For those who haven't really been following the escapades of Atari... they received a new CEO a few years ago. The CEO actually comes from a very wealthy heritage, if you will, and they've taken personally to revitalizing the brand. They've started buying up tons of small companies, including console companies and purchasing the rights for numerous games. Anyway, they've started releasing a lot of new games on a variety of platforms, including a whole slew of new consoles and portables.
They ALSO have just released their very first arcade machine since 1999 (when it was last produced by Atari Games Inc.).
The last few offerings from "Atari" have made me think they have completely forgotten their history....
for 6 K, I can set up an ENTIRE arcade...and seriously - a bunch of 'twenty-to-seventy buck' joystick plug-ins can get you ALL the retro you need. (if you are of a certain age range)
And honestly,
How many of these games are worth more then a half hour of your brain?
I mean... there is a certain (small) group of humans who even CARE about this stuff.
it may be kinda important NOT to abuse them, financially.
The last few offerings from "Atari" have made me think they have completely forgotten their history....
for 6 K, I can set up an ENTIRE arcade...and seriously - a bunch of 'twenty-to-seventy buck' joystick plug-ins can get you ALL the retro you need. (if you are of a certain age range)
And honestly,
How many of these games are worth more then a half hour of your brain?
I mean... there is a certain (small) group of humans who even CARE about this stuff.
it may be kinda important NOT to abuse them, financially.
just sayin'
That's a pretty good point. I think the arcade machine was intentionally designed from the perspective of actual arcade owners. There's a larger conversation going on at AtariAge, and they're apparently built really well.
I've actually been pretty happy with Atari lately. Their Atari 50th really conveys every bit of their history, but they've started selling a lot of hardware and releasing new games for dedicated systems, like the Atari VCS.
I think they know that their IP is basically old... and it's fleeting, so they're looking for long-term growth. All of their new games are remakes of the originals... with some others. Like Haunted House, and the racing one. But they've really changed in that they've started buying up all these new IPs. I think they're on a better track today than they have been in over 20 years. So I'll say that at least.
I've actually really liked the recent Atari remakes, and am head-over-heals that they're releasing new arcade hardware. It's a breath of fresh air from the rest of everyone who seems to be just re-releasing retro games in poorly packaged emulator cabinets. I used a Sega ALLS as a workstation for years and am still considering ripping out the motherboard and replacing it with something more contemporary. It just feels...wrong...to do it.
That price tag is up there, though. For that I could get an Umbrella Arcades cabinet, fill it with the nicest hardware I could find, and run Launchbox off of it.
I've actually really liked the recent Atari remakes, and am head-over-heals that they're releasing new arcade hardware. It's a breath of fresh air from the rest of everyone who seems to be just re-releasing retro games in poorly packaged emulator cabinets. I used a Sega ALLS as a workstation for years and am still considering ripping out the motherboard and replacing it with something more contemporary. It just feels...wrong...to do it.
That price tag is up there, though. For that I could get an Umbrella Arcades cabinet, fill it with the nicest hardware I could find, and run Launchbox off of it.
I couldn't agree more (I think that's how it's said) with what you're saying. There's only a couple of companies making actual arcade machines, and this is a legitimate Atari arcade, with a new (very well done) implementation of Asteroids in their "recharged" franchise.
As for the device you linked to... long and short, I visited family who was renting an Air BnB that had one of these on the wall. I was VERY impressed with the design and layout of it. It's one thing to have an arcade machine... but for those who do not have the space, this is absolutely perfect.
Yeah, I really want this thing, but I have to just remind myself that $6,500 is a lot, and it's unreasonable at that price for me to "invest" in something like that, considering they typically lose 50% of their value within the first year. Yeah... I'm not getting it. Kinda hard to hide an arcade machine... ahaha...
As for the device you linked to... long and short, I visited family who was renting an Air BnB that had one of these on the wall. I was VERY impressed with the design and layout of it. It's one thing to have an arcade machine... but for those who do not have the space, this is absolutely perfect.
Yeah, I really want this thing, but I have to just remind myself that $6,500 is a lot, and it's unreasonable at that price for me to "invest" in something like that, considering they typically lose 50% of their value within the first year. Yeah... I'm not getting it. Kinda hard to hide an arcade machine... ahaha...
I want so badly to buy and build one out with the nicest controls/monitor/speakers I can find, rebuild the ALLs case with sufficient hardware to run all the games I want, then use that to power the cabinet. ...but spending that much money to start a video game project while my Fiero remains incomplete would be a pretty hard to sell At least the Atari cabinet is a finished project. If I came to my wife with "look, this thing already works and I don't need to change it!" she'd never believe me. Also, I'd absolutely take it apart, so she'd be right.
I want so badly to buy and build one out with the nicest controls/monitor/speakers I can find, rebuild the ALLs case with sufficient hardware to run all the games I want, then use that to power the cabinet. ...but spending that much money to start a video game project while my Fiero remains incomplete would be a pretty hard to sell At least the Atari cabinet is a finished project. If I came to my wife with "look, this thing already works and I don't need to change it!" she'd never believe me. Also, I'd absolutely take it apart, so she'd be right.
