Is this a classic?

[boogieman]

Guy's I have a bit of a dilemma.    I can get a Soul Edge cabinet locally.  It does have damage to the control board, the wood stuff is swelled and not in good shape at all.  So, it's not mint.  I have no particular affection for the game, never heard of it or played it.  I think it is a conversion cabinet.  It has a 25 inch monitor.  This is an ebay link to one just like it: link

I know it's a working game, but I don't consider it a classic by any means.  It looks REALLY generic.

So, do you think it would be ethical to use it to make a mame machine?

I understand in the end it will be my choice, but I would like some member insight.

[brock.sampson]

That looks like a Tekken Tag cabinet.  http://klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10063  You may get some crap since it's a working game but I would mame it and reuse what you can.

[Vash]

  I have no particular affection for the game, never heard of it or played it. [/url]

I know it's a working game, but I don't consider it a classic by any means.  It looks REALLY generic.

It's the prequel to the Soulcalibur series of games.

I don't have an opinion.  While I don't like the idea of "MAMEing" rare cabs, I really don't mind someone doing it to a more recent cabinet (87 up), and even with regards to the older cabs, the most MAMEing it would illicit from me would be a "meh".  But if it's not even in proper working order, I'd say go for it for sure.

[ediblegod]

By the time you get it home and play it a couple times chances are you're not gonna want to convert it anyway. I'd just leave the jamma board in there and get a J-pac. That way you can switch it back and forth from the computer to the jamma and not feel guilty.

[boogieman]

edible,
Not that I want it part of the original poll, but I do plan on JPAC'ing it...


Also, I didn't ask this to cause a huge debate or similar flame war or anything, just wanted a bit of input.

A side note:
I make sohc honda cb750 choppers for my other hobby.  Some motorcycle purists cringe, but I don't really care in that case.  I take a 30 plus year old POS and make it into a one bad mutha (IMO).  I sell the parts that are junk to me but needed for other collectors to get their projects completed (example a stock seat or gauge cluster).  There were literally hundreds of thousands of these made in their ~10 year life span.  Here are my chopper pics: pics
and here is an original: here
granted, the bikes I used were crappy, as in setting outside for years, locked up engines, etc., but there are still purist who cringe at the fact one of the "beloved" cb750 engines are in a chopper.  I would not cut up a pristine example of one, I would sell it and buy several junkers to use, so I can see both sides of these kind of debates.

[ediblegod]

Last year I bought a few working cabinets with the intent to "convert" them. After cleaning and firing them up I couldn't bare to do it, so I ended up restoring them instead. But thats just me and my experience... They were also a bit older games.

I've just found it easier to convert nonworking cabs.

[TOK]

Not a classic. I have one too, for what its worth as an opinion.
Its staying JAMMA, but will have the Soul Edge boards swapped out. If you do convert to MAME, drop me a PM. Maybe I can give you a few bucks for some spare parts.

[Fozzy The Bear]

so I can see both sides of these kind of debates.

That argument has been put forward before..... There is however a very significant difference here. The Honda's you Chop where made in VAST numbers. Arcade Cabinets are not made in those sort of domestic commercial quantities. That's what makes the difference.

As far as this cabint is concerned, it's not a classic, it's been converted to JAMMA then probably had more than one different JAMMA board in it, then you say there is some case damage and timber swelling. As far as I can see this is a prime for Mame conversion cab.

However..... Timber swelling usually means bad water damage! be very careful. It'd probably be cheaper to build from scratch than to fix this.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[SirPeale]

As far as this cabint is concerned, it's not a classic, it's been converted to JAMMA then probably had more than one different JAMMA board in it, then you say there is some case damage and timber swelling. As far as I can see this is a prime for Mame conversion cab.

Definitely not a classic.  Classic era falls from 1978 thru 1987 or so.  This figure isn't set in stone, so to speak.

Also, this cabinet was already JAMMA setup, and already converted.  Mame away.

[Ginsu Victim]

I said to go ahead and mame it, but if there's too much damage, don't bother using that cabinet.

[Jack Burton]

As far as this cabint is concerned, it's not a classic, it's been converted to JAMMA then probably had more than one different JAMMA board in it, then you say there is some case damage and timber swelling. As far as I can see this is a prime for Mame conversion cab.

