Cartridge based systems

[cmstar]

I run through the faqs, done a search and didn't see this answered anywhere. If it was, i do apologize.

I'm looking for a definitive list of Arcade systems that used interchangeable carts, not just roms sets.

Example:

Neo Geo
Naomi
Playchoice 10
CPS II

I have one cabinet that was originally a Mrs. Pac-man and now is a Final Fight machine. Since I don't have the room, money, or time to add more dedicated cabinets, I'd like to get some cartridge based systems and find away to wire them all up inside this one cabinet.

[shawnbo42]

Assuming that your cabinet is wired Jamma, you've got basically everything you need right there. A 19" horizontal cab with a JAMMA harness. IIRC, Final Fight is 3? buttons, it doesn't really matter. You can always drill an extra button if you need to. Anyways, JAMMA standard means you can theoretically plug 'n' play virtually any PCB (game board) made from 1985ish up to present date. Reason I say theoretically is because of restrictions i.e. extra buttons/harnesses, optical guns, trackballs, steering wheels, etc. But with the cabinet you have, you should have capability for three buttons. That gives you more or less a slew of PCB's you can play in that one cab. Of course, you'd have to unplug one to plug another one in. If you are looking for an all-in-one-solve-all-your-arcade-problems idea, basically you're out of luck. Let me explain:
Capcom CPS-II - Great system, BUT....in your application, more likely than not, you'll need 6 buttons to play all your Street Fighters. Now, 6 buttons is not a problem, but 1.You need to modify your cabinet, which, unless you know what you're doing, you run the risk of butchering your control panel. 2.You ever see 2 225-lb guys standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of a Ms. Pac cab trying to play SF?? Not very comfortable. 3. Your control panel will be VERY tight with 2 Joysticks and 14 buttons there (don't forget start buttons).4. CPS-II also has numerous vertical games (monitor mounted vertically), 1944, Dimahoo, Mars Matrix, 19XX etc. and by having a horizontal cab, you completely lose out on being able to play any of those boards. So, all in all, as good as a CPS-II system is, it's probably not the answer for you, unless you happen to be a Street Fighter fanatic, in which case you'd only play on a dedicated machine in the first place.
Naomi System - Again, another great system, BUT like the Atomiswave by Sammy, it's a very particular system. Example: Crazy Taxi - Naomi game, but how are you going to plat THAT?! Or how about Marvel Vs. Capcom 2? Again, we run into the 14 button Street Fighter problem. Or take World Kicks (HUGE soccer game by Namco, has a soccer ball that you kick), kind of a cool game, but how do you kick the ball? Naomi is a great idea, but the sad fact of the matter is you need a cabinet dedicated to one theme to be able to really utilize it.
Playchoice 10 - (Please don't shoot me, Nintendo fans...) 1. It's not JAMMA, so you'd have to buy or build an adapter for it 2.You have a library of titles, but usually only a limited audience is attracted to it. Unless you are a really big Nintendo fan, I wouldn't recommend it. At least, not at first. Maybe as you get more stuff later on it might be something for you, but for your only game cab, if you don't have room, I wouldn't suggest it.
Neo Geo - Now here is where all the Neo fans will be hailing this post...It really probably is your best option for what you've got. You have a cab w/2 or 3 buttons. Neo Geo calls for 4, but lots of games don't require all 4. So this gives you 2 options : 1. Only buy carts that use as many buttons as you have (you'll have plenty of selection....Ghost Pilots, Metal Slugs, Magical Drop, Puzzle Bobble, Thrash Rally, Strikers 1945 Plus, etc) or 2.drill a hole for an extra button (it's a lot easier to drill one hole without butchering your cabinet that it is to drill 4 or more holes). Then you'd have the whole library of Neo games at your disposal. Puzzle games, fighting games, sports games (admittedly, not the best, but they are still available), airplane shooters, novelty games, pretty much everything you would normally play is there. Also, as opposed to swapping an entire board out, it's a simple cartridge change. The other thing to keep in mind is that every Neo Geo game was designed to be plugged into a Neo cab which is a horizontal monitor. What does this mean for you? Games that are normally vertical (airplane games), like Strikers 1945 and Ghost Pilots are now playable on your Ms. Pac/Final Fight cab. Plus, Neo carts are a lot smaller than arcade boards, so it's easier storage, which means you can fit more games in less space. I mean, all of this is my opinion, really it's all up to you, whatever you decide. I am sure there are a couple of multi-systems I have missed, but I or anyone else here would be happy to give you some info on those, if need be.

[Graham Mitchell]

The Nintendo Vs. system was the arcade version of the NES/Famicom, and chipsets and marquees were interchangeable. It's different from a Playchoice 10 as the Vs. versions were not the NES games; they were specifically designed for coin-op sale, and were very different from their home console counterpoints. Some of them are extremely dissimilar, in fact (like Vs. Wrecking Crew.)

After Nolan Bushnell left Atari I believed he started a company called Sente that marketed a coin-op kit with interchangeable chipsets. Look that one up.

Also, isn't it true that the standard JAMMA machine is essentially compatible with any JAMMA board as long as your joystick/button wiring harness has enough buttons for the game you're trying to use?

[cmstar]

shawnbo42:

Thank you for the info. I do appreciate it. However, it doesn't answer my question.

I know my cab is small and not ideal for games with a ton of buttons. However, the cab is structurally intacke, but the control panel needs work anyway. the buttons are damaged, the graphics have water damage, etc. I will be replacing this. Also, it will be a rare occasion that anyone other than myself is standing at the cab playing.

Also, I know JAMMA is interchangeable with other JAMMA boards. and I understand wiring up the harness and changing out games.

