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I've been thinking about making a multigame arcade stand up cabinet a project for this year but not sure how I want to approach it yet.

 Ahtman wrote:
I've been thinking about making a multigame arcade stand up cabinet a project for this year but not sure how I want to approach it yet.

It depends on what you want, but assuming you want to go with something MAME related, the hardest thing to change later is the controller. I specifically went for a 4 stick option that's a little cramped, but covers all the Konami brawlers. If you're mostly focused on the Pac-Man era, then a smaller single stick setup might work better. As long as its HDMI/USB based though, the rest of the internals are pretty trivial to swap out.

For DIY types, building an arcade cabinet is a pretty easy project.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/a21364/how-to-build-an-arcade-cabinet-for-gaming-and-storage/

I've built 2 since lockdowns began using Raspberry Pii and joysticks purchased online. Total cost of materials - minus cabinet stickers - was ~$300.

Grew up on to many 6 button fighters to leave them out.



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 techsoldaten wrote:
For DIY types, building an arcade cabinet is a pretty easy project.

Yeah just gotta remember where I left my woodworkng shed and all the pro tools. Easy peasy after that.

 Ahtman wrote:

 techsoldaten wrote:
For DIY types, building an arcade cabinet is a pretty easy project.

Yeah just gotta remember where I left my woodworkng shed and all the pro tools. Easy peasy after that.

Circular saw, power drill, wood glue and fasteners would suffice. Maybe add some 2x4s and build sawhorses for the long panels.

But this is a fun project, don't be sarcastic. Not everything needs to be at 1/32" scale.

 techsoldaten wrote:
Circular saw, power drill, wood glue and fasteners would suffice.

Admittedly it is a pet peeve when someone presents something as "easy" but misses many elements that they take for granrted. You need the space and the tools, not which everyone has. It is the carpentry version of this:

 Ahtman wrote:

 techsoldaten wrote:
Circular saw, power drill, wood glue and fasteners would suffice.

Admittedly it is a pet peeve when someone presents something as "easy" but misses many elements that they take for granrted. You need the space and the tools, not which everyone has. It is the carpentry version of this:

If you live in a closet, where does the arcade cabinet go?

If size is the main challenge, scale down the dimensions to 1/13th and get a 7" monitor for the cabinet. The worst you would be looking at is 24", which is about the shoulder width of most people.

At that point, you probably don't need anything more than hand tools to assemble.