Advice

tommystv

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Donor 2012
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So I'm new. New to the forum and arcade collecting. I have not made my first purchase, but I've been actively shopping for a month now. I'm not a rebuilder. It's not in my nature. I know this because, many, many, many times I've said "oh, I'll fix that up!" Yeah, it never happens.

The two machines I want are Punch-Out and Marble Madness. Any advise when hunting for these two?

My second question: I found Ninja Gaiden on my local craigslist. The guy is asking $550 for a really clean Ninja Gaiden, and two boards. Konami Bottom of the 9th and Namco Dunk Master. I have no interest in the boards. I'd be looking to flip them. How hard is it to sell boards?

What is an original Ninja Gaiden cab, in really nice condition worth?

Thanks in advance.
 
Those boards have no value and will be very hard to resell. Sport based games get no love.

Ninja Gaiden didn't come in an original cab that I am aware of, it was only available as a kit. I actually really like the game but I would not value a really nice example above $300.


Punch-Out and Marble Madness are both sought after machines so finding them can be difficult. My advice, actively search for them and when you find them buy them. Don't screw around with asking someone to hold them or any other nonsense. If you do this a motivated buyer will beat you to the machines.
 
550 seems steep for ninja gaiden, even with a couple $30 boards thrown in. Selling them is no big deal.

Ninja Gaiden is a conversion kit, meaning it was installed into a variety of existing cabinets (such as a former moon patrol or joust machine). Even in top shape, I doubt it's worth going over the 300 mark. Scrutinize the monitor for defects, check the cabinet all around for water damage and flaws. Happy shopping.
 
550 seems steep for ninja gaiden, even with a couple $30 boards thrown in. Selling them is no big deal.

Ninja Gaiden is a conversion kit, meaning it was installed into a variety of existing cabinets (such as a former moon patrol or joust machine). Even in top shape, I doubt it's worth going over the 300 mark. Scrutinize the monitor for defects, check the cabinet all around for water damage and flaws. Happy shopping.

Thanks for the help. I offered him $300 when I was looking and he didn't seem too interested, so I gave him my number if he changes his mind.

Here's the link if you care to look.

http://batonrouge.craigslist.org/tag/3476966224.html

Thanks for clarifying that Gaiden was never released as original cab. That's the rookie in me. There is no side art, but the joystick area has art work. What is the proper term when referring to art work in the joy stick area?

Ha, I sound like an idiot. Ready to learn.
 
Thanks for the help. I offered him $300 when I was looking and he didn't seem too interested, so I gave him my number if he changes his mind.

Here's the link if you care to look.

http://batonrouge.craigslist.org/tag/3476966224.html

Thanks for clarifying that Gaiden was never released as original cab. That's the rookie in me. There is no side art, but the joystick area has art work. What is the proper term when referring to art work in the joy stick area?

Ha, I sound like an idiot. Ready to learn.

Heh. We all had to start somewhere! :)

Some common terms:
marquee - the lighted sign where the game's name is
bezel - the part that covers the screen. Might be glass or plastic and might have artwork on it. Depends on the game.
control panel (CP) - the area that contains the buttons, tracball, joystick, etc.
dedicated - an "original" cab as you put it. Used as in, "I'm looking for a dedicated Moon Patrol."
 
That is a horrible conversion, I wouldn't pay more than $50 for it. The buttons are on the wrong side for player 1, the start buttons are on the left which is odd, and it is just not very good looking. You should look for something else.
 
Those boards have no value and will be very hard to resell. Sport based games get no love.

Ninja Gaiden didn't come in an original cab that I am aware of, it was only available as a kit. I actually really like the game but I would not value a really nice example above $300.


Punch-Out and Marble Madness are both sought after machines so finding them can be difficult. My advice, actively search for them and when you find them buy them. Don't screw around with asking someone to hold them or any other nonsense. If you do this a motivated buyer will beat you to the machines.

This. .....
 
That is a $100 cab Max. I would pass. If you know what you want, look for that. Don't let other junk cabs get in the way and eat up your $.
 
That is a $100 cab Max. I would pass. If you know what you want, look for that. Don't let other junk cabs get in the way and eat up your $.

That's good advice. Could see it being easy to get carried away and buy a bunch of crap, and then have no room or money for what you really wanted.
 
That's good advice. Could see it being easy to get carried away and buy a bunch of crap, and then have no room or money for what you really wanted.

Yup. It sometimes works like this:

Start collecting! End up with three or four cabs that really aren't all that good.
Identify the classics (after you've bought the bad games).
Work hard to get rid of the bad games; eventually lose money on them.
Acquire your first good game.
Get addicted. Save up $$ and acquire more good games.
Trade a bunch of good games for a couple of great games.
Eventually trade those great games towards a pinball machine.

Start at step 4! And, while you're working on that, I'll be getting beat up for mentioning step 7. :D
 
Yup. It sometimes works like this:

Start collecting! End up with three or four cabs that really aren't all that good.
Identify the classics (after you've bought the bad games).
Work hard to get rid of the bad games; eventually lose money on them.
Acquire your first good game.
Get addicted. Save up $$ and acquire more good games.
Trade a bunch of good games for a couple of great games.
Eventually trade those great games towards a pinball machine.

Start at step 4! And, while you're working on that, I'll be getting beat up for mentioning step 7. :D

Sadly there is truth to this statement. I ended up with a bunch of cabinets that I neither needed nor wanted and I've ended up loosing money because I can't sell them, I just gave them away and even then that was a challenge to do! Space is VERY precious in this hobby.

