Is It Time To Leave This Hobby ??
- Thread starter TheDaddy
- Start date
Space is my only problem. I keep seeing cabs up for sale that I would snap up, but literally no space for them as my game room still lies empty and in ruins. Lol. Can't seem to get motivated to get it renovated.Sad state of affairs when genuine 80's Jamma cabs offered here for less than people asking for Arcade 1up's
1st problem of collecting them was space, so having to save up 10-30k to build the space which then limits the amount of cabs you could afford to buy though in early days you could get a lot of cabs for £1000 if you happy buying non workers
2nd problem of collecting them is, it doesn't take many cabs to fill that space you created and now you can't buy any more unless you fill every room of your house or have spent £1000s more on creating more space or buying a bigger property and with the cost of house prices rising your fighting a loosing battle unless your earning 100k plus a year
So as much as many would be happy to keep everything you have and be able to buy more cabs, you just can't without selling something unless we have more members with money and space joining but younger generations will be lucky to even afford a house but the government don't want you enjoying life
It all goes the same way, Staffordshire dog things, Wedgewood, LED watches, atari, handheld VFD games, CB radio, Pogs, analogue synthesisers... once they are forgotten they have no value - until they are almost extinct.
release - high price
fade - worthless
revival - high price
death - almost worthless
extinction - priceless
Someone bring me a tall building to jump from...
May our boards never be crushed and burned in the gold reclamation furnaces of India. Half a million years of technological advancement just to return a processor to 1mg of yellow metal is sacrilege.
These dark days of disposable and irreparable FPGAs and systems-on-chips will see TTL and CMOS phased out completely at some point. I see a single programmable device to replace all devices. The One, if you will. It cometh.
These dark days of disposable and irreparable FPGAs and systems-on-chips will see TTL and CMOS phased out completely at some point. I see a single programmable device to replace all devices. The One, if you will. It cometh.
I hear ya mate, pretty much same apart from all my building space is fine, just got far too much stuff but I'm working on it, been doing mad tidying up for last month, albeit so I could get some speakers out my car and into hall and then finally into lounge as i wasn't carrying 60kg boxes further than in the doorway and wasn't enough space to get a small trolley through hall or lounge with em on but now i can but more stuff in extension lol, so I'm slowly selling things and binning stuff that doesn't sell to get things looking better
Bonus this time of the year, doing physical work saves me putting the heating on
Excellent, I take it your Centipede cabaret is going to be for sale soon? 😉
kingtreelo
Active member
if anyone with a Time Pilot or Bomb Jack machine would kindly like to leave the hobby, that would be great thanks
Retirement and downsizing has done for me. Been in the VAC hobby for 20+ years. I've got a really sweet Irish Atari Asty DLX cabaret that fits really nicely into the house. But the Missile Command upright (Irish), the Robotron (Euro), and the Isis Subelectro (Konami / Scramble / Jamma adapter) .... languish in storage and are going to need to be moved on. Bods's point about the cost of space is well made. Can't justify the £30-£40K needed to build a nice summer house to house everything.
backflipper
Active member
And some more. Will be in the new year I think.
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.
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.
I'm finding it hard to actually sell up. Not played or worked on anything Arcade related for probably three years? The cabs are just sitting there.
It's not just the hobby for me though, it's the era they belong to which makes them a part of who I am although I think the time will come where I will just need to break away at some point as my house has simply become a storage depot for them. Not only that, my Mum is looking to downsize so my workshop will be gone and I'm not having crapped out old junk in the house.
It's not just the hobby for me though, it's the era they belong to which makes them a part of who I am although I think the time will come where I will just need to break away at some point as my house has simply become a storage depot for them. Not only that, my Mum is looking to downsize so my workshop will be gone and I'm not having crapped out old junk in the house.
I will use this post as I made a cock up.
The weird thing is I was recently looking for a Track & Field. WTF is that all about?! So, I buy a T & F and it then sits in the games room gathering dust like the others. That's how the Hobby carries you off and you don't even realise what's happening!
I think I've purchased my last cab which was a Missile Command that I picked up from TT in December 2020 from memory?
The weird thing is I was recently looking for a Track & Field. WTF is that all about?! So, I buy a T & F and it then sits in the games room gathering dust like the others. That's how the Hobby carries you off and you don't even realise what's happening!
I think I've purchased my last cab which was a Missile Command that I picked up from TT in December 2020 from memory?
Last edited:
I have been off and on the wall so many times, But I have not done anything for a while and struggling to do so , I still have 3 cabs and all 3 need work. I want to convert my garage into a bar and the cabs and my home made jukebox has always been part of my plans.