Definitely not a classic.  Classic era falls from 1978 thru 1987 or so.  This figure isn't set in stone, so to speak.

Also, this cabinet was already JAMMA setup, and already converted.  Mame away.

Being a classic is relative.  Keep in mind that fighting games are among the last popular arcade games, and Soul Edge is a favorite among them.  It may not be a "classic" now, but in 10 years or so, with this kind of mindset it might be pretty tought to find a dedicated Soul Edge. 

I can see that this cab was originally a Tekken Tag.  Where's the imperative to restore it to that game?  Tekken Tag was a very very popular game in it's time among fighting gamers.   

I don't think the classic era ever really goes away.  The entire history of arcade fighting games was written after 1987 and is still going.  I don't think any dedicated cabinet that is unique and still working should be irreversibly converted to MAME.

[dislikedword]

I think that as a prequel to soul caliber it has some historical value to it but I also think that unless your cutting irreversible holes in it go for it! I am doing the same to a street fighter 2 champion edition.

[Malenko]

I didnt think you could call a cabinet/game that isnt a dedicated cab a "classic" anyway?

that board set sells for a nice piece of change, if you do plan on mame'ing the cab and not playing Soul Calibur/Edge in it, then sell the boards and fund the cab.

[TOK]

I didnt think you could call a cabinet/game that isnt a dedicated cab a "classic" anyway?

that board set sells for a nice piece of change, if you do plan on mame'ing the cab and not playing Soul Calibur/Edge in it, then sell the boards and fund the cab.

I don't really think the board goes for much.

[Jack Burton]

I didnt think you could call a cabinet/game that isnt a dedicated cab a "classic" anyway?

that board set sells for a nice piece of change, if you do plan on mame'ing the cab and not playing Soul Calibur/Edge in it, then sell the boards and fund the cab.

I think cabs that are manufactured and released with a certain set of games in them, like Namco or Sega usually does, then they are considered the dedicated versions of that game.  Putting them in anything else I would consider a conversion.

[Malenko]

I don't really think the board goes for much.

Ive seen the PCBs alone go for $65, add in the marquee or CP and it goes up =)  I didnt mean to imply hundreds, but $65 aint pennies

I think cabs that are manufactured and released with a certain set of games in them, like Namco or Sega usually does, then they are considered the dedicated versions of that game.  Putting them in anything else I would consider a conversion.

Well, maybe but I consider a DEDICATED cab to have factory side art and the whole nine. I kinda see your point with System 1 cabs; but even they had side art from the factory.  Either way, I dont think him mame-ing that cab is destroying a classic at all.   Im actually gonna get rid of my Mortal Kabinet (converted Pengo) and Make my Dedicated MKII my Mortal Kabinet II (just cuttin a new CP top, completely reservable)

[paigeoliver]

There are too many fighting games for also-ran titles like Soul Edge to ever have any real collector value to them (most collectors, even ones who love the 90s era won't want a whole row of fighters and if they do, then chances are pretty darn high that SF2 Champion, Mortal Combat and Marvel Vs. Capcom will be their first picks, with stuff like Soul Edge ranking about 30th or so.

Not to mention that collecting dedicated games is a bit of a dying hobby. The people who were old enough to play during the classic era are aging out of the hobby, and serious collecting of the 90s era in dedicated format will probably never really take off. The hardware is too difficult for hobbyists to repair and the larger footprint of the average 90s era machine severely reduces the amount of them a collector may have.

Also, early 3D games have NOT been aging well at all. I used to have a Soul Edge board, it was fun and all, but 3D games at that point still just weren't THERE as far as gameplay went, something that newer 3D games have shown.

I have seen the PCBs go for $65 and I have seen them go for $20. It isn't the most common board in the world, but is still somewhat recent, thus the prices swing wildly. The last 2 on ebay sold for $13 and $25 respectively.

[Malenko]

I agree with you on every point, I was watching one soul edge board (the one that ended at $65) I honestly try to avoid eGay because no one understands that not everything si worth alot of money and untested means NOT WORKING. so maybe my one example aint the best but money is money. OP, I'll give ya $25 shipped for the board,lol

More over then the fact that there are other fighting games in the arcades that are more wanted, is the fact that Soul Calibur is a 99 cent PSX game, and SC3 and 4 and like 4 or 5 bux for PS2 or XBOX.