I would recommend using MAME to figure what games you really really like and go after those.

Also don't get parts or cabinets just to have a "complete" collection, only get a game if its something you see yourself playing. I did that a couple of times and I have regretted it every time.

I've finally kind of figured out what games I like and what games I'm going after which for turned out to mostly vectors, which is a story in and of itself, but figure out what you like to play. Do you like single player or do you like playing against other people. Do you like taking turns or do you like playing at the same time?

Hope this helps.
 
I usually value sports boards at about $10 each. No one really wants them all that much, but they aren't all that bad to rotate in and out of your jamma cabinet.

Beware of any 2 player game that has the joysticks too close together, that is usually because the operator who converted it was converting one of those games that puts a joystick in each hand and just put the sticks in the same holes. I have run into quite a few conversions from Robotron like that and they aren't comfortable to play 2 player and that one there is even worse because it has the sticks closer than Robotron. Also watch out for buttons that are too far apart.
 
I usually value sports boards at about $10 each. No one really wants them all that much, but they aren't all that bad to rotate in and out of your jamma cabinet.

Beware of any 2 player game that has the joysticks too close together, that is usually because the operator who converted it was converting one of those games that puts a joystick in each hand and just put the sticks in the same holes. I have run into quite a few conversions from Robotron like that and they aren't comfortable to play 2 player and that one there is even worse because it has the sticks closer than Robotron. Also watch out for buttons that are too far apart.

You guys are great. Really happy I joined!

I've identified my three must owns. Punch-Out, Marble Madness, and Addam's Family Pinball.

The pinball thing is scary, because of price and my ignorance on maintaining them.

I also want to acquire a fun multiplayer game. Simpson's or NBA Jam are the leaders right now.
 
You guys are great. Really happy I joined!

I've identified my three must owns. Punch-Out, Marble Madness, and Addam's Family Pinball.

The pinball thing is scary, because of price and my ignorance on maintaining them.

I also want to acquire a fun multiplayer game. Simpson's or NBA Jam are the leaders right now.

Can't go wrong with NBA Jam or Hangtime. Both are great games. I have two pins, and both need some minor TLC to play correctly, but I'm just too focused on my Vectors at the moment to even consider them.
 
You guys are great. Really happy I joined!

I've identified my three must owns. Punch-Out, Marble Madness, and Addam's Family Pinball.

The pinball thing is scary, because of price and my ignorance on maintaining them.

I also want to acquire a fun multiplayer game. Simpson's or NBA Jam are the leaders right now.


Addams Family is one of the most expensive pins out there. I personally don't like the theme or gameplay but it does have a wide following and casual players like it because it is relatively easy to play for a long time.

As for the multiplayers - I think you should pursue something like Warlords. Warlords (cocktail) can play 4 players simultaneously, it is very simple (easy to learn), and players can decide if they are playing teams, everyone out for themselves, three on one, etc. In my opinion it is the very best mutiplayer game of all time with Demolition Derby running quite a ways back in second place.

Simpsons - great for casual players who will not be playing often. However, once you play it through a few times regular players lose interest. There are some other boards that can be swapped in very easily and that is a good method to extend the life and interest in the cab.

NBA Jam - great multiplayer game however the learning curve is steep and people are intimidated to play against the "house". If you have a small group of people you are constantly playing with it is great because everyone has the same experience level but newcomers will be intimidated. For a group of newcomers with no "ringers" playing it is a great party game. It is all about comparable experience level with NBA Jam and NFL Blitz.
 
The other aspect of this hobby is that when things go wrong, you will need some basic electrical/electronic trouble shooting skills.

No need to know everything but when you ask why something isn't working on these forums its going to be followed with another question. Most likely regarding what voltages are you getting at a certain point.

First thing I would suggest is buying a digital multimeter or DVM and learn how to use it.

Welcome!
 
You can furnish a decent sized gameroom with a couple lesser pins and half a dozen really nice arcade games for what a decent Addam's Family pin goes for. Sure it is a great pin with a popular theme but for the price I couldn't see it. I couldn't afford one of those if it was free.

Pins take a lot of maintenance to keep working right, and random "working" ones you buy out of people's basements usually have a bunch of broken stuff on them and probably haven't been cleaned or waxed since the original operator did a quick clean up before selling it.
 
You guys are great. Really happy I joined!

I've identified my three must owns. Punch-Out, Marble Madness, and Addam's Family Pinball.

Figure on $4-$6K for an Addams Family pinball you can really play and enjoy from a collector's standpoint.

I've got a Twilight Zone and, the more time passes, the more it *gradually* seems to increase in value. Video arcade games, for the most part, seem to fluctuate in price a bit more than pins. But that's good news for the video arcade game collector who wants to build a collection. :)
 
It sounds like you should hold out for a decent Marble Madness. I think that's a good one for home use because you can then start collecting the boards + control panels of the other system 1 games (Indiana Jones, Roadrunner, Roadblasters, Peter Packrat) and swap them around, saving a ton of space.

Also and just to reiterated, that was a terrible Ninja Gaiden conversion that isn't worth more than $100
 
Should probably also mention that Ninja Gaiden itself is terrible. The Nes an arcade versions were totally different, the Nes version was good, the arcade one, not so much.
 
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