the ethics of buying classis in the wild

mc300baud

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so i picked up one of my grails tonight, Galaga '88. not perfect (Dragon Spirit conversion painted black with no side art,) but it plays well and i can clean it up nicely.

i bought the game at a local arcade that is selling off a lot of inventory to make way for other cabs. most of them aren't classics (and some may not consider Galaga '88 in that category either,) but there are a few older cabs like Rolling Thunder that they have available.

driving home i remembered that the young attendant who sold me the game was playing it when i arrived at the arcade to pick it up and he seemed quite surprised that i was buying it. he had a decent score going too (230k+) and was obviously enjoying himself, not just playing to pass time. it was cool to find someone that young who has a passion for a game that's older than he is.

it struck me then that by buying the game to stick in my private collection i was essentially denying him and others the pleasure if playing it. it's not like there are a bunch of other arcades he or others might find it at... this was almost certainly one of the last if not the last Galaga '88 in the wild locally.

part of me feels guilty about this, that i'm helping one more classic disappear from public display, unlike when i buy games from other collectors or random people on CL. the other part of me says "whoo-hoo! you got a grail so shut up" and realizes that if i hadn't bought it someone else would've and they might not have treated it as well as i will.

anyone else feel this conflicted when buying games in the wild?
 
if i hadn't bought it someone else would've

That's the nature of this beast. In your situation, someone else would have bought it and the kid would have still been out of the experience.

If it eases things, I bet he'll just dl an emulator for it when he gets home. Galaga 88 is a cool game though. :)
 
i suppose i could just open an arcade and put my private collection back out there for the public to enjoy.










ahahahahah. that's a good one. i like having a roof over my head.
 
You could also look at it this way....sure you were taking it out of public hands,but that arcade had clearly shown that they were totally done with that game,so you probably saved it from some sort of horrible fate.Not only that,but the public tends to be pretty rough on games.On top of that,there are lots of arcade museums and the like starting to pop up as well so don't feel too bad.Feel good that you didn't see this game tossed into a dumpster.
 
Look, at least you arent converting classics into shitty 'multicade' with garish arts and selling them for 1500$ on the side like some 'hardcore serious collectors' here.. Games in the wild are a rarity now, you are pretty much saving them from the trashbin or from being craiglist fodder, ending up as a mame cab or a 60-in-1 cab.
 
open your home and the arcade doors to your friends and family,then you will see the machine/s getting some use and being appreciated.

this is the way it gos with cabs,if you had not bought it someone else might have,if it never got bought it might have broke down,you never know.

also,no pics it aint happening man!
;)
 
That's the nature of this beast. In your situation, someone else would have bought it and the kid would have still been out of the experience.

If it eases things, I bet he'll just dl an emulator for it when he gets home. Galaga 88 is a cool game though. :)

Or if he didn't look like a dirtbag, you could tell him you have games at home and invite him to play. Boom! instant new friend.
 
Look, at least you arent converting classics into shitty 'multicade' with garish arts and selling them for 1500$ on the side like some 'hardcore serious collectors' here.. Games in the wild are a rarity now, you are pretty much saving them from the trashbin or from being craiglist fodder, ending up as a mame cab or a 60-in-1 cab.

Exactly!

Wonder if there was any coins in the machine since it was still in use? LOL!!!
 
anyone else feel this conflicted when buying games in the wild?

No































Better that they sell it to you, then throw it in the dumster, which is what they'd already decided to do (get rid of it) or they never would have sold it to you. The game was already gone, decided by the owner. You're just the new owner.
 
Wonder if there was any coins in the machine since it was still in use?

nope, they cleaned out the quarters and pulled the coin door locks before i picked it up.

they did at least include the coin box and mechs, unlike a few other places i've purchased from.
 
For every one classic you take from the public that's being enjoyed and loved, there's nine classics the public is spilling soda on while not playing them.
 
Several of my classic games have come from a local arcade before it shut down. At the time I did feel a bit guilty, but they weren't really pulling in any money anyway. At least this way they have been preserved and not just sold to someone who would do who knows what with them. The games I got were Tempest, Tron, and Crystal Castles. I also got my 6 player X-Men from there.
 
Maybe by buying it you just gave him a push in this direction.......

Who hasn't said to themselves: "I wish I had one of these in my house."
 
I wouldn't feel guilty buying a classic that's on location if it's for sale, but what about offering to buy one that's on location, but isn't listed for sale? :D
 
no issue here.


You and your kids and friends will now enjoy it. You'll make it nice and enjoy doing that. It will be sold by you someday and enjoyed by someone else actually interested in it.

Its a cycle of enjoyment... be a little selfish you bought it. that kid will be just as happy playing it on the xbox or mame....

You will enjoy the control panel and the feel... he doesn't understand.

My kids humor me and play my games, but other than the novelty of playing something new... they could care less if its a cabinet or on the computer screen.
 
Or if he didn't look like a dirtbag, you could tell him you have games at home and invite him to play. Boom! instant new friend.

I love this comment - it's got splash of desperation and a tinge of creepiness.

"Hey, uhh..You know, I got a basement just full of these things. What time you get off tonight? Wanna come over?"

"I mean, I have a van I can come pick you up and everything."
 
galaga88.jpg


in my way too packed garage for now until i can get it rewired and cleaned up. typical Operator hacks including a PC cord spliced in through the former fan vent and wired straight to the 120v [who needs an on/off switch!?] on the poorly anchored replacement power supply. also has a 20EZ thrown in, though fairly low burn with a nice picture. the single dustiest cab i've ever bought, filled with a blanket at least an inch thick over the inside bottom and the chassis, but at least it's otherwise clean and solid with a great CPO. joystick is loose so i'll replace it with somethin' though a nice Atari Logo might be a bit much, especially since it's just a 2-way game.

in the pic i've already done some vacuuming but i think the extra blue button under the CP is the "suck in some more dust" button and i'll soon remedy my cleaning. oh, yeah, and i'm gonna make the cones match at some point too.
 
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