Arcades, an intrest, a hobby, or a Collecting Passion?

Gaetznes

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Arcades, an intrest, a hobby, or a Collecting Passion?

I was thinking about this and couldn't find a similar thread on here.

My curiosity is this: How many Arcade Cabinets does it take, or other factors? To be the guy that just has a few cabinets (Conversational piece in the man cave), to it becoming a serious hobby (having space dedicated to them in the game room), or it being a thing of Passion (The game room is the Arcade)?

Only recently, have I had 3 cabinets. Feeling that i'm somewhere in the middle of it being an Intrest and a full blown out hobby. Plus I don't have anything to brag about game wise. PC-10, Red Tent and a Neo Geo. There not filler, but they seem to be staples in a majority of the larger arcade collections i've seen on here. Up there with everyone gots 5 cards of micheal jordans baseball rockie card. They just seem to be everywhere.

On the other hand there are people on here that have full blown Arcades in there basements.

I know its sort of a subjective questions. Some may draw the line, literaly say that you must have XX amount of machines to be a serious collector or hobbiest. I'm intrested in hearing what the collectors out there think, that have been doing this for years. Are there other factors involved? Quanity of Quality. Golden Era vs 90's etc?
 
I currently have 9 games, and have had another 50 or so at various times. It is a hobby for me. My games are in the garage, and that is also my workshop.

I am less of a serious collector now, and just enjoy having a few games that I have wanted for years.
 
In my mind the tipping point is when you have to modify the electrical circuits in your house which is typically over 12 machines if they are all in the same area.

When I got all of my machines, and the machines that I store for Buffett, up and running and had a couple of arcade parties the bug bit me to start fashioning the Arcade.

I now have added murals, blacklights, posters, and even staged a starfield projector. I have the arcade and also have a console area in my basement. I call it the man Cavern because I currently have 38 full size arcades (plus some in the garage, kitchen and front room); 2 56 inch rear projection TV's one with Wii and 1 with Xbox360 both connected to the Wi-Fi.

It gets pretty hot down there when they are all turned on!
 
There is no connection between number of games and/or space or modifications to house with passion and being a serious collector.

I have seen guys with 2 or 3 games in their kitchen that would do anything for their games and guys with dedicated buildings threaten to part them out.

Do not mistake too much money with passion or seriousness. Not saying there are not people with money and large collections that are not serious, but it's not a foregone conclusion that someone with a large collection truly cares about the games.
 
Good point Arc. Most of the people I have interacted with are KLOVers who are, for the most part, in it for the right reasons and truely dedicated.

The OP was asking about how/when things really begin to change. From what I have seen the conversion from arcade machines in a media room to someone trying to ressurect a full blown arcade; I would expect to see at least 12 arcade machines in thier home first.
 
I started with one cabinet when I moved to the apartment I am currently renting 3 years ago and currently own 9. 4 inside the house and 5 in the garage for when I move into my new house. For me, it's collecting those games I remember playing as a kid / teenager and I have mostly what I want. I may go for one more to complete the collection but only when I move.
 
I think what you are also pointing out Arc, (correct me if I'm wrong), with the guys who only have a few machines being really dedicated, is something that I believe I have come to understand very well.

People who do not play the machines and invest the time and money into preserving them or helping others to fix/preserve theirs, are not really in my book serious hobbiest/collectors. Now that is my opinion and you can hate on me if you want to but I have seen people who sell of 4-8 machines at once; once the monitors start to flake out or they start having blown fuses...

To me the difference between collector/serious collector is the passion someone has to the preservation of the machines.
 
I would say I'm a collector. I don't play my games that much but would never sell them and all my machines are fully restored and in mint condition. I have 9 games.
 
For me it is a hobby and I have 4 machines in a den. They are not perfect by any stretch or what I would call restored but they are all working. I replaced the buttons, joystiqs, etc and made sure they work great. Three of my cabs are in pretty good shape overall and the 4th is a naomi system in a converted hs-5. Cabinet is solid but you can tell someone painted over old side art.

I will say I've let other klov members test their stuff on my machines though. One guy was over in the last month or so with some happs guns he was trying to get working on a lethal enforcers. He didn't know what side was the problem so I told him to bring them over and we tested the guns on my atomiswave.

Now if I had the room I could see it becoming more of a passion. I'd love a few racing cabs tied together for a night of drinking and virtual driving.
 
