RikaKazak Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I just landed a new location today (pizza place with dedicated gaming area) and they asked for a MAME (I placed a Balloon Buster there today, yippie!). In addition I've got a place opening in 2 weeks that I want to put a MAME in (new nerf battle arena, it was suppose to be open already, but the opening keeps getting pushed back). Questions: What type do I get (stand up vs. sit down)? Who do you recommend I get it from? Are there any beginner mistakes I need to make sure to avoid? Thanks so much in advance. I know I've been asking a ton of beginner questions lately, but it's honestly just because I love learning (and I'm a complete idiot with a ton to learn still)...thanks to everyone who has been helping me, I really appreciate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronsidney Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 In my opinion the mame just aren't good for coin op. Way too many games and these types of machines just don't earn enough to warrant the repairs a mame will have like bad hardrives, computer fails etc. I personally use just 60:1 Multicades as its just a filler pc at most and the board is stable and proven in coin op and has the games the mame players would choose in the menu anyway. The 1080 boards and the tons of others aren't as good either for just Multicades as their menu state sucks . They will automatically choose game after timer runs out and it's up to potential player to read instructions on cabinet and press and hold button for ten seconds to get back to menu to then be able to see game list. Most players just put money in and press start, they they will be playing bubbles or defender or whatever the top game (alphabetical) was on list that got chosen by default when operator or store powered on machine and timer ran out on menu. I'm not saying this as salesman either but as operator. I could make a lot more money pushing these big giant reproduction mame cabinets but really if I don't want it on my route I don't build it. Only reason I sell the games is because my workers build for me but if I sell them I sell them and it just keeps them employed and the wheels turning. Now for the name drop www.customkade.com Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BouncyBalls Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I bought a 60 in 1 from Ron, they look really nice and so far it has been 100% trouble free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 I have plenty of horror stories about MAME machines as a customer, and heard even more from guys who ran them. An amusement op north of me had a horror story about one where the main board on the unit fried itself, and in a roundabout way he kept replacing proprietary part after part until he basically wound up replacing the whole machine part-by-part. The 60-in-one style that run more "mainstream" software and hardware are going to be considerably more operator friendly, especially for a beginner. MAME and Multicades just don't bring in as much as redemption, as most of the games they offer can be matched or beaten by games on a phone. I'm not saying they can't make money, but there's not the same volume of money in them like there once was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronsidney Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 The difference in mame compared to the 60:1 I speak of is that it's a emulator or basicly a computer running software and the games on a hardrive. So basicly with those mame cabinets your gonna get all the headache and expense of repairs that you would have with a good driver or buck hunter in replacing hardrives every couple years and replacing computers , I/o boards etc. also the down time when customer unplugs machine and plugs back up etc. The 60:1 is just board, no hardrive but just jamma board . All the classic games of the 80s where 8 bit so essential all 60 classic games are playing all the time in the memory so no load times or spinning hardrives to tear up. My phone I'm typing this on has enough memory to have 100s of classic games open at once and playing so just a comparison of the "teens" vs " the 80s" The 60:1 is best and most stable and by far most popular . Customer puts in coin, menu opens and they can use joystick to scroll through and select game . Mames are awesome and a true player will appreciate 80 's thru 90's on one cab but average route they don't make sense. I have plenty of horror stories about MAME machines as a customer, and heard even more from guys who ran them. An amusement op north of me had a horror story about one where the main board on the unit fried itself, and in a roundabout way he kept replacing proprietary part after part until he basically wound up replacing the whole machine part-by-part. The 60-in-one style that run more "mainstream" software and hardware are going to be considerably more operator friendly, especially for a beginner. MAME and Multicades just don't bring in as much as redemption, as most of the games they offer can be matched or beaten by games on a phone. I'm not saying they can't make money, but there's not the same volume of money in them like there once was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkochan Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 I bought five of Ron's multi-cade machines. They are all placed in locations making money for me. I like his machines because they are light-weight, compact, colorful and have illuminated controls.I suggest placing a crane machine first and a multi-cade second because cranes make more money. I have been using Ron's multi-cade machines and crane machines to go after video accounts that have dilapidated equipment. Rainbow 36" Crane and Ron's Multi-Cade In a Pizza Place Rainbow 42" Crane, Rainbow 24" Candy Crane and Ron's Multi-Cade in a Wings Restaurant Wowie Zowie, Bill Labs 30" Crane and Ron's Multi-Cade in a Hispanic Grocery Store Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brmorr Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 60-1's are just filler pieces, hope you have some other games in there to make some better money since I really don't see how much these would get played out on location. You can also get 20th or 25th Anniversary Pacman/Galaga's and they will earn about the same. Quick question for Ron though, are these cabinets you build bolted together? Just wondering because of the bolt head all over the sides, etc... Not bashing it, just struck my interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronsidney Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Yes I bolt them together, I bolt all my machines together so they stay together. I got tired of pushers getting rocked all the time and when I moved them with dolley they would fall over like deck of cards( happened to me personally) because dowel and glue came loose holding it together. Builders of original game cabinets built them just like furniture for your home and still do. For the Multicades it would never matter really as they don't get rocked and tilted etc like pushers but that's kinda how I got factory set up now so they just built same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Off topic but how is the bill labs? They come up at auction cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.