Photos of IPM Invader Cocktail

Read to the bottom of the arcade-history.com note and you’ll see that the game was different from the original Space Invaders in that it used a color monitor, had some sort of ‘coffee break’ interlude, and also has a special setting for the ships to drop capsules that rehatch invaders. Its the little things. Photos weren’t super easy to find online, there isn’t a flyer for IPM Invader, and Klov just has the one photo, so enjoy….

It’s your standard boring cocktail, the overlay has mildly neat artwork but overall still a bland clone of Space Invaders. The owner may take it to the Ohio Pinball show next year, if its something of interest to buy.

Anyone ever seen an upright IPM Invader? Did they exist? Or have you seen any documentation to the game online? Link us to it.

You're reading Bleepity, Bloopity – IPM Invader is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

The Out Run cabinet is in great condition

The huge wooden base has some dings, but the cockpit in general looks pretty awesome, check out a couple of the photos of the game, or view a couple more in the cockpit photo gallery .

Originally he had wanted to sell this for $350, but just today dropped the price to $250 OBO, and the game works. If you are looking to buy a racing arcade game (in this case a sit down) in the surrounding states of Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio or maybe even Tennessee, this might be a great opportunity to get a working cockpit for cheap.

Although not as big as a Sega Afterburner, you’ll still need a buddy. This game is deceptively heavier than it looks. Email me if you are interested in buying the game.

You're reading Sega Outrun cockpit for sale in Indianapolis is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

This Old Game – Best repro house, now with the best website

That’s what I’m declaring. Rich’s new website is the best one out there for finding reproduction items for your arcade games. Actually, he ties with Gamestencils, because they run on the same piece of software. Squirrelcart is great from a maintenance standpoint – it has a fast to use admin interface and leverages content through a great SEO structured framework. It also has all of the features you come to expect, like search, and is graphically pleasing to the eye to boot.

Jamie did the design for Rich’s site, check it out;

Rich’s work is hands down the best, and produced with the highest level of detail – matching or besting anyone out there for printing on vinyl, polycarbonate, mylar, you name it. But for many months now, Thisoldgame.com has been half launched, and was an extremely bad website. Visually / graphically the layout was lacking, user interface was confusing, and with no archival information it seemed as though items were never re-listed, or if they were out of stock they were never noted. But by using SQ Rich should see quite a few more conversions – at least it should be easier to track.

Here’s to repro artwork prosperity

Congrats. Let’s hope this means continued good things for the only custom arcade artwork shop that will take on small runs of reproductions for our favorite games that weren’t produced in great bulk.

You're reading This Old Game re-launches website, this time its great. is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Arcade Documentaries – Niche product for a largely untapped market

I should put together a timeline and how each of the proposed arcade / pinball documentaries have panned out. First there was KOK, then Tilt, and since then we’ve seen trailers for a movie about pinball players, missile command champions and the list goes on and on – each even more specific than the last. Fortunately, in this hobby, even though we might not all collect pinball machines, we’re all going to go out and see a movie that loosely revolves around how we spend our free time.

This time we’re looking at the possibility of a documentary that puts on display our dark little secret that we have tucked away in our garages, finished basements and sometimes even lofts. A movie about arcade game collectors, by an arcade game collector, I got a little soundbyte from Jeff Von Ward himself;

Two years, three classic game conventions, thirty-five collectors, two-hundred hours of footage…and still going!

Ha, well, not a ton of insight into the games we might see in the documentary or the locals he might visit but certainly visiting 35 different collectors in person is quite the undertaking. Click on the screenshots below to view the Space Invaders: America’s Underground Arcades trailer.

Will this arcade documentary succeed?

I hope so. I believe that the audience for this movie will be more limited to those individuals who can empathize with the trials and tribulations of collecting. (Although that is not the subject of this movie). But I think that common ground will drive people to view this movie. And if we can push a few more bodies one step closer to inculturation, all the better for the rest of us.

Jeff might be the perfect person for the job. Jeff has worked at Adobe for a number of years, and is truly a creative individual. Let’s just hope he finds some funding somewhere down the line so that the rest of us can benefit from some sort of distribution before another two years go by.

You're reading New arcade game documentary movie? is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

What is Crazy Otto?

Crazy Otto, which eventually became Ms. Pac-man, was GCC’s pitch to Midway as a kit to go into existing Pac-man machines. If you remember we just recently spotlit the photo albums from inside the General Computer Corp facility. You can watch a little bit of GC history in this Play Value video (warning, extremely annoying narration).

On Arcade-History there is a note that there were a couple of these Crazy Otto machines being tested on location in Boston and Chicago, probably before Doug Macrae and Kevin Curran made the pitch to give them some data in their presentation to Midway. Apparently, over the span of seven years and some consistent follow up, someone from the Mame project kept in touch with one of the GCC engineers, Steve Golson, and they now have a couple of candidates for release.

A lot of hope in the Crazy Otto thread on Mameworld for other long lost games to be available to play. I didn’t realize that Data East’s Manhattan was one of them, and there is a lot of talk about Ms. Gorf.

