Kinda Sad Arcade 'News'

[PhoenixStar]

First Hirschburg, now this guy.

I think Hirschburg didn't wind up selling, though I could be wrong. I know he wanted to and made the announcement, but I believe he wanted to sell everything as 1 lot, no separate sales. I don't know if that ever panned out. He's been through some tragic circumstances and decided to sell the arcade right afterwards, but maybe he's had a change of heart and kept them.

 

[JamBurglar]

Not me. I just want to play them and have a nice set-up. I'm tired of working on them.

There you go.

 

[JamBurglar]

I think Hirschburg didn't wind up selling, though I could be wrong. I know he wanted to and made the announcement, but I believe he wanted to sell everything as 1 lot, no separate sales. I don't know if that ever panned out. He's been through some tragic circumstances and decided to sell the arcade right afterwards, but maybe he's had a change of heart and kept them.

I'm pretty sure he sold off the bulk of his collection and kept his favorites.

 

[jkoolpe]

Different strokes for different folks, and everyone's situation does change of course.

I'm still just as committed to the hobby as when I started in the late 90's...I was originally just collecting the machines to own and to play them, but had no idea how to fix them. But then I started to learn and found out that I had just as much fun learning how to work on them, upgrading and/or restoring them, etc., etc. And then I got a couple of pins and learned just how much fun a good pin was, too.

And of course helping to organize CAX each year has been a labor of love...it's not easy and it's a TON of work, but I wouldn't have it any other way !

But balance is also important...along the way, I met the woman who would be my wife (amazing she puts up with me), and we now have a terrific 2 year-old son who is already asking to play the games regularly...the past couple of morning he's woken up saying "Play Sinistar?" "Play Star Castle?"...seriously ...it's pretty awesome...

And I also maintain other interests of course..I'm still an avid downhill skier (sorry, boarding is not for me), still a pretty good badminton and volleyball player, like to cook, still listen to my favorite types of music, enjoy watching a good football game (no soccer!)...and of course make time to be with my family and friends.

But I do know some folks who get in and then end up getting out...for various life reasons. Their choice of course...the only time I find it annoying is when they let their significant other dictate the change, but again, that's their business.

Bottom line: I love the hobby for a myriad of reasons that go way beyond just playing the games, but I don't let it dominate every aspect of my life either.

Jon

 

[ifkz]

Maybe he ended up trying to keep the same set of games running, they always broke down, and he got tired of it. Maybe he didn't have other local collectors to talk with or help with a project or two. Maybe he didn't know how to cap a monitor, replace a big blue, or rebuild a linear power board. We'll never know more than this blurb unless he updates it.

I've been at this for five years now and I ran out of room late last year. I simply transitioned to getting more into PCB collecting and repair. I certainly have more games to play, and sticking to mostly JAMMA makes things a lot easier to just plug in a game and go. I also like the thrill of being able to (sometimes) fix a board that was stripped of everything socketed. Either later this year or next year, my one project on tap will be to convert my MAME back to a real arcade game again (a horizontal JAMMA fighter setup).

This hobby is what you make it and can go as far as you want it to go. Having friends and this forum's experts makes things possible. Don't get cheap with the games you want to keep long-term. You know: Replace that Big Blue, cap the ARII., cap the monitor yourself, have a spare switcher onhand....blah blah blah

 

[WP34]

I'm pretty sure Hirschberg's liquidation was related to his divorce. Not sure he had a lot of choice in the matter.

 

[demogo]

Exactly as others have said here -- it's all about balance. Don't let it become your life. Be willing to cap the size of your collection to keep yourself sane. Downsize to keep your sanity.

Get sick of fixing something? Send it to someone else for repair.

Take a step back and do other things for a while.

It'll all work out.

 

[thebman80]

I've also lost all sounds on my newly restored Rampage.

Damn Phet welcome to the club I worked my ass off restoring my Rampage got it all nice and just to the point I wanted it. Then 3 days after the restore was done the sounds went out. I was so disgusted I walked away now months later still haven't bothered with it. Plus my dog died right around the same time So it took me months just to get my life back around. Now My Neo Geo 4 slot is acting up and I tried my spare 2 slot board and that is totally dead. But yeah life kicks me in the Nuts on a daily basis but I still trudge on eventually I will figure it all out.

