Is the arcade hobby ending up in the closet?

[ark_ader]

I'm having a break from the arcade gaming hobby for a few months, to concentrate on getting fit and be more active.  With the tablets I can kill the urge with some Namco Classics anytime, but the whole shebang is being boxed up and put into storage.

It would be nice to know if I am not alone in this thought, if the hobby is just an excuse to keep justifying buying games and parts,  or just to be a part of the community or is it time to move on, as it is so accessible now on portable gear, than say 15 years ago.

Your thoughts please.

[Dawgz Rule]

Interesting question.  I think different people are in it for different reasons.   I've only built one cabinet to date and I built it principally because it looked like something that would combine a lot of different skill sets and would be a lot of fun.  After the initial build, I spent a lot of time (months) just tweaking it and getting the game list down to a reasonable level.  At this point the cabinet is complete and I am enjoying the playing part of the hobby.  Without question, I am a gamer and what is appealing about arcade games is that they don't take a lot of time.  I can play a few games and go about my business.   During the spring and summer months I spend most of my time outdoors. I have a fairly large yard so that takes a lot of my time.

[rpgposer]

IMHO, a poll doesn't work for this question, because there are two factors at play:
1.  My personal situation.
2.  What my opinion is regarding the hobby in general.

Answers:
1.  I have two mortgages, pushing the official "Over the Hill" age.  It's hard to find time to play or work on my cab.  Therefore, the hobby for me is in the closet until a later time.
2.  The number of arcade hardware purveyors has increased, custom or otherwise.  It's really easy to find hardware at good prices, unlike 10 -15 years ago, when I had two choices to purchase a Sanwa JLF.  It's easy to find fully restored classic games and fully geared mame cabs, even though the prices seem a bit high.  Seems like the hobby in this regard is booming.

[ChadTower]

Pinball is exploding nationally.  Live championships are actively broadcast over the net.  Locations are growing, new arcades are opening up all over, competitive play is everywhere in New England and NJ.  New manufacturers are coming on line and innovation is opening way up.

[dgame]

It's Game On. More vendors, more people, more choices, more ideas, and importantly more new ideas.
I think the hobby is evolving as the builds are getting better and more creative.
Americans are warming up to curved button layouts. PCBers are warming up to MAMErs.
The soil around here is fertile.

[Louis Tully]

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[BadMouth]

As a hobby, I don't think original arcade game collecting has or will change much.
People will come, people will go.  It's a small niche to begin with.
At least in my area, prices have taken a slide in recent years to the point that the regular semi-annual auctions have ceased.
I hear plenty of people say that there was a bubble years ago and prices are getting back down to what they should be anyway. 
That core group of people who have been around for a long time aren't going anywhere.

Although linked, I consider the arcade hobby and the arcade emulator hobby two different things.  I've owned a couple games in the past, but didn't know how to work on them and don't consider myself part of the arcade scene.  Building stuff and getting the games working with emulators is my hobby.
I don't actually play the games much. 

I keep telling myself that one day I'll be done and just enjoy the games, but part of me considers time spent playing games lost time with nothing to show for it.  It's ok to do for a half hour here and there, but I'm not spending much of my free time doing it.  Same goes for movies & tv.  If working on something, I'm learning or improving skills.

[Malenko]

I wish some people near me would get out of the hobby, so I can buy their stuff cheap.

I have 6 cabs, I wish I had more. I am in the process of finishing the "basement" to be my arcade room / media room. I put basement in quotes because its not below ground level, its just a giant room behind my garage that isnt finished when they build the houses in my neighborhood.

[shponglefan]

I think the hobby is peaking right now.  Just looking at the age demographic of this forum, over 75% are between 30 and 50.   This is prime age for people to get nostalgic about their youth and revisit things they grew up with.

I give it another decade or two before it slows down and eventually dies.  Once this generation ages and passes on, the hobby is going to disappear for the most part.

The next generation will be all nostalgic for 'vintage' consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360.

[BadMouth]

Yeah, seems to be people who experienced either the arcade boom of the early 80's or the one in the 90's.

The next generation will collect ticket spewing redemption games. 

[Zero_Hour]

Just purchased my second Pin. Finally have the space (and soon the time) to actually build a cab I've been planning for over a decade. Plus the town my family recently relocated to has over 50 miles of hiking/biking trails around it, so I'm actually more active than I've been in several years.

It's game on - and not at the expense of other interests in my life.

[Flip_Willie]

I have heard several people on this board say they spend more time working on their cabinets than they do playing them -- that isn't me.