I’m just glad I’ll be going to CAX this year to try out GCC’s Nightmare.

You're reading General Computer Corp’s Crazy Otto hits Mame in 2010 is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Three Stooges sells for $1,136.11 on eBay!

I am guessing that sometime in the near future, I am going to want a 3 Stooges for my collection – that is how it would happen since this one popped up relatively close to me. But for $1,136.11, buying in anticipation of a future need, especially with such poor reviews for gameplay, seems a little ostentatious.

Having little or no exposure to Three Stooges before two years ago, Stephen B. listed a page with a bunch of his games for sale. This was no ordinary list of games, there were a ton of rare items that he had driven all over the United States to accumulate. Hence, I sat up and took notice of the 3 Stooges that was listed for $1,500. He didn’t want to sell, so certainly the game had a premium of at least 30% over the typical value. (He sold it sometime in the last 12 months)

Stephen B.’s Three Stooges

How much is a Three Stooges worth?

I think that the final selling price for this Three Stooges is about right. The value is probably right around $1,200 depending on area and collecting base. One of those really rare games that is inelastic. In fact, this particular 3 Stooges is probably the same one that sold in Lansing (3.5 hour distance) earlier in the month for a touch more money – $1,181.65. (I emailed for a comment, but I received no answer on how the game was acquired.)

Looking at a couple of prices over the past 10 plus years from RGVAC – 3 Stooges in Milwaukee with sideart and a 3 Stooges for $450 – It would seem as though this was around a $500 game at that time. That wouldn’t indicate a ton of demand during a time when games could sell easily in the $800-$1,200 range. Heck, Stephen B. had another 3 Stooges that was ‘used’ in 1985 that he got for around $700 that he then converted to a Rastan! Ouch.

So, the following for the game has seen some growth over the years as fewer units are available. Using a low price of $450 from several years ago, with an average of 2.75% annual inflation, that would put the price somewhere in the $625 range in today’s money. Maybe higher if you use the $500 figure.

Compare that to these selling prices of around $1,200 and it would appear that the game has doubled in value.

On a related subject – NOS 3 Stooges artwork

What would that mean for the price for some Three Stooges NOS artwork? Mario D. was a lucky enough collector to pick up a small lot of artwork back in 2001 for the game from a Three Stooges Fan Club newsletter, when it was still mediocre in value.

For Sale…Set of original 1983 Three Stooges coin-op videogame side panel decal (18” x 24”), polycarbonate header panel and 3 player control panel decals. These 3 pieces of videogame graphics art were obtained directly from the game manufacturer in 1984 and are in mint condition with the original peel and stick adhesive backing still in place. Perfect holiday gift item! $100 for all three items (plus shipping). Email jcv@… or call John @ 312-xxx-xxxx.

Purchased out Chicago area, Mario ended up with both sides of side art, the main upper control panel piece, and the marquee $125! Here is a photo showing the NOS sideart;

I don’t think that this artwork would still bring only double that, $200 today. If he re-sold those items I would speculate they’d bring closer to $350 or more today. Maybe more, definitely one of a kind items.

What will the game be worth in another 10 years?

The gameplay stinks, or so I’ve heard. If you’ve played it in person, do you think the gameplay would be fun for a true Stooges fan? Or bar none, it sucks?

What will the game be worth in another 10 years? I think the appreciation will slow, but I wouldn’t think $1,600-$1,800 for a nice one would be out of the question.

Related links for valuing a 3 Stooges arcade game

• Todd Tuckey’s mention of his 3 Stooges sale to the Museum
• Guy who bought a 3 Stooges for $450 in 1998
• The 3 Stooges museum – List of exhibits
• 3 Stooges sold at Milwaukee auction for $400 with sideart (Joe M.)
• Stephen B. 3 Stooges that sold last year
• Mario, who has / had NOS 3 Stooges artwork
• List of information concerning Gottlieb arcade games at Ionpool

You're reading Three Stooges sold for big money on eBay is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Sinistar – 5 dozen emails later

When that Burgertime DECO machine just sort of ‘showed up’ at my place this summer I was in a bind. I was already out of room in my basement for any other arcade games. And then…I got that Tunnel Hunt and Red Baron for cheap and I thought the Red Baron might be the first game that I could make an equal offer for a Sinistar in trade. Since I was going to have to figure out how to get more games into the basement, I might as well explore trying to find a trade, right? (Says the crazy man…)

I searched for two months, the Red Baron didn’t pique the interest of the Sinistar owners, and I think most of the Red Baron owners already have the game in their arcades. But before it sold, I got wind of a Tron for a song and I knew one Sinistar owner in north western Minnesota who might be interested in a trade for that instead.

I sold the Red Baron outright, and since I was already committed to the Sinistar idea, planned to pick up the Tron in hopes of making that swap instead.

Trade the Tron for Sinistar at Chris’ party?

