Major Arcade Collecting Sites
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- Another up-and-coming directory of games and collectors is the Great Game Database, created by the owners of Quarterarcade.com. This site is growing daily, and is a great place to go for reference on games and to see what people are collecting.
- The Video
Arcade Preservation Society (VAPS) is a huge group of collectors dedicated
to the preservation of classic arcade games. Lots of personal arcade sites
can be accessed here. Great way to meet other collectors.
- The
Dragon's Lair Project is by no means an official site, but it's the closest
you can get as far as laser disk games are concerned. Great info on Dragon's
Lair and just about every other laser game you've ever (or never) seen.
Arcade Parts
and Restoration Materials
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Bob
Roberts has a wide variety of new and used arcade game parts and accessories
at very reasonable prices.
- Arcade
Renovations has excellent reproduction side art, marquees, control panel
overlays (CPOs), and bezels for selected games. In 2006, they were purchased by QuarterArcade, and the quality and selection continue to be excellent.
- Arcade
Grafix used to sell a wide variety of side art and other graphics for games for which no one else made reproduction art. Now, they simply sell the art files and a book on how to get them printed yourself.
- Happ
Controls has a variety of new parts, including joysticks, monitors, coin
doors--just about everything you could want. Beware of the high prices!
- ArcadeShop
Amusements has a wide selection of new and used parts, as well as entire
games. I got the switching power supplies for Spy Hunter and Bump 'n' Jump from them. Great service, great products, great selection.
- When all else fails, check the
Arcade
Parts & Accessories category on eBay.
If you're persistent enough, you'll most likely eventually find the parts
and accessories you need--including game boards!
- I suspect that most everyone visiting my site is from the US and not the Netherlands...but, if I'm wrong, pay a visit to Rkade, Rens Lensvelt's site. Rkade builds cabinets for home use. (And Rens promises that the English version of the site is on its way soon!)
Pinball Parts and Repair
- If you can do it yourself, more power to you. But, if you suck with a soldering iron, there's still hope! Coin-Op Cauldron repairs pinball circuit boards quickly and professionally--and they don't charge you an arm and a leg!
General Arcade Restoration
Information
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- The Crazy Kong site has dip switch settings for tons of games.
Arcade Games
for Sale
-
- QuarterArcade in Philadelphia, PA is an Internet dealer with a wide variety of fully restored games in stock at all times (and a lot of parts and artwork as well). James and Anthony are great guys and their merchandise is top-notch.
-
Blast
from the Past is a dealer on the west coast that is run by some really
nice, knowledgeable people.
-
eBay. It's often expensive,
but it's easy to search. Pretty much any game you could want will show up
on ebay under the Arcade
Machines category eventually. Just don't get caught up in auction fever
and pay too much!
- GameCabinetsInc builds and sells multi-game upright and cocktail cabinets, as well as bar-top and smaller classic multi-games.
Arcade Collector Sites
Much of the online information about arcade video game collecting is compiled by the collectors themselves. Here are a sampling of some of the interesting and informative arcade sites I've come across.
Major Console Collecting Sites
- Interested in buying some classic consoles and games or their modern equivalents? Then J2 Games is the site for you. Jay carries everything from Atari to Intellivision to ColecoVison--and is a retailer for the new Generation Nex, a brand new console that plays classic NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) games.
- AtariAge is the nexus for the online Atari console-collecting community. The best information available, bar none, and a great online store as well.
- ClassicGaming.com has an excellent console museum that has lots of details on all of the major classic console systems.
- Digital Press is the force behind the Classic Gaming Expo. An extensive site that's a little irreverent at times, but has quite a bit of useful console collecting information.
- IntellivisionLives.com is the official site for the Intellivision console. Lots of good information and an online store.
Magazines
and Books
- GameRoom
Magazine is a coin-op collectors publication that has lots of classic
arcade articles (as well as articles on pinball machines and other coin-op
collectables). Their site also has a HUGE collection of historical reference
books on classic arcade games and other coin-op devices.
Looking for some good books on the
subject of classic video games and pinball machines? I highly recommend the following:
Classic Video Game Conventions
- California Extreme is a summer convention dedicated mostly to classic video games and pinball machines.
- Every year in August, the Classic Gaming Expo (CGE) is held. It's a great place to meet other collectors. Primarily a console-related event, but there are usually lots of arcade games on free-play as well.
- The PhillyClassic (the premier spring east coast game show) has been bought out by VGXpo, a huge convention that is held three times a year.
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