Any electronics geniuses on here?

A few years back I heard of someone locally building those at the time 300 in 1 stand up retro arcade video games. Looked around here recently at some and they have up to 3,000 games on them... sadly only about 50 of them are popular games. Anyway I really can’t afford one of these nowadays but was wondering if the $400 mini version ones they sell at Wallyworld could be reprogrammed? The ones they have now have one maybe two good games and ONE craptacular extra one. I’d like to get one reprogram it to have the games I want. I wonder if this is possible and if anyone has tried that yet? Wish they’d sell ya one with whatever games you ordered... they’d sell a ton of those if they did.

IF... they did what would be your favorite retro games?
Asteroids. Front Line
Star Castle. Sea Wolf
Sinistar. 1941- 1945
Pole Position. Joust
xevious. Demolition Derby
Space Panic. Space Invaders
Elevator Action Galaga
Spy Hunter. Rampage

 

Chances are reprogramming it is going to be way more work than its worth, if its even possible.


That said - you could just build one. Install RetroPie on a raspberry pi, stick it in a cabinet, and be on your way.


@BartMaster1234 also restored a cabinet, he might have some ideas on where to look for parts.

 

You could definitely do this cheaper and easier.

Get a Raspberry PI computer

$60 Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 2019 Quad Core 64 Bit WiFi Bluetooth (4GB)

https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Mo...keywords=raspberry+pi+4&qid=1607052927&sr=8-3


A pre made SD card loaded with all of the retro games you could ever want

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RetroPie-G...rry-Pi-4-Game-Collection-SD-Card/383839684000


some USB controllers

Vilros Retro Gaming 5 USB Classic Controller Set- Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64 (N64), Playstation 2 (PS2) Great for RetroPie,PC, Raspberry Pi Gamepad

https://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Controller-Nintendo-Playstation-Raspberry/dp/B07GRCDG8J/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2CCUDLPRDW5LC&dchild=1&keywords=raspberry+pi+controller&qid=1607053017&sprefix=raspberry+pi+con%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-3


Plug it all into your TV and you're done.

 

RetroPie for the win. $100 and download some roms. I have a bunch somewhere

 

Yes, spy hunter was excellent. But I have no advise to offer. I know you can get smaller ones like the original Atari with a bunch of games on it.

 

Retro pie here too... literally 1000’s of arcade and other system games. Small case, controller, and you’re in for around $100.

 

I know a guy out of West Virginia who installs flat panel TVs in old arcade games...

 

Not to burst your bubble, because a stand-up arcade box with all the game you want would be awesome!

You can buy the controller pad, build a plywood box and put a CRT screen in it, and download all the games you want for probably less than $50. I play "vintage" games all the time on my phone and computer through emulators. It might take you a week of googling how to get all the games you want onto a raspberry pi or basic computer, but after that, it's super easy to build your own arcade box.

 

I feel bad I didn't read your post before I commented. I basically said the same thing.

But yep, you are correct.

 

What are your favorite games? May need a few good suggestions....

 

Which you absolutely don't want. Those old games play best on CRT screens

 

Really? Maybe I shouldn't have scrapped my parents' CRT TV then...?

 

haha probably not. It's true though. The games most of us grew up with do much better on the CRT screens with their native resolutions.

 

I restored a full size Atari arcade cabinet.

Build thread here

Started its life as Dig Dug in 1993. It uses a Dell Optiplex with a CRT, I built it for my friend who plays fighting games competitively. It used MAME software and LaunchBox as the GUI. It has about 30,000 games on it, mostly every single game ever made on arcade and console until the early 2000’s.

I used real Suzo-Happ arcade buttons with a USB emulator to connect to the computer. The coin acceptors even work. The audio comes from old speakers from a 1997 Honda Prelude powered with a preamp.

 

Yeah, my friend bought an N64 and plugged it into her HDTV; I wasn't impressed with the picture quality...

 

That's hot. Excuse me, I'm going to go grab some air outside.

 

I could definitely build the cabinet but would need a tutorial to do the other... right!☹️

 

Subd, good lock down project.

 

It's not that difficult! Seriously. Building the cabinet is probably the most difficult part. A few days of googling will get you the hardware and software. You'll have to buy your game controllers and integrate them in the cabinet, but that's easy too. It's 2020. You can even play your arcade box from your couch wireless now too!

@Jlab 's earlier post literally tells you what you need to buy to do this on the cheap.

 

Old Music ‘n Game vending route guy here. Surprised nobody has mentioned the Grandaddy of games to be restored. Pinball