I made a cabinet under the marquee of "Polybius," which is the "creepypasta" arcade machine that was supposedly created by the CIA to perform mind control tests on unsuspecting kids (never happened, but it's a fun bit of controversy / story). But I bought an old Zaxxon cabinet ($250 bucks on eBay, another $150 via Forward Air). I probably spent a total of another $700 bucks on parts (if I'm being completely honest). So, total came out to around $1,100 bucks. I went a little overboard, to be honest... I still don't have side graphics (which I will probably just use paint), but I upgraded / fixed everything on the cabinet. New coin mechanisms, it has a complete subwoofer system, brand new MB Quart stereo speakers, it uses a computer power supply, and a Dell 25" square monitor. All new buttons, etc. The control panel actually came from a frogger... so that gave me the hole in the center for me to install a little track ball, and then two controllers with color-coordinated buttons. And then light-up 1 and 2 player buttons, etc. Again, you can buy the kits for cheap... but I hand picked a lot of things... so it could have been a lot cheaper.
EDIT: It has one of those 8973459823495234 in 1 SVGA systems in it. Has a full menu that you can configure. A lot of CapCom games, but all the old Atari classics as well. My daughter and I play the two Dungeons & Dragons arcade games on it.
[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 08-07-2024).]
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: I made a cabinet under the marquee of "Polybius," which is the "creepypasta" arcade machine that was supposedly created by the CIA to perform mind control tests on unsuspecting kids (never happened, but it's a fun bit of controversy / story). But I bought an old Zaxxon cabinet ($250 bucks on eBay, another $150 via Forward Air). I probably spent a total of another $700 bucks on parts (if I'm being completely honest). So, total came out to around $1,100 bucks. I went a little overboard, to be honest... I still don't have side graphics (which I will probably just use paint), but I upgraded / fixed everything on the cabinet. New coin mechanisms, it has a complete subwoofer system, brand new MB Quart stereo speakers, it uses a computer power supply, and a Dell 25" square monitor. All new buttons, etc. The control panel actually came from a frogger... so that gave me the hole in the center for me to install a little track ball, and then two controllers with color-coordinated buttons. And then light-up 1 and 2 player buttons, etc. Again, you can buy the kits for cheap... but I hand picked a lot of things... so it could have been a lot cheaper.
EDIT: It has one of those 8973459823495234 in 1 SVGA systems in it. Has a full menu that you can configure. A lot of CapCom games, but all the old Atari classics as well. My daughter and I play the two Dungeons & Dragons arcade games on it.
Shadows over Mystara and Tower of Doom! Those are SO good! That multi arcade name is so cool, and Zaxxon is the first arcade cabinet I ever saw at anyone's house (not counting my grandma's space invaders cocktail cabinet)! When I was in college in San Diego after the Marine Corps, there was a guy that ran a mobile arcade business for conventions and such. He kept all his cabinets at a warehouse in El Cajon, and would post them for free on Craigslist and leave them out back when they broke. I picked up three cabinets from him; a bubble bobble that I never got working, a Golden Tee 2002 cabinet that I spent a few hundred bucks fixing and then played the snot out of, and an old surfing game that was missing it's monitor, so it got turned into my first MAME cabinet!
I want to use the controls from newer Xbox fight sticks for my next cabinet. They're easy to pull out/mount in a cabinet, easy to replace parts on, and it's a huge benefit to have the computer recognize it as an Xbox controller. I used an IPAC on my first one that did it as keyboard keys, and that was a pain.
I don't know if you all have a console, but if you like beat 'em ups (like the DnD games), Streets of Rage 4 is excellent as well! My son is 6 and we just beat it on the 'hard' mode
[This message has been edited by NewDustin (edited 08-07-2024).]
Shadows over Mystara and Tower of Doom! Those are SO good! That multi arcade name is so cool, and Zaxxon is the first arcade cabinet I ever saw at anyone's house (not counting my grandma's space invaders cocktail cabinet)! When I was in college in San Diego after the Marine Corps, there was a guy that ran a mobile arcade business for conventions and such. He kept all his cabinets at a warehouse in El Cajon, and would post them for free on Craigslist and leave them out back when they broke. I picked up three cabinets from him; a bubble bobble that I never got working, a Golden Tee 2002 cabinet that I spent a few hundred bucks fixing and then played the snot out of, and an old surfing game that was missing it's monitor, so it got turned into my first MAME cabinet!
I want to use the controls from newer Xbox fight sticks for my next cabinet. They're easy to pull out/mount in a cabinet, easy to replace parts on, and it's a huge benefit to have the computer recognize it as an Xbox controller. I used an IPAC on my first one that did it as keyboard keys, and that was a pain.
I don't know if you all have a console, but if you like beat 'em ups (like the DnD games), Streets of Rage 4 is excellent as well! My son is 6 and we just beat it on the 'hard' mode
Man, I would have killed to be near a place like that! My first arcade machine was the Missile Command there on the right. I bought it for like $200 and hauled it with me wherever I moved... from state to state, apartment to apartment. It's amazing it's still in one piece and works.
If you're interested, I can look up the type of system that I have... but it also has USB connectors and can use XBOX controllers by default. So, if you wanted to disassemble one and mount it, you can keep all the factory wiring.
And yes... those two AD&D games... they're awesome.
