Is It Time To Leave This Hobby ??

[ZedEx48K]

Just to add my 5 year anniversary message to this thread. The cost of living has got to a point where I can't spend the money and not regret it. Also I agree that they very rarely get played. The thrill of restoring and the hunt was great but then they would sit unused for months on end. You can only play any game so much. If you have like-minded friends over a lot or a family who cares then it can be worth it.
So I agree it is dying as unlike pinball there is nothing new keeping people interested. But there will always be a small community. It's just a case of weather that bothers you or not and if you have the cash to have a nice games room then it's still an amazing thing to fill your space with.

On the plus side I have found console collecting a lot more fun. Costs less money, takes up less space and has a really good community as well.

These (and others) are why I emulate via a few cabs, the games are on tap, no worries if anything dies/needs fixing, footprint (and wife) friendly, if someone says 'ooh do you remember that game that did this and that' you can normally please them by finding it, you can still sate the collecting side of you when a new games gets emulated, the scene was pretty happy recently when Raizing storm finally got it's IO working, this applies to consoles etc with homebrew and semi commercial releases turn up, or even the fake console Pico-8.

Yes I know nothing will ever beat the crt, but at least when I turn a machine on I know the flyback's not gonna arc and kill something

Tbh I did have some real cabs at one point, inc a Ridge racer, I just hated that noise in the back of my mind this things gonna break expensively!

 

[Bods]

I’ve only just got into the hobby but I think I’m maybe a bit younger than most here at just about forty. I grew up on the west coast of Scotland but my mums family is from Suffolk. We used to go to England on holidays and I have fond memories of going to the arcades in places like Scarborough, Brighton, Great Yarmouth etc.

Although I’ve collected retro consoles for a long time I’ve only just built a big outbuilding and had the space to have cabinets. I think there will always be a market for these. Maybe that will shrink as the people that know how to maintain them dwindle but I think they will still be collectible to some extent.

I enjoy (trying to) fixing stuff and learning how to. Im a total newbie but having old consoles has meant I’ve had to learn how to fix them otherwise they just break. That’s a big part of it for me

A member with space, sell them some cabs quick before it's full

What size building you had done? It's great getting some space to fill specially when there are good deals on machines

 

[Yakama]

A member with space, sell them some cabs quick before it's full

What size building you had done? It's great getting some space to fill specially when there are good deals on machines

Too late. I have a few on the way should be here in a couple of weeks so it’s full already 😂 I am also afflicted with a passion for motorbikes which also take up a lot of room.

It’s 36x10 ft. I’ve split it up into three sections though. A small bit just a few feet wide for garden stuff then a workshop area that has my consoles setup, solder station, 3d printer and a few cabs then I have the largest section which is parts storage and bikes but will soon also need to make way for cabinets so I’m going to have to make better use of the space to fit them in I think

 

[Bods]

This is what I find annoying, just stops someone that probably would buy as a genuine collector or just fan of fruits and fools n horses

Buy for £1000 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/257118662059

Was on for £3000 within days of buying https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/389009268282

 

[TheDaddy]

This is what I find annoying, just stops someone that probably would buy as a genuine collector or just fan of fruits and fools n horses

Buy for £1000 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/257118662059

Was on for £3000 within days of buying https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/389009268282

I had Dell's Millions and sold it for £100 , I regret it every single day. I told the guy if he ever sold it then I would have it back , Lost touch with him over the next 10 years and no clue where it is ! Only sold as not playing it as didnt have the room.

Thanks for reminding me ! lol, I am gng to poor a rum now.

Dave.

 

[Bods]

I had Dell's Millions and sold it for £100 , I regret it every single day. I told the guy if he ever sold it then I would have it back , Lost touch with him over the next 10 years and no clue where it is ! Only sold as not playing it as didnt have the room.

Thanks for reminding me ! lol, I am gng to poor a rum now.

Dave.

If it makes you feel any better, this was my East Enders, was never really into Fruit Machines but it was free from local tip so I thought why not, kept having reel errors and all the coin tubes/payout stuff was missing, I quite liked it though but got fed up of constant issues and you could buy a complete one for £50 back then I only had my Lounge to put it and was buying more video games I needed to fit in so i took it back to the tip, sold all the mainboards which I knew i'd regret

Couple of months back having sold some machines I thought it be nice having one fruit machine at least but don't wanna pay that much for East Enders so I thought I'll buy this cheap Simpsons and try to fix it, so now I've got that stuck there because an East Enders came up for sale and I couldn't resist so it ended up costing me nearly £700 to replace it

 

[kingtreelo]

in 30 years all of the people who remember playing these on holiday will be dead, enjoy them while you are here, nostalgia has a high price these days, but its great nostalgia to here those beeps and dings in your own home/building

 

[Flyback2021]

If it makes you feel any better, this was my East Enders, was never really into Fruit Machines but it was free from local tip so I thought why not, kept having reel errors and all the coin tubes/payout stuff was missing, I quite liked it though but got fed up of constant issues and you could buy a complete one for £50 back then I only had my Lounge to put it and was buying more video games I needed to fit in so i took it back to the tip, sold all the mainboards which I knew i'd regret

Couple of months back having sold some machines I thought it be nice having one fruit machine at least but don't wanna pay that much for East Enders so I thought I'll buy this cheap Simpsons and try to fix it, so now I've got that stuck there because an East Enders came up for sale and I couldn't resist so it ended up costing me nearly £700 to replace it

View attachment 48086

Looks like it is going to be a tough gig doing holds , nudges and even scooping a payout in its current location!

 

[Bods]

Looks like it is going to be a tough gig doing holds , nudges and even scooping a payout in its current location!

That was the old one from about 20 years ago, it got moved to the old concrete garage as lounge was full, the poor outrun and space harrier had to stay in there a good while before extension done though