# Arcade1up mod - Adding a lit marquee - Multiple Options & Review

**Source:** RetroRalph  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2019-06-08  
**Duration:** 11m 22s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaNaj2gZ9-8

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## Analysis

RetroRalph reviews two lit marquee upgrade options for Arcade1Up cabinets: the Arcade Game Factory marquee ($50, acrylic with LED strip, easy installation) and the Oasis Creations marquee ($130, handcrafted wood light box, more complex installation). He demonstrates both on installed cabinets and recommends the Arcade Game Factory option for its superior value and ease of installation, despite the Oasis Creations offering better light distribution.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Arcade Game Factory marquee uses acrylic with artwork sandwiched between plexiglass panel and back piece, held by metal brackets on top and bottom — _RetroRalph demonstrating the Arcade Game Factory marquee product structure_
- [HIGH] Arcade Game Factory marquee comes with LED strip that ships with the product and can be positioned on the back of the marquee for even light distribution — _RetroRalph showing the LED bar that comes in the box and demonstrating placement_
- [MEDIUM] Arcade Game Factory now offers a 'blackout marquee' version with a black strip to eliminate light bleed from the bottom — _RetroRalph noting 'He actually corrected that now. He calls it the blackout marquee' but admits he hasn't ordered this version himself_
- [HIGH] Oasis Creations marquee includes a color-changing RGB LED strip and an optional battery pack for operation without power connection — _RetroRalph demonstrating the included components and battery pack option_
- [HIGH] Oasis Creations marquee requires removing one side of the cabinet and drilling holes for installation, making it more difficult than Arcade Game Factory — _RetroRalph comparing installation complexity between the two options_
- [HIGH] Arcade Game Factory marquee costs approximately $50 — _RetroRalph stating at end of video 'this one's $50'_
- [HIGH] Oasis Creations marquee costs approximately $130 — _RetroRalph stating at end of video 'this one's about $130'_
- [HIGH] Oasis Creations marquee provides better light distribution than Arcade Game Factory marquee — _RetroRalph comparing light distribution: 'the light distribution is really, really good. It's actually better than the other marquee we just looked at'_
- [HIGH] Arcade Game Factory marquee can be installed without taking the cabinet apart — _RetroRalph demonstrating installation process and noting he's able to install it without disassembly_
- [MEDIUM] Matt Scott Evans/Arcade Game Factory now primarily sells the blackout option to eliminate light bleed — _RetroRalph stating 'Matt Scott has a blackout, or Arcade Game Factory now has a blackout option. I think that the only one they selling now'_

### Notable Quotes

> "So the acrylic. So you can see as I flip it around, it's a piece of acrylic, really. And how this is configured is this artwork that you see right here is behind a plexiglass panel."
> — **RetroRalph**, early
> _Explanation of Arcade Game Factory marquee construction method_

> "I've noticed that it gets very even light distribution right there and it looks great looks fine so you can also put it in the cabinet like this facing out I noticed that's not good because some of the light actually gets blocked so I think right here is a perfect place"
> — **RetroRalph**, mid
> _LED strip placement recommendation for optimal lighting_

> "The one thing I will tell you is this model that I have right now, if you notice, it has a clear bottom. So you get a bunch of light bleeding out of the bottom of this. He actually corrected that now. He calls it the blackout marquee."
> — **RetroRalph**, mid
> _Product revision note about light bleed issue and manufacturer response_

> "This one is a lot more complicated to install. So what do you get in the package with this? So he does send it with a traditional, it actually comes with an LED strip that you can actually use and change the colors"
> — **RetroRalph**, mid
> _Overview of Oasis Creations marquee features and complexity_

> "You're going to notice there's some almost refresh rate lines on the screen. That's actually the refresh of the LEDs and the camera's picking it up. You will not see that on the naked eye."
> — **RetroRalph**, late
> _Technical clarification about LED refresh rate artifacts in video vs real-world experience_

> "The one thing you'll notice about this is the light distribution is really, really good. It's actually better than the other marquee we just looked at. But is it worth that extra price? That's going to be up to you."
> — **RetroRalph**, late
> _Comparative assessment of light distribution quality and value proposition_