I go in and out of phases, but I currently turn the cabinet on 5-10 times a week for 15-30 minute stints. It is weird; even though I currently have plenty of time to play more time consuming games, I always find it easier to turn on my arcade cabinet than to commit to more time consuming PC/console games.

[jennifer]

    Most of my stuff has been in storage since they were pulled from service, untouched and havent seen the light of day, However I have been working the on 13 in the shop harder than I ever have... Now for playing them, Well I dont, just lost interest in them as games years ago. But the jukes make Jennifer dance to sad cheating songs every night.

[SNAAKE]

wish I had ROOM for arcade hobby lol

I wanna built some different cabinet setups but I barely have room to live 

[05SRT4]

My wife and I just purchased our first home and now I actually have a garage to work in. So for me Its about to explode.

[Malenko]

    Most of my stuff has been in storage since they were pulled from service, untouched and havent seen the light of day, However I have been working the on 13 in the shop harder than I ever have... Now for playing them, Well I dont, just lost interest in them as games years ago. But the jukes make Jennifer dance to sad cheating songs every night.

Does Jennifer wanna sell Malenko anything?

[kahlid74]

I think it also depends on the phase of life you're in.  When my son was born I didn't have a lot of time.  In his 1-2 phase I've had a good amount of NAP time to build/Play.  When he is in the 5 range I have no doubt he'll be wanting to play all the time.

As has been said above, people will come and go, but the hobby will survive because it's a creatively outlet for us and reminds us of a past we loved and enjoyed.

[shponglefan]

As has been said above, people will come and go, but the hobby will survive because it's a creatively outlet for us and reminds us of a past we loved and enjoyed.

Until the arcade generation passes on.  Then arcade machines will probably only be found in museums or the hands of the rare collector.

[jennifer]

As has been said above, people will come and go, but the hobby will survive because it's a creatively outlet for us and reminds us of a past we loved and enjoyed.

Until the arcade generation passes on.  Then arcade machines will probably only be found in museums or the hands of the rare collector.

Thats a really good point, Kids today [the future of old arcades] compare the graphics and processors with todays new consoles.
This is a sucky graphics situation, and the old games will lose in the end.

[Dervacumen]

While it's not sitting in the garage collecting dust, both of my machines are sitting in the house collecting dust.  Every now and then one machine turns on buy itself (not kidding - some weird wiring problem in the house) so I'll play an impromptu game or three of astro blaster or something.  The machine I built for my daughter sadly gets no play at all.  I actually think I might sell it off just to make a little more room.  I'd love to play more but I've been focusing on a new business venture which not surprisingly sucks up almost all of my time.  Check it out: Three Squares.

[Howard_Casto]

People appreciate good things and that seems to be both timeless and has nothing to do with actually experiencing a product/whatever when it was released. 

There are still car collectors buying up and restoring cars made in the 30's and 40's although hardly any of them are old enough to have even sat in the cars when they came out, much less drove them. 

If anything this hobby is "niche" now because it's just too new.  The oldest machines are only around 40 years old and those aren't exactly the best examples of the spectrum either.  With appliances and amusements things often have to get really old before they are appreciated simply because they are hard to find. 

It is absolutely true that the community will never be as good as it is now, due to the fact that we actually played this stuff in the arcades, but it will go on.

[wp34]

I agree.  While the younger generation may not feel the need to have a basement full of games to recreate the "arcade feel" they never experienced in the first place they will gravitate to the arcade experiences which are timeless and fun. My son just moved into his dorm last week.  His roommate has one of those "plug and play" Pac Man games and they were playing it with the door open.  Next thing you know they have a room full of kids watching and cheering.  Today they are hosting a Pac Man tournament in their room.  The hobby will live on it just might not look the same to us.

People appreciate good things and that seems to be both timeless and has nothing to do with actually experiencing a product/whatever when it was released. 

[shponglefan]

There are still car collectors buying up and restoring cars made in the 30's and 40's although hardly any of them are old enough to have even sat in the cars when they came out, much less drove them.

While this is certainly true, cars are also a lot more ubiquitous than arcade machines.

It is absolutely true that the community will never be as good as it is now, due to the fact that we actually played this stuff in the arcades, but it will go on.

As much as I wish I could believe that, I think this hobby as we know it will be dead in two or three decades.

[404]

kind of see it the other way around as some folks have mentioned here.

Original cabs have inflated in price so much that they are practically unattainable in my area. With the spike in prices and the realization that I'm becoming a pack rat, I've decided that it's time to get rid of much of the things i have here and get out of the hobby altogether.

