I hope you were interested in Multi-Cades because that was what the bulk of the working upright offerings were at this weekend’s SuperAuction in Dallas . The amount of overall items up for bids at the Mesquite Rodeo Exhibition Hall was on the slimmer side as bidders tried their best to find more than a few things of interest to be won. There were about 15 Multi-Cades up for grabs, several looking quite nice with quality cabinet work and art while others were not so well maintained. Most of these were generic 48-in-1 cabinets, with a few being placed in cabinets still displaying their original decorations. One miniature Ms. Pac-Man was fully refurbished at first glance and crammed with a 48-in-1 board. Looking closer, all of the art had been replaced with inkjet created printouts that gave it a funny corrugated look. Odd for something that someone spent so much time on.

Outside of the Multi-Cades, there were a few notable uprights for sale. Asteroids and Tempest cabinets with beautiful monitors were in the first row of machines. Several decent Ms. Pac-Mans were sold, including a nice cabaret with wood grain sides. Other notables were a Punch-Out!! in fairly good condition and Galaga and Joust cocktails. As far as machines in the less operable condition, there seemed to be fewer of note. A nice Dig Dug cabinet that didn’t appear to want to start was getting a lot of attention from staff and auction goers. Multiple Neo Geos and others rounded out the uprights to have some decent options available, but overall it was a somewhat disappointing stock.

I can’t speak to the pinball quality or redemptions and slots. I left soon after the working uprights were completed. I kept track of a few prices since I considered bidding on them to various degrees. One bidder who purchased a lot of games at non-discount prices seemed to be stocking up a business and that seemed to drive a few prices higher than they might have gone otherwise.

Overall, it was a middling experience for the uprights, but there are only two months until the next one. Hopefully the Multi-Cade pipeline has been flushed at this point and we will see more dedicated classics up for grabs on October 3rd.

Here are the prices I scrawled down (accuracy not guaranteed):

*Ms. Pac-Man $320 - Pretty good shape; nice monitor; normal paint wear
*Punch-Out!! $450 - Really nice as far as we could see
*Ms. Pac-Man $450 - Nice shape
*Pac-Man $435 - Nice
*Ms. Pac-Man $400 - Cabaret; Some hole drilled in side, overall in great shape
*Ms. Pac/Galaga $1300 - First game sold; Really pretty beat up considering the age
*Moon Patrol $250 - Pretty nice; Significant burn-in, but not terrible
*Galaga Cocktail $500? - This was in great shape; I'm not sure of the price, I was frustrated at this point
*Joust Cocktail $600 - Really very nice, only noticeable problem was burn-in
*DK3 Multi-Cade $400 - Cabinet looked well taken care of and like a quality conversion
*Ms-Pac Cabaret Multi $760 - This is the one with the inkjet stuff all over it


Anyone else go to the auction? Please add your thoughts!