Target to begin selling stand-up arcades in November
by Dan Choi 
{ Oct 28th 2005 at 8:30AM }
In an unexpected retail coup (or potential disaster), 62-inch-tall
arcade cabinets featuring Midway games like Joust, Rampage, Defender, and Rootbeer
Tapper will be available for under $500 at Target stores nationwide by November of this year.
Now you won't need the last
existing cabinets of Robotron to get your omnidirectional game on, or spend the time and
expense
building a sleek working system on your own. Once you tire of the 12 included titles, you can simply plug in
different game consoles through the built-in
monitor's A/V inputs.
Home versions of Golden Tee and Tomb Raider will reportedly be available in 2006 as well. (Wait,
when did Tomb Raider even have an arcade version?) Hopefully the
"slightly smaller-than-stock cabinet" won't pose
too much of a problem to interested arcade purists and nostalgia-filled collectors.
[Thanks, Ken]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
roachclip @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Nice....
When I get that mansion built I will own them all!
DG @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Some of those old cabinets (for a game like Galaga or so) can illogically cost more than a thousand bucks. In my youth, before car payments and rent and student loans, I would have easily saved the necessary $500 for one of these. Now, $30 for Midway Treasures is all I can afford.
Too bad, though. One of those machines would like great in my living room -- provided the girlfriend didn't kill me first.
johnny0723 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
OMG, this is awesome! I've been looking to build one of these forever. Now I can just buy this one and modify it to work with MAME and other PC emulators. Too cool!
-John
http://www.deliveryblog.com/
http://www.freemoviescreenings.net/
strider_mt2k @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
So when you tire of the games, you can plug ANOTHER game console into it's monitor?
That is a pretty cool feature!
With the amount of empty space usually found within these cabinets, I can see someone modding one of these into an "all-in-one" solution.
lagsalot @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
This is very cool.. I will most definitly try to talk the significant other into getting one of these for the "office".
Cerberus @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Schweet. I can't wait to check those out. I'm gonna have to buy of of those considers I have considered blowing a ton of cash on an old machine. This is a glorious day for arcade gamers. A glorious day indeed
Venomous @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Not a real coin-op. Think T.V games but bigger. I dout the monitor comes with it. I have Tempest, Donkey Kong and Street fighter arcade stand ups at my house. But $500 is a sweet deal and shouldnt be passed up. Its going to piss off alot of companys that sell MAME cabinet for over $2000.
XBoXer @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
I want I want I want!!!
djSyndrome @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
"I dout the monitor comes with it."
"The unit stands 62” tall and has an included, built-in, full color monitor."
Reading the source article helps, people.
Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
This will go right next to my old Galaga system in my playroom. Ahh the wife is gonna be pissed with me getting a 360 and this thing all in one month, but come on what a deal. I hope i can save the funds quick enough. Besides, Galaga now freezes up after the 3rd or fourth level. Anyone else have this issue?
OMAC @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Sorry to burst your bubbles guys, this thing was designed for kiddies. Just look at the picture of the guys playing it. They look like giants and have to hunch over just to play it. Full size my ass. Pic at the link below.
http://www.mybiggames.com/index_files/page0004.htm
jadenguy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
dudes, all you need is one sturdy stand to raise it a half-meter or so.
Timothy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
No, they're not that small #10, they're 62". Look at the pics closely. The people in front of the big one are photoshopped from the table top version. 62" is a little shorter than most machines, but not as short as the pic makes it look, so yeah, photoshopped. (check the angle between the red shirt guy where he meets the blue shirt guy. Identicle between the two pics)
Sloopydrew @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Okay, I'm getting me one of these! I'm old enough to remember the good old days when arcades reigned supreme. Adding a couple of gaming cabinets to my game room would be great! Maybe I'll even throw in a pizza oven and a jukebox with nothing but 80's singles. *shudder* Okay, drop the jukebox idea.
Dave @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
62" = five foot, two inches if my "mental arithmetic" is correct. That's to the *top* of the cabinet. I'm six feet tall. So the pic is accurate, as far as I'm concerned.
Also, why would the company making the product photoshop in some guys to make the product look *smaller* than it actually is? Seems as though they'd go the other way, if they were going for visual tricks. I'm not saying it wasn't photoshopped -- I do see the similarities between the two pics. Just that the size ratio is accurate, at least in terms of guys about six feet tall.
Andrew Hagan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Ok, so I can hook my PS2 into the monitor using A/V cables, but am I able to connection the controllers in some way? Or am I just going to have to stand in front of the cabinets with a regular controller in my hands. If that is the case, I'd rather sit back on a couch and play on my regular TV.
But if I can hook up my PS2 controllers, Guilty Gear, Capcom vs. SNK, and Alien Homind would be awesome!
dh @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Definitely seems like a tall person would have to crouch and other consoles just seem to plug into the AV port, so you have to stand and use the console's original joystick while crouching to look at the monitor. If you could plug the cabinet's joysticks into the other consoles to be able to use the cabinet's joysticks that would be pretty nifty.
Hugh Jass @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Sounds neat, but it's pretty much a "TV Games" style unit with a small built-in TV set. That's right, a TV set. See the link for more details.
Unfortunately, it seems that you get what you pay for. Midway Arcade Treasures sounds like a much better option IMHO.
Raptor2569 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Yeah cheapy wood,(pressed partical board) cheap screen, (Some no name monitor) And Joy sticks that will break in NO TIME! I have The Actual Mortal Kombat 2 25 inch Motitor with a MK1 board and I payed way under 1000. And its PURE 402lbs arcade machine power. Hooo-rah! NO 500 cheapy arcade here.
Chris Stuart @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Visit us in Springfield, MO and you can play all the old games for real! Downtown across from the YMCA. http://www.1984arcade.com
Brian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Hi All - I just picked one of these up at Target. It is slightly smaller than a real machine but the control deck is standard height. The monitor is tilted up a bit so that you can see without hunching over. The thing is f-in sturdy and the Joysticks seem bullet-proof. For $500, I would rather by 6 of these then 1 "real" machine for $3,000. The $500 one also play 12 games - not 1 or 2. This is a great product and an awesome value! It also fits in your car so you can get it home.
Julie @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
Just to clarify a few things...we just bought one of these and we built a stand to set it on so it is at regulation height - we made it from 2x6's with a plywood base. We painted it black to match the unit and it came with a couple of Midway Arcade stickers that we put on the box - now it's the perfect height and looks just like it came that way.
The monitor is included.
Your other game systems will plug-in to the device and store in the cabinet, but you still have to use your own game system controllers which kind of stinks. I emailed the company about this and their next version is going to include a device that will allow you to use the arcade game controllers instead - which will be an awesome feature.
The unit is very well built and looks awesome in our family room. How can you pass this up for $450? It's a GREAT deal!!
Billy Dee Williams @ Dec 18th 2005 9:37PM
hmm maybe cut down the center bevel and try a larger monitor on this thing.
jef @ Dec 21st 2005 11:50PM
saw it. damn near bought it until the employee i talked to told me there was one at the back of the store running... took a look and came away UNIMPRESSED... shitty graphics and it is NOT the exact same as the original...SINISTAR is REALLLLLLLLY bad. for all the leaps in gaming since these were new you really got to wonder why they would need to go BACKWARDS for this... monitor is too small also... not worth the BUX