This was right around the time of Chris’ Halloween party in Chicago. I thought that would be perfect, I could bring the Tron with me and could double the value and making one trip. But alas, timing wasn’t on my side this time, and Jeff K. in Minnesota had plans that weekend and couldn’t get back with me until the following Monday when I returned.

Drat! I had driven to Chicago two weekends in a row and didn’t have any intentions of making the trip again.

So we kept talking. I was committed to finish up the Ms. Pac-man stencil restoration while the weather was warm. I picked up the Tron in the first part of Nov., and I saw right away how much more of a desirable game Tron is than Red Baron – word to the wise. Either way, reselling it wouldn’t have been an issue.

Drive! Drive! Drive! to Rockford, IL

If the trade was going to happen, it had to happen before the snow. Obviously, I didn’t want to travel in that, but again…also trying to clear out the garage and Tron was the last game in there that I wasn’t keeping, and in the way of my goal. We had the couple of days before Thanksgiving setup and ready to roll, and then my truck fell through.

But this weekend worked out fine and I got to see friends / drop off some items for repair so it was a worthwhile trip. Except for those White Castle breakfast sandwhiches Jeff K. came a really long way from Moorhead MN, huge thanks to him for making that trip. He’s a trooper, I think both of us were dreading doing more driving. That Sinistar has traveled quite a ways, originally from Devils Lake North Dakota.

Now…to power it up and see if it survived the trip. Anyone want to play some Sinistar this winter?

You're reading Wroooaaarrrr! Sinistar say, Get me Jacket. is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Pac-man stencils – More time consuming than Ms. Pac-man?

Hard to say. I’d think that the time used to lay down that ‘blue speckle’ would offset some of the longer durations of a Ms. Pac-man stenciling like the full cabinet artwork, laying down the yellow, etc. But certainly what Joe did must have taken longer than 60-80 hours because he restored the whole thing inside and out, down to the bolts.

The basic photo steps for stenciling your Pac-man cabinet are on Coinopspace, which links out to some additional information. Here are some photos from the restoration;

Stenciling Pac-man Tutorial

Joe certainly has the experience on every front now to advise anyone looking to restore their own Pac-man game. Again, this is not my restoration. If you’ve re-stenciled your Pac-man, drop a line. I’d like to know if there is any different way of doing the speckles as a thicker dot, automated, than with a toothbrush.

You're reading A stenciled Pac-man arcade game is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Play some of your arcade games with family, and as the holiday season is not truly upon us remember to “SAY NO TO HOARDING“. Here’s looking at you Joe Bachman.

Tryptophan. That is All.

You're reading Happy Thanksgiving is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.

Tough balance – Ease, Price + Shipping, Demand

Building an arcade game from scratch is expensive. If you buy a nice piece of cabinet grade Birch plywood, 3/4″ thick, you are going to be right around $50 from your local shop. You’d need 3-4 pieces to build a full size arcade cabinet at least, that is a rough estimate – (certainly ask Brett in the Toledo area, he’d probably be able to tell you exactly how much is needed)

Using a Pac-man cabaret as a base, at 19.5″ deep, in my estimate that should mean you could fit both sides of a mini on one piece, and then maybe all of the other parts – kickplate, back door on another sheet? Maybe not, maybe you’d need three sheets, so let’s say $150 in wood costs.

Here are some photos showing this finished cabaret cabinet from Bill Wood and the pre-cut pieces of wood for a cabaret.

At $375 plus shipping, although that may be reasonable when you take into spec time and other non physical costs, that is getting to be an expensive game. That is just the cabinet, no artwork. This seemed to be a common piece of feedback, that the artwork isn’t available making the cabinet almost ‘worthless’ in a sense if that isn’t available. But for a Pac-man, there isn’t sideart, so all of the other pieces should be available via re-sale. Maybe its the immediate availability, I don’t know.

Regardless, looks like after about 6-8 months they gave up. They did leave a mirror of Bill’s website for the reproduction cabinets online. Here are the original discussions;

• New mini cabinets?
• No more new mini/cabaret cabinets

What are the ‘actual’ cabaret wood costs?

I would be curious to know what the ‘exact’ costs were. Were the costs $375? I doubt it. Outsourcing it to a non collector, that shop would need to make some sort of profit. Not that they should do it at cost either.

What would you pay for a repro cabaret?

They probably should have asked what would have been the most appropriate price point for these cabinet first to see if it even made sense to explore. Maybe I missed that question.

I would think $250+ shipping? That seems more reasonable to me at least. By the time you talk, marquee, control panel, bezel, and then possibly a Jamma to original converter you are going to be looking at an additional $200-$250.

I’d like to hear your feedback. What price would you pay for a pre-fabbed, really nice quality birch cabaret cabinet? I don’t want to hear “I don’t like cabarets, so I don’t care”. Don’t answer if you don’t like cabarets. But there are guys that do, mostly for space reasons and due to where they were used (bars) they seem to be pretty beat so a new cabinet would be a breath of fresh air.

You're reading Pre-built cabaret arcade cabinets is a post from: Jeff Rothe, originally posted on Rotheblog - An Arcade Game Blog. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Jeff on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +.