Question to people with dedicated house arcades - regret?

tester007

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Question to people with dedicated house arcades - regret?

Starting with architects soon for a new house build.. been waiting years to be able to build an arcade in the basement (and collecting in anticipation of it), but lately have been a little on the fence over it. Due to the neighborhood I live in, my choice is to build a single house on my lot (in which case I would have lots of room to waste ideas on), or build a contemporary duplex, sell half and pocket a pile of cash, and live in the other side.. so it was an easy choice with door #2. So in saying that, the footprint of the house goes down significantly. I will have approximately 1000 ft2 to work with down there minus the landing, mechanical room. My idea was with that rectangular shape (approx 45'x22') that I would have the stairway coming down roughly in the center to one edge, and the mechanical room/bathroom across from that. So basically if looking down from above it would look like an Atari 8-bit dog bone. Presently I have a dedicated home theater, but rarely use it with a 3 year old so one end of the dog bone would have the big screen and projector, but be more like a lounge with a bar..etc.. The other end of the dog bone would of course be the arcade. BUT, since I do not have the total room in this house overall for everything I want as far as a small gym, wine room...etc..etc.. I as I was sayin', am on the fence if the arcade should go in.

What has made me think this way is that I have been collecting these machines for about 5-6 years in anticipation of my own arcade... restore them.. have some in the garage I play rarely, with the majority (30 or so) in a garage I rent. I love to go and turn them on and look at the attracts while working, and there was a time I had them all in one space in my garage with them all on and running and loved the look, but no-one else really cared to play them or hang around in there. I find when having people over, playing a game is almost like a solitary thing so people have to leave the conversation/party/group to do so and people rarely did.. And the posts here where long timers with a great collection sell them off because in their words "sick of a room full of games that no body plays and only I like" sort of thing has got me thinking if I will end up there sooner than later..

None of my friends would play these. If I lived in the city where I grew up, then sure.. those friends would for sure and the arcade would get plenty of use, but not here.. So I think this thing would pretty well be for myself, and that is it... So having said that, I'm not really sure what I want to get out of this.. to feel like I am 16 again.. to have the feeling of owning all these games I could only dream of owning from BITD.. to play them.. rarely..? I honestly don't know.. I mean there are some of them I really like to play, but certainly not all 30..like Pac, Frogger..etc..etc.. Have them there mainly for the completeness of it.

So I am wondering to 'only' the guys that have built dedicated arcades in their houses, did you get it all done and wonder why you did it.. and never use it again? Did you regret doing so? I'm mainly I guess asking people who don't have a ton of people that come by to play the games since that would be my situation.. I'm basically asking if aside from that, if it got you any sort of personal satisfaction or enjoyment really.. because right now, I think I'm just fantasizing since I have not built it yet, that I will walk in and feel like I am in Wizards Castle again back in the day.. which I am sure I won't at this age.. so not sure if it will be a 'what did I just waste all this cash on' moment or not. What has been some peoples feelings after a build?
 
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My advice and its worth what you paid......Pare down the collection to around 6-10 games and place them against one wall....It still allows you to play your favorites and doesn't take up too much valuable space that you don't really have to spare.....

The extra games that you keep for completeness should simply get sold....really, whats the point of keeping them....as you say, no one plays them and 250 lb arcade games are not baseball cards.....its not like the games are really appreciating in fact, one could argue that arcade games have been depreciating in the last 10 years....
 
That's a tough question. When I built my house and designed my arcade/bar/theatre space, I had 4 games. That was 6 years ago. I currently have 30 working games and 11 projects. During that time I have also bought and sold 20+ more. Don't get me wrong, I play my games often, have parties where others play my games and my kids love my games. That being said, I regret collecting so many of them to a certain extent. I think the hoarding/storing aspect of this hobby can really overwhelm you and can overshadow what you were really trying to do in the first place: Create a cool, nostalgic space to have fun. When you get to the point that every room is filled with these things, you're constantly spending or planning to spend every weekend restoring them and all of your extra space is dedicated to their overflowing parts, it stops being fun. I am reaching that point myself. I love my games, but I don't love dedicating my life to them. My kids are still little, 0-7 years, and I feel like I am missing out on a lot of what we could be doing because I am committed to getting all this junk that I have acquired presentable, playable and relevant. I'd say go with a dedicated arcade, but cut your number of games in half. Also (and I wish I could follow this advice) try to only acquire and work on one project at a time. It may seem hard to do now, but it WILL save you a ton of this 'regret' thing you mention later on.
 
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I think nearly everyone that is dedicating a significant portion of their living space to a gameroom has gone though the thought process you're going through... My house is just under 2000 square feet and my gameroom is the single largest room in the house.

There was a time I felt a bit selfish for doing it, but I'm over the regret hump. You might be surprised how the reaction to a busted up lineup of games in a storage unit changes once you have them in a nicely themed gameroom with cool lighting and carpet.

My gameroom is probably middling for this group but the average person that has never been in a home gameroom is blown away by it. Kids love it, older people have enjoyed it, snooty wives that say games are a waste of time have had a great time out there. My wife never gives me a hassle about anything I do, but didn't understand what I was going for until she saw it really coming together.

One thing I didn't do until a year after I had the room that I recommend doing immediately is adding a pinball machine. The video games just don't resonate with older people and most women. They have all loved playing pinball (or darts).

I also have a couch for people that want to hang out there and drink, but maybe aren't into games. Its kind of land-locking me for game space, but I hate to give it up because stools just aren't the same for non-gamers.
 
My advice and its worth what you paid......Pare down the collection to around 6-10 games and place them against one wall....It still allows you to play your favorites and doesn't take up too much valuable space that you don't really have to spare.....

The extra games that you keep for completeness should simply get sold....really, whats the point of keeping them....as you say, no one plays them and 250 lb arcade games are not baseball cards.....its not like the games are really appreciating in fact, one could argue that arcade games have been depreciating in the last 10 years....

Well the room for the arcade I don't think would be big enough to say cut in half.. it's basically either an arcade, or something else... If it's something else, it's maybe like 2 or 3 keepers.. And to be honest I could probably tell you what the last things I would sell would be, but doubt if I had 3 that I would play them much.. or maybe would.. I think it's the fact I have so many that I have not gotten bored and walked away a while ago.
 
That's a tough question. When I built my house and designed my arcade/bar/theatre space, I had 4 games. That was 6 years ago. I currently have 30 working games and 11 projects. During that time I have also bought and sold 20+ more. Don't get me wrong, I play my games often, have parties where others play my games and my kids love my games. That being said, I regret collecting so many of them to a certain extent. I think the hoarding/storing aspect of this hobby can really overwhelm you and can overshadow what you were really trying to do in the first place: Create a cool, nostalgic space to have fun. When you get to the point that every room is filled with these things, you're constantly spending or planning to spend every weekend restoring them and all of your extra space is dedicated to their overflowing parts, it stops being fun. I am reaching that point myself. I love my games, but I don't love dedicating my life to them. My kids are still little, 0-7 years, and I feel like I am missing out on a lot of what we could be doing because I am committed to getting all this junk that I have acquired presentable, playable and relevant. I'd say go with a dedicated arcade, but cut your number of games in half. Also (and I wish I could follow this advice) try to only acquire and work on one project at a time. It may seem hard to do now, but it WILL save you a ton of this 'regret' thing you mention later on.

Woah, A little too close to home for me.
 
I think the hoarding/storing aspect of this hobby can really overwhelm you and can overshadow what you were really trying to do in the first place: Create a cool, nostalgic space to have fun. .

This might be part of it right now.. I am walking around thinking of all of the crap I have to move out to storage somewhere, then move back after the build.. and it's a little overwhelming. A big part of it is the present double car garage has never really ahd cars in it.. just my games.. right now it has about half gym equipment but there are so many parts around for games it's hard to use the gym. Good.. point.. maybe I'll have to think on the fact so many of these games are constantly in a state of restoring, and I have such an addiction to buying Rich's stuff which makes even more 'future' projects inevitable, and therefore add on the stress side feeling "i gotta go out to the garage and get this shit done" instead of playing with the kid...
 
If you are designing this, be sure you have a daylight basement. Life would have been so much easier if I didn't have to go down a dozen steps everytime I bought new arcade machine. And then bring them back up when I sold one. I now have them all in my 24 x 30' shop I built in my back yard. It's not huge, but it's an awesome space to get away to work on and play my arcade/pinball machines. It's a great option! (my shop is insulated, heated and cooled), Tons of power and outlets ever 4 feet.