> "So honestly that kind of makes the decision for me. But if you're into like the wood outlines and you know, maybe the light box appeals to you and maybe this is the way to go, but it's really expensive and it's harder to install. So I say the clear winner is the one Tanner's holding."
> — **RetroRalph**, conclusion
> _Final recommendation prioritizing value and ease of installation_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Arcade Game Factory | product | LED marquee upgrade for Arcade1Up cabinets, designed by Matt Scott Evans, priced at ~$50, features acrylic construction with integrated LED strip |
| Oasis Creations | company | Kansas-based marquee manufacturer selling handcrafted wood light box marquees for Arcade1Up on eBay, priced at ~$130, includes color-changing LED and battery pack option |
| Matt Scott Evans | person | Designer/artist behind Arcade Game Factory marquees, creator of custom arcade marquee designs |
| Arcade1Up | product | Compact arcade cabinet system for which these lit marquee upgrades are designed |
| RetroRalph | person | YouTube content creator reviewing Arcade1Up marquee upgrade options |
| Tanner | person | RetroRalph's 11-year-old son who appears in final thoughts segment of video |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Arcade1Up cabinet modifications and upgrades, LED lighting systems for arcade cabinets, Marquee design and installation, Product comparison and value assessment
- **Secondary:** DIY arcade cabinet customization, Aftermarket arcade parts and accessories

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — RetroRalph is broadly positive about both products, with clear preference for Arcade Game Factory due to value and ease of installation. He acknowledges the quality of Oasis Creations but emphasizes cost as the primary barrier. Overall tone is helpful and educational rather than critical.

### Signals

- **[market_signal]** Arcade Game Factory marquee appears to have achieved market dominance in Arcade1Up marquee upgrades based on RetroRalph's assessment of value, ease, and widespread adoption he's observed (confidence: medium) — RetroRalph declaring Arcade Game Factory as 'clear winner' and noting he's done 'many' installations with that marquee, suggesting strong market preference
- **[product_strategy]** Arcade Game Factory marquee differentiated by low cost ($50), ease of installation (no cabinet disassembly required), and simple LED integration, while Oasis Creations differentiated by superior light distribution, handcrafted wood construction, and color-changing LED capability at higher cost ($130) (confidence: high) — RetroRalph's detailed comparison of installation complexity, pricing, features, and light distribution quality between the two products
- **[product_strategy]** Arcade Game Factory addressing light bleed issue from original design through introduction of 'blackout marquee' variant with black strip to block bottom light emission (confidence: medium) — RetroRalph noting the light bleed issue on his model and stating 'He actually corrected that now. He calls it the blackout marquee' though he hasn't personally tested this version