 

[gorfchampion]

Well, it sounds to me like this guy simply became overwhelmed with the whole hobby/collecting thing because he pushed himself to that particular limit. If you're not having fun with it and the hobby becomes a burden, then maybe it IS time to move on.

For me, I don't sweat it when a game isn't working, or if everything isn't in pristine condition. I also don't have 25 project games in my garage because that's not realistic for me. The whole thing is supposed to be fun, something to reflect back upon our youth with, to create new memories with fellow collectors and friends; I try not to lose sight of these things.

Just have fun and relax.....

 

[LeeB99]

My son has made it ABUNDANTLY clear that my collection is going to be "his" eventually. I spend a LOT more time on here THINKING and PLANNING my collection through than I actually do working on or playing with it. I have been through lots of phases with my games, and when I am not interested in messing with it, it doesn't effect my life in any way. My entire basement is like a completely separate house. All of the bedrooms and most of the bathrooms are on the main floor. I don't HAVE to look at or deal with my games unless I really WANT to. I just can't see myself getting rid of my games. Maybe one or two that don't get much use, but I have no desire to ever "liquidate".

As a side note, I DID sell off a number of games just over 10 years ago. I was keeping them at my business until we could eventually find a house that had a game room area "big enough" to hold my entire collection. After looking for nearly two years, we decided that we would probably have to custom build a house to get what we were looking for, and I had no desire to do so. Among those games were Journey, Reactor, Crazy Climber, Pleaides, Star Castle and a dedicated 19" Smash TV in MINTY condition. About 4 to 6 months after the sell-off, we found the house that we live in today. I sure do wish that I still had the Crazy Climber, Star Castle and Journey machines...

Lee

 

[kcfreeloader]

I know the feeling though. The games can consume you and your time so much that it effects your life in a bad way. I went into a fit of rage after feeling so trapped by the hobby that i destroyed the backdoor of a game by hand. Cut my hand up on it real bad and scarred it. I shut down all the power to the cade, and deleted my craigslist ap. I didn't look or think or touch or speak of the games for about a month. I had to get my life straightened back out.

The whole hobby is insanity if you think about it. There's always just one more game, just one more grail, just one more bargain. There is always something pushing you just a bit further and you'll reach that thing that really isn't reachable. It's total madness collecting games that take a minimum of 4' of floor space and play one crappy game that hardly anyone cares about. We collect these huge machines that don't even have one hundredth of the power and memory of our cell phones. And there's that guy out there who keeps pushing the record out of your reach. There's that part that we just pray someday someone will reproduce. And one thing that many of us hope for, but it just won't do, is bring back our youth. Back when video games were popular, when they were everywhere, and when everyone thought, talked about and watched them with amazement.


Geez, i think i just depressed myself.

 

[tigerstyle]

I'm thinking about quitting too; and it does hurt inside. My mortal kombat cab's monitor is acting out, and I have no idea how to fix it. The picture is shaking. I know its probably a cap kit, but i'm too clumsy to fix it, and I know I will end up screwing it up. The picture is stable, it just feels like there's a constant small earthquake effect going on. The Brightness is starting to fade; adjusting the knobs only work until a point where it starts to bleed all the colors together.

I spent money on getting a working board set, then over time it developped sound issues, I restored the cab back from a tekken botch job into its MK1 glory; i hunted and bought mk1 boards from around the world.. Audio works fine now, but with those damn monitor problems, Its too much.

My Super Chase cabinet works perfectly, but the entire monitor has a green tint effect going on. How do I fix this?! I HAVE NO IDEA, this is voodoo magic to me. Same thing with my showcase cabinet.. It's a 33 inch monitor, but its shaky as hell.. At least the neogeo and the nba jam cabs are working fine, same thing with the Killer Instinct cabinet. The local community is a wasteland; I tried contact local arcade ops and they dont tell me they dont really bother fixing old monitors anymore, they just replace them with lcd monitors.. Local people are into mame cabs it seems..

What can I do now? NOTHING. 3 of my cabs have video problems, and I dont have the knowhow to fix them, and its pissing me off considering I spent so much money on making them look good..

