Every gamer of a certain age has, at one point or another in their life, thought about buying an arcade machine. Until recently, it’s only been a dream: Old-school arcade cabinets are heavy, expensive, and difficult to maintain, so most fans can’t just buy one on a whim. Now, though, there are options like the Arcade1Up cabinet: brand-spanking new reproductions of retro arcade machines like Pac-Man, Asteroids, and Street Fighter 2. Better yet, thanks to a holiday deal, bringing home a new arcade machine costs less than buying a game console (even after all those Black Friday game deals).
Walmart is selling its entire line of Arcade1Up arcade machines for $250, down $50 from the standard price.
You can buy an arcade machine for less than a Switch, a PS4 Pro, or an Xbox One X. What a time to be alive.
There is a catch with the Arcade1Up machines you should know about: the machines are considerably shorter than standard arcade machines. In theory, that allows you to set up them with a stool or a chair and play them seated. Arcade1Up sells an official riser, a wooden box that fits underneath its machines to bring them up to the height arcade players would expect, but they don’t seem to be in stock at any of the major retailers that carry the machines. That said, if you’re feeling crafty, I’m betting it isn’t hard to make a box that can support the machine, which weighs roughly 63 pounds, and get it up to standing height. (Case in point, YouTuber Stan’s Arcade made risers using cheap end tables, which he also bought at Walmart).
If the dream of owning an arcade machine is in your heart, but you don’t have the means or will to buy a vintage cabinet, this seems like a pretty fun and reasonable compromise. Pick out your favorite game and start clearing out space in the garage.
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