My buddies Dad offered me a Simpsons arcade cab for free.

[dbiersdorf]

So one of my best friends Dad has a Simpsons arcade cab (you know the 4-player beat 'em up by Konami) and wants to get it out of his basement and knows that I would take it off his hands, and he's willing to give it to me for free. Here is my dilemma though..

1.) I'm in college. I go to Iowa State, and I'm not bringing this down here from Minnesota. My parents don't want the thing in their house. So realistically I don't have anywhere to put it.

2.) The unit itself is in GREAT condition. However when they moved it from a different room they had to disconnect the controller piece to fit it through the doorway and never bothered to put it back on. Meaning basically you can't play the thing until the controller wires are back together... which I have no clue how to do. Is it hard? Could I hire someone to do it/

3.) He's been on my ass for a couple years now to take the thing, and I'm afraid if I don't get it this summer he's simply going to give it away, or worse throw the thing away (they have a lot of money, it's really not an issue.)

4.) I'm afraid if I do take it, and at the end of the summer have to figure out a place for it, I'll end up having to just sell the thing, and I'll look like an asshole who took the thing and just turned around and made a profit.

What the HELL do I do?

[Arcade Antics]

So one of my best friends Dad has a Simpsons arcade cab (you know the 4-player beat 'em up by Konami) and wants to get it out of his basement and knows that I would take it off his hands, and he's willing to give it to me for free. Here is my dilemma though..

1.) I'm in college. I go to Iowa State, and I'm not bringing this down here from Minnesota. My parents don't want the thing in their house. So realistically I don't have anywhere to put it.

2.) The unit itself is in GREAT condition. However when they moved it from a different room they had to disconnect the controller piece to fit it through the doorway and never bothered to put it back on. Meaning basically you can't play the thing until the controller wires are back together... which I have no clue how to do. Is it hard? Could I hire someone to do it/

3.) He's been on my ass for a couple years now to take the thing, and I'm afraid if I don't get it this summer he's simply going to give it away, or worse throw the thing away (they have a lot of money, it's really not an issue.)

4.) I'm afraid if I do take it, and at the end of the summer have to figure out a place for it, I'll end up having to just sell the thing, and I'll look like an asshole who took the thing and just turned around and made a profit.

What the HELL do I do?
First thing to decide is whether or not you really want it. Full size cabs aren't for everyone, that's why he's giving it away for free. :) If this one is the original dedicated cab, it's huge, heavy, etc. If you do want it, then you have to be willing to do whatever is necessary to move and store it. If that all sounds like a big hassle, then don't take it. Let them give it to someone else, sell it, or donate it.

Sounds like your options are to ask them to keep it for you until you're done with school, ask a different friend or relative to store it for you, or pay to store it somewhere.

Control panel wiring should be a matter of reconnecting molex connectors, takes about 10 seconds.

[hellfire]

you could put it in one of those storage places were you have to pay every month

[aclbandit]

If you have no one who lives near you that you can store it with, you may wish to look into those self-storage places. You have to pay a fee, but if it's worth it to you, find a cheap place to keep it.

[norkusa]

Bring it to school with you and put it in a dorm loby or student commons area. Put a lock on the coin mech door and watch the quarters flow in.

[Game Freak]

Bring it to school with you and put it in a dorm loby or student commons area. Put a lock on the coin mech door and watch the quarters flow in.


best idea ive seen yet. I second this opinion :P

Although self storage is also a good idea :)

[tubeway]

Bring it to school with you and put it in a dorm loby or student commons area. Put a lock on the coin mech door and watch the quarters flow in.

This really is the best response.
And if the school has issues with it, you can even just offer to let them have all or half the quarters in exchange for the space it will take.

Additionally, you could get X-Men or another board for it, and swap it out periodically to keep a good flow of coinage coming in.

[dbiersdorf]

Just to clarify this is the official, full size cab. It really is in sharp condition, with all of the original artwork and everything.

