Five New Arcade1Up Cabinets Announced
Arcade1Up did well for itself over the holiday season, because we’re getting a lot more of them. For the uninitiated, these are stripped-down versions of classic arcade machines: they weigh less, they’re made with cheaper materials, and they’re a lot shorter (though they make a height extended to deal with this latter problem). But they get the job done.
Arcade1Up machines come with three or four games installed, one of which makes up the marquee design. Typically the games that are bundled all use the same control scheme, because in arcades it varied greatly: some used a joystick, some used a trackball, etc. The ones with trackball controls (like Centipede) have never been made available for the home in that format before.
There are Arcade1Ups available for Street Fighter, Galaga, Asteroids, Rampage, and even Pac-Man (a limited release, unfortunately (and weirdly)). In 2019 they’ll be joined by:
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- Final Fight Cabinet (Feb): Final Fight, 1944, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Strider
- Space Invaders Cabinet (Feb): Space Invaders Color, Space Invaders Black and White
- Golden Tee Cabinet (June): GT Classic ’01, Golden Tee ‘2k, Golden Tee ’99, Golden Tee ’98
- Mortal Kombat Cabinet (Sept): Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 3
- Karate Champ Cabinet (Sept): Karate Champ, Bad Dudes, Burger Time, Caveman Ninja
There are some excellent choices here. The Mortal Kombat cabinet has been demanded since these products first hit the market (and yes, Ultimate MK3 is the version being used there). The Karate Champ cabinet holds a lot of value with both Burgertime and Bad Dudes included. The Golden Tee choice baffled me (who’s gonna want a golf arcade?) but it was greeted with enthusiasm on Twitter, so….what do my narrow tastes know.
Arcade1Up promises even more titles will be revealed this summer at E3. My suggestion: a racing cabinet with wheel controls. They should also think about Paperboy, as it’s never been offered for consumers with its original handlebar controller before..but then again, what other games could be bundled with it?