An arcade game cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or coin-op, is the housing within which an arcade game’s hardware resides. Most conform to the JAMMA standard, a way of wiring the machine.
Parts of an arcade cabinet
Note: Because arcade cabinets vary according to the games they were built for or contain, they may well not possess all of the parts listed below:
A monitor, on which the game is displayed. They may display either raster or vector graphics, raster being most common. Standard resolution is between 262.5 and 315 vertical lines, depending on the refresh rate (usually between 50 and 60 Hz). Slower refresh rates allow for better vertical resolution. Monitors may be oriented horizontally or vertically, depending on the game. Some games use more than one monitor.
A marquee, a sign above the monitor displaying the game’s title. They are often brightly colored and backlit.
A bezel, which is the border around the monitor. It may contain instructions or artwork.
A control panel, a level surface near the monitor, upon which the game’s controls are arranged. Control panels sometimes have playing instructions. Players often pile their coins or tokens on the control panels of upright and cocktail cabinets.
Coin slots, coin returns and the coin box, which allow for the exchange of money or tokens. They are usually below the control panel. Very often, translucent red plastic buttons are placed in between the coin return and the coin slot. When they are pressed, a coin or token that has become jammed in the coin mechanism is returned to the player. Early coin slots could be defeated using a peizo-electric gas fire or gas oven igniter held against the steel bodywork of the cabinet, thus enabling free credits to be obtained.
The sides of the arcade cabinet are usually decorated with brightly colored stickers or paint, representing the gameplay of their particular game.
The interior of the cabinet holds the arcade system boards, the hardware upon which the game runs, and sometimes an internal power source. The power source’s main use is to save high score lists. Older arcade machines would have their high score lists wiped from memory whenever they were unplugged.
Types of cabinets
There are many types of arcade cabinets, some in fact being custom-made for a particular game; however, the most common are the upright, the cocktail or table, and the sit-down.
Upright cabinets
Upright cabinets are by far the most common. They are usually made of wood and metal, about six feet or two meters tall, with the control panel set perpendicular to the monitor at slightly above waist level. The monitor is housed inside the cabinet, at approximately eye level. The marquee is above it, and often overhangs it.
Controls are most commonly a joystick for as many players as the game allows, plus action buttons and “player” buttons which serve the same purpose as the start button on console gamepads. Trackballs are sometimes used instead of joysticks, especially in games from the early 1980s. Games such as Robotron: 2084, Smash TV and Battlezone use double joysticks instead of action buttons.
If an upright is housing a driving game, it may have a steering wheel and throttle instead of a joystick and buttons, as well as foot pedals attached to the bottom of the machine. If the upright is housing a shooting game, it may have light guns attached to the front of the machine, via durable cables. Some uprights for shooting games have their monitors set a few feet further away than usual, in order to make the game more challenging.
Cocktail or table cabinets
Cocktail cabinets are shaped like low, rectangular tables, with the controls usually set at either of the longer ends, or, not as common, at the short ends, and the monitor inside the table, the screen facing upward. Two player games housed in cocktails were usually alternating, each player taking turns. The monitor reverses its orientation for each player, so that everything seems right-side-up from their perspective. This requires special programming of the cocktail versions of the game (usually set by dip switches). Simultaneous, 4 player games that are built as a cocktail include Warlords, and others.
Cocktail cabinet versions were usually released alongside the upright version of the same game. They were relatively common in the 1980s, especially during the Golden Age of Arcade Games, but have since lost popularity. Their main advantage over upright cabinets was their smaller size, making them less obtrusive. Since their top was flat, it was easy to set drinks on them (hence the name) and they were often seen in bars.
Recently companies such as Digital Tables have re-introduced modern versions of the classic cocktail cabinet.
Sit-down cabinets
Most commonly used for games involving gambling, japanese gaming or vehicles, such as fighting games, flight simulators and racing games, these cabinets typically resemble the controls of a vehicle. Driving games may have a bucket seat, foot pedals, a stick shift and even an ignition, while flight simulators may have a flight yoke or joystick, and motorcycle games handle bars and a seat shaped like a full-size bike. Often, these cabinets are arranged side-by-side, to allow players to compete together. Some of these cabinets are very elaborate, and include hydraulics which move the player according to the action on screen. Sega is among the largest manufacturers of these kinds of cabinets.
Cockpit/Environmental cabinets
These are a close relative to the sit-down style of cabinet except that the player sits inside the game. Examples of this can be seen on the Killer List of Videogames for games such as Star Wars, Sinistar or Discs of Tron.
