Should I? (showcase cabinet Noob)

[Axe]

Hey guys, was a lurker here for a while a few years back when i modded my first mame cabinet.  It is gone now, as My wife and i moved to a condo and i had no space.  Now we are back in a house and the itch has returned...  Looking backon my last cabinet, i paid too much for a waterlogged beat to hell cab,  added too many control s to a stock early 80's cabinet for comfort (imagine 2 large husky men trying to play SFII on a pacman sized cabinet!) and didn't take my time to make sure things were right.

So I found a local Tekken 3 Showcase Cab.... comlete and working for a killer price...  I figured it would make a perfect Mame cab, as there will be lots of room for me and the Brother in law to play.  Massive control panel to replace/mod, and since it currently works, i can play Tekken while i order parts.  Then it got me thinking, should i keep it stock and get a few other compatible PCB's for when i am bored or should i Mod it for Mame...  It isn't a proprietary cab, it's a black generic showcase... so i don't think i'lll be ruining arcade history if i mod it... but i am a little unsure of what i should do.

AND SO... to make matters worse, i found a local guy selling a single slot Neo Geo Cab, working with a few carts, not AS good a deal, but not bad...  the Neo Geo cab is bigger than my old cab was, so if i wanted to set IT up as a mame cab,  it would be better, but not as nice as teh showcase cab...

And of course, my wife wants 1 cabinet at most in the basement, not a set of 2 or 3...

So heres the skinny

-SHould i mod the Tekken cab when i get the parts, since it is the size i really want
-Should i mod the Neo Geo cab instead, and keep Tekken Stock?
-Should i just build an arcade controller and play Mame on my desktop, leaving the 2 abinets stock (probably the least likely answer)
-Should i incur the wrath of my wife and build a SECOND showcase cab....

 

[Turnarcades]

If you're limited to 1 cab and found a smaller cab insufficient in the past, I'd say mod the Tekken to meet all your requirements. It has a large panel as standard so gives you more space, plus adding a few more controls won't crowd it either. You could get a dual Jamma connector and use one for PCB's, then get a J-pac and MAME setup on the other.

[Malenko]

I'd only get the neo geo if you planned on keeping it a neogeo; the showcase cab would be better suited to maim errr... MAME

[CheffoJeffo]

Showcase cabs make great MAME cabs (although mine is a dedicated NAOMI setup).

Lots of CP space and big screen are good things. On the downside, these things are big and heavy (IIRC, standard Dynamo showcase is about 800lbs) and can be a ---smurfette--- to move, although they do come apart fairly nicely.

I moved mine from the driveway to the basement myself through judiciously calculated disassembly, but I'm not convinced that I want to ever move it out of the basement.

In your place, I would definitely acquire the showcase (price depending) and play Tekken 3 until my parts arrived and then MAME the showcase.

I like the NeoGeos and would keep that dedicated (My 2-slot gets more play than any of the MAME boxes did, despite having the same games). Since it is a single slot, you also have the option of plugging in normal JAMMA boards (controls depending), should you want to.

EDIT: I saw in another thread that you are in Northern Ontario -- whereabouts ? I'm in Toronto, but there are at least a couple of folks in Timmins that I am aware of.

[Ginsu Victim]

I'm with the consensus here. Either mod the showcase or keep the Neo Geo as-is. Though I love my MAME cab and can play all the Neo Geo games on it already, I still really want a Neo Geo!

[Axe]

Well everyone seems to be leaning in the direction i was!

Cheffo, I am from Manitoulin Island, grew up in Espanola, and now reside in the GTA.  So i know who to call on now when i fight to get these cabs into my basement
 

Actually, the brother in law and i shouldn't have any issues, I have a walkout at the back, so aside from a careful romp down my side yard, it's in the patio doors and boom, done!

The Tekken cab seems a little beat up, at least the control panel plexi is... it's been a "home use" cab that was "a hit at BBQ's" so i am sure it will have many cigarette burns and "sticky parts" but i'll probably want to build an all new CP top for it. (to ensure there is LOTS of space between the brother and I!)  The Neo Geo seems good, i don't have a lot of shots of it, but it has been partially restored... I may have to get a new CPO for it, as i really like the white/red stripingon the original.  I played a LOT of Saumarai Shodown in college, so the Neo cab is more for memories than anything else

Thanks for all the info/opinions so far!

[CheffoJeffo]

Well, if you are in the GTA and looking for cabs, the Starburst auction is this Saturday at Kipling and Queensway ...

I don't think that I will make it there due to eleventy12 family commitments, although you never can tell since I live about 5 minutes away.

[Axe]

Yeah, i was thinking about going, but I have to pick up my Tekken cab in the morning, and have a birthday party in the afternoon   Maybe i'll hit the next one, after the missus has a chance to get used to the idea of my home arcade

[Axe]

Well it looks like the decision isbeing made for me!  The NeoGeo I was considering seems to be a no go, no response from the seller for a few days... so I guess i don't have to make the decision!

So I'll use the money i was going to spend on the second cab to get my parts/accessories faster