Questons about that new Ms. Pacman/Galaga reunion thing

[anthony691]

I saw one of these things at an arcade recently (today) and I was upset by it's .50 cost, but I couldn't help myself...


1. Is that stick really a 4 way leaf? It sounded kind of odd to me (Maybe because it is brand new)

2. What is the going rate on these things (new, used) ?

3. Any info you have on these things (what are the boards like, is that screen a 23" vertical?

Thanks a ton, these questions were killing me.

[paigeoliver]

That is a 4-way microswitch joystick. Probably the best 4-way on the market today. Felt weird because you probably haven't used a non-wore out pac stick in a long time.

They generally go over $2000 new or used. (Any game auction will generally have a couple brand new ones).

The boards are tiny. About the size of a pac of cigarettes with a couple chips on it.

That is a 25" vertical monitor. Too large if you ask me.

Now, what you didn't ask.

Build quality on those things is total crap. They are not put together as well as the originals. The control panel overlays are especially crap.

Basically, don't waste your money.

[Lindner24]

It uses a 4way microswitch joystick. You can buy replacements at HappControls. I was doing a search for something one night and found that Kmart of all places sells them.

http://www.kmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=765559

http://www.kmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=765560

[paigeoliver]

The K-Mart prices are about 40 percent higher than the going rate on those things. Plus it looks like K-Mart is just a reseller for Betson, who is a reseller for Namco.

[MameFan]

50 cents??? Thats cheap. One place close to me has a dollar bill acceptor on it.   It costs $1 per play!!!!


No, the joystick is NOT a leaf.  It is a "Happ Super Joystick" with a round red ball instead of a black Bat .  You can buy them from BobRoberts for $16 each.  Here's the pic/complete description of the bare unit:
http://www.dameon.net/BBBB/redball.html

The board inside is a TINY board, like no bigger than 7"x7" and has only a couple VLSI (very large scale integrated) chips and a huge eprom.  It's VERY sparse.   One recently sold on eBay (about 3 months ago) for something like $850 for the PCB itself!!!

The rate is about $2800-$3800 NEW in crate from many places (as varied as Kmart.com !!) to eBay.   Used ones seem to go for $2200 to $2800 generally.  

Of course there are 3 versions too and that affects the prices.  Somehow though though time, things grew bigger than they used to be

- Upright now includes a 25" monitor (not 19" like original)
- Cabaret now includes a 19" monitor  (not 13" like original)
- The cocktail uses a 25" too (not 19" like original)

They're HUGE in size. The new Cabaret is actually as big as the old upright.

[kspiff]

It would be way, way cooler (and cheaper, probably) to get a Namco Classics vol. 1, I think..

[anthony691]

Wow! How can it be more money then both of those games in decent condition? That is really messed up! I also didn't like how the plexi on the cp was only attached by the buttons (on this one at least). And the Marquee is ugly... wow that is a monumental waste : ( I thaught it would be cheap : (

[paigeoliver]

50 cents??? Thats cheap. One place close to me has a dollar bill acceptor on it.   It costs $1 per play!!!!


No, the joystick is NOT a leaf.  It is a "Happ Super Joystick" with a round red ball instead of a black Bat .  You can buy them from BobRoberts for $16 each.  Here's the pic/complete description of the bare unit:
http://www.dameon.net/BBBB/redball.html


They're HUGE in size. The new Cabaret is actually as big as the old upright.

I have one of those sticks and a regular happ bat top stick sitting here, and they seem to be totally different.

Also. I have never gotten a good look at the cocktail up close, but the cabaret didn't seem any larger physically than the original, it just had the bigger monitor crammed in.

The upright is definitely the same size. I own a Midway cabinet, and it is identical in dimensions to the reunion machine (Galaxians had a 25" monitor as an option, and some of the other games that originally used that cab might have also).

That title doesn't ship with plexiglass on the control panel. That must have been an operator add on. Very few games actually ship with plexi, only reason everything has plexi is so you don't punch through the holes in in the panel from the 50,000 conversions it has been through. Classic games hardly ever came with plexi (or at least not many that I have seen, none of mine have it, except my mini).

