• May 19, 2021

How to start your own game room

Well, let’s take a trip back in history.

If you were lucky enough to be in your pre-teen years at the top of the arcades, as I did, arcades probably hold a very special place in your heart. It’s certainly nostalgic, but it’s much deeper than that. Without a doubt, it is a part of your childhood and pop culture.

If you are thinking of building your own game collection, I must offer you this disclaimer: you will get addicted the moment you connect your first game. There will be no turning back.

Sure, you could be like everyone else and buy an Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii, or whatever is the best video game console out there. But guess that? Those consoles, even though they have all the technology behind them, still won’t be able to compete with arcade classics like Burgertime, Street Fighter, Double Dragon, etc. Sure, the visuals and presentation will be better on consoles. But what is the most relevant aspect of video games? Fun! Capital FUN. All those other things don’t make sense.

If there’s one component missing from console games, it’s that all-encompassing experience that arcade brings to the table. Just think of those old game rooms. The machines completely surrounded you. It was like a capsule. All the bright lights and loud sounds you were picking up were from this cocoon-shaped cabinet.

The statement that always comes up when making the comparison is “But a console takes up a few inches of space, you need a lot of space for arcade games.” This is 100% true. There’s no way to avoid it. Arcade games take up a lot of space. But to the true historian of video games, some real estate in exchange for an exciting hobby seems like a fair trade-off. While what you are doing is something you enjoy, there are no downsides.

If you’re just getting started, here are some of the things to know about collecting arcade games before you get started:

• 1) Space. I can’t stress this enough, but you actually need space in your house to start collecting arcade machines. First, start by finding enough space for a couple of machines and then you will notice that your house tends to become more open. Funny how that works.

• 2) Be helpful. Look at it like this: If you’re buying a 20-year-old machine, you might get a random glitch. It comes with the hobby. Think about if you were buying a 20 year old car. You will most likely have to get under the hood once in a blue moon.

This is especially true if you are buying a machine that has been in a game room for its entire life. Just think of all those spoiled kids who treated the joystick like their own personal chin-up bar. The game is going to be tiring and it will need some love and attention.

The good news is, there are literally hundreds of places you can go online to get a missing part or manual for your machine that needs a little repair.

If you are not the most skilled person in the world, that is fine. I’m sure you could find someone within your city limits who can fix an arcade game. Just think of every time you walk into a 7-11, a laundromat, a pool room, etc., you always see at least one arcade game, right? Well, chances are, the owners of those games have people they use to fix any problems.

• 3) Where / from whom do I buy the machines? Thank goodness for the Internet. There are many sites that sell arcade machines. Where I recommend buying arcade games is eBay. It may seem very obvious and for good reason. eBay is the best place to buy arcade games for several reasons:

• Selection – When you visit most other websites, you will only see what that particular seller (likely also sells on eBay), and only that seller, has available for sale. Meanwhile, when you go to eBay, you will see hundreds, if not thousands, of listings of arcade machines for sale.

• Price – If you are just starting your collection, it came at a very good time. Arcade machines sell for much less than they used to be and eBay is where you will get the most competitive prices. It makes sense. The more competition there is, the better the prices. A tried and true example of the free market?

• Feedback – This must be the most important reason to buy machines through eBay. In fact, you can see what kind of reputation a seller has. If you visited another company’s website, do you honestly think that they are going to report any issues they have had with previous buyers? Of course they won’t.

But on eBay you can see the feedback score of each seller. If you’re looking at a particular game that interests you, then all you have to do is look at the seller’s comments and if it seems like they’ve had some issues in the past with buyers, then you know it’s time to move on to the next one. Because most likely someone else on eBay is selling the same machine and has a much better reputation among buyers as well.

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