Steve
 
You might be surprised how the reaction to a busted up lineup of games in a storage unit changes once you have them in a nicely themed gameroom with cool lighting and carpet.
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I've always counted on this and just had faith that that would do it for me at the end of the journey.. because I got in the mode of collecting things thinking I would never see them again, so had to grab them now.. which has led to years of having to move these things from storage to storage because I have no-where else for them, to my house to be worked on, and back to storage.. and what the hell.. where do those 3 coin boxes go.. why are there 10 bolts left over and what games do they go to.. and on and on.. I have only ever seen them as work, something to be moved, constantly wiped down and played in an old bare garage that stinks of gas.. maybe I gotta keep my eye on the final goal and keep going..
 
I'd agree with Cliff in that it sounds like you should pare down to maybe some sort of multi (I'm partial to mame) and a handful of others that maybe don't lend themselves to playing on a multi due to specialized controls.

Aside from that, I can't say I've had any regrets - at least not serious regrets. At times I do lament how much time I've spent on my games and game room but then it usually takes one good party to make me forget that. So the other side of my advice would be to actively host parties. My wife and I like to have people over so we do it quite regularly with non-collectors and almost all the time it's a hit, although frequently it ends up being the dads and kids in the game room and the moms all talking outside. You might also want to connect to a much larger degree to local collectors and host collector parties. Those are the most fun to me because collectors just seem to get into it all the more. If you don't have a local collectors group, start one up and actively look for members. That's what I did back in 2009 and I can't tell you how awesome of an experience that has been.

One thing that has worked well for me is to try to have a well rounded selection of games so that anyone will have fun in my game room, gamer or not. Linked racers, pinball, air hockey, skee ball, etc. Not just golden age vids. If you've got something for everyone, I would guess you'd have less of an issue with having people over and them not wanting to play.
 
If you are designing this, be sure you have a daylight basement. Life would have been so much easier if I didn't have to go down a dozen steps everytime I bought new arcade machine. And then bring them back up when I sold one. I now have them all in my 24 x 30' shop I built in my back yard. It's not huge, but it's an awesome space to get away to work on and play my arcade/pinball machines. It's a great option! (my shop is insulated, heated and cooled), Tons of power and outlets ever 4 feet.

Steve

I wanted an outside direct access but I cannot in this space.. Because I am chopping my 50' lot in half, I have 25' with a 3' setback on the side. So the rear steps out the main floor take up a fairly large chunk of the width, and there wouldn't be enough room for a sideways staircase to go down the back wall if that makes sense... This though is alos part of my thoughts against an arcade is moving stuff up and down. I think first off I would buy a motorized appliance mover to climb the stairs, but first and foremost what I had would pretty well not rotate much after being donw.. I really, really, am starting to hate moving these things.
 
Maybe a better question to ask yourself would be, "If I finally have a chance to have an arcade in my basement like I've wanted for years and decide not to, will I regret that decision?" After all the hard work don't you want to see the end result at least once?

EDIT: I suppose grading the ground is out of the question as well? That would gain you a walkout basement and maintain a rear entry for the main level, if done right. Honestly, in my opinion (without knowing the neighborhood, your local housing market, other environmental factors. etc) I wouldn't be spending all that money to build a new home only to make it a duplex, tossing my neighbors right up my Asteroids. Yes, the money you get back from selling half is nice but I am assuming you took on this project with the potential to build up the plot for just yourself. I would go for that if not too late. Neighbors are great...at a distance.
 
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I should also add that you need to create the ambiance too - if it's just a bunch of games stuck in a garage it won't have the appeal that you'd get if you really try to make the space feel like an arcade (even if you're in a garage). That's what I've done with my game room building, which started off basically as a garage downstairs (the upstairs was a finished room). It now doesn't feel at all like a garage. Garage door replaced with double entry door, carpet over the concrete, concrete foundation painted black and finished with baseboards, etc. Lots of work but it's worth it.
 
