Local ebay bargain... Snowballed. Mini home arcade!

[clarky_gtt]

Back last summer, I took some time out of work for a few months to sort out life admin (I'm a full time single dad, balancing work and parenting for the past 16 years!)
I also sorted a load of small jobs around the house, tip runs, making space, selling parts to try and keep the house as cutter free as possible.

But, as much as I'm ocd, I'm also adhd. All self diagnosed of course if something takes my eye, I can't just leave it.

Long story short, I managed to get my garage nice and clutter free again after the long slog of restoration my 5 gt turbo. Leaving me a bit of space in there for something... Fun or childish.


I thought about a racing sim, and they just take up to much room. So while scrolling through ebay one day, at random local gamer stuff, a arcade cabinet came up for £180 that was just down the road.

Now, I love nostalgia as I'm a big kid at heart. I remember growing up in Windsor and loved going to the arcade every Sunday as a lad. So, I though yeah fuck it, what's £180 for a few smiles. So a few hours later, I bought this home!

A replica of the old street fighter 2 arcade cabinet. And it's ace! I'd go out to the garage, stand next to the gt turbo and play this. How nostalgic can you get?
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Now, all summer I'd be in and out the garage, playing with the car and street fighter 2. Till I completed it and wanted more! So I researched and delved into a rabbit hole of knowledge. Without boring you all to death, I purchased a load of gear to turn the arcade cabinet into a complete multi console system with 80,000 games, every console from 1979-2001. Including obscure consoles I'd never even heard off. I also added some light up led buttons to add to the effect.



Now, this was ace. I loved it, I still do and it gets played all the time. From streets of rage, to Mario kart or even track & field from 1988. But, you really are spoiled for choice and there's far to many games on it to sit and play without quickly switching to another game and having a 5 minute attention span.

Then nob ed here, decided to buy a carcoon, which takes up 90% of the room in the garage. So the arcade had no where to live. So I cleared out a spare room that my ex partner used as a make up room and walk in wardrobe, and stuck it in there on its own. But it looked proper lost and boring. You know where this is going...

So I started looking for racing cockpit sims. A friend has a really good one that he paid £1,500 for....and I found the exact same one on ebay, locally for... £100!!! He couldn't believe it.
So I built that, specced it up and had it next to the arcade machine


I don't have any good photos of the cockpit all built up, with 3 screens, 5.1 speakers and wheel/pedal set up unfortunately. But it was freaking cool and Ioved it. Yeah, past tense...

To be continued tomorrow

 

[sparkie]

The neo geo I think was Japan only. I know they had some fighting games on it though.

 

[clarky_gtt]

Neo geo was available here, but mega expensive, even back then. It was about £600 for the console and some games were as much as £200 each!

 

[Adey]

thats super cool to be fair

 

[clarky_gtt]

So I was content with the racing sim and arcade machine for 6 months or so. But found myself playing the sim less and less.
So I sold it and got £700 for it all!

I moved the arcade downstairs for a while and bought a matching stool for it



With the £700 burning a hole in my pocket, I decided I was to get another arcade cabinet to fill the space.

There's a company that make these called arcade 1up and they have loads of different cabinets, with 3-12 games each and a main themed game. They even have WiFi online play and scored boards (unfortunately they've stopped producing new arcades and look to be going tits up). They are based in the states, but game and smyths bring a few of them over.

Game had a big sale at Xmas and I managed to bag a 4 player NFL blitz cabinet for £250 delivered. They are now £580, so I'm glad I bought it when I did. It has online play, cheats etc and the game is a right laugh to play with mates over.



So I stuck it in the spare room with the other arcade and my misses got me a new led light and 3d streets of rage and street fighter pixel framed pictures for Christmas ☺

Now the bug had bitten and two cabs weren't going to do it for me. I love street fighter 2 and capcom games. There is a limited edition "big blue" replica made by arcade 1up of the old school cabinet from the 90s. This comes with online play and 12 other games (like ghouls and ghost's.. If you remember that one?).
Now, they were exclusively for sale in smyths only and weren't that cheap, but had dropped to £350 for some time. Now I kept my eye on stock in my local Swindon smyths and it dropped to just one. Knowing that when these are sold out, they'll be worth loads, I just had to fire and get one.
It even has a LED light up control deck which is pretty cool.

I play this all the time and so glad I bought it as you can no longer buy them. The online play and 12 other games on it are class.