[phizzle]

There is one down the street from me, a quarter a play!!!  

[anthony691]

Now .25 is more like it!

Well, I still don't get why it costs so much (to buy). What is the major expense there? People sell good MAME cabs for less! I thyought it would be cheap judging on the basis that nothing there really has much value. Can anyone tell me out of curiosity how much play these things get?

[paigeoliver]

It only costs that much because people are willing to pay it. The machine itself probably costs less than $800 or $900 to make. (That is what most games cost to produce in the old days, and electronics have gotten cheaper since then).

[MinerAl]

It costs so much because it is a brand new release that has a large audience.  Arcade game machines are designed to be money making parts of a business.   At a buck a play you only have to convince a few drunken nostalgists to play it a night to quickly make your money back and begin profiting from one.

Why not just put in two old machines?  Real estate and reliability.  The reunion upright cabinets are the same size as the old ones except for the monitors (I haven't seen the cocktail).  So you can take up space with 2 old machines that have 20 years of scars and problems, or you can have a brand new under-warranty(?) single cabinet that takes up only half the space, and only requires half the moving in and out of locations.

For the hobbyist though, yeah get two classics and restore them!  The reunion machines are new and reliable and soulless.  Get yourself something with a little character for your gameroom!

[MameFan]

> "I have one of those sticks and a regular happ bat top stick sitting here, and they seem to be totally different."

Happ makes 3 different joysticks with bat handles.  The have the Super, the Ultimate and Competition.   The MsPac is a Super per Happs own statements (and the stuff on Bobs site) Perhaps one of your other sticks is not a Super but rather an Ultimate or Competition?


> cocktail didn't look bigger.. upright is the same size

The cocktail is bigger (5 inches deeper, 5 inches wider), the full size is almost the same size but a LOT heavier, the cabaret is significantly deeper than the old cabaret.

http://www.namcoarcade.com/nai_gamedisplay.asp?gam=mspcglga
New Full Size: 68 x 33 x 24 @ 395 lbs
New Cabaret: 62 x ~31.75 x ~19.75 @ 237 lbs
New Cocktail: 29 x 27 x 37 @ 250 lbs

Various sites on the net plus my own full size+cocktails:
Original Full Size: 68.5 x 33 x 26.75 @   ? lbs (not 395!)
Original Cabaret: 58.5 x 24 x 19.5 @ ? lbs
Original Cocktail: 29 x 32 x 32 @ ? lbs

[OSCAR]

- Upright now includes a 25" monitor (not 19" like original)
- Cabaret now includes a 19" monitor  (not 13" like original)
- The cocktail uses a 25" too (not 19" like original)

I wonder if they made the 25" in the cocktail an option, or a different cabinet alogether?  I have a reunion cocktail cabinet and it is designed for a 19" monitor.  The cutout in the top on mine doesn't appear that it is large enough for a 25".  The cabinet swing out door for the monitor is only 20.5" wide, not even large enough for a 25" monitor to fit through at 23" wide.

The link you gave in a later post to the game specs on Namco's website appears that the cocktail is shown with a 19" monitor, too.  It shows a black plastic monitor bezel, and the below pic of mine with a 19" bezel looks like the Namco photo with about an inch or so of the plastic bezel showing through the cutout.  The monitor in Namco's photo shows that the monitor is about the same width as the control panel cutout like mine does, too.  

http://www.oscarcontrols.com/tmp/reunion-top.jpg

[planetjay]

50 cents??? Thats cheap. One place close to me has a dollar bill acceptor on it.   It costs $1 per play!!!!

They are all $.50 here too. I however refuse to pay more than $.25. So I've never played it.

Also the comment on construction is true. The one at the Super Walmart closest to my house has had it's side art and CPO 1/2 torn off. And under the side art there's no paint. These art *NOT* Arcade Quality. Or at least not 1980s Arcade Quality. I expect them to become a collectors item in 10 to 20 years simply because...  THEY WON'T SURVIVE!