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Will you sell games from your
personal collection?
I am always open
to offers but realistically I would say the answer
is no. I have spent a lot of time and money
repairing and restoring my games and I probably wont
easily part with them. I do, however,
currently have some games for sale. For more
info click
here.
Where do you buy games?
There are many places to look. The most common
places are local classifieds, local collectors and
local operators (less common). If you don't mind
paying for shipping, or can find a good deal that
justifies the cost of shipping, places like eBay,
out of state collectors and various online stores can sometimes be good places
to find games.
What is a vector game?
In a sentence it is a game that uses a monitor that,
instead of rendering pictures like a TV or a
computer screen, draws lines. It's sort of
hard to explain.
Star Wars
and
Tempest
are both games that have color vector monitors.
Vector monitors are also called X-Y monitors.
They are super cool but sometimes unreliable and can be
fairly expensive. Sort of like the Ferraris of
the classic arcade world. For more info check
out this
page. Below is what Tempest, a color
vector game, looks like during game play.
Is it hard to fix games?
It depends on you
and what your skill level is with things like
woodworking, artwork touchup, mechanical assembly, electrical wiring, and electronics.
I am pretty good with everything except electronic
repair so my biggest secret to success is
having a great (and affordable) local tech I can
bring non-working electronic parts to. Normally by
networking with fellow collectors you can find a
good tech pretty quickly in your particular area.
USENET message boards like
rec.games.video.arcade are a great place to start getting to
know fellow collectors.
Is the monitor dangerous?
It can be. The CRT (cathode ray tube) has the
capacity to store over 20,000 volts even after the
monitor has been turned off for an extended period
of time. Check out this
article about installing a new capacitor kit
into a monitor commonly found in Nintendo games like
Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers (a Sanyo 20EZ).
It should give you a pretty good idea of what a
monitor is all about.
How do I get into a game if I don't have a key?
Locks are cheap. Some try to pick them but I
drill the suckers out. Start at the center of
the of the lock with a 1/8" to 3/16" drill bit and
go until the lock literally falls apart. Try
the smaller bit first. If you don't have luck
with that try a 1/4" bit.
Do the games draw a lot of power?
Sort of. Most games with a 19" monitor draw
about 360 watts (120 vac x 3 amps) of power.
In comparison a modern 32" tube television draws
about 160 watts of power.
Are some games more reliable than others?
Yes! As you begin researching various games
you will notice this. In my experience games that have vector monitors are much more
picky than their counterparts with raster monitors.
But they are soooooo much fun they make up for it.
:-) Pole Position is another tricky one; the
PCB's (main circuit boards) are notoriously
unreliable and hard to fix.
What are the most popular games?
The
Killer List of Videogames has a great list of the
top 100 games. You can find it
here.
Are the games heavy?
Yes!
A game with a 19" monitor (a common monitor
size for older classic games) normally weighs anywhere
from 250lbs to 375lbs. It is a good idea to
get a used refrigerator dolly.
Can you make money buying and selling games?
This hobby can be expensive (especially if you get
into the more sought after games like I have) but if
you do your homework, don't overspend, and are a
little handy you can normally sell a game for what
you paid for it.. or maybe even a little more. Not a
bad investment! I would not count on actually
making much money at it though. :-)
Where do you buy parts?
Fortunately there are many reproduction parts
available today. You can find vendors on my
links page. Inevitably you will run into a
situation where you will need to find a part that
hasn't been produced in over 20 years. I normally post
what I need on
Google USENET
or search on
eBay for hard to find parts that I cant find thru my normal list of
vendors.
Are classic arcade games
expensive?
Prices depend on a variety of
things. Geographic location, condition, and
popularity can all effect price. Prices can
range from free (normally for a beat up non-working
game that isn't widely considered collectable) to
over $1000 for common highly sought after games that are in
excellent shape (like Galaga, Pac-Man or Star Wars).
Super rare games can sometimes even get over $2000.
An example of this would be a working and dedicated
I, Robot. One of the most desired games in arcade
collecting circles is a dedicated
Major Havoc. A nice one in original and
working condition can fetch over $4000.
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