As for storage, I really don't think that's an option as I don't have the funds for that. It's not so much that I want the thing, it's more the fact I don't want to see it given in to the wrong hands. You probably think I'm exaggerating when I say they would throw it away, but I'm not kidding, if the easy thing for them to do is get a garbage place to pick it up and dispose of it - then that's what they'll do.

In terms of bringing it school... I would love to, but believe it or not, I already have an arcade machine in my apartment! HAHA. Last year I picked up an Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 arcade machine on a wim for a little over $125, and I was in the dorms at the time and it was a huge hassle with the RA's and stuff because they had never dealt with such a situation before. They said it had to be in a dorm room (and absolutely not in any community room) and if it messed with power convertors and such they had a zero tolerance policy and it would be required to leave. Thankfully, nothing happened because of it, and now I've moved off-campus and have at my place.

Sooo, there's where the school situation comes in. I can't put it in any community living places on campus. I'm sure plenty of bars down here would take it, but a part of me can't see a fantastic cab like The Simpsons could to waste in some bar with a bunch of drunk people messing around with it. My only other thought is the campus has a place called "The Underground" which was designed as a place for kids to stay sober on the weekends and has arcades, pool tables and bowling... but I've never been there and I wouldn't have a clue to where to even start about who to talk to and how to arrange an agreement about me still being able to hold some kind of rights with it.

If this were some shit arcade game, I really wouldn't care. But it's The Simpsons. THE SIMPSONS.

[Gameguy]

That's one of my favourite arcade games, if I ever started getting arcade cabs I would want that one(only others I can think of are Pong or Computer Space). I hope you'll find room for it, that's a good game to have.

You could get rid of your bed and keep it there, start sleeping in a chair.

[Joe West]

get one of those small storage places.....you mite be-able to get it for about 30--40 bucks a month, but make sure there's heat available in the winter months...rust would be bad..............

[dbiersdorf]

get one of those small storage places.....you mite be-able to get it for about 30--40 bucks a month, but make sure there's heat available in the winter months...rust would be bad..............

I'm a broke college student... I barely have $40 as it is. That is definitely not an option.

[eskobar]

I'm a broke college student... I barely have $40 as it is. That is definitely not an option.

Man, you have just answered the question yourself. Don't take the cabinet, let them donate it or give it to someone that can have it, too many gamers would be happy with it :D

[An Hero]

Just tell him you'll take it and sell it for him and split the profits. Obviously, he doesn't care if it brings him any money as it's more about getting rid of it, but YOU get some much needed money out of it. I would also like to have a shot at buying it if this were to happen.

[hellfire]

I'm a broke college student... I barely have $40 as it is. That is definitely not an option.

Sell some stuff on chase the chuck wagon, Or pay the owner of the game to hold it for you until you have room for it, OR get a job at one of those storage places so you can store it yourself

[sisko]

Where is "here" in comparison to Minnesota?

For a free Simpsons cab, I'd make the sacrifice and squirrel it in some crowded corner of an apartment.

You won't live there forever...

[cyberfluxor]

Man, you have just answered the question yourself. Don't take the cabinet, let them donate it or give it to someone that can have it, too many gamers would be happy with it :D

True. If you can't spare $40/mo then things must be very tight indeed. I'd say that leaves you with either paying the guy some bucks to continue holding onto it, find a source of additional income (tutor, campus work, internship), or place it in that campus community spot and keep a good eye on it (maybe work there?).

[hellfire]

you could take it apart and put the pieces in your closet and under your bed, and when you move out you can put it back together

[kazuo]

You should take it and flip it on craigslist

Better to put some money in your pocket than let it get tossed in a trash can.

[MoreEbolaForYou]

has anyone even suggested the most obvious and easiest solution? just give it to a friend. duh! tell him "keep this thing til you're sick of it, then i'll take it back." free storage til you have room for it. so easy.