed off.  I like it.

[CheffoJeffo]

And here I was thinking that nobody would appreciate about Maneater ... MAN DO I WANT ONE OF THOSE !

Nice, Paige.

[javeryh]

Is that Paulie Walnuts playing the Octagon?!?!?

[bfauska]

I had to vote for the wierdo.  It reminds me of a voting booth, and at least when I loose a game it doesn't piss me off for the next 4 years.  Something that shape should sometimes have a good outcome right?

Great thread,
Brian

[ChadTower]

Coin op stripper booths are like that sometimes.

[Chris G]

The Fonz had his own arcade game?  Now that's hilarious!  Did Mr. T or Jimmy Walker have one?   

paige... nice follow-up dude


Chris

[ChadTower]

It's hiliarious that they made an actual "Jump The Shark" cab... how ironic would it have been if the whole industry went downhill immediately after that cab was released?

[WareWolF]

How about Atari Football ?  (stand up cocktail !)

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=13018

[Bobbler]

Some of those I really like.

Here's another one for the collection, dunno if its custom or actually an original cabinet. http://cgi.ebay.de/Alter-Videospielautomat_W0QQitemZ230103367207QQihZ013QQcategoryZ34780QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Its a cross between a standard cab and a cocktail.

[ahofle]

This is great, thx.
(No wonder you have 8000+ posts) 

[Crowquill]

Some of these are fun, but definitely not good for a general-purpose game machine. Also, I think a lot of these lose out on the nostalgia factor. If I'm going to build a game cabinet, it's going to look like an upright from '78 or later since that's what I remember playing.

OTOH, you could probably replace the handlebars on the Fonz cab with a Frankenpanel and have a useful cab. 

Some of those I really like.

Here's another one for the collection, dunno if its custom or actually an original cabinet. http://cgi.ebay.de/Alter-Videospielautomat_W0QQitemZ230103367207QQihZ013QQcategoryZ34780QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Its a cross between a standard cab and a cocktail.

If the one listed by Paige qualifies as the "R2-D2", that one should qualify as the "Power droid"

[Crowquill]

How about a funky sit-down cab. Or Viper. I almost bought one of these Quarterback cabs once. It'd be like having a cocktail without the neck-pain after playing for long periods of time.

[MaximRecoil]

The early Atari look. A lot of Ataris cabinets in the Pre-Vector days looked a lot like this. Stainless steel control panels and no marquee.

I like this one. It reminds me of a Missile Command cabinet. Is that really a stainless steel CP? I would have guessed aluminum.

I like the two small driving cabinets too, especially the one with the built-in chair. Something like that, made big enough to accommodate a 25" or 27" horizontal monitor, would be good for Cruis'n USA/World (the only driving game I care for) and be a lot smaller/lighter than an actual sit-down Cruis'n USA/World cabinet. It would probably be cheaper to build than it would be to buy a sit-down (did they even ever come any other way?) Cruis'n machine too.

[paigeoliver]

Ooh, I am definitely liking the power droid cabinet. It reminds me of a period of my life where I had a 19" monitor sitting on top of a 13" japanese cocktail that I had it wired up to.

I picked a bunch of pre 79 cabinets on purpose. When the industry really exploded in 79 they really started standardizing cabinet design. Game cabinet design was all over the place before that.

[Naru]

I call this style the microfilm reader. Terribly complex in both shape and amount of different materials used. At minimum I see wood, plastic, veneer, what looks like stainless steel and diamond plate.

Wow!
This thing looks neat
in an old sci-fi kinda way.
Too bad I don't have the skill to
reproduce a cab like this one.

[Crowquill]

I picked a bunch of pre 79 cabinets on purpose. When the industry really exploded in 79 they really started standardizing cabinet design. Game cabinet design was all over the place before that.

Which of course can be a mixed blessing. The better ones came up with stylish designs that would still accomodate the hardware, others just made simple boxes or tried to adapt electromechanical game or vending machine designs. I think that's why in some ways I'm more impressed with the post '80 games that defied the conventions that were created. Atari was one of the last ones who seemed to approach each cabinet differently for each game. This is what led them to creating the Firefox, Xybots, and STUN Runner cabs.

[shorthair]

It's hiliarious that they made an actual "Jump The Shark" cab... how ironic would it have been if the whole industry went downhill immediately after that cab was released?

...I think it did....wasn't that in the early 80s?

Shark cab: looks more like a urinal.

[am_monkee]

I say the school desk b/c when I was in gradeschool, all I did was sit at that small desk with the attached chair and wish it was 3pm so I could go to the arcades. 

Thanks for sharing the collection, paige.

[ahofle]

If someone ever makes a good discrete/analog game emulator, it would be so cool to build a cabinet like one of these for it.

[paigeoliver]

Most of the discrete games are so incredibly simple that anyone with functional graphical programming skills could copy them if they could spend a little bit of time with a working unit in order to get all the details.

[ChadTower]

In theory, yes, but getting the exact timing done perfectly would be a biiiiiiiiiiiiitch as those discrete components don't act perfectly within their specs.  They vary quite a bit amongst themselves within their range and then can vary by age.  That's why you can get Pong machines with identical PCBs that act "differently" within the game.  A lot of emulation depends on the strong timing of a CPU based architecture and that isn't there in those boards.

It was mentioned above, too, that a lot of those panels are brushed aluminum.  Stainless steel is very expensive and heavy.

[Havok]

Wow!
This thing looks neat
in an old sci-fi kinda way.
Too bad I don't have the skill to
reproduce a cab like this one.

