Looking to buy one of our arcade machines for Christmas? Take a look at our great arcade machine buyer’s guide video that will give you all the information you need to know about our fantastic range of arcade games.
Retro-gaming has become a popular hobby over the last few years, with the rise in demand for vintage and retro products. Gamers of all ages are enjoying this resurgence, with older gamers reliving the excitement of playing them the first time around and younger players discovering these exciting games for the first time.
These machines are great fun to play solo or with a friend and are a fantastic idea for a Christmas gift for all ages.
Hi there, I'm Andy. Welcome to our buyers guide to arcade machines. In
this video I'm going to take you through the whole range of choices that
you've got in getting yourself an arcade machine for your home for you to
enjoy with your friends and family. I'll take you through buying maybe a
dedicated cabinet which is like the Space Invaders or Pac Man machine you
see here from the early '80s.These vintage classics come with one game on one machine in one cabinet.
Or you might go up to the present day and go for this Pac Man machine Pac
Man's Arcade Party which comes from Namco this actually holds 12 games on
that particular machine and brings you right up to the present day. Or you
might go for something in between which is just any type of dedicated
arcade machine either played in arcades or piers or in bowling alleys over
the years that you loved to bits and that you'd love to get for you own
home.
Either that or you could go for a multigame machine and these come in two
formats. You either got like a cocktail machine that you see here which
you play by sitting at it or an up right machine at which you would stand.
So stay tuned and I'll take you through the whole range of choices to make
that we choose the right one for you.
Okay, so let's start with dedicated cabinets. These two are the ones that
started it all. They are one game machines with dedicated hardware running
the game with a PCB which stands for printed circuit board. These are not
interchangeable, so you buy this and you get to play just Pac Man.
This particular machine is a real beauty which has been imported from the
United States. These are becoming incredibly rare now and are very hard to
find. This Space Invaders is by Taito and original UK game from 1979.
It's this game that started my obsession with arcade games over 30 years
ago. This one is another collector's item.
Zooming forward now to the present day and brand new arcade machines are
still hugely popular; can be bought for your home, office, pub or club.
Games which can't be easily recreated on home game consols are the most
popular. Such as dance machines which can be played in pairs and attract
both sexes.
Gun games such as The House of The Dead series and Terminator Salvation are
really popular. You can even be a jockey. Here we have our own web editor
Dave showing us his skills on the amazing Namco game, Final Furlong 2.
Guitar Hero really is Dave's forte, like it says at the end, he does rock.
Driving games are really popular too. Classics like Crazy Taxi, Sega
Touring Cars and Outrun 2 are sought after machines for home players.
Although this version of 18 Wheeler may prove a little too large. The
latest driving games like Grid have eye popping graphics and offer very
competitive racing action.
If racing is your thing, its worth checking out Vesaro Race Simulators.
It's a modular system which you can spec dependant upon your requirements
or budget. The Vesaro simulators really do offer a jaw dropping
experience.
Okay, so onto multigame arcade machines. These are by far the most popular
for home customers or for office break out areas. We'll look at the
upright options first, starting with the game Pro 60, with the optional
Space Invader graphics. This uses a single PCB loaded with 60 classic
arcade games from the '80s.
Classics like Donkey Kong, Pac Man are chosen from this simple front end
menu system. This is the cheapest and easiest way to get your retro arcade
action, with great graphics and sound. The only downside though is you
can't add any more games. So the 60 it comes with are the ones you'll need
to stick with.
Next is a combination a genuine arcade cabinet from legendary arcade
manufacturer Namco. This is the commercial coin op version coming with 12
games. This smaller version looks like a coin op but is in fact a free play
only and is designed for the home market. The simple menu lets you pick
through the games which includes Pac Man of course as well as Galaga,
Galaxians, Xevious amongst others.
Now onto the game Pro 230. This is MAME based system. MAME stands for
multi arcade machine emulator, which is software running on a pc. This
particular model can be spec-ed to add a trackball, a spinner, and light
guns. It comes loaded with a massive 230 games.
You can add more games which can be found on the internet. Or if you have
any favorites which are not listed just ask us and we'll see if we can add
those for you. The game Pro 230 has a great Space Invader themed front end
to pick your game from. It runs all the games perfectly just like in the
arcade originals. Any one familiar with Final Fight will see just how
perfect this is.
Next we move onto the massive Evo from Bespoke Arcades. Sporting a huge 28
inch HD screen. Again it runs MAME, but it also has the awesome hyperspin
front end which features gorgeous animated selection and attract screens.
The Evo runs a very high MPC for the most advanced games and can even be
hooked up to the latest game consuls.
Sticking with multi game machines we're now looking at the sit down
versions which are known as cocktail versions. Once found in many pubs in
the '80s they've now had a renaissance proving incredibly popular for the
home buyer today. This is the game Pro 60 which runs the same 60 game PCB
as the upright version we looked at earlier. It uses the same simple menu
to select classic games like Space Invaders and Pac Man.
Now we move up to the Synergy. This is a MAME system so it plays far more
games, over 800 in fact coming preloaded on the system. The Media and
Elite versions of the Synergy sport the amazing hyper spin front end which
we looked at just now in the Evo.
Our final sit down machine is more of a coffee table. The Arcane is
designed for those lacking in space or looking to bring the arcade
experience into their living room. This is a top end machine made in glass
and either walnut or oak. With an elegant front end it's also a MAME based
system so you get stacks of games, plus you can use it to browse the web or
to play music.
Now there's an awful lot to take in if you're new to this. So here's a
summary to help you look through your options. Looking firstly at the
dedicated machines here are the pros. You're buying the real thing. If
you love a particular game then owning in your own home games room can be a
magical experience. It will play perfectly as it should because it's the
real thing. Of course it's great for commercial use because that's exactly
what they're intended for. And finally if you buy right and by a classic
the values are going up all the time.
Okay, so now for the cons. They do take up an awful lot of space. One
large cabinet for just one game. And for example driving games can be
huge and pretty much take up an entire room. They may well have seen some
pretty hard use. They'll have the odd scratch damage or rust which is fine
in an arcade but you might want to have better for your own home. And
finally they can go wrong quite a lot. Particularly if they're old.
Finding a local repairer can be hard and parts can be tough to get.
The multigame machines therefore make a great and very popular alternative.
First of all the pro's. They come with loads of games in one unit. So
you don't get board with playing the same game over and over and over
again. You'll find something for everyone whatever age you'll find
something that they know or will find fun. They're great for parties, your
family get togethers and you'll be surprised who gets over excited when
they find an old game that they know and love. Because they're brand new
they're in mint condition with all new components.
All our machines are the very highest quality made in the UK. You get what
you pay for. Cheaper stuff can be found at Ebay and the like, but you can
easily end up getting your fingers burned. So our advice is to stick to
buying British from a reputable retailer. And finally the cons. Just
really the cost, but they will last you years, and for so many classic
games it's very unlikely that you or your family and friends will ever get
bored.
For me it's all about the games. These classics are so accessible,
recognizable, and easy to play but hard to master. The retro gaming scene
is massive with competitive gaming contests taking place all around the
world. With world records continually being broken. Check out official
high score site TwinGalaxys.com to see how your high scores compare.
Okay, so I hope you enjoyed watching our buyers guide to arcade machines.
As you can see there's a whole load of choices which we'd be happy to help
you through if you'd like to pop into our showroom we've got a whole load
of machines on display down here or you can give us a call or drop us an
email we've got what you need and we'd be happy to help. Thanks a lot for
watching.