You guys over there are very lucky to be able to get cheap cabs too.. I had a decent chunk of money invested in those games. Cabs are expensive here (decent ones starts at 500-600); and I check the local sites every day or so..

 

[OldTymeToys]

Phetishboy, thanks for the buzzkill thread!!!

Geesh...

 

[retroACTIVE]

I came very close to bailing... so I sold some shit... made me feel better. I'll probably sell some more. Right size is key... at least for me. Restorations have also kept me from enjoying them... so I'm getting out of the restoration business for a while.

 

[yaggy]

Exactly as others have said here -- it's all about balance. Don't let it become your life. Be willing to cap the size of your collection to keep yourself sane. Downsize to keep your sanity.

Get sick of fixing something? Send it to someone else for repair.

Take a step back and do other things for a while.

It'll all work out.

YES. Exactly.
Cap the size. Be realistic.

But really, people come and go.
Focus on yourselves.

 

[SeanMcL]

I think what is sad is that I wasn't able to buy his Crazy Climber, Assault and dedicated Mr. Do! at bargain prices. I don't even like Mr. Do! and I would have taken that cab. Beautiful.

I think these kinds of stories are more indicative of personality disorders than anything. They come into the hobby and go nuts with a collection that they really can't support (financially, space-wise or mentally), and then get out of the hobby and go nuts by liquidating everything.

.

 

[Phetishboy]

I think what is sad is that I wasn't able to buy his Crazy Climber, Assault and dedicated Mr. Do! at bargain prices. I don't even like Mr. Do! and I would have taken that cab. Beautiful.

I think these kinds of stories are more indicative of personality disorders than anything. They come into the hobby and go nuts with a collection that they really can't support (financially, space-wise or mentally), and then get out of the hobby and go nuts by liquidating everything.

.

That's what I kinda think too. I NEVER think of getting rid of everything - even when I'm pissed, frustrated, overwhelmed or my wife is yelling at me about her car not fitting in the garage. I think that's where the 'sad' part comes in. Seems there are a lot of obsessive compulsive people in this hobby who need it either all or nothing. They try to do too much too quick and just plain burn the fuck out. Then the fun's gone and everything must go to focus on some other obsession for a while. Hell, I'm still trying to build the Ultimate Arcade.

 

[mhkohne]

Some folks simply can't do things in a small way - he had to get rid of the cabs in order to do other stuff, so he did. That's the best for him right now, and who knows what the future will bring?

 

[demogo]

I'm thinking about quitting too; and it does hurt inside. My mortal kombat cab's monitor is acting out, and I have no idea how to fix it. The picture is shaking. I know its probably a cap kit, but i'm too clumsy to fix it, and I know I will end up screwing it up. The picture is stable, it just feels like there's a constant small earthquake effect going on. The Brightness is starting to fade; adjusting the knobs only work until a point where it starts to bleed all the colors together.

I spent money on getting a working board set, then over time it developped sound issues, I restored the cab back from a tekken botch job into its MK1 glory; i hunted and bought mk1 boards from around the world.. Audio works fine now, but with those damn monitor problems, Its too much.

My Super Chase cabinet works perfectly, but the entire monitor has a green tint effect going on. How do I fix this?! I HAVE NO IDEA, this is voodoo magic to me. Same thing with my showcase cabinet.. It's a 33 inch monitor, but its shaky as hell.. At least the neogeo and the nba jam cabs are working fine, same thing with the Killer Instinct cabinet. The local community is a wasteland; I tried contact local arcade ops and they dont tell me they dont really bother fixing old monitors anymore, they just replace them with lcd monitors.. Local people are into mame cabs it seems..

What can I do now? NOTHING. 3 of my cabs have video problems, and I dont have the knowhow to fix them, and its pissing me off considering I spent so much money on making them look good..

You guys over there are very lucky to be able to get cheap cabs too.. I had a decent chunk of money invested in those games. Cabs are expensive here (decent ones starts at 500-600); and I check the local sites every day or so..

Tiger, pull the chassis and send it to someone here for repair; there's a number of people at KLOV that fix these for very reasonable prices (including Mod) and don't sweat it.

I know it gets frustrating; I've been there many a time. So I just take a step back and let it settle for a while and then plug on later when I've recovered my balance. It keeps it fun for me.

 

[mungrin]

He was a legend