DO NOT BUY the "Midway Arcade Machine" at Target ($450).

Survivor Charlie

Survivor Charlie

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I thought I would make an impassioned plea to my fellow CAG members...

Do not buy the $450 Midway Arcade Classics "actual arcade machine" that Target is currently selling.

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This machine is a piece of junk. The games on it are NOT actual arcade games, but rather 8 bit knockoffs designed around Jakks "Plug & Play" technology. Yep, the so called "True Arcade Experience" promised on this $450 lump of coal is actually just one of those $20 cheap piece of shit controllers that are sold at every Wal-Mart nationwide. It even uses the same cheap (and highly breakable) joysticks and buttons as the Jakks machines. One hours worth of Robotron will destroy the entire joystick.

In addition to the games being (really crappy) knockoffs, the cabinet is made of the cheapest grade of particle board that could actually work, along with the cheapest 12 inch monitor that could be included. This machine is bloody awful and should be avoided like the plague. This would NOT make a good Xmas gift. In fact, if you buy this for someone, they will quit loving you. (not really, but still, the thing will break within two months and you'll be sorry).

Just a heads up... this machine is selling too well and I know we have some people here who have had their eyes on it. You would be better off buying a Gamecube for $100 and the three Midway Treasures games for $20 or less each.
 
Thanks for sharing that info.
I was mildly interested in it, but after seeing the pic in today's ad it wasn't hard to tell that it is a piece of junk.
 
I'm working on getting my hands on the new Tatio arcade machine that Target will sell begining December 20th. It's made by a different company and, to the best of my knowledge, uses emulated games instead of ports. Price is a little higher ($480 or more) but the games are actual arcade games. (Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Space Invaders, Qix, Zoo Keeper, Elevator Action, Rastan, Puzzle Bobble).

And Target also sells some very high-end type arcade machines that retail for $3000 or more.
 
Tiny screen is bad... but it's the ports that truly destroy it. Rampage is sub-NES quality.

Midway really should be ashamed to let their name get attached to this.
 
I saw this in my local target the other day. I had such high hopes for it. It really is a giant pile of crap.

I am kinda stoked about the king of fighters tabletop though. I wonder if they will have those setup in stores to check out?
 
I got a chance to try this out about a week or so ago, it was pretty terrible. The cabinet did feel really cheap, and the controls weren't great either.
 
What other arcade machines can I get from Target and save $ on? Any cheap Tek-Mek's? I'd ask about Pump but I want the Korean DX so I can play Extra.
 
and here i thought it was one of those very low pc's running a rigged version of mame. I saw it at target the other day. what a waste of 400 bucks.
 
My target had one of these set up in store... about the worst thing they could have done in hopes of selling them... it is a load of shit, cheaply made...

..not that I would have forked over the hundreds they expect me to pay for it... you can buy a 360 with that type of money
 
A buddy of mine has a two-player, Japanese Konami sit-down coin-op cabinet he found in the States for cheap. In it, he's got a dedicated computer with quite literally every MAME title known to man. Probably ran him more than the $450 POS in the OP, but it was well worth it. Good times.
 
wait til it you see a red clearance sticker (small) on it ...regular price 450, new price 430...woot save $20. that will happen in a month or so.
 
Tried one out at my Target yesterday. It was fun, but I wouldn't spend $450 on it. Maybe $50. Although in all honestly I don't think I'd buy it at any price as I don't really have a place to put the thing.

Just to play devil's advocate... If it's so cheaply made wouldn't a demo unit be ravaged within the first day of it being out?
 
i never knew they were even selling these things at target and i was there the other day picking up the family guy boxsets...hehe i dont even have room for that thing..
 
I checked it out afew weeks back.. Its like 3/8 particleboard I dont imagine it would last that long or even that many moves.
Say you dont want it in this rooma nd you move it to another. I would honestly be afraid of breaking off a peice of the cabinet.
 
do you even really need to warn anyone? anyone with any sense would refuse to buy this at that price if they tried it out.

the only positive about it is that we employees get to have it in our breakroom after the christmas season (which usually only consists of a cheap tv and vending machines)
 
[quote name='yeah-yeah']On the other hand, Costco is selling this pretty nice cabinet:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11098104&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1

Okay, it's really expensive. But it has a ton of games and an f-ing trackball and custom software running the whole shebang. I played it today at Costco and it was surprisingly nice. I only played a round and a half of SFII (shoryuken!) but it played really nicely.[/QUOTE]

AND its also coin op so you can make your money back.