Hmm...I'm not really a "collector" because I only have 5 machines.

I'm not really a "hobbyist" because at this point it's all I can do to change a fuse.

I guess I'd just call myself an enthusiast who has finally talked the wife into letting me grab a few (large-ish) icons of his misspent youth. I was the kid always bugging his parents to buy the cabs Aladdin's Castle had the price tags on. I'm finally at a point in my life where I've been able to get a few.
 
For me, it was when the wife said the arcade machines were taking up too much space in the house. That is when it obviously went from a hobby to an obsession and I made the naughty list. Once you are on the naughty list, it can take a long time and a lot of good intentions to get off. It doesn't help that the arcade room (rooms really) are not done so they have wound up in more prime living spaces.
 
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I have 3 playable games (١ pong console) and the spare garage is now the "arcade" with custom posters etc. It's an obsession for me.
 
I may be all of the above on some level.

I have 15-18 or so games. I love playing them, I love working on them, and I suppose I collect them because most of them are on the no trade list.
 
It started with one game for me and has now become and hobby . . . my only hobby. It was also the first thing I became really good at. Also in a strange way it has been bring my family together as well.
 
It is a passionate hobby for me, going on for almost 20 years. Very addicting and once you get into it you will drive 6-10 hours for a decent game. Its not about money either as you will spend a small fortune buying and swapping games. I have had several grails over the years which I have kept many and traded many. Thanks to guys like DPTWIZ, CPR Playfields, and Rotten Dog repro pinball boards I have move from fixable to now wanting perfect games in my games room over original survivors. Exceptions being Computer Space, original GNG, and my NIB Robotron.

The repro efforts and projects such as ZVG, ArcadeSD, and Daphne have made for some killer one off rebuilds and restores. Lets not forget the other awesome new projects such as reproduction XY PCBS such as Omega Race, Quantum, or new metal panels from Takeman, Awesome new art from Rich, Prok, Darren, and the little guys (Space Duel Sideart tweaked over and over again).

This is just plain fun and not getting boring after all this time.

Michael
 
Well after reading this I can break it down better. But still have no clue where differnt people fit into the spectrim of things. Again, its a very subjective answer.

I think that beyond my personal inablity to do a full restro or lack of passion. I have intrest, excitement, enthusism and on my way to have a really nice 90's arcade. With a few Nintendo classics. My goal is to keep it personal. Some may collect a Ms Pacman, but never played it back in the day, nor play it at all. There is nothing wrong with this, persay. But if you start collecting anything and everthing. It can switch from Quality or Personal Significant to Quanity.

If I were to break it down into a questionare format. This is it:

Did it all start with buy 1: Yes
Do I consider what I do as a Hobby: No, its not all consuming.
Do I consider it a collection: Yes, I have more then 1.
Do I collect discrimitly: No/Yes, I am an implusive buyer. I'll pick up anything I can use as trade. But there are titles I'm after.
Do I have a collection goal: Yes
How many is that: 14-17 Total
Personal Goal: Only have Games that I will play. If I don't play, then someone else should enjoy.
Am I will to do restore/repair projects: Yes
Can I do my own repairs: No (for the most part, instructions help)
Can I plug and play: Yes (Even if I need Instructions)
Does the wife restrict them to a single room: Yes
As per request; Is it a Overwhelming Addiction: No, Not Yet....


So I guess with writing it out, i'm a Newbie that sees himself as a enthusist with the hopes of having a collection that is significant to me. Like someone said earlier, when you have to modify your house to power up all your cabinets thats when you become a full blown Collector/Hobbiest.
 
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You need to add Horrific Overwhelming Addiction to the list.

A week ago I would have said no. But now looking back, my collecting has ramped up. Its looking like as each week or two that goes by, i'm willing to drive longer distance and pick more machines. Todate, i've only done a few hour round trip worth of driving. But I'm looking like i'm about to do my first all day trip. Minimum of 7-8 hours of driving. I'm trying not to even think about the gas. Plus I have to rent a uhaul trailer.

The good thing about this, is me and a friend are splitting everything down the middle. Half the expense and half of the machines and parts.
 
It's a hobby for me. It consumes my garage and a lot of money goes towards it, but it's in no way my entire life. It's a fun facet for sure, especially for hosting guests, but it's only one of many obsessions of mine. I average two cabinets a year, sometimes less than that, went four years without getting one once...
 
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