Sold my first game yesterday

[shardian]

On a whim, I listed my Dynamo with a 48-1 in it on Craigslist a few weeks ago. Last night, a guy cam with his kids to look and went home with it. It was really fun to see how excited the two boys were to get their first arcade game. To me, that is what this is all about. One thing did bug me though, I had the game set up to use my tokens while they played it. When it was all loaded up, one boy asked me if they got the tokens too. I was gonna give them to him, and asked him if he wanted to use them with the game. He flat out said no - he just wanted to hit the start button and play. You can definitely tell the new generation has no experience in a real arcade at all.

[somunny]

Congrats on the sale.   

Your comment regarding the kids and tokens is funny because it's at the root of a realization I've come to;

My kids suck at arcade games.

Why?  Because they have never had to learn the value of twenty-five cents.  I take most of the responsibility for this having never built a machine that accepts tokens or quarters.  They start a game, frantically push the credit button until the counter hits 99 and commence playing in their Kamikaze style.

[whammoed]

It's not much different with making them use the quarters unless you only give them a certain amount.  They'll just plunk in the quarters recklessly.  This creates a new problem too: coin jams.  When you don't value the quarter you put in, you don't make sure it makes it through and gives you a credit.   They will just keep popping in quarters and get the mechs all jammed up, instead of pushing the reject button to clear the stuck quarter first.
***note to self: consider giving the kids a quarter allowance each day for the arcade games***    oh, and hide the key, because the oldest one knows how to empty the coin buckets...

[Jeff AMN]

I had a hard time going through with my first sale. It was like giving up a child. I just wanted to horde them all!

[wp34]

Congrats on the sale.   

Your comment regarding the kids and tokens is funny because it's at the root of a realization I've come to;

My kids suck at arcade games.

Why?  Because they have never had to learn the value of twenty-five cents.  I take most of the responsibility for this having never built a machine that accepts tokens or quarters.  They start a game, frantically push the credit button until the counter hits 99 and commence playing in their Kamikaze style.

I came to this same realization recently with my kids.  I don't believe I will be including a working coin mech in my cab for that reason.  They will just break the thing shoving tokens in it.  

My 13 year-old calls the "5" key "virtual quarters."  On the plus side I am just happy they want to play arcade games.

[SirPeale]

I had a hard time going through with my first sale. It was like giving up a child. I just wanted to horde them all!

Don't I know it.  I've got like eight cabs.  There are two downstairs that I need to sell.  Arkanoid cocktail and a Galaxian converted to Strata Games Golden Tee.  The latter I planned to convert to something better, but the cocktail I just can't get excited about.

[shardian]

I had a hard time going through with my first sale. It was like giving up a child. I just wanted to horde them all!

My wife was upset at first...until I flashed the wad of $20's at her.
Remember, you can always buy another.

[divemaster127]

Did you make a decent profit on the game
dm

[shardian]

Did you make a decent profit on the game
dm

I listed it just for the hell of it for $800, with the assumption it would never sell. It ended up selling for $700. I had $175 in it.

[divemaster127]

Darn, you might just have to try this again

[deadkenndys1105]

While the arcades are not my generation I spent quite a bit of time around them when I was younger.  My mom was on a bowling league and they had an arcade were I spent my time.  That may be the reason I am on of the few in my age group that has respect for these games.  I have my own millipede and a mame cabinet with a coin door and when people come over they always yell at me for not having them on free play.  I have a ton of quarters laying around but I try to only play with what I have in my pocket at the time or limit myself just to see how long I can last.  Thanks to this I can play galaga now for over an hour on about a dollar.  I would hate parting with my babies and I want to get more but im going away to collage after this summer so I don't want to get anything new.  The apartment im getting to is a nice size but im sharing it with 3 other guys I don't know so im not sure if I will have the room for them or even if it would be ok to bring them.  As of now there staying at my moms house but if or how I like to hope when I get the OK there coming with me.