But back to the OP lets examine a cheaper alternative:

Conservative (not CAG) pricing considered...

20 in flat TV = $200
NES = $50
New 72 pin for the NES = $15
2 x NES Advantage arcade sticks = $15
20 of those port games @ $5 each = 100

Grand total = $380
CAG Total = $380 x .75 cag factor = 285

Not paying a crapload of money for particleboard and standing up to play a game... priceless
 
[quote name='yeah-yeah']On the other hand, Costco is selling this pretty nice cabinet:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11098104&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1

Okay, it's really expensive. But it has a ton of games and an f-ing trackball and custom software running the whole shebang. I played it today at Costco and it was surprisingly nice. I only played a round and a half of SFII (shoryuken!) but it played really nicely.[/QUOTE]


That thing is awesome.
 
The price was dropped to $400. But still, this thing isn't even worth $100. The demo one from my target is already breaking. The screen already has heavy burn in after only one week's use.

The costco machine is... eh. Ultracade makes a much better machine cheaper.
 
[quote name='jkam']It seems like the way to go now is to build a mame cabinet yourself.[/QUOTE]


true, if you want to play games from the early 80's to the mid 90's , you can defently make your self a mame machine for under 400 bucks or so, assuming your using parts left over from your update to a faster machine.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']true, if you want to play games from the early 80's to the mid 90's , you can defently make your self a mame machine for under 400 bucks or so, assuming your using parts left over from your update to a faster machine.[/QUOTE]
That's my plan. I have enough for an entire machine just from replacing parts, so all I really need is wood to build the cab, and the controls (the expensive parts that are prohibiting my building it).
 
I'm eyeing that thing too. I don't have the room for a full-sized arcade machine but I have plenty of table space for something like that. It looks nice so far in the pics too. Hopefully it will be of decent quality.

[quote name='Survivor Charlie']I'm working on getting my hands on the new Tatio arcade machine that Target will sell begining December 20th. It's made by a different company and, to the best of my knowledge, uses emulated games instead of ports. Price is a little higher ($480 or more) but the games are actual arcade games. (Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Space Invaders, Qix, Zoo Keeper, Elevator Action, Rastan, Puzzle Bobble).

And Target also sells some very high-end type arcade machines that retail for $3000 or more.[/QUOTE]
 
I was thinking about hooking up a cabinet for my xbox/PS1/NES emulating (of titles i own of course).. I was intrigued about a xbox to PS2 arcade joystick that would give me the freedom to run all the classic collections plus all the good PS1 fighters (tekken comes to mind) (BTW my midway discs, capcom and taito discs are all the xbox versions) so yeah.. I don't know if i'd build an arcade cabinet or just by a cabinet to put all the things into it and fasten the controllers in there. I don't know.. I wouldn't buy a 500 dollar cabinet unless it was made of something other than particle board.
 
As much as I'd love to have a cabinet, I won't do it until I move somewhere that I don't plan on moving from, at least for a little while. I used to have a Karate Champ cabinet and that thing was a heavy motherf-er. It wrecked my back as a final goodbye when I sold it.
 
[quote name='Survivor Charlie']I'm working on getting my hands on the new Tatio arcade machine that Target will sell begining December 20th. It's made by a different company and, to the best of my knowledge, uses emulated games instead of ports. Price is a little higher ($480 or more) but the games are actual arcade games. (Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Space Invaders, Qix, Zoo Keeper, Elevator Action, Rastan, Puzzle Bobble).[/QUOTE]Hey, I saw one of those at Costco on Friday night (December 2nd). Didn't catch the price though.
 
[quote name='b0bx13']That's my plan. I have enough for an entire machine just from replacing parts, so all I really need is wood to build the cab, and the controls (the expensive parts that are prohibiting my building it).[/QUOTE]

Plus a good monitor...you don't want to use some old crappy TV.
 
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