Games supplied with multi-game cabinets

[surface tension]

I am wondering how companies bundle games in with their ready-made systems. Are they all game packs?

Game packs are awkward, because even though you can configure most keys, you can't configure them all, such as start and coin. You then have to use the keyboard, which isn't ideal. It seems only to be a way of saying "Comes with 100+ games!!!" when the out-of-the-box experience isn't quite as expected as not all keys are configurable, plus you're swapping disks to play other titles.

A few suppliers...
http://www.arcadesrfun.com/index.php - Have a bunch of games packs

http://www.bespoke-arcades.co.uk/  - also sell with a bunch of games that appear to be game packs also. I have had a play around with this system in Hamleys though, and it was running a small ROMset under MAME under GameEX, displaying the MAME logo.

http://www.arcadeinabox.com - Lists the game packs, so you know where you stand right there.

http://www.retro-tech.co.uk/dom-specs.htm - Have a whole bunch of games included, but didn't reply to my mail regarding game licenses.

http://www.barmans.co.uk/products/product.asp?ID=4161 - The voyager cabinet is also geared to take money in bars.

The costs also have to come into the equation. Retail of most packs is £20 - £30, so you could estimate half the price for buying to retail. So, you're looking at £60-70 worth of games that people probably won't play as they will want to put MAME onto the system.

The last time I looked, the only company that did have the license to sell ROMS for use with MAME was StarROMS. It was a small Atari selection too! The owner told me it was driving him insane for the small amount of money he made.

So, any thoughts on how to bundle games and what is available would be appreciated. Plus I'd love to hear thoughts from anyone who's purchased a ready-made cabinet with games bundled in.

[Turnarcades]

I am currently looking at this myself. Right now we currently bundle game packs and set them up if requested, but our machines are intended for MAME use, which is why I acquired Mamewah on licence from Minwah. Everyone knows what these machines are built for and although bundling roms is dodgy, you have to acknowledge their purpose is going to be emulation.

Whilst you can't condone or endorse it, you must still largely appeal to the emulation community as they know the versatility of MAME-ing and are the key buyers.

I doubt it would bother anyone in this community if it included games or not, as it's inevitable it will all be changed anyway. Appealing to the non-BYOAC crowd though could be tougher, and even acquiring licences for individual games from companies, you need permission from the MAME devs or whatever to run them.

[surface tension]

I have been in touch with one of the MAME devs, friendly though he was, he couldn't help. It was at the time that StarROMS was still in business, so it was clear-cut who I could use, and who I couldn't. Then they ceased trading. The strange thing is that they still have a licensee listed... but with no ROMS available to re-sell (free ROMS are a no-no) I don't know how they are an official licensee. The MAMEDev was adamant on this.

I also went down the route of contacting as many original manufacturers as possible, either being ignored or abused about mentioning emulation... after asking to buy licenses.

[Turnarcades]

Snap. I was met with a brick wall too when I sent e-mails.

[ark_ader]

The answer in short is don't.

If you build cabs with pc hardware inside then that is enough.

It is up to the person buying the cab to get his own games.

One could go as far as to bundle the X gaming discs with them, but again you would be in the cabinet business and not the rom distribution ring.

You can definately use the cab for non classic arcade gaming, and I have seen on ebay 3rd party games going for less than $10 that can be used in a cab.

[ArcadEd]

I spent easily over 100 hours getting all the game packs working with the arcade-in-a-box.  I worked very closely with Tom at GameEx and together we got them working well.

Many of the packs we had to use scripts to remap keys on launch.  Others, like the Taito and Namco packs, use automated scripts that launches the software's frontend, then automatically scrolls to the game you selected from GameEx and selects it.  It's all automated and does not allow any user input during the time.  The midway packs were fairly easy to figure out how to launch specific games from a command line.  Same would be true with Namco, but weird things happened when we did it that way. 

It was a huge amount of time getting them all working.  But now, all the games show up in GameEx in one list (like if you were using MAME) with screenshots/movies. 

I will also note that I did talk with the Midway Lawyers and they had no problem with what I was doing with their game packs.  As long as I made it clear that any support should go through me and not midway.

I also chatted with Aaron Giles a lot when I doing all of this.  Since the Taito packs do use mame, it MIGHT be ok to use mame with those roms since that is how they are packaged on the CD.  However, he still wasnt' completely sure about that.  He did say that just because you have the Midway pack, for example, you can't just install mame and run the ROMs of the games that come on that pack.

I researched this to death for months and months .

You can also reseach PC games that work with your systems as well.  I did that approach for a while with www.iRetroGames.com   If anyone wants to take over that project I would be more than happy to give it up. I don't think I have touched the website in at least a year.  It was very time consuming to research games and find ones that would work well with an arcade setup.

