Were they really that lucrative?

[Cinder6]

So, after doing all my exploring on my new (first) MVS-2-25, I figured out that the counter behind the coin slot door thing (what's that door called, anyways?) is a coin counter. Mine was at 89,164. That means it's seen $22,291 in quarters.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1353/834795592_40b61a36d6.jpg

Are/were arcade systems really that lucrative? That's one helluva return. Or is there some way to manually change the number, and whomever did so just decided to make it really, really high?

[dcescott]

Surely you can click back the odometer, but the operator needs to balance the checkbook if you will from one reading to the next. NeoGeos still get business if you have the right games, Bust a Move, Metal Slug, SShowdown, KoF, etc. Usually found in laundry mats and independent pizza places. Good money, very easy to work on if broken too.

[Cinder6]

So how do you click it back? I don't see any switch for it, nor is there an option under hardware setup.

[dcescott]

I dunno, Flack is good at stuff like that. I was thinking about Ferris Buellers Day Off just right before he flips out and breaks the Ferrari....

[dcescott]

I just reread my reply, they are easy to fix, do I fix them? Heck no! I paid a guru to do it for me. I'd screw it up.

[XYXZYZ]

Mine says 32,665, or $8,166.25. You can also hit the test switch and get into the book keeping info to see what games made more money.

$22,291.00 is pretty darn good, I think the Neo Geo originally cost operators about $5,000.00 so that's a nice return. I wonder how many locations that machine has serviced..

By the way, if you want to avoid messing with quarters, MVS dip switch 7 is free play on/off.

[Vectorman0]

Don't forget the games cost quite a bit of money when they were brand new. And if the arcade ops were using the older, cheaper, games they wouldn't have brought in as much.

[Cinder6]

Wow, I didn't know the machines were $5k new. I'd been guessing up to $2k. How much were games? I'm assuming they cost more than their AES counterparts?


By the way, if you want to avoid messing with quarters, MVS dip switch 7 is free play on/off.

Yeah, that was already set when I got it.

[dcescott]

They still bring in money, just not as much as a DDR machine. Those games are still great, a couple of independant arcades I frequent still has a couple and they are played alot.

[shawnbo42]

Other than cracking open your meter, and resetting it manually, there's no way to click it back that I've ever seen. Why would you want to anyways, I think it's more fun to look at it and imagine all those kids/people standing in front of YOUR machine, spending their money over the years, getting all the enjoyment of seeing their game in that cabinet. If you are really interested in it, buy a new meter, and start fresh, I think they run like $5 or $10. I've got meters here and there that are 200k+.....lots of quarters.

[Cinder6]

I don't want to reset it...I'm wondering if there's a chance it had more quarters put through it than displayed.

[shawnbo42]

Sure, it's possible someone had the meter disconnected at one time, for some reason. Or that could be a new meter, and the original one died. They do that sometimes. Run a quarter through yours, and see if it clicks.

[DKTheArcadeRat]

Also not necessarily all quarters, because there is another way to have credits and make the counter go without actually putting a quarter in, so it may have gotten that many plays/credits, but not necessarily racking in as much cash. --Most of the guys probably know about hitting the little bar type switches right on the coin slots(on the inside that is) to register a credit for either side(depending on which side you click).

[Cinder6]

Yeah, the counter still counts coins.

Also, I'll have to try that credit trick; I'd never heard about it before. If that works, then why do people install credit buttons?

[DKTheArcadeRat]

Probably because for home use, they don't want to, or don't want other people to keep opening the coin door. You can also hit the red button next to the test button for "service credits" which gives you 1 credit on each side without rolling the counter.

[Bojay1997]

but you have to keep in mind there was maintenance involved, lots of trips to collect coins and then sorting the coins and depositing them. Then, there was the revenue split with the location which typically cost you half of each of those quarters. I had a college roommate who had a small route, but during the brief resurgence of arcade games in the early to mid-90s. He used to make about what I did a week working a minimum wage job. Of course, other than collecting coins and minor maintenance, he didn't have to do all that much to make a living. Nowadays, I think it's tough to make any kind of money on a route.