[Mauzy]

I cant imagine selling one of my games, mostly because I'm the only one who know how to run them seeing as I have them all half restored or half wired. I need a job...

I know Ill never be able to sell my Neo Geo or my Galaga because they were my first. The Ms Pac Cocktail will pry go once its finished.

I know Im only 16, but I have found that kids today aren't growing up with the money sense I was brought up with. I would go to the mall with my mom when I was maybe 8 or 9 with $5  dollars to play in the local Namco arcade for two hours while she got a manicure or haircut. If anyone has ever been to a Namco arcade, they will know that these places aren't cheap. I learned that if, between each game I played, I walked a lap around the mall, the 5 bux would last for 2 hours. Now that I have MAME, the only games I can bring myself to pay for are original classics in arcades and DDR machines...

[shardian]

I cant imagine selling one of my games, mostly because I'm the only one who know how to run them seeing as I have them all half restored or half wired. I need a job...

I know Ill never be able to sell my Neo Geo or my Galaga because they were my first. The Ms Pac Cocktail will pry go once its finished.

I know Im only 16, but I have found that kids today aren't growing up with the money sense I was brought up with. I would go to the mall with my mom when I was maybe 8 or 9 with $5  dollars to play in the local Namco arcade for two hours while she got a manicure or haircut. If anyone has ever been to a Namco arcade, they will know that these places aren't cheap. I learned that if, between each game I played, I walked a lap around the mall, the 5 bux would last for 2 hours. Now that I have MAME, the only games I can bring myself to pay for are original classics in arcades and DDR machines...

I've taken my nephews and young cousins to the arcade when they were younger. They could blow thru $10 in less than 5 minutes - and it would all be on claw machines and thoughtless ticket "gambler trainers".
When I was a kid, I would cruise around the arcade until I found the perfect game I knew I could get at least 10 minutes out of on a quarter. Sometimes I would splurge and play a guilty pleasure like Smash TV.

[Mauzy]

I was never good at any of the games, so I had to walk rather slow. 

[ChadTower]

When I was a kid, I would cruise around the arcade until I found the perfect game I knew I could get at least 10 minutes out of on a quarter. Sometimes I would splurge and play a guilty pleasure like Smash TV.

Back then a quarter had some type of value.  You could also take it and buy a candy bar, or a pack of baseball cards, or save up a second one for a large soda.  Nowadays a quarter won't get you anything at all.  Why would today's 8 year old feel it has value?  A quarter to them is probably what a nickel was to us - useless unless you had 5 of them.

[shardian]

When I was a kid, I would cruise around the arcade until I found the perfect game I knew I could get at least 10 minutes out of on a quarter. Sometimes I would splurge and play a guilty pleasure like Smash TV.

Back then a quarter had some type of value.  You could also take it and buy a candy bar, or a pack of baseball cards, or save up a second one for a large soda.  Nowadays a quarter won't get you anything at all.  Why would today's 8 year old feel it has value?  A quarter to them is probably what a nickel was to us - useless unless you had 5 of them.

Duuuude, a nickel bought a Charleston Chew at the pool during summer break! Charleston Chews ROCKED! I cruised the pool's deep end with goggles all the time looking for nickels.

[ChadTower]

Heh.  It is true that a nickel was five pieces of that gum with the orange wrapper and a Chinese guy on it - damn if I can't remember the name of it now.  Had a fortune in it too.

EDIT:   FORTUNE BUBBLE

[Jeff AMN]

When I was a kid, I would cruise around the arcade until I found the perfect game I knew I could get at least 10 minutes out of on a quarter. Sometimes I would splurge and play a guilty pleasure like Smash TV.

Back then a quarter had some type of value.  You could also take it and buy a candy bar, or a pack of baseball cards, or save up a second one for a large soda.  Nowadays a quarter won't get you anything at all.  Why would today's 8 year old feel it has value?  A quarter to them is probably what a nickel was to us - useless unless you had 5 of them.

