Phetishboy
Well-known member
What manufacturers' games, when picked up 25-35 years later, are in the best shape cosmetically in your experience? Which one's have a higher percentage of being 'good enough' as is when you roll them into the garage? Which ones don't require full-on restores more often than not? I am thinking of this, because even though I feel that the materials used in construction play a huge roll in longevity, many machines built with 'better' materials still don't jive with that theory. Take Nintendo for example. I have had all plywood cabs with the baked enamel finish, and we all know plywood is better than part board or MDF right? But out of the 10 or so Nintys I have had, all but one were beat to shit, needed serious bondoing, repainting/vinyling, needed new bases, had mildew damage, artwork was torn or missing, cabs had dry rot, flaking etc. Now all of my Atari's to date, even though they are made out of particle board, have never seemed to need full on restoes. None of the current Ataris in my personal collection have needed much more than a good cleaning, some touch-up and a monitor rebuild. My Starwars, Asteroids Deluxe, 2 720's, Primal Rage, Toobin, Pole Position cockpit, Pole Position upright, System 1 Cab, Paperboy, Tempest and Asteroids were all in great shape structurally when I picked them up. Only one of my 720's, the Paperboy and the System 1 cab 'Needed' to be restored as none of the three had artwork and they were all 3 painted black. Structurally though, they were solid.
So my choice for the manufacturer with the best condition, most long lived, best preserved-artwork-still-intact cabinets is Atari (pre 1984). Specially Atari cabs with full screened-on or full vinyl artwork. It seems when they tried to cheap out and go the decal route (sys 1, sys 2, etc) they really shortened the life of said artwork.
So my choice for the manufacturer with the best condition, most long lived, best preserved-artwork-still-intact cabinets is Atari (pre 1984). Specially Atari cabs with full screened-on or full vinyl artwork. It seems when they tried to cheap out and go the decal route (sys 1, sys 2, etc) they really shortened the life of said artwork.
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