Games
Pac-Man, Galaga, even Mortal Kombat. These arcade machines were a special part of our gaming development, and we've been speaking with new school cabinet makers Arcade1Up about bringing them back.
If you're of a certain age, there's a good chance you spent at least some of your youth in the arcade. Even now, you might happen upon a mini-arcade, perhaps in a bowling alley, and be drawn to it. If you feel a pang of excitement at this treasure-trove like discovery of twinkling lights and beeping cabinets, you're probably a little bit like Scott Bachrach, president of Tastemakers, which is the company behind Arcade1Up, who are making affordable arcade cabinets designed for your home.
Brooklyn's Famous Pizza in Los Angeles might not be a place you've heard of, but Bachrach certainly has. "That was the place to be on a Friday night," he tells us, "I spent hours feeding the arcade games tens of dollars in quarters. It's funny, because to me these are like a time machine. It brings me back to the time when I was hanging out with my friends, eating pizza and playing one of my favourite games, Pac-Man."
Much like the rest of us, Bachrach's memories of the arcade are of fun times and shared experiences with friends. The rise of the internet and home consoles pushed arcades away however, so the idea to recreate arcade cabinets in a smaller form factor (Arcade1Up’s cabs are 1.2m high, but can be extended to full height of past machines with an optional riser) is not only a daring idea, but a risky business move.
Bachrach isn't blind to the fact that this an idea out of left-field, either. "After using one of those plug-and-plays on my TV, I thought to myself, 'Why can't we just have this gameplay, but in a smaller arcade cabinet, so it feels like it did when I played this game in an arcade – and also fit in my living room'," he explains.
A product meeting pitch later, and all of a sudden a 3D Pac-Man prototype in foam was made by a developer, and the route was set. "He brought the prototype to the next meeting, I looked at it, and then I looked at everyone in the meeting and said, 'I think we've got something special'," Bachrach recalls.
The power of nostalgia
There may not be full-sized arcades popping up all over the place, but the ideal that we shared in the '80s and '90s of getting together and playing games with friends is certainly appealing, with the likes of Dave & Buster's in the US (a sports bar where you go to drink, eat, and play) and even Loading Bar in the UK being popular.
Despite arcades disappearing without trace, Bachrach agrees that there may still be the market for arcade cabs, though. "I truly think there is. Arcades do such a great job of bringing people together and having a good time, which is so uncommon in today's age of social media and online interaction," he tells us. "That's the great thing about Arcade1Up – you get to bring that experience home."
One thing that's definitely a factor is price. Even today, if you were to try to source a full-sized arcade cabinet of something like Mortal Kombat II or NBA Jam, you won't get much change out of $1,000–$2,000. Bachrach doesn't think that should stop arcades making a comeback, though. "What the market was missing was authentic, licensed cabinets at affordable prices, making them accessible to the average consumers," he explains. "You can see this on our social media pages, with fans posting pictures of their multiple Arcade1Up collection."
License to game
There's another very real, and problematic issue when it comes to doing something like this: licensing. Many of the companies that make the arcade games we loved either no long exist, or exist as part of another company. It's not just as case of approaching the creator of a game and asking to make a new arcade cab of the game. Bachrach concurs. "This was actually one of the hardest parts of the process," he says. "Because a lot of the games have shifted owners since their time, you don't just have to track them down, you then have to pitch them the idea of the three-quarters scale market."
With titles like Street Fighter and Final Fight under their belt, even the cabs they currently make throw up questions. Arcade1Up offer a Mortal Kombat cab that includes MK1, 2, and 3, yet there's a brand new Mortal Kombat 11 game being released for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch, so how on earth did they get the license for this one?
"Mortal Kombat was a must for us, because our community wouldn't stop asking for it," Bachrach insists. "We knew Mortal Kombat had a game coming out, but our cabinets don't directly compete with that game. It's not one or the other – it's an additional way to experience their universe."
Even then, with full permission, there have been horror stories in the media recently about game preservation. For example, there's a long-running rumour that the reason Final Fantasy 8 hasn't had a remaster is because the original Gold Master of the game can't be found.
Even artwork can be an issue, says Bachrach. "The original artwork was difficult to find, since it was done 30–35 years ago and brand owners don't typically have it, or the rights, anymore. We had to really dig to get the original artwork and work closely with the licensors to make sure it was scaled and represented as closely to the original as possible."
It's worth mentioning, then, that the actual games are using versions of the game that will definitely bring back memories. "We use the original ROMS where available, along with coding provided directly from the license holders. We have emulation software no matter what for all machines," Bachrach explains.
Arcade1Up's cabinets are a smaller form factor, but using modern tech. Instead of buying an original arcade cab online and paying that sizeable price tag, these retail at nearer £350/ $455.
"To keep our costs down, we updated all of the hardware to modern technology," explains Bachrach. "For example, we're running LCD vs the old school CRT monitors, and designed proprietary hardware to run the original ROMS. This alone makes the cabinets much lighter, more energy efficient and longer lasting. In turn, this reduces shelving space used, and weight for shipping costs, which are savings we're able to pass along to our customers."
Pick your fighter
As for choosing the games, Bachrach tells us, "Each title was popular in a specific timeframe, which resonates with different audiences." We’d have to agree. There are games you remember playing in your local arcade, that we might never have played. With MK and Street Fighter under their belt, Pac-Man, Galaga, Centipede, Rampage, Asteroids, and even Space Invaders and Final Fight, the opportunity for piping hot nostalgia into people's minds is high.
This also means the market is both large and small for Arcade1Up, and Bachrach is tight-lipped about what games might be coming next. "Without giving away any secrets, we're eager to continue the momentum we saw with our launch," he says. "We're constantly listening to our community to hear what games they want to see next, and are working hard to secure the licenses for them."
So, if you're of that certain age, or even if you're young, but want to experience the joys of a upstanding arcade cabinet, it's worth keeping an eye on Arcade1Up. We might not get a multi-floored SEGA World arcade experience ever again, but the allure of standing in front of a Street Fighter machine in our own home, without needing to empty out savings to do so, is certainly an enticing idea.