Duuuude, a nickel bought a Charleston Chew at the pool during summer break! Charleston Chews ROCKED! I cruised the pool's deep end with goggles all the time looking for nickels.

Are you telling me you call unsuspecting bikini babes "nickels"? That's a little odd, but hey, code speak is a good way to keep from getting caught. 

[shardian]

Duuuude, a nickel bought a Charleston Chew at the pool during summer break! Charleston Chews ROCKED! I cruised the pool's deep end with goggles all the time looking for nickels.

Are you telling me you call unsuspecting bikini babes "nickels"? That's a little odd, but hey, code speak is a good way to keep from getting caught. 
[/quote]

I didn't start looking for "Quarters" until I was around 9 or 10.

[More Cowbell]

It bugs me when my kids fire up a game on MAME and just keep hitting the credit button to continue until the game is over (Metal Slug, 1941, etc). I try to get them to put a set amount in and see how far they can get but they have no interest in that. I also tell them to get off my lawn, darn whippersnappers.

[dgordon86]

I've taken my nephews and young cousins to the arcade when they were younger. They could blow thru $10 in less than 5 minutes - and it would all be on claw machines and thoughtless ticket "gambler trainers".
When I was a kid, I would cruise around the arcade until I found the perfect game I knew I could get at least 10 minutes out of on a quarter. Sometimes I would splurge and play a guilty pleasure like Smash TV.
[/quote]


Reminds me of the time I took my younger sister to our local movie theater arcade. In the time I played one credit on a galaga machine (brand new, reason I wanted to go) she spend like 4 dollars on crappy 'stop the light' and 'shoot the cans' type stuff. eh.

My dad used to drop me off at another mall arcade (long gone) on the weekends and would return in about 2 hours. Most memorable time of my life. point blank, power stone, metal slug...all good. Usually had 10 bucks.

[SirPeale]

I've taken my nephews and young cousins to the arcade when they were younger. They could blow thru $10 in less than 5 minutes - and it would all be on claw machines and thoughtless ticket "gambler trainers".

Don't I know it.  Back in 2003 the family went to Funspot for a fun day.  $20 gets you like 175 tokens.  At the end of the day, spending most of it in the arcade, we were having trouble getting rid of the tokens.

We went there last Saturday for my son's birthday as a surprise.  This time we got $40 worth.  They went right to the "redemption" stuff and we were out of tokens in about two hours. 

[knave]

I never really had money for the arcade when I was growing up. I had a piggy bank but I just never had money with me. My folks would could at times be talked out od one quarter for a game.  I got real good at watching other people play and enjoying it.  Sometimes I would just keep the quarter since I sucked due to lack of practice. 

I remember being kinda sad when my go at Galaga was over in about a minute after I saw this other guy play for like 10.  Hmmm, perhaps I should practice.
I like the one quarter one game machines.

As for redemption games.  I think they can be fun but I only play the ones that are either really fun or really pump out the tickets. So far I love the Wack-a-gator...It's just fun and my kids and I can split up the gators so it's easier and so we all can play for one token.  Playing this way the last time I went and bought $10 in tokens and we only spent $5.  I took the rest home for next time.

[RayB]

1983: My average budget was $2 for an outing to the arcade. That's 8 rounds. I had to avoid the new machines that were .50c.  Our usual pattern to make the money last was to casually "tour" the whole arcade first and scope out what's new. Sometimes we'd "pretend play" a bit while a game was in demo mode. Then one of us finally picks a game to play. Other guy watches. Then take our time before the next game.

We could stretch our $2 each there out to a good 2 hrs this way. Games with Continue options kinda screwed this up though. 

[dgordon86]

at this mall arcade they had a redemption game based off a chicken coop, kinda like wack-a-gator, well anyways if you completed the game with a perfect score you'd get 100 tickets at a time. They even advertised it that way.

So my friend and I would just double up and beat that crap out of that machine...Lets just say we walked away with some mighty fine cheap crap!

Then a few months later they took away the jackpot. Goes to show you when you start grifting the machine you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.