Sometimes I just some inperation and I have no clue where to find it,
I think we all just want to live in the past and I , for one , would sell my sole to go back top the 80's.
Dave.
Sometimes I just some inperation and I have no clue where to find it,
I think we all just want to live in the past and I , for one , would sell my sole to go back top the 80's.
Dave.
I am in a different boat but I did 'hoard' Amiga's and yes I still quite a lot, a few I have sold or raffled off at SWAG. So, yeah I get a few quid back in the long run but I know if I kept them till I am 70-80 years then I think the prices will plummit.
The stuff that my grandparents had, well I have no desire for them they get disposed of, but generational stuff is high value right now.
With the arcades, well I only have some things that have connection too, have a reason for... and i will get around to doing something with that item.
However are you braze enough to give your local Freeplay arcade a gift ? like a PCB. I know one fellow did some great deals and we always get the question 'is this for sale?' which usually ends in a No.
So that leads me onto Personal vs Public collections, I do feel strongly that you make a collection that hopefully you have some public around at some point to play, if not then Why are you hoarding/collecting?
The stuff that my grandparents had, well I have no desire for them they get disposed of, but generational stuff is high value right now.
With the arcades, well I only have some things that have connection too, have a reason for... and i will get around to doing something with that item.
However are you braze enough to give your local Freeplay arcade a gift ? like a PCB. I know one fellow did some great deals and we always get the question 'is this for sale?' which usually ends in a No.
So that leads me onto Personal vs Public collections, I do feel strongly that you make a collection that hopefully you have some public around at some point to play, if not then Why are you hoarding/collecting?
kingtreelo
Active member
i kind of get this last bit, i went a bit mad around 2000 and have a pretty large collection of consoles/home computers and games, and i very rarely play them now, but they dont really take up a lot of space and TBH, i don't really need the money
I guess it all just depends on peoples needs and wants, would i prefer having 15k in the bank of a load of old stuff i feel a lot of nostalgia for?
K1ngarth3r
Active member
For me, the whole point of getting into collecting arcade cabs was because I wanted to have my own personal collection that wasn't going to go away when it wasn't making money so I can enjoy the games I love/loved whenever my mood takes me.
Like others have said, the biggest expense is definitely a place to put them.
I don't care if they aren't worth anything after I've finished (It would be nice to think they'd be some use to someone though).
I don't think I'd sell just because the value or popularity were affected (No matter how much financial sense it makes, which it undeniably does make right now!).
Video Games have been apart of me since a young age all the way through my life.
Like others have said, the biggest expense is definitely a place to put them.
I don't care if they aren't worth anything after I've finished (It would be nice to think they'd be some use to someone though).
I don't think I'd sell just because the value or popularity were affected (No matter how much financial sense it makes, which it undeniably does make right now!).
Video Games have been apart of me since a young age all the way through my life.
John Bennett
Senior Member
I generally don't see the issue with people collecting stuff and storing it in a cupboard. Ive quite a few boards. They're mostly games I played as a kid. Many I've not played in years, but I will. I like owning them, like people like owning walls full of vinyl records etc.
It's just video games at the end of the day. Retro arcades aren't charities and many of Joe Public doesn't care if they're playing a real PCB or something else.
Would every retro arcade dump and release the ROMs if they had a rare game, or keep it for exclusivity?
It's an interesting topic as outside of home ownership, Arcade Bars (especially in America) are doing ok. Not mega money, but they are staying open. They seem to have got the mix right now that you need old / new and pinball to make it......And booze. I was thinking of renting mine out (wouldn't work) as people are still into 80s / 90s things. I do also think it is different to when I cleaned out my Nan's house and it was loads of old plates and china dogs. If you have a lot of knackered non-working cabs in a shed then I don't think anyone will care, but I think good games are good games and stand the test of time. I have a Jamma Cab, a Nintendo Cab and a Ms Pac-Man. I like to think all of those will be entertaining to someone even in 20 years time. They are all fully restored as well, which helps.
On the topic of a games room, the company I have used before now charge £13000 for the most basic room with electrics. That's mad. I want my games in a nice heated room near or a part of the house these days. I do cry a little when I see American's in their basements that are bigger than my whole house with games that cost them a fraction of what I paid.
On the topic of a games room, the company I have used before now charge £13000 for the most basic room with electrics. That's mad. I want my games in a nice heated room near or a part of the house these days. I do cry a little when I see American's in their basements that are bigger than my whole house with games that cost them a fraction of what I paid.
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
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