Is it just me or,
Does Naru post in Haiku
in the forum here?

 

[Chris G]

Is it just me or,
Does Naru post in Haiku
in the forum here?
 

Ya, I envision his avatar singing his posts.

EDIT:  (or her)

[blueznl]

I find Naru's avetar rather distracting, to be honest    (Tell me, where did he get it! )

[More Cowbell]

I would have called this one "the high chair".

[ArtMAME]

I find Naru's avetar rather distracting, to be honest    (Tell me, where did he get it! )

Naru is HOT!!! 

And so is Paigeoliver!!! 

What?!?...I am just saying what everybody's thinking...

[ArtMAME]

I find Naru's avetar rather distracting, to be honest    (Tell me, where did he get it! )

Naru is HOT!!! 

And so is Paigeoliver!!! 

What?!?...I am just saying what everybody's thinking...

I'm pretty HOT myself   

Who wants to come over and play... "PAaaaC-MAN"?   

[RayB]

Stylistically, the "Tiny Driver" would fit into a modern home the best. It's truly designed with elegance.

[fjl]

The Shark Jumper.

For when the whole thing has gone on way too long and stops being cool.

Note, I did put this one here for a reason though, look how low down those handlebars are.

Was this a real game? I don't see it in my list of games on MAME. What's it called, The Fonz?

[danny_galaga]

what about the 'ATM' 

[Minwah]

Some good ideas in those old designs, although I think the only one's I would like to build replicas of, are the early Atari and the tiny driver.  Having big removable steering wheel panels I can appreciate having a dedicated driver would be ace...and something that size would fit in most rooms.

[RandyT]

The microfilm reader is the style I actually intend to build someday.  It has a kind of "android with a monitor head" kind of look to it, and with a few mods it's very functional.

One of things I see that stands out in the early cabinets is the angled upward screen.  In many, many locations, this is about the worst idea you could use.  Lights reflect off of glass, and where are the lights about 99% of the time?     Probably the reason you didn't see that design perpetuated, as it limited where you could install the machines.

BTW, I realize that some of the Japanese sit-downs use this....but other than size / cost concerns, can't understand why

RandyT

[ArtMAME]

The microfilm reader is the style I actually intend to build someday.  It has a kind of "android with a monitor head" kind of look to it, and with a few mods it's very functional.

That microfilm reader is pretty cool after looking at it closely...


...well... I am still waiting for someone to tell me I'm HOT... 

[horseboy]

The microfilm reader is the style I actually intend to build someday.  It has a kind of "android with a monitor head" kind of look to it, and with a few mods it's very functional.

That microfilm reader is pretty cool after looking at it closely...


...well... I am still waiting for someone to tell me I'm HOT... 

Hey Art, you are... umm... you kinda look...

Oh, ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Sorry dude, I just can't bring myself to do it.

[ArtMAME]

The microfilm reader is the style I actually intend to build someday.  It has a kind of "android with a monitor head" kind of look to it, and with a few mods it's very functional.

That microfilm reader is pretty cool after looking at it closely...


...well... I am still waiting for someone to tell me I'm HOT... 

Hey Art, you are... umm... you kinda look...

Oh, ---Cleveland steamer---. Sorry dude, I just can't bring myself to do it.

What if I stand next to my restored ROBOTRON machine?  Would that help? 

[ChadTower]

Someone throw this attention needy chick on the back porch.  And bring in the extra case of beer.

[RandyT]

Someone throw this attention needy chick on the back porch.  And bring in the extra case of beer.

Or work on a "mammary to PC" 8-way interface.


RandyT

[ChadTower]

Not needed.  Once we've consumed the beer she may actually be as hot as she wants to be told she is.

[blueznl]

Uh... with that much beer it could even be a he  ... nay, don't wanna go there.

[Tailgunner]

The weirdo.

A true example of why you shouldn't do something just because you can.

Technically that "weirdo" is classic Atari, they used the design on a few different cabs.

[Tailgunner]

I still think the biggest brain fart cabinet design Atari ever had was Atari Basketball. According to the poll it'd be a cross between the Block Stacker and the Fridge, though I've always thought the design was copied from elsewere in the appliance section.

[danny_galaga]

good to see i wasnt the only one to vote for the cigarette machine (",). actually, that would go well next to the atm...

[Patent Doc]

What if I stand next to my restored ROBOTRON machine?  Would that help? 

Art I consider you my friend, but it wouldn't even help if you were standing next to the Robotron dressed as a red furry 5 year old monster named ELMO. 

Naru's avatar on the other hand is smokin

but then again my wife is Asian so maybe I'm just giving voice to a fetish

[Naru]

Hey now,
There's more to me than my avatars face.
There's also my avatars butt.

[blueznl]

THen give us more! Highly distracting, this avetar... Must be japanese... now all we need is a name or a url :-)

[ArtMAME]

I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so... 

[paigeoliver]

I used to have an Atari Basketball cabinet. It really is a brain fart cabinet, but it is also an excellent conversion cabinet for mame. It has a GIGANTIC control panel and a monitor shelf, and that is most of the battle right there.

[u_rebelscum]

I think those aren't built anymore for some reason.  Looks maybe?   (Voted for jump the shark)

[Chunce DeLeone]

TANK 8  TANK 8 TANK 8  TANK 8 TANK 8  TANK 8 TANK 8  TANK 8

[DrumAnBass]

Wow I don't think I have ever seen an Atari Basketball in the wild; even when I was a kid...! Dual trackballs,  very cool! Definitely remember Atari Football however.