Arcade equipment...

[kripp]

Lawrence,

When you lived in Kelowna, who did you goto for arcade parts? When I called the o'mighty Pacific Vend, it wen't like this...

Ring...Ring...

Hello?

Hi there, im looking for Nintendo Playchoice 10 hardware...

Sorry sir, we sell video arcade equipment..

?!?!

When I talk to the locals about this type of stuff, its asif im speaking French.

Thanks.

[kendrick]

I think it's the same everywhere now. There's a place here in Florida that used to be famous for Neo Geo hardware. They got out of that line of business a few years ago and strictly sell components now (joysticks, buttons, harnesses, etc.)

The problem is analogous to vacuum cleaner sales. Seriously. Used to be that a guy who sold vacuum cleaners knew every brand, every model number, every little hose and part and widget. You could ideally call a guy and say 'I need a retainer clip for a Hoover upright model Y' and he would either have it or know what you're talking about. Now, vacuum cleaner salesmen are selling only new models, and know only one brand. You ask them for a specific component or a replacement bag and they offer blank stares and extended warranties. They function basically as smiling, handshaking sales robots out only to make money and not to serve people's needs.

Arcade sales used to be a little more about love and a little less about money. Hardware guys knew the operators, they knew what games were good, they knew what parts broke down most often and what memory boards were interchangable in case your Donkey Kong ROM chip went south with the single-bit errors. Now they're cookie cutter MBA's who buy the Galaxian/Ms. Pac Man combo units in bulk and have no idea that there's any kind of history or legacy to those machines, much less moving parts. It's the Wal-Mart mentality applied to gaming, and it's destroying a big part of the culture we love.

Sorry, just complaining for no good reason now. In the spirit of making a useful suggestion, I say try showing them a picture of what you want. Then threaten to seek out competition if they can't deliver what you're asking for. It works on hookers. :)

-KKC, who's just kidding about the hookers. It's usually too dark to share photographic examples anyway.

[NFG]

Pacific Vend never had or stocked old PCBs and games.  They didn't even stock old cabinets except for their own routes.  I used them for buying monitors, harnesses and whatnot.

If you want PC10 stuff get on ebay like everyone else.  They're still cheap last I checked.

[Adeptus]

They function basically as smiling, handshaking sales robots out only to make money and not to serve people's needs.

"Share And Enjoy!"