Located a Zaxxon today...

[Steve W]

There's a thrift store I went to today that has a Zaxxon arcade cab in it. The joystick is missing, there's just a nub left where the cool flightstick-style joystick was screwed on. I wasn't all that much of a fan of Zaxxon, but if I decided to pick it up for their asking price of $99.99, how hard would it be to repair it? The front panel (especially where the Player 1 and Player 2 buttons are) doesn't have very much art left on it. The side art looks good, though. That's not much of a concern for me, really, I'm just wondering how well it functions and if repairs would be costly.

I don't really know what I'd do with it if I bought it anyway, since I don't have the room for it. I could always keep it at my brother's house (if his questionably mentally unstable girlfriend doesn't object). It's just that I would like to start collecting arcade games, I just don't know if I would want to start with Zaxxon (I think I've talked myself out of buying it, just typing all this out). But if any Dallas area folks want it more than I do (or anyone in, say, Oklahoma that's willing to come down and get it), just PM me for the location.

[BetaWolf47]

I'm confused... I thought you said you didn't buy it?

[Arcade Antics]

There's a thrift store I went to today that has a Zaxxon arcade cab in it. The joystick is missing, there's just a nub left where the cool flightstick-style joystick was screwed on. ...how hard would it be to repair it?

The front panel (especially where the Player 1 and Player 2 buttons are) doesn't have very much art left on it. The side art looks good, though. That's not much of a concern for me, really, I'm just wondering how well it functions and if repairs would be costly.

Difficulty of repair depends on what is wrong with it in addition to the cosmetic things you listed. Does it power up? Is it playable? Replacing a joystick is easy.

Cost depends on what you want to spend and how you want to restore it. You going for the bare minimum, playable game? Or all original parts? An original Zaxxon stick will cost more than a generic replacement. Would you even bother replacing the CPO? Etc.

[dao2]

I'm confused... I thought you said you didn't buy it?

he said "but if" not "but i"

[Steve W]

Right, I said "But if I buy it".

The arcade cab was nowhere near a power plug, if they even have one there to test electronics out with. So I have no idea whether or not it even powers on. I was really concerned with the original joystick, since it wasn't an off-the-shelf type of controller. I was wondering if that would be a concern, trying to find a part like that.

I've sort of talked myself out of it. Maybe I could test it, and if it's only the joystick that's broken I can replace it, clean the cab up a bit, and take it to a show like the Oklahoma Videogame Expo and find it a nice home. Really, if it were a Tron arcade cab or a Star Wars Arcade cab, I would be trying to stuff it into the back seat of my car milliseconds after laying my eyes on it. But I was never a fan of Zaxxon. Never cared for isometric style gameplay. Plus, my Saturn's back seat isn't really big enough. I need to make a decision about it soon.

[Arcade Antics]

I've sort of talked myself out of it...

Maybe I could test it, and if it's only the joystick that's broken I can replace it, clean the cab up a bit, and take it to a show like the Oklahoma Videogame Expo and find it a nice home... I need to make a decision about it soon.

If it works, it's probably already gone. Cheap arcade games don't tend to sit around. Zaxxon is pretty common as arcade games go. If you're not into it, just forget it and wait for something you're jazzed about.

[skaar]

Control panels seem like the easiest thing to fix. If it works and the monitor's good, grab it I say.

[Cornelius]

I'm going to second some advice from above... pass on it! You want your first to be something that you love and are excited about, especially if it will need some work to get it going. If you are just 'meh' about it, it might be a lot harder than you think to get the motivation to work on it.

I asked a couple of times here if something I was looking at was a good deal or not, and if I should buy it. I was like you, and would only have been buying because it was a good deal, and not because I particularly liked the game. That's the advice I got (and took), and I eventually found my #2 wanted game and am thrilled with it (even with some hiccups and glitches). I know if I'd bought one of those others they'd just be sitting collecting dust.

[Steve W]

I'm going to second some advice from above... pass on it! You want your first to be something that you love and are excited about, especially if it will need some work to get it going. If you are just 'meh' about it, it might be a lot harder than you think to get the motivation to work on it.

I asked a couple of times here if something I was looking at was a good deal or not, and if I should buy it. I was like you, and would only have been buying because it was a good deal, and not because I particularly liked the game. That's the advice I got (and took), and I eventually found my #2 wanted game and am thrilled with it (even with some hiccups and glitches). I know if I'd bought one of those others they'd just be sitting collecting dust.

You're right. I like the idea of having an arcade game more than the idea of having that particular arcade game. Ah well, hopefully I'll find something I would really love to have.

I was thinking about it earlier today, I've come across a decent amount of arcade games in thrift stores. Rastan (I always loved that game, but the machine was dead; donated by the arcade storage place next door to the thrift), X-Men, NFL Blitz 2000, Soul Edge (bad monitor), NBA Jam Championship Edition (also bad monitor), some kind of bowling game cab (and again, bad monitor and probably something wrong with the board), and now Zaxxon. It's odd that I keep coming across them, most of them just in this year. I really hope that my luck holds, and maybe the titles will start getting better.

There's a thrift I know of that has a Centipede cab in it which was running at one point, but all the little Mexican kids beating up on it (and peeling all the artwork off the side) probably killed it, because it hasn't been running the past few times I've been there. But they have a giant sign on the marquee that says 25¢. I'm always tempted to try and get them to sell it to me for a quarter. It doesn't say that's per play on the sign, it just says 25¢. My brother lives not too far from the place, I wonder if he'd loan me his truck, or go with me for a little help (since I'm not all that good with talking to people, especially trying to convince someone to sell an arcade cab that's probably never had it's coin box emptied to sell it for a quarter).