GameSpy Doing A Cab Building Article

[BobA]

Cabinet building hits the mainstream on gaming site.  They missed BYOAC but that might be a good thing considering the influx of uninitiated it might have caused. Very commercial article (almost and ad).

GameSpyLink

BobA

PS I did hide all that URL stuff.  Thanks for the tip.

[Frostillicus]

I saw that this morning - was gonna post it but didn't want to start the almost inevitable X-arcade ABS discussion again  

Looks to be  a three parter - and it's too bad they list such high prices in a mainstream article for just the cab ($999 for the kit).  That probably will turn away a ton of folks who will misunderstand it and think a home-built cab is out of their price range,  when in fact just the cab itself is among the cheapest parts.

[Kane]

Cabinet building hits the mainstream on gaming site.  They missed BYOAC but that might be a good thing considering the influx of uninitiated it might have caused. Very commercial article (almost and ad).

GameSpyLink

BobA

PS I did hide all that URL stuff.  Thanks for the tip.

They didn't miss BYOAC. I sent the writter an email asking about that and he said he is putting the link up at the end of the article.

[BobA]

Still 2 parts to come so I guess we will see it later.

BobA

[paigeoliver]

That seems more like a "How not to build a Mame Cab" article to me. More like, "How to buy the priciest, least authentic looking cabinet available, and assemble it".

[SNAAAKE]

That seems more like a "How not to build a Mame Cab" article to me. More like, "How to buy the priciest, least authentic looking cabinet available, and assemble it".

I second that.
They are trying to market x-arcade cabinet so they get little something out of every sale or something.

Unless they go real deep and come over here where people build arcade cabinets totally from scratch.

[skirge66]

you know...the prices they quoted are WAY overpriced. I spent alot on my cab bought alot of high priced components hagstrom boards happs tb d9200 wg etc...I didn't run off a budget really to speak of, my final total will not even be half of the 4-5k they are quoting there

[Frostillicus]

I believe the 4000-5000$ are approx prices for Hanaho Deluxe cabs - perhaps the priciest of the pricey.  

Remains to see what the other two parts will read like, but my thoughts are this:  The author wanted readers to know that yes, people do build these things - but he didn't want to totally scare people off by stating whats really involved with a scratch cab (c'mon at first it can be overwhelming to say the least).  But, IMHO, he could be dissuading newbs not by the whole complexity of building but by quoting huge pricey figures  

[Luxury]

even though it won't happen, i want to hear the part in the article where he talks about arcade monitors, 15khz, and then scares the bejesus out of everybody.  

[u_rebelscum]

Some people aren't reading the same article I read.  (I added the bold)

About pre-built hanaho cab:

If you have the bucks to burn -- we're talkin' $4,000-$5,000 and beyond here -- you could simply buy a high-end, ready-to-go package.... It's a great, albeit expensive, turnkey solution.

About the X-arcade cab kit:

"It serves as a decent compromise between costly, ready-to-play arcade cabinets and the build-it-from-scratch approach.  ... and retails for $999.95.

So, while convenient, this product is presently an enthusiast-only purchase based on its cost. "

About ready to build kits in general, dud says it's more expensive than BYO:

there's another, more user-friendly alternative [to BYO cabs] -- ordering an assemble-it-yourself arcade cabinet kit. That's the plan for this feature since time is as much of a concern as dollars.

And dude never quoted a price for a true BYO cab:

Those on more limited budgets may want to consider buying cabinet plans from a vendor like Game Cabinets and then build a unit from scratch. Another option is to purchase an old arcade cabinet to refurbish and retrofit.

Maybe gamespy edited the article before I read it (they do that sometimes), but if not, the article is already saying what we know: BYO & refurb-ed cabs are cheaper than ready-to-build kits, which are cheaper than pre-built brand new cabs.


Now, I agree part one is very much an advertisement for the X-arcade kit, but that's how most journalism works.

[BobA]

Parts 1 and 2 of the article can be accessed by the first link posted but part 3 is here and it is only accessed directly.  I think it takes them a bit to re arrange their pages.  Part 3 has a BYOAC link and has some more realistic price estimates.

GameSpy PIII

BobA

[paigeoliver]

As for playing the games, since the X-Arcade Controller is a perfect replica of the commercial arcade controls many of these titles sported, favorites such as Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Arkanoid, Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Robotron, Galaga, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter and thousands more quickly come to life.

They just listed 10 games as the X-Arcade being the "perfect replica" for. Except for the fact that half of those 10 are unplayable due to the fact that the X-Arcade only has 8-way sticks on it (Goodbye Pac, Ms. Pac, Arkanoid, Centipede, and Donkey Kong).

I am sure someone will read that and go out and buy an X-Arcade so they can play Pac-Man, and then wind up very unhappy.

For example, if you have the game cartridge for the NES title The Legend of Zelda, possessing the ROM for that game is legal.

Using a console game as an example in a section specifically about Mame is kind of stupid. Someone will read that and assume that Mame supports Zelda.

[Ghoul]

I stopped reading gamespy a while ago when they resorted to tons of loud obnoxious ads, like many popular gaming websites (ie flash animations that play and drown out the music you have on). I think a lot of the annoying internet kiddies might still hang around there... it's been said before, but I do hope it doesn't create an influx of newbies. Don't get me wrong, I am happy as more people get added to the community, and I can handle it when newbies ask repeat questions - I myself was guilty of starting large discussions about what type of monitor is best - but I don't want 2,000 of them at once flooding the board. It seems like most people don't take the "research and lurk before you post" approach, which is the best.

One of the things I really like about byoac is that it isn't extremely active. You only have to check the boards once every couple of days to stay current.

[spectre]

gamespy is awful, all of their articles, ex: their cab article... is all an excuse to advertise different products for kickback...that's what I think