[ark_ader]

I also chatted with Aaron Giles a lot when I doing all of this.  Since the Taito packs do use mame, it MIGHT be ok to use mame with those roms since that is how they are packaged on the CD.  However, he still wasnt' completely sure about that.  He did say that just because you have the Midway pack, for example, you can't just install mame and run the ROMs of the games that come on that pack.

If there was a quick way about all of this, I'm sure the community would have explored that option.  I know you had to find out anyway  but in cases like these its better to use off the shelf packages.  That way you are not setting yourself up as a hot lunch.

I met and spoke with some C64 coders a few months back, and they like the way their work is still being played on emulators, but these guys are not seeing a penny from it.  Torrent sites are just rubbing it in.

The way I see this hobby as a commercial venture, is in the cabinets.  Anything else like rom bundling is deemed as a negative.  To contact Aaron about it, should have raised alarm bells in your head from the start.  If in doubt there is no doubt, right?

As a positive look into building cabinets and placing games within it, your search into other forms of games is very exciting, and should be taken up by the community.

In case we are missing something like that cool The Last Starfighter game.

[surface tension]

ArcadeEd

Thanks for the reply, that's cleared up a lot of questions I had, and you have obviously put the time in. I wonder if a lot of the manufacturers offering all those games do it this way.

I did get in contact with Tom, who was very helpful, but in the end time was an issue and I persevered with MAMEWah.

I also spoke a lot with the Interactive Entertainment marketing department, and he was pretty clear on MAME with respect to the Taito Legends package.

ark-ader

Thanks. Are you suggesting that you can purchase the x-arcade game packs on their own?


3rd party games are a good option, but there's no name-familiarity for a buyer.

[ArcadEd]

If you need any help getting them setup just let me know.  Shoot me a PM or an email, I'd be happy to help, share my scripts, etc.

I'm actually going to stop offering any kind of software on the Arcade-in-a-Box systems and drop the price on them.   I might even consider just start selling empty shells and people can put in their own PC components.

Good luck.

[ark_ader]

ArcadeEd

Thanks for the reply, that's cleared up a lot of questions I had, and you have obviously put the time in. I wonder if a lot of the manufacturers offering all those games do it this way.

I did get in contact with Tom, who was very helpful, but in the end time was an issue and I persevered with MAMEWah.

I also spoke a lot with the Interactive Entertainment marketing department, and he was pretty clear on MAME with respect to the Taito Legends package.

ark-ader

Thanks. Are you suggesting that you can purchase the x-arcade game packs on their own?


3rd party games are a good option, but there's no name-familiarity for a buyer.

Gremlin solutions had some on sale a while back.  I have also seen them on ebay. 

Check out their website: www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk

[surface tension]

Thanks ArcadeEd, that's very kind of you. I'll be in touch either way.

ark-ader, Gremlin solutions don't seem to sell game packs, though I regularly check back there as he's a nice guy to deal with. Thanks.

[Popcorrin]

If you need any help getting them setup just let me know.  Shoot me a PM or an email, I'd be happy to help, share my scripts, etc.

I'm actually going to stop offering any kind of software on the Arcade-in-a-Box systems and drop the price on them.   I might even consider just start selling empty shells and people can put in their own PC components.

Good luck.

Why are you dropping the software?  Seems like it's a great selling point.

[ArcadEd]

If you need any help getting them setup just let me know.  Shoot me a PM or an email, I'd be happy to help, share my scripts, etc.

I'm actually going to stop offering any kind of software on the Arcade-in-a-Box systems and drop the price on them.   I might even consider just start selling empty shells and people can put in their own PC components.

Good luck.

Why are you dropping the software?  Seems like it's a great selling point.

One would think, but to honest, they just don't sell.  I tried reaching out to the mass market, which is why I went the retail packages.  Skymall, HGTV to name a few of the venues we got air time with.  It just doesn't appeal to people.  My feeling is, most people that have the money to spend on something like this don't live in a cramped space where they need to save space by not having a cabinet. 

ST.  Email me, I have a some software I'd be willing to sell you.  Not a ton like I used to have, but some.

Also, Gamestop.com used to sell the taito legends pack for 4.99.  Not sure if they still have it, and Taito Legends 2 came out not long ago.

[BrentRadio]

ArcadEd,

Did you have a setup at CGE in Las Vegas this year?

If so, remember talking to me when you guys were setting up the screen, and I suggested to put something on the sides to block the light?

I'm the one who had the Warlords Cocktail there.



What's up.

Brent

[ArcadEd]

Yup, I was there .  I remember you.

I was the slightly shorter fella out of the two of us there .