Mini cabinets
The mini or cabaret is a shorter version of the upright cabinet. It also has a smaller monitor. Mini cabinets save space and are easier for small children to play than some full-size cabinets.
Countertop cabinets
Countertop or bartop cabinets are not much larger than necessary to house their monitors and control panels. They are often used for trivia and gambling-type games, and are usually found installed on bars or tables in pubs and restaurants.
Restoration
Since arcade games are becoming increasingly popular as collectibles, an entire niche industry has sprung up focussed on arcade cabinet restoration. There are many websites (both commercial and hobbyist) and newsgroups devoted to arcade cabinet restoration. They are full of tips and advice on restoring games to mint condition.
Artwork
Often game cabinets were used to host a variety of games. Often after the game’s initial game was removed and replaced with another, the cabinet’s side art was painted over (usually black) so that the cabinet wouldn’t misconstrue the game contained within. The side art was also painted over to hide damaged or faded artwork.
Of course, hobbyists prefer cabinets with original artwork in the best possible condition. Since machines with good quality art are hard to find, one of the first tasks is stripping any old artwork or paint from the cabinet. This is done with conventional chemical paint strippers or by sanding (preferences vary). Normally artwork cannot be preserved that has been painted over and is removed with any covering paint. New paint can be applied in any manner preferred (roller, brush, spray). Paint used is often just conventional paint with a finish matching the cabinet’s original paint.
Many games had artwork which was silkscreened directly on the cabinets. Others used large decals for the side art. Some manufacturers produce replication artwork for popular classic games—each varying in quality. This side art can be applied over the new paint after it has dried. These appliques can be very large and must be carefully applied to avoid bubbles or wrinkles from developing. Spraying the surface with a slighty soapy water solution allows the artwork to be quickly repositioned if wrinkles or bubbles develop like in window tinting applications.
Control panels, bezels, marquees
Acquiring these pieces is harder than installing them. Many hobbyists trade these items via newsgroups or sites such as eBay (the same is true for side art). As with side art, some replication art shops also produce replication artwork for these pieces that is indistinguishable from original. Some even surpass the originals in quality. Once these pieces are acquired, they usually snap right into place.
If the controls are worn and need replacing, if the game is popular, they can be easily obtained. Rarer game controls are harder to come by, but some shops, such as Arcade Renovations, stock replacement controls for classic arcade games. Some shops manufacture controls that are more robust than originals and fit a variety of machines. Installing them takes some experimentation for novices, but are usually not too difficult to place.
Monitors
Raster monitors are easier to service than vector monitors. Normally, unless the main tube is blown, a raster monitor will provide good display characteristics with perhaps a few minor color adjustments. Vector monitors, on the other hand, can be challenging or very costly to service, and some can’t be repaired at all (they have dwindled in use since the 80s and parts are hard to come by). Sometimes they will have to be replaced completely, but even finding replacement monitors is difficult since few, if any, are produced any longer.
Some electronic components are stressed by the hot, cramped conditions inside a cabinet. Electrolytic capacitors are sensitive to these conditions, and in many arcade cabinets, their service life is nearing the end. If a game has its original raster monitor, it will usually need to be “capped” — that is, some capacitors will need to be replaced so the monitor will deliver a proper image. Due to the size of the capacitors and the voltages present inside a video monitor, this can be a dangerous activity and should only be attempted by experienced hobbyists or professionals. If a monitor is flat-out broken, a replacement can usually be obtained via the Internet (newsgroups, eBay, etc.).
Most monitors are imported in Australia so require a 240v to 110v step down transformer. Cabinets used commercially in Australia will usually have an isolation step-down transformer for this purpose.
Wiring
If a cabinet needs rewiring, some wiring kits are available over the Internet. An experienced hobbyist can usually solve most wiring problems through trial and error.
Many cabinets are converted to be used to host a game other than the original. In these cases, if both games conform to the JAMMA standard, this is a snap. Other conversions can be more difficult, but some manufacturers such as Nintendo have produced kits to ease the conversion process (Nintendo manufactured kits to convert a cabinet from Classic wiring to VS. wiring).
Scratch built
Some cabinets are constructed entirely by hobbyists to mimic an arcade cabinet using emulators such as MAME and a PC to replace the game hardware. These home built cabinets have many of the features of real arcade cabinets (such as a coin box, marquees etc.), often a MAME arcade unit combines several arcade controls (such as two types of joysticks and a trackball) in one unit to enable play of many different games.
References
The Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games (ISBN 0-375-72038-3) by David Ellis