Considering buying this Arcade Machine Please Help

[dsullo]

I trust you guys and know that you are more knowledgeable on Arcade Games. I have been looking to get a nice Arcade Machine for my basement. This one just came up on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13716&item=6124475097&rd=1

The person is about 10 minutes away from me, so pick up would be no problem.

I kinda like this game because it is a SEGA game, I love Sega and it has some significant history (in my mind).

What do you guys think?

How much would you pay for it?

I appreciate your comments

Dustin

[Sniderman]

I suck at fighters, so I don't really follow prices and such very closely. But that cab appears to be in good condition, and it's more of a "modern" game, so I assume the guts are clean and firing well. (As opposed to a 20-, 30-year-old game)

I think a BIN of $350 isn't unreasonable, and is actually a good deal. If I liked fighters and was local, sure, I'd jump at the BIN.

But wait for someone else to chime in before you take my advice. These cabs could be a dime-a-dozen for all I know.

[98PaceCar]

That is a little bit high for a VF, but not too terribly bad. The biggest downside to that cab is that it is a medium res monitor. You aren't going to find too many other games that will work with it. If it was a switchable med/low res you would be set. So I guess it depends on if you want to just play VF or if you are looking for a generic jamma cab to play whatever games you want in it.

If you are just looking to play other jamma games, I'd pass on this one personally. It doesnt' leave you with very many options.

[chadtower]

That is a little bit high for a VF, but not too terribly bad. The biggest downside to that cab is that it is a medium res monitor. You aren't going to find too many other games that will work with it. If it was a switchable med/low res you would be set. So I guess it depends on if you want to just play VF or if you are looking for a generic jamma cab to play whatever games you want in it.

If you are just looking to play other jamma games, I'd pass on this one personally. It doesnt' leave you with very many options.

This may or may not be true. For certain I can tell you that if that is a stock cabinet (as in no Frankenstein work), it's not a JAMMA cab. VF is a Sega Model 1 game which is not directly JAMMA compatible. That sure looks like the original VF cab so I'm guessing it's stock and therefore would not be able to play JAMMA board without rewiring. Of course, that may or may not be relevant depending on what you want the cab for.

This is the list of Model 1 games I know of off the top of my head, and it's probably most of them. These are the games you'd be able to swap out easily.

Netmerc
Star Wars Arcade
Tecwar
Virtua Fighter
Virtua Formula
Virtua Racing
Wing War

Of those, Netmerc was never really released as it was a giant VR type prototype thing, so cross that off. Virtua Formula has a secondary Model 1 board to handle a commentator but I don't know if it runs without that board. It may or may not.

As for the monitor, it may or may not be 15/25khz switchable. For certain it's 25khz capable as VF is a medium res game as pointed out above. Many of the Sega cabs have either autodetecting or physically switchable low/med (15/25khz) monitors, though, and I don't know of any way to tell without looking at the monitor model # and specs.

$275 isn't a terrific price but it's not a terrible one either since VF is still a low grade revenue generator.

EDIT: One other point... is VF MAME compatible? I own a giant VF2 so I've never tried to find out. If it's not supported by MAME then that's another reason the cabinet would cost a bit more.

[Arcade Antics]

I wouldn't spend more than $200 for it, but that's just me. :) Virtua Fighter cabs are on the more common side of the fence. Bottom line is really "how much do you want a dedicated VF game?"

It does appear to be in pretty nice shape though. 8-)

[dsullo]

Its alot to think about. I appreciate the comments. I am creating a game room in my basement for the family. I already bought a Dreamcast Kiosk unit for it and I have always wanted a full size arcade machine. I want something local so I do not have to pay shipping. I am limited by whats available in my area. I think the game would get a good amount of use from friends and family when we have parties and get togethers. I guess I just need to think about it for a little while.

thanks for all your comments. It has got me thinking.