At my local pub, growing up, there was a golf arcade machine that I loved. It was called goldentee. It comes with a track ball for the swing, and this is one of the most remembered games of me growing up.

Arcade 1up bought one out, in Xl size and a big monitor. It also comes with a bowling game which is ace and a couple of other pub games that me and a load of friends love playing. I slept on this one a bit as it was quite expensive. But, knowing arcade 1up were close to going out of business and being happy with everything else I had from them. I thought bollocks to it and bought it.


I play this one the most and so does family and friends.

So that's 4 arcade machines in a little room.
I then got a little carried away with the ambience and wanted to to look and sound like an arcade.
So I bought an old school arcade carpet/rug that reflects uv black light


I also bought a led shelf cabinet for a couple of car models of cars I've owned. The gt turbo, my old r34 gtr etc.

There were a couple of empty shelves, so I came across a company that make 1/6 scale perfect replicas of arcade machines. That are fully playable and you can even plug them into a hdmi port on a TV to play if you wish. Running out of space, this was ideal. So I purchased "dragons lair". I don't know if anyone remembers this game, but it was the first laser disc game made and was released in the mid 80s. I remember it well and was buzzing to get it. Even though it's so fucking difficult, I nearly launch it after playing a few times. I also bought a mini street fighter cab that I found cheap




So these sit on the shelf and are run and charged by usb. So why not buy a replica Pepsi usb hub for £150 that looks cool? Yeah, I'm a mug, but it looks decent I think


It even dispenses mini cans, for no reason at all .

So, I've now got the ambience, so I purchased a few neon lights and a smart bulb. I've run out of space.... For now.

Over the pond, they make a new control deck that takes my 4 player nfl cabinet to a 2 player. This will save me enough width to probably fit another cabinet in. And I've chosen the one I want. Time crisis! Remember it? The gun one

Arcade1Up Time Crisis Deluxe Shooting Arcade

Arcade1Up is thrilled to introduce the TIME CRISIS Arcade Game, providing hardcore retrogamers with the title that first took the gaming world by storm in 1995!

www.game.co.uk

The downside is, I'll loose the shelf cabinet and will have to figure out how or where to put the models and scale machines. Probably on a shelf, but I'm so presses for room now.

So here it is as it stands (open this in full screen)


My teenage son and his mates love coming over and playing in the evenings. But between work, gym, having a new puppy, I only usually get an hour or two in there Sunday evenings. But it's worth it


So I'm going to keep it how it is for now. Buy another 1/6 scale arcade machine when I see one I like. As they never really come up for sale here in the UK.

But, I have a serious itch for the time crisis machine! But to fit it in, buy the cab and the parts I need to modify the nfl cab, I'll be over a grand deep.

But watch this space. When I get an idea in my head, I usually go for it!

Let me know if you have any old games you like and I'll get them up on the modded cab and take you back in time.

The strangest thing about all this is, I'm not even a big gamer, I just love the nostalgia. Sometimes I can just sit in there while all the demos are playing and it just feels like being a lad again

 

[andybond]

The neo geo I think was Japan only. I know they had some fighting games on it though.

You are correct. It was Japan only initially but then US/UK

. It was also amazingly expensive for its time. The games were £80 a go and “arcade perfect”

 

[Brigsy]

Mega setup. Love the old arcade games.

 

[Mark Davis]

Very cool mate

 

[DaveL485]

Time Crisis! That took almost as much of my pocket money as Sega Rally!

 

[clarky_gtt]

i check everyday to see if they have a sale on time crisis!
one day i'll buy it...then have financial regret.

 

[Allthegearnoidea]

Time machines

 

[Leigh5t]

Oh my god, Time Crisis! …let me ENTERTAIN YOU! The hours I spent on that game. Knowing where the shortcuts were and where the baddies would pop up .
Point blank was another favourite of mine.
Arcade club is worth a visit if you’ve not been

Love your home arcade by the way!

 

[RedRoad22]

Time Crisis! That took almost as much of my pocket money as Sega Rally!

neo geo was cool, we had one in the 90’s but I’d be scouting for the sega rally arcade drive! Or if too expensive outrun

 

[clarky_gtt]

outrun isnt available in the UK unfortunately

These cabs are a smidge smaller than the old school 80's and 90's cabinets. Which is ideal, as i can fit them in the room!

i've found a time crisis for sale about 80 miles away. Currently contemplating whether to buy it and try and store it in the attic for the time being