the ethics of buying classis in the wild

[Scucci]

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.

If you really bugs you, next time you're at the arcade and the attendant is there, invite him over to your next arcade party or whatever it is you do. He can play it there... but, I speak from experience here... it's not as fun when you're not on the clock.

 

[mc300baud]

If you really bugs you, next time you're at the arcade and the attendant is there, invite him over to your next arcade party or whatever it is you do. He can play it there... but, I speak from experience here... it's not as fun when you're not on the clock.

he actually made me promise that i'd come back and tell him if i'd beaten his high score of 230k sometime soon. i did around 100k last night on my second game in a while without really trying, so i figure i'll be able to return in triumph to the arcade and rub his nose in it.

well, i won't rub his face in it but i think i'll go back anyway. they had some games that looked like fun and some pin i can't even remember now (TSPP, i think.)

 

[cleverlyj]

ethics wise, i don't think it's that bad, like you're taking fun out of the arcade. i hate to say it, but there's a chance it'll go out of business sooner or later, so at least the game's going to a good home.

 

[Brentradio]

I personally think what you did was a horrible thing. What if that poor kid was working on his highest score ever when you came to yank his all time favorite game out from under his stunned face. What if Galaga 88 was HIS Holy Grail and he got the job at that arcade so he could play it anytime he wanted? You may very well have just destroyed this fine young man's entire life in on fell swoop, and all you can think about is yourself?

People like you make me sick.

You should donate that game to the local mental hospital, more than likely that poor young man will end up there very soon.

 

[LyonsArcade]

About the 20ez, I don't know what you meant by that but I had one of these, that also had a 20ez in it, I believe it's factory.

 

[channelmanic]

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.

Depending on his age you might be getting Chris Hansen showing up at your door instead of the attendant.

 

[mc300baud]

About the 20ez, I don't know what you meant by that but I had one of these, that also had a 20ez in it, I believe it's factory.

i'm pretty sure this one isn't factory. the date code is about 3 years too early, the harness has obviously hacked to accommodate it, and there's burn from some horizontal platformer (i think Mario Bros but i haven't cleaned it up enough yet to tell.)

 

[jbbradley]

Well I do know of one op here locally that just got a NIB Robotron 2084 that is now available for the public to play....and he wanted it that way. So there are folks out there that think about it a bit differently. I can see both sides and can't really make up my mind about it.

 

[Braido]

This is what I thought when reading your story. When I was a kid I loved the classics especially Defender. I soon realized that my fav games were being converted (god I hate double dragon) or simply disapearing from the arcades. Once I got older I went out and tried to find a Defender to buy and soon had several of my fav games from back in the day! So you probably one day this young man will go out lookng for a Galaga88 one day, he just doest know it yet, ha! Oh and yeah Galaga88 isn't a classic IMO

 

[Mr. Hot Dog]

Depending on his age you might be getting Chris Hansen showing up at your door instead of the attendant.

Bwhaha! In Chris Hansen's nasally voice: "What exactly did you mean when you said he can come over and play with your joysticks?" You: "No, it's really an arcade term. I'm just going to swap out that joystick for a red ball joystick, and..." CH: "Oh, so you prefer red balls?" You: "Uh, I gotta go." [As you get tackled outside by cops.]

 

[mc300baud]

just a quick update if anyone happens to search for information at a later time.

according the Dragon Spirit manual it looks like a Sanyo 20EZ-style monitor did come standard in these and the isolation transformer has outputs for both 100v and 120v. the 20EZ that is in my cabinet is probably not original as the power wiring has been hacked in and it has screen burn consistent with a horizontal game.

i knew that Atari had used the Sharp XM-2001N in some cabs like Blasteroids but i didn't know about the Sanyos. this may mean that the 20-Z2AW that came in my converted Escape From the Planet of the Robot Monsters may actually be stock (it too has the 100v output on the iso.)

in this hobby you really do learn something new every day. something rather trivial and worthless...

 

[Spunkmeyer]

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?

You assume that it would otherwise not sell. At least you know what sort of home it would go to. I would feel no guilt whatsoever.

 

[LyonsArcade]

They used strange monitors in some of the Dig Dug's too. I believe Sanyo but may have been the Sharp.

 

[mc300baud]

i wonder if Atari decided to go with Sanyo instead of WG when Elecrohome stopped producing GO-7's in the mid-80's.

 

[MasterFygar]

In response to the OP-- I'd say buying classics in the wild is saving them. If there is ever a utopian world where arcade machines in the wild don't get coke spilled on them, gang signs painted on them, cigarretes burning them, kids hanging from them, drunkards kicking them, ops converting them, vandals breaking them, etc. then yes, it would be ideal for them to be out for everyone to play.

But this is KLOV, which is connected to VAPS. The Video Arcade PRESERVATION Society. I think taking in a survivor, helping to heal their battle scars, and preventing it from further abuse is SAVING games and is morally stable, not reprehensible.

These games have done their time. They've survived for years, some for more than others, especially those remaining. It's time for them to rest.

 

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Looking at your pic, you did that cab a favor. Christ, there was less sand in Spider-Man 3.

 

[bradd]

I think you should feel horrible for buying the game