One or Two Trackballs?

[Optics]

Hi, I'm currently in the process of planning out the control scheme for my first system, and I do know I'm going to go with at least a two player cabinet.  I've never really been a fan of trackball arcade games(They were simply never around anywhere locally for me) so i'm a little bit uncertain as to how I should go about this.  Do most trackball games only use one trackball that is alternated between two players(if the game is two players) or do I need to purchase two individual trackballs for each player?  I do definitely want to include trackball games not only for myself but my friends who are fans of them, and playing these games on a joystick just wouldn't be the same.  It may be a silly question to you guys, but it's something that'd save me a lot of concern. Thanks in advance.

[unclet]

I believe most trackball games use one trackball and the players alternate using the trackball so one trackball should be fine.   However, there are some games which require multiple trackballs (ie: Marble Madness, Atari Football, etc...).

[Optics]

Thanks for the reply.  The game series i'm concerned about is the "Puzzle Bobble" series. I've only ever played the Nintendo 64 port, but I discovered mame supported the originals so I was delighted to find that out. However, the sequels lists the game as using a trackball, and since this game does play two people simultaneously I wasn't sure if I would need two trackballs to get the full experiance.  Does anyone know anything about this game specifically? I don't see the harm in putting two trackballs in if I know I'm going to use them, even if it's rarely.

[DaveMMR]

Puzzle Bobble's joystick controlled.  But I can see why you think trackball because my trackball lights up when I boot it up.  Unless I'm mistaken, but I don't remember even using a trackball for Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move/Puzzle De Pon!. 

Now stop and ask yourself one question before you continue:  Do you like playing Marble Madness with two players (Or Cabal for that matter)?  If "no", you have your answer.  One trackball is fine.

Is your answer was "yes' to the above, continue with these questions: Do you have the space for two trackballs (they take up a lot of room below the surface)?  Will you have someone playing Marble Madness with you enough to justify spending the extra money on a second trackball? 

I used to be pro-dual trackball until I sat down and really thought about those above questions.  At the end, it wasn't worth it for me.   

[unclet]

KLOV shows the control panel for Puzzle Bobble having two joysticks.

To make you think some more ..... are you planning on playing any games which require each player to have 2 joysticks each (ie: Smash TV, Karate Champ, etc....)?

[maxmix]

Arrrrr.... Why not push the boat out and go for 3 trackballs ? 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=74413.0

maxmix

[Optics]

Thanks for the replies guys, MAME stated Puzzle Bobble as using trackballs so I assumed it was trackball controlled.  Since it's not, I'll stick to one trackball and only install games that alternate turns with it.

[ahofle]

Rampart is another good multi trackball game, but frankly I agree with everything DaveMMR said.  It's a lot of money and CP space for a small handful of games.  Unless you are a diehard fan of one of those games, I would think the 2nd trackball would collect dust for the most part.

[Minwah]

Note you could use 2 trackballs to play 2 player gun games if you don't have guns...

[FrizzleFried]

I do believe Ataxx also used 2 TB's though  you could use sticks as well...if I remember right the dedicated cabs came with TB's while the conversions used sticks.