Expect continued hate toward this machine here... It's a compromise to the purists, but it does serve a purpose and for me gives my guests and me a great selection that I would never have due to space limitations.
You must be looking at the Arcade Legends 1 machine if it has 250 games- the AL2 machine only has 1 upgrade disk, and that's only 25 games.
From my experiences of looking around (I'm the guy that just bought the AL2 machine for under $500) most of the machines sell for around $800-1200 depending on which unit and how many games are loaded. The AL1 unit usually will sell for more because it has more games and a much bigger selection, even if it is not currently supported. AL1 cocktails will also add a little more than a standup, they are alot rarer and somewhat hard to find. A fully loaded cocktail version of the AL1 with every expansion pack installed just sold for $1600 on ebay a few weeks ago
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...732627&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1100
I would have paid more if it had the 250 games you are talking about, the kits that were out there for AL1 were awesome- Dragons lair, donkey kong (nintendo), pacman, etc., would make my machine even better. Just make sure you get the setup disk when you buy the machine, if the hard drive fails and you don't have the restore disks and the expansion packs with keys, you are SOL. Like I said, the AL2 can't utilize those game packs.
And as far as the games go, this unit is awesome.. the front end is one of the best I've seen for a multi-game, and there is an amazing selection of games on this that make it worth while IMO... now is it a replacement for all original gameplay on an original cabinet? Hell no.. but neither are the 60-1's that a lot of people have and you don't see as much hate for those. The control panel is what it is, and it is certainly a compromise, but with my limited space this machine will get a lot of play from both me and especially my guests who aren't into the games like I am.. so it's all good! It does use a 2 joystick setup for Robotron, karate champ, and Black widow, and in a lot of games it gives you the option of either using the roller ball or joystick (warlords, arkanoid, etc.), so it does do a good job of making the best of what's available on the control panel. If only they could have figured out a way to put a spinner on this thing, it would be golden.. but the CP is pretty crowded down below so it may have been a space issue.
Good luck with your hunt, if you hold out long enough you'll get a good deal. I was lucky enough to find someone who was moving and desperate to sell, and I just could not pass up the deal... and I'm glad I didn't. This unit is getting a lot of play and I see it being that way for along time.. but it will never take the place of my dedicated units