I'd agree with Cliff in that it sounds like you should pare down to maybe some sort of multi (I'm partial to mame) and a handful of others that maybe don't lend themselves to playing on a multi due to specialized controls.
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Good suggestions.. I sold off my mame. I may go back to one as the frogger I have convinced me of that.. really wanted one and spent on all the repro stuff for it but its a little meh...rather have an Astro Blaster But my collection is mainly games that are much different live.. lots of reflected games (DOT, Warlords, Omega Race, Asteroids Deluxe), and black light games (Tron, DOT, Space Invaders..etc) and lots of vectors... But got a zvg so hopefully the vector madness can end at least.. ;)
 
I should also add that you need to create the ambiance too - if it's just a bunch of games stuck in a garage it won't have the appeal that you'd get if you really try to make the space feel like an arcade (even if you're in a garage). That's what I've done with my game room building, which started off basically as a garage downstairs (the upstairs was a finished room). It now doesn't feel at all like a garage. Garage door replaced with double entry door, carpet over the concrete, concrete foundation painted black and finished with baseboards, etc. Lots of work but it's worth it.

How many square feet is yours? Checked out the sketchup..
 
When I redid my basement I wanted to make it a dedicated arcade. My basement is essentially two rooms now, 10x13 playroom/spare bedroom (when we lifted the house it allowed us to put in an egress window), and a 20x24 game groom/theatre room.

I only have 3 games in it at the moment (1 pin, 2 vids) and plan to top out at the 4-5 mark. I had 2 20amp circuits intalled so I could in theory load the room easily.

Now instead of a dedicated aracade room I have a nice seating area for the home theatre, the arcade area, and a computer desk. I will be adding in a concession stand as well for a mini fridge and popcorn machine in the future.

This has allowed me to have a flexible space that suits my young families needs well. We have 2 kids 6 and 2 and are working on number 3. the whole family spends a good chunk of the evenings in the basement as it as listed above has loads for everyone.

besides I am super slow at getting games restored etc so I would have had a mostly empty room or a room full of parts for a decade if i was going to go dedicated arcade. :)

I know you asked for folks with dedicated space but figured i would throw in my 2cents anyway.
 
Maybe a better question to ask yourself would be, "If I finally have a chance to have an arcade in my basement like I've wanted for years and decide not to, will I regret that decision?" After all the hard work don't you want to see the end result at least once?

This is all that's keeping me on the line right now.. I do want to see it done and have an idea in my head what it will look like, and get excited by it's completion, but I don't know how much of that is just the 'hope' that that feeling from the 80's will return.. if that makes sense. Don't get me wrong, I still love playing these things, but not sure since this has only been in my head for years if a good portion of it was chasing that feeling.. I guess that's my main question to people with 'cades.
 
How many square feet is yours? Checked out the sketchup..

It's in the neighborhood of 625 down and 400 up. And speaking of "up", be sure to have a decent "hang out" area. My downstairs can be OK for that but you probably noticed that the upstairs has quite a bit of open area. So it ends up being a place that people go to chat, plus I have food and drinks up there. In other words, I try to take away any reason to exit the game room! :)
 
That's a tough question. When I built my house and designed my arcade/bar/theatre space, I had 4 games. That was 6 years ago. I currently have 30 working games and 11 projects. During that time I have also bought and sold 20+ more. Don't get me wrong, I play my games often, have parties where others play my games and my kids love my games. That being said, I regret collecting so many of them to a certain extent. I think the hoarding/storing aspect of this hobby can really overwhelm you and can overshadow what you were really trying to do in the first place: Create a cool, nostalgic space to have fun. When you get to the point that every room is filled with these things, you're constantly spending or planning to spend every weekend restoring them and all of your extra space is dedicated to their overflowing parts, it stops being fun. I am reaching that point myself. I love my games, but I don't love dedicating my life to them. My kids are still little, 0-7 years, and I feel like I am missing out on a lot of what we could be doing because I am committed to getting all this junk that I have acquired presentable, playable and relevant. I'd say go with a dedicated arcade, but cut your number of games in half. Also (and I wish I could follow this advice) try to only acquire and work on one project at a time. It may seem hard to do now, but it WILL save you a ton of this 'regret' thing you mention later on.

I gotta say that I make a rule of 1 project at a time on my property (its hard to do). I always wait to work on my games after the kids go to bed and my wife is just hangin out watching TV or something. There's no way I'm going to miss watching my kids grow up and spending quality time with them vs. messing with a big wood box and electronics. They can wait but these kids grow up FAST.

The day is gonna come when I get tired of this hobby and sell em all...I think a lot of collectors get to that point. Build a wide open space but make sure it can be used for multiple things when the day comes that you move on to another hobby.
 
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