[jennifer]

     I wouldnt say they "inflated", A new cab back in the day was around 3k, [old world dollars] After a life of service they still retained a resale value.
However today its still pennies on the original dollar, At least in my area.

[kahlid74]

kind of see it the other way around as some folks have mentioned here.

Original cabs have inflated in price so much that they are practically unattainable in my area. With the spike in prices and the realization that I'm becoming a pack rat, I've decided that it's time to get rid of much of the things i have here and get out of the hobby altogether.

One of the main guys from Penny arcade filled his garage with classics of original quality and got them for quite a bit less than what you would think.  I would agree with Jennifer that it's area dependent.

[ark_ader]

Well I'm glad the hobby is still getting the proper attention.

If I stopped collecting, maybe I would find more time playing what I have, instead of needing what I don't have.


Hopefully this break will present an opportunity.

 

[ChadTower]

If anything this hobby is "niche" now because it's just too new.  The oldest machines are only around 40 years old and those aren't exactly the best examples of the spectrum either. 

If you count EMs we can go back nearly 100 years.  Video is just a niche within the coinop hobby.

[Howard_Casto]

They are totally different things though, just because they were both in the "arcade hall" doesn't mean anything.  In that line of thinking though older E.M. stuff especially pre-1950's is highly collectable.  It isn't a huge hobby, but neither is ours.  Pinball machines, also older, also highly collectable. 

You kind of proved my point actually, thanks. 

[CoryBee]

what is EMs?

[SavannahLion]

what is EMs?

Electro-Mechanical.

Basically covers a ton of stuff that pre-dates discrete and CPU based machines.

For instance, anything modern is going to have a CPU as the brains.
Solid-state or discrete generally covers cabinets that never had a CPU, Computer Space is a perfect example. No ROM, No CPU.
Electro-Mechanical generally predate discrete and is comprised of "mechanical" logic or gameplay. Relays, solenoids, etc. Periscope is a good example.

[CoryBee]

what is EMs?

Electro-Mechanical.
Basically covers a ton of stuff that pre-dates discrete and CPU based machines.
For instance, anything modern is going to have a CPU as the brains.
Solid-state or discrete generally covers cabinets that never had a CPU, Computer Space is a perfect example. No ROM, No CPU.
Electro-Mechanical generally predate discrete and is comprised of "mechanical" logic or gameplay. Relays, solenoids, etc.

Thanks for that explanation boss man.

Related;

Someone called me the other day wanting me to turn his Computer Space (2-Player) into a MAME machine........

[SavannahLion]

what is EMs?

Electro-Mechanical.
Basically covers a ton of stuff that pre-dates discrete and CPU based machines.
For instance, anything modern is going to have a CPU as the brains.
Solid-state or discrete generally covers cabinets that never had a CPU, Computer Space is a perfect example. No ROM, No CPU.
Electro-Mechanical generally predate discrete and is comprised of "mechanical" logic or gameplay. Relays, solenoids, etc.

Thanks for that explanation boss man.

Related;

Someone called me the other day wanting me to turn his Computer Space (2-Player) into a MAME machine........

Show him this, then Kill him.

Actually, I can understand why. As sexy as the CS cabinet (as sexy as Yvette Mimieux rumored to have been I guess), the game is rather droll (I've only played the emulated version) at best. And given the age of the components and the TV inside, I'm told that it's very common for the cabs to be nothing more than just shells. I've always wanted one of those cabs, but not necessarily for the game inside.

But then again, I wouldn't MAME that particular cabinet, more out of comfort than anything else. That CP is smaller than Mimieux's  not to mention that ridge around the edge.

On the upside, the CP is just a metal plate, super simple to swap out with another.

[CoryBee]

I understand now that I know more about the background

but, the control panel is bigger on his, it is the 2-Player version

[ChadTower]

There is one at Funspot that I play a few times every time I go there.  I play it because it's there and I can.  It's special.

Tell him there is a line around the corner of people waiting to give him good money plus a perfect mameworth cab for a Computer Space.  Myself included.

[ark_ader]

as sexy as Yvette Mimieux rumored to have been I guess

Yvette Hubba Hubba!




Yvette Mimieux and friend.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Pinball is exploding nationally.   . . . .

   VERY EXCITE !! 

I hope it blows up nationally. I'd love for there to be local arcades again so I can take my son when he's tall enough to play.

Don't have to wait too long!:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/66-STEP

[yotsuya]

Cory, if you don't kick that dude in the nuts, I'll never speak to you again.

[CoryBee]

Cory, if you don't kick that dude in the nuts, I'll never speak to you again.

But money.....

[Louis Tully]

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