I'm actually trying to get a MK1 and UMK3 cab but not an MK4, I will get a KI2 cab eventually.

[Jack Burton]

I think the monetary value of the board isn't really relevant to a games historical or collectable value.  I have seen SF2 boards go for 15$ and there is no disputing its status.  Additionally, the availability of a 99 cent PSX version of Soul Edge isn't any different from practically arcade perfect releases of any other classic game.  There are differences that the competitive gamer would notice.

I will agree that Soul Edge is not exactly going to be a common pick for fighting game players.  But it is not "Also ran", more like sleeper hit.  It is highly respected by fighting gamers.   To the right person, someone who may have played it in the arcades as a child or teenager, it may be very valuable.

The point that I trying to get across is this:  Any cabinet, no matter what game it is, no matter what era, should get a measure of respect.  For someone out there, it was "that game" that they played as a child.  What seem to be the games that just came out yesterday may be sought after in the future.  We shouldn't  want to turn Mortal Kombat's into MAME cabs to play Defender any more than we would want to turn a Defender into a MAME cab to play Mortal Kombat.

Serious collecting of 90's era arcade games may not be as big as the 80's era, but it is still significant enough for people my age, 23, to want to make sure that the games I played as a teenager and child aren't completely forgotten.

To the OP: Don't let me harass you too much though.  Go ahead and MAME it.  But please, try not to do anything that couldn't be reversed.

[paigeoliver]

Untested Jamma boards are invariably dead. Untested low-value non-jamma boards actually usually work. My success rate with those is about 80 percent or so. I converted a whole bunch of those to jamma with fingerboards and soldering iron magic a few years back and it is amazing how a $5 non-jamma board turns into a $40 or $50 board when you solder a jamma connector onto it.

Value does matter, value tells you if people actually want to own what you have, and if there are enough of them to go around or not. Value can also tell you if you have a white elephant on your hands (most black and white games fall into that category).

[Jack Burton]

I will agree with that.  Value is a representation of demand.  But it is also a representation of rarity.  Rarity and historical and cultural signifance are not always together.  Kizuna Encounter would be a good example of this.  A bad fighting game that very few people played, but worth thousands because of the rarity.  So both rarity and demand have to be taken into consideration when evaluating a games collectibility.

But I don't like that.  I say that all games are collectible.  It just takes the right person to want a particular game.  Take Pit Fighter, a bad and common game.  I would like to have a board of that game. 

Eh, I think I'm getting too difficult for my own good here.   But I really like this discussion.

[paigeoliver]

Neo Carts are small and are part of a collection that is possible to complete, and thus rarity drives value a lot more with things like that. Also, if Kizuna Encounter sells for thousands then how come a complete MACHINE sold on ebay for $99 recently and a complete kit sold for $250 AUS and I can buy a cart right now on ebay for $65?

[Jack Burton]

It's only the home AES version of the game that is valuable, which I think there are only about ten known copies of.

[danny_galaga]

A side note:
I make sohc honda cb750 choppers for my other hobby.  Some motorcycle purists cringe, but I don't really care in that case.  I take a 30 plus year old POS and make it into a one bad mutha (IMO).  I sell the parts that are junk to me but needed for other collectors to get their projects completed (example a stock seat or gauge cluster).  There were literally hundreds of thousands of these made in their ~10 year life span.  Here are my chopper pics: pics
and here is an original: here
granted, the bikes I used were crappy, as in setting outside for years, locked up engines, etc., but there are still purist who cringe at the fact one of the "beloved" cb750 engines are in a chopper.  I would not cut up a pristine example of one, I would sell it and buy several junkers to use, so I can see both sides of these kind of debates.

no contribution to the debate, but id love to see your choppers (",)  (the link is dead)

[Malenko]

I think my original point was missed.

makin a MAME cab is expensive, sellin the board could get him a spinner, lol


personally I think you can MAME anything you want, from PacMan to computer space, so long as its reversable and by reversable I mean you can put it back how it was and no one would ever know it was MAME'd

[boogieman]

danny_galaga, that link should work, if not go here: http://www.hondachopper.yuku.com/topic/2603

and here: http://www.hondachopper.yuku.com/topic/2568