Is It all about game play?

bottlejunkie

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O.k. I didnt search the topic I got 2 minutes til i walk out the door for work. Would you want a game in your collection because it has a really cool cab but the game play sucks/so so? or would you put a game in your collection with a butt ugly cab because the game play is awesome? Just curious.

Roy
 
yes and yes

Crystal Castles I want for the cabinet/illuminated trackball (game sux tho imho)

SF2:CE I want for the game play but every one I see is a TERRIBLE coversion with a horrible cabinet.
 
It is all gameplay for me. Donkey Kong is my favorite game, but I think it is one of the ugliest games out there.
 
If it's not in your home for the gameplay, then it's a trophy.

I have no issue with some dings and dents. Feels more authentic.
 
I think you should be concerned about both. I'd prefer a well-done conversion over a "meh" dedicated. If a game I really liked came in an ugly cabinet, I'd convert something cool to it -- or maybe give the original a makeover.

It's really a crying shame that the era of JAMMA and conversions, with the ugliest, most half-assed cabs, saw the best games (okay, IMO). With what's coming out today, now we've gone completely in the opposite direction -- TERRIBLE games in really cool cabinets. Ever seen a Terminator Salvation deluxe (the original 42" deluxe, not the projection "super deluxe") dedicated? Holy shit that's a cool cab. But the game is garbage.

At least Japan is keeping it real. Videos from the JAMMA show never fail to impress me.
 
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Gameplay is way more important to me. I have a limited amount of space (if I want to stay married and I do) so I only buy games that I enjoy playing.
 
All the cabs in my gameroom (or garage) can be classified in four categories only:

1) It is a game I really like - Gyruss, Carnival, Q*Bert, Robotron, etc.

2) It is a game my wife really likes (and I do for the most part) - Frogger.

3) It is a game that has something about it that is either rare (Joust cocktail) or a part that helps me diagnose and repair others (Tempest with the 6100 monitor).

4) It was given to me for free, and just waits for me to fix it and sell/trade it (PGA Tour Golf, Super Off Road, Silent Scope E/X, etc)...
 
The only possible game I would keep just on its looks would be a computer space... But I have no plans to add one..

Yes, cabinet art does come into play. If mr do series had good art on a dedicated cabinet, I would probably keep them in a dedicated cabinet.

I would think the ugliest cab I own would be crazy climber, mad planets, or frontline.. I think the side art on those is pretty weak, but I really like the game play.
 
If it's not in your home for the gameplay, then it's a trophy.

We have a word for these things in the hobby card collecting/gaming/comic etc industry. We call them "ornaments." Anything you own that's supposed to be a value hold, but doesn't really do anything. Not necessarily a pejorative; an autographed poster nicely framed can be an ornament and still be well worth having. But when economic times turn south, ornaments tend to be the first things people try to sell to us, so a common phrase is along the lines of, "With all those layoffs lately, half our customers every day are just here to dump their ornaments."
 
It's about the fun and not the trophy of a game that sits and collect dust.

My Food Fight Cocktail started off as a trophy. I wanted to own a game that was rare and desired. In the end, the game is just fun. Sure, it doesn't have the awesome artwork the upright has, but it does have two Gimbal joysticks.
 
O.k. I didnt search the topic I got 2 minutes til i walk out the door for work. Would you want a game in your collection because it has a really cool cab but the game play sucks/so so? or would you put a game in your collection with a butt ugly cab because the game play is awesome? Just curious.

Early on, I bought (and paid a lot) for a game I had never played, based on reputation only, and knowing it was somewhat rare. Turned out I didn't care for the game at all. Bugged be forever that a game I didn't like playing was taking up space in my small game room. I finally sold it when I got the chance, at a lose besides. Vowed never to make that mistake again.

Sure I'll pick up any game, even if I never played it or never heard of it (or knowingly don't like it) if I get it cheap. But I'm not spending (relatively) big money for a game based on looks or reputation. Like someone else said, at that point they are just ornaments. Better to focus trophy hunting efforts for second wives. :D

My conclusion/recommendation: Get games that you like playing, not games that are nice looking or are just rare.
 
Yeah gameplay/nostalgia for me, likely if I didn't play it as a kid I won't care to own it. Though I did get Die Hard, mostly because it was cheap, and I saw the Saturn version in a magazine when I was a kid. :p
 
We only buy games that we enjoy playing. We have limited space to work with and every game not being played is a waste of that space IMO.

It's great to have cool looking cabs but if you or the people that come over never get a chance to actually enjoy what's in the cab then it becomes more of a showpiece or museum piece rather than an arcade. I enjoy watching people's faces light up when they see a game they enjoy playing rather than a game where they say "yea that's neat" as they walk by it. We haven't even really begun to restore the artwork on our cabs yet and I honestly haven't heard one person say they wouldn't play something because of wear and tear or because it didn't look cool. As long as the machine is functional, fun, memorable and clean most people could care less about the looks.
 
I admire the folks that have the time, desire, space, and money to be custodians of old machines. Someone has to be the caretakers other than dusty old warehouses waiting to be liquidated.

but for me, it's like a boat. really fun to go out on the lake occasionally, but nice when someone else has the responsibility for it daily. therefore, what I have is played, otherwise it has no value in the family unit.
 
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