Dream Home Arcades

Jessejames

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Donor 2012, 2017
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Any one have a Dream Home Arcade? Thinking about pulling the trigger on one.
They look pretty cool. Full customization, with 24,000 plus games, with free updates for life. Im running out of room with my full size arcades. Any input would be great!
 
Those are just overpriced ugly mame cabs. You can build one yourself for cheaper and probably make it look better. And yes MAME is somewhat taboo here. Let's just say it's accepted but frowned upon. :)
 
MAME is frowned upon here? Seems odd.

Why would anyone frown on anything that opens up the hobby to so many without deep pockets? Why would anyone frown on anything related to the hobby that allows them to play rare and limited prototypes that 99.9% of people might never get a chance to experience otherwise?

MAME has done nothing but help this hobby UNLESS you are just in it for the money. Then, yes, the spread of MAME and all emulators has lowered the value of most dedicated cabinets. For collectors in it for the pleasure of the games, this is nothing but a good thing. For "flippers", the profit margins are now razor slim. Too bad.
 
MAME is frowned upon here? Seems odd.

Why would anyone frown on anything that opens up the hobby to so many without deep pockets? Why would anyone frown on anything related to the hobby that allows them to play rare and limited prototypes that 99.9% of people might never get a chance to experience otherwise?

MAME has done nothing but help this hobby UNLESS you are just in it for the money. Then, yes, the spread of MAME and all emulators has lowered the value of most dedicated cabinets. For collectors in it for the pleasure of the games, this is nothing but a good thing. For "flippers", the profit margins are now razor slim. Too bad.

When it comes to arcade collecting, MAME has its pros and cons. Personally, I think theres mostly cons, because many classic games are hacked apart to put a shitty Pentium 4 Dell inside it.

Then again, this is the...

Video
Arcade
Preservation
Society

But they are good for those who are tight on space.
 
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It was a joke Craig. I'm a MAME user myself and have nothing against it. Just letting this guy know he's not going to get the response he's expecting. There's plenty of "the validity of MAME" threads in here. We don't need to start another one. :)
 
Any one have a Dream Home Arcade? Thinking about pulling the trigger on one.
They look pretty cool. Full customization, with 24,000 plus games, with free updates for life. Im running out of room with my full size arcades. Any input would be great!

If you know how to run MAME and other emulators on a PC, just learn how to set it up with the joysticks and button hardware you can buy to make your own cab setup. No reason for you to spend good money for somebody else to make you a MAME cab. "Free updates" for life? Wow. Sounds like they cater to people who don't know about MAME/emulation.
 
Mame and virtual pinball, who needs more? No more projects, get your house spaces back, no more disappointing craigslist runs and no more these 5 games worked when I turned them on last time. I still prefer dedicated classics but man I just had to fantasize there just a bit.
 
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Where are my damn torch and pitchfork? Never can find the stupid things when I need 'em. :/


Nothing wrong with MAME I guess, but it's not my cup of tea. And if I were going to go that route I'd probably seek out a Jap candy cabinet or Dynamo cut corner JAMMA conversion and just roll my own.

Just don't buy an unconverted classic game, strip it out, and MAME it. Or if you do don't ask for help with it here, you'll get roasted.
 
Wow, ok... I get it. You guys hate Mame lol. Not trying to ruffle feathers. Just asking. Im getting one no matter what. Its perfect for my son. I have nothing against the Normal Arcades, it just doesn't make since for me to buy 20 more of the ones he and I both want. He doesn't care if its a dedicated cab, or a rare one? He is a gamer. Gamers play there arcades. collectors turn them on to stare at the pretty lights and brag about them. Its cool, either way. Lessoned learned. Do not mention MAME!!!!!!!!!


But to call someone lazy for getting one? Really?
 
In the end, it's his money to spend as he wants.

If you want something and don't have the time to dedicate to that certain project, what do you normally do.. either give up on it.. or pay someone else to do it for you.

Example being that many people don't change their own oil. They don't have the time or the space/tools/etc, so they pay someone else to do it for them. Does that make that person "lazy" ? Not in my book. Same thing can be applied here in the build your own mame thing compared to buying one.

I see nothing wrong with Mame. Especially the route Jessejames is taking. He's NOT killing any actual arcades out there, and it's for his son. Who could benefit from playing many different games instead of being stuck with what dedicated games that are already there. It broadens the play field and if they find something they really like.. who knows they may track down the dedicated cabinet for it anyways.
 
Eh, don't listen to the haters. Half the people here hate mame and half don't. Bottom line is there's nothing wrong with it as long as you're not killing a classic in order to build a mame cab. While not for all, mame definitely has a place in this hobby and in fact is what leads many to start collecting dedicated games. I'm glad I have one.
 
I use MAME because there is no way I could put all the games I want in my house. If you use an arcade cabinet try to keep it original as much as possible. I used my DK Jr cabinet and kept it all original except the control panel overlay. It was really jacked up and broken and all that so to me that is fine. I can always convert it back and probably will when I get the PCB fixed and a control panel overlay that is worth putting on.

All in all it's not a bad thing. There are several MAME oriented forums out there where you can get help if needed.
 
MAME brought me into this hobby. There is a place for both MAME and dedicated machines, IMO. Never tear down a classic to MAME it and you'll probably be OK talking about MAME here. :)

I'd pay good money for a slick MAME set up (not as much as one of those dream arcade machines, but good money.) It takes a lot of time to set up a MAME front end and have it look great. My time is worth paying someone else to do that for me.
 
and in fact is what leads many to start collecting dedicated games. I'm glad I have one.

This is definitely true for me. I have been into MAME for about 10 years, and have been collecting dedicate machines for about 3. I never would thought I would want to buy a machine that "just plays 1 game", but at a certain point, you just can't play Donkey Kong on a Happs Competition stick with microswitched buttons anymore... Once I started buying dedicated machines, the hobby became much more enjoyable for me, but without MAME, that would have never happened.

In my gar-cade, my MAME is still the single-most played machine, I just can't afford EVERY game I want, nor do I have anywhere near the room I would need, so I settle for playing them on my MAME versus not playing them at all.
 
Thanks guys!. The version I'm getting him is the Pedestal. I will be able to put it in his room, basement, game room, or closet lol, if its in the way. My only concern at this point is game play. Hoping its good on most the games. He has wanted a Star Wars Trilogy for awhile. Hoping the game play is ok. Don't get me wrong, I would love to try and build one. But my schedule doesn't allow for it. Between work, AAU Basketball, softball and personal training once a week Im slammed. Oh, and we are expecting another little one in Oct!
Thanks for the help guys!
 
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