I simply like the idea of cartridge based systems like the Neo Geo and would like a straight forward list of systems like Neo Geo, PGM, Taito F-3, CPSI/II/III, etc. I can't seem to find a site that has a comlete list of all of them.

I will definately be starting with a 1 slot Neo Geo board and then possibly a ST-V Titaan board.

Also, I know this will kill some people, but I'm not worried about modifyin the cab. I'm not trying to keep it pure, just playable.

[shawnbo42]

Sorry to post a HUUUGE blurb about everything BUT what you were looking for, it just seemed to me like you were looking for an opinion on which cart-based system was best to go with using what you had. Also, I tried to make it as simple as possible not knowing what/how much you know about arcade cabs. Wasn't trying to make you look like a newb or anything, please don't take it that way. I see what you are after now, I know there's a site out there that gives an entire list of all Neo Geo games that were released, I would assume if you Google the ST-V system as well as CPS I/II/III and the others, you SHOULD be able to find that as well. If I find that Neo site, I will post a link to it. I seem to have momentarily misplaced it.......on my desk here somewhere....mumble, mumble....Again, sorry for the incorrect info, I must've read the post in the wrong context.

[cmstar]

shawnbo42:

No problemo. I am newbish with arcades. So it's all good and the information was good and useful. It has forced me to take a closer look at my cab and button layout. Which I needed to do anyway, but you gave me motivation :D

Right now it's a two player control panel with only 2 buttons each. But I can easily increase that to 6 each, there is deffinately room for that.

Not sure how many games/systems/machines actually implement 8 buttons, not sure if I could squeeze those in there.

ah...this is going to be fun... and time consuming... and probably costly... I'll have to sell another Jaguar.... muwahahahaha

[shawnbo42]

Well, good luck with your project then. Hope everything works out well for you. I'd like to see some before/after pics when you're done (as would everyone else here, I am sure). I did find you one piece of the puzzle you were looking for I believe, try this.

http://www.neo-geo.com/

on the left hand side, there's a master list tab.
Cheers!

[RevQuixo]

Taito F3 is another good cart based system to think about. Games are a little tough to come by, and tend to skew on the more expensive side, (Compared to ST-V or MVS) but there are some awesome puzzle games and shooters on it.

[diskoboy]

After Nolan Bushnell left Atari I believed he started a company called Sente that marketed a coin-op kit with interchangeable chipsets. Look that one up.

The Sente system had so much potential. Before our big, local arcade closed down, they had 2 Sente machines.

1 Stocker and 1 Night Stocker

I loved the hell out of the original Stocker. Night Stocker was pretty fun, too, but hard to steer and shoot at the same time. But I still love playing Stocker, more.

[Graham Mitchell]

The Sente system had so much potential. Before our big, local arcade closed down, they had 2 Sente machines.

1 Stocker and 1 Night Stocker

I loved the hell out of the original Stocker. Night Stocker was pretty fun, too, but hard to steer and shoot at the same time. But I still love playing Stocker, more.

Yeah, you know I've heard great things about Sente games; there's one where you mine for crystals or something??? It's supposed to be great, but I've never played anything. I guess that's what MAME is for, eh?

[La4s]

Here is a list of all the interchangable arcade systems that I can remember at the moment. Some are CD based though.

MVS
CPS II
CPS III
Naomi
Atomiswave
Hyper Neo 64
Lindberg
Taito Type X
Taito Type X2
Taito G.net
Taito F3
Triforce
PGM
Namco system 246
Namco system 256
STV

[cmstar]

Here is a list of all the interchangable arcade systems that I can remember at the moment. Some are CD based though.

MVS
CPS II
CPS III
Naomi
Atomiswave
Hyper Neo 64
Lindberg
Taito Type X
Taito Type X2
Taito G.net
Taito F3
Triforce
PGM
Namco system 246
Namco system 256
STV

Thanks! This is exactly what I was talking about. I believe there are more than this, but that's a good start. I had totally forgotten about the Triforce. I'm compiling a list from here, KLOV, and System16. When it's done I'll post it here. Someone else might find it useful.

I think I'm gonna start with a MVS and then maybe PGM or Titan.

[La4s]

Are you including any arcade hardware that had the capability of rom swaps such as laser discs and such?

[cmstar]

Are you including any arcade hardware that had the capability of rom swaps such as laser discs and such?

Good question, let me be more specific. For my purposes, I'm only including machines/systems that contain all game information in/on 1 interchangeable media.

Ex. MVS Cartridge, Naomi GD-Rom, Playchoice 10 rom board.

The VS. Unisystem does not count because (as I understand you have to replaces multiple individual chips. The Playchoice 10 does count because the entire game in on one individual rom board and that board is interchangeable.

The "Base Hardware" section on System16.com is basically what I was after. Though (and maybe I'm just crazy) but it seems they are missing some.

AND BTW, I may turn this into a new project thread. I just won an auction for a 1 slot MVS board :D Now I just need some games for it.

[La4s]

MVS is the way to go if you are looking to amass a large collection of interchangable carts. Do you have a cabinet for the mvs or are you consolizing it?

[Arcade Antics]

The VS. Unisystem does not count because (as I understand you have to replaces multiple individual chips.

Depends on the game. e.g., SMB: yes. Castlevania: no. Later games used a single daughter card.

[cmstar]

Here is another one to add to the list, the BrezzaSoft Crystal System. So far I can only find limited info and 3 games for it from System 16.com anyone know of more games for it? It looks very similar to the MVS.

[La4s]

The only two games I have seen for this are Crystal Kings and Evo Soccer. I have never seen a copy of Top Blade before.

[Candycab]

Lots more MVS info and killer game reviews here

http://www.neogeoforlife.com/news.php

Probably the single best info site for MVS here

www.hardmvs.com