General Game Failure Rate Question

muchuckwagon

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I was able to pick-up close to 8 - 10 working arcade games for next to nothing at a regular local auction right after college. That was a great collection of games, including a sit down version of Turbo that I still regret selling along with the rest of the games at the request of wife 1.0.

Fast forward more that 15+ years later, I upgraded to wife 2.0 and it is time to acquire some of my favorite games again. I recently completed a home theater build and tinkering with a few classic arcade games seem like the perfect winter project. I'm hoping to build a Pacman and Burger Time cabinet from scratch over the next year as well as acquiring a Track n' Field game....and maybe one more game if space in the basement allows. I keep flip-flopping on what "classic game" I would want as a fourth cabinet. Donkey Kong? Popeye? Regardless, I really can't wait to get started.

Here is my question, how often do the older games fail if they are properly maintained? Basically, they will be played a few times a week by 3 to 4 people. Is it best to leave the game on 24x7 or turn it on/off with each use setting aside the issue of the increased electric bill? I read the forums and see a ton of threads related to game repair and wonder how often a typical game fails versus how many threads relate to people pulling a failed game from the scrap heap and trying to repair it.
 
It is possible to "bullet proof" most machines and get a good five years of reliable occasional use out of them. I don't suggest leaving a game on permanently, this can cause premature failure of the monitor and other electrical components as well as cause, or create additional, burn in of the monitor.
 
Also to answer your failure rate question. I'd say the vast majority of repair questions are for newly acquired games. Many members pick them up cheap because they don't work properly and then come here to fix them. After that the most common repairs are games that someone owns that finally crap out. The last category of game repairs are for habitual failure games. Games like Pole Position have a high failure rate and you will see a disproportunate number of re-repairs on PP.
 
Now that's funny...3 to 4 games ya right. Tell us how many you have in 6 months. LOL

Are you implying I will have no games or I will become consumed with the hobby and have a ton of games. Remember, I have a wife....while she is fine with the arcade games at some point she will draw the line. Plus, I plan to expand my collection slow.... :)
 
Are you implying I will have no games or I will become consumed with the hobby and have a ton of games. Remember, I have a wife....while she is fine with the arcade games at some point she will draw the line. Plus, I plan to expand my collection slow.... :)

After your 10th game you will probably have already upgraded to wife 3.0 so it wont matter. The arcade buffer overrun glitch will have been fixed :)
 
After your 10th game you will probably have already upgraded to wife 3.0 so it wont matter. The arcade buffer overrun glitch will have been fixed :)

When you make it past 600+ the wife won't even give a crap anymore so bring em on and as long as you create your own funding for your addiction, balance your time, keep the wife happy with an occasional vacation or other material things she likes, she should have no reason to bitch. Asking for permission or allowing a spouse to "draw the line" is bullshit.
 
After your 10th game you will probably have already upgraded to wife 3.0 so it wont matter. The arcade buffer overrun glitch will have been fixed :)

No more upgrades, I'm done....I might lease but I will never buy the farm again. On a serious note, I could get away with more games but it is a matter of space. The home theater chewed up 400+ sq ft of the basement....toss in a handful of games, I need to save space for my bar and poker table.
 
When you make it past 600+ the wife won't even give a crap anymore so bring em on and as long as you create your own funding for your addiction, balance your time, keep the wife happy with an occasional vacation or other material things she likes, she should have no reason to bitch. Asking for permission or allowing a spouse to "draw the line" is bullshit.

I could not agree more. As long as it doesn't take household money or interfere with to much of the family time my wife or kids don't care to much. I just took my wife to Vegas by selling a couple of projects so I'm in the good for a long while. Wasn't any bitching at the pinball hall of fame either. As far as games breaking down I have several games and 98% run without any trouble but I have a few that give me trouble all the time but I have very good luck and good friends near by if I can't fix it.
Tony
 
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Any game you get should have the monitor rebuilt, power supply rebuilt, wiring checked, cleaned, maybe clean edge connectors, chip legs, etc. Then it will work all the time with no problems - unless someone specifically comes over to your house to play it... :(
 
I think Many of the newer games do not fare as badly with being left on 24/7. The designers seemed to have addressed the burn problems by not having static attract screens. And the game boards have few or no caps that will dry out.

But you will definitely reduce the lifespan of your monitor chassis.The continuous heat will tend to dry out your electrolytics a bit faster than they would otherwise. Not really a big deal if leaving them on shaves a year or two off the time when you have to re-cap them.

I leave many of my games on all the time. Especially this time of year. They probably cost a bit more to run than a space heater, but they keep my living room warm AND cheery.

It is possible to "bullet proof" most machines and get a good five years of reliable occasional use out of them. I don't suggest leaving a game on permanently, this can cause premature failure of the monitor and other electrical components as well as cause, or create additional, burn in of the monitor.
 
Unless you are a world calss player or an absolute fanatic about a specific game, you might want to think about building out a multicade. It is a great way to have a bunch of occasional games you like to play without taking up a warehouse full of space. Pick the ones you really want the originals of and then get Darrin & Clay's new downloadable multicade card and drop it into a restored favorite cabinet.

Based on the reviews, it sounds like the new card is way closer to the originals than the xxx-in-1s.

Just a thought.

ken
 
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