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## Transcript

 Who wants an arcade one-up without a lit marquee? Not this guy. Alright guys, let's waste no time and roll right into it. So the first marquee I want to show you is by Arcade Game Factory. I really like this marquee. It is one of my favorites as far as ease of installation and the overall quality. So I'll show you really quick what this actually is. So it's really just a piece of acrylic. So you can see as I flip it around, it's a piece of acrylic, really. And how he's got this configured is this artwork that you see right here is behind a plexiglass panel. So what you have here is you have the plexiglass panel. then you have the artwork sandwiched in between that and the piece of acrylic. And then what he's done is he's put these two metal pieces on the top and the bottom and that actually holds this plexiglass panel onto the back of the acrylic. So if you buy this with graphics it comes exactly as you're seeing it right now. If you buy the one without graphics, if maybe you want graphics that he does not sell, so what you do is you just order this as a clear panel and all this comes separate and then you put it together. It's very very easy to put together but if you want one of the ones that he has it comes all fully assembled like this. So you're probably wondering I see no way to light up the marquee how does that work? So what he does is he ships it with this LED bar and I've seen people who configure this and place this in various different places in the cabinet and I'll show you where I where I tend to put it but but this is the LED Stripi gives you. The nice thing about it is on the end of the cable here your arcade 1up power supply goes into this and then this little Y cable one part goes to the switch to the marquee light and the other part goes to the arcade 1up PCB. I'll show you this on an actual cabinet that has it installed later but I just want you know what you're gonna get in the box. And then on the other end of this you're gonna have a switch. This switch can be mounted somewhere in the 1up cabinet so you can turn your marquee on and off. So So depending on if you want it to be off all the time, you could just go off and turn it on as needed or just if you want to turn it off at any point in time. So it's pretty easy. You would just drill a hole to accommodate this and then you'd stick it somewhere on your cabinet. So the one thing I will say with this is this model that I have right now, if you notice, it has a clear bottom. So you get a bunch of light bleeding out of the bottom of this He actually corrected that now He calls it the blackout marquee I assuming I haven seen that one or ordered that one yet but I assuming there a black strip right here so I actually made my own on one of my cabinets I just put some black duct tape to block the light from coming out some people actually think it looks cool shining on the cabinet so that's really a personal preference and up to you so where do I put the LED strip so typically where I put it is on the back of the marquee you take this you take this off it's just like a double-sided tape type of a thing and you just stick it right there I've noticed that it gets very even light distribution right there and it looks great looks fine so you can also put it in the cabinet like this facing out I noticed that's not good because some of the light actually gets blocked so I think right here is a perfect place I've played with it in different positions you know you can decide but that's the one that I find looks the best and gives the best light distribution okay so how How do you install it? It's really simple. So you take out the old marquee and then if you look there's actually, I don't know if I'm able to show you this, but how it works is there's two screw holes that actually screws that go on each side of this and they actually screw into the side of the arcade one up. So you actually don't use on the stock marquee, there's two screws right here on either side that go from, they go through the monitor panel into this. That is not required on here. So you actually really can just slide out your old one and put the new one in. Some people like to take the cabinet apart to do so, but this one is honestly the easiest one to install out of the two I'm going to show you. And now I'll show you the next one real quick. All right, so we are ready for the next marquee. So this one is going to cost more than double the price of the one I just showed you. Now, this one is all handcrafted, so you'll see it is all handcrafted wood. and you'll notice that it has an actual light box so instead of having the light shine you know up at it this actually contains the light inside the system so it's kind of interesting let me just I'm gonna remove the graphics so you can see better inside it so this graphics will come out so you can see it's a much more elaborate design and actually more like a traditional marquee in a way so I'm I'm gonna put the graphics back in and I wanna talk you through a couple things because this is not a, in my mind, it's not a knock on the company. I think the product is really nice. My only thing with it is it is a lot more complicated to install. So what do you get in the package with this? So he does send it with a traditional, it actually comes with an LED strip that you can actually use and change the colors and all stuff like that. So it more robust in the sense where I can do that with the other one it doesn have that capability So he does send it with this So I mean you can change the colors you can make it brighter or more dim So that kind of neat The other thing that kind of a creative thing that they add in this and the company for this is actually called Oasis Creations out of Kansas but uh and this is a an item available on ebay actually that's where he sells it but this is actually a battery pack so if you want to run it off of batteries and you don't want it to be plugged into power at all you can you can do that and it's got a little on and off switch on the side so kind of interesting i i don't i wouldn't personally use this but i do think it's a nice touch that it's included um it does have a manual and i will tell you this one is a lot harder to install. So the level of effort on this is higher because I mean, I've been able to install the arcade game factory one without taking the cabinet apart. This one, you really do need to take one side off the cabinet. So you can see it's a lot more involved. You do have to drill holes and you know, honestly, the cost is, is probably going to be the thing that will prevent a lot of people from wanting to get this one. So it was more complicated. I'll tell you. And, um, you know, but you'll see it looks really nice. So that's the thing. I mean, you're going to have to spend a little bit more. Now, is that worth it to you? I don't know. That's going to be up to you. And I'll show you both and you can kind of decide which one makes sense for you. It does come with that same kind of Y type connector. So you can wire it right into your one up power. And then, one of these can go to the PCB and one of these can go to the marquee. So these are great options. But like I said guys, this one is definitely a lot more expensive. And so now what I'm going to do is I'm going to show you both of them. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be an installation video, but I am going to show you both of them on the cabinet. Just so you can kind of see what do they look like and is this something that I would consider paying a little bit more for. The one thing I will tell you is I don't have the Mortal Kombat one hooked up to the cabinet right now. I have the Final Fight one, so you'll be able to see that. and I actually have many of the Scott Evans marquees. I've done a lot of them with that particular marquee. So you'll see a bunch of those as well. So hopefully you'll get a good gauge as to which one you like and which one you think looks better. All right guys, here is the Arcade Game Factory marquee, the first one we looked at. So it's not turned on right now, and if you noticed in the video there was that switch, I put it right here. We'll flip this thing on really quick, and there you go. So, the things I was talking about that you need to be aware of, the light bleed from the bottom. Now, in all fairness, Scott has a blackout, or Arcade Game Factory now has a blackout option. I think that the only one they selling now so that will eliminate this light bleed Now some people think it looks cool if I back up it shines some light down on the front panel and maybe you have some nice graphics around your bezel So that could be kind of cool That a personal preference thing If you don like that then you know you have to deal with it probably. But the other thing that you'll notice is there is a little bit, those two screws that screw in on the side do bleed through a tiny bit. You can kind of see some shadowing. It's not a big deal to me. Most people don't even notice it. But if you're super, super OCD and that's all you're going to see when you look at this marquee, then maybe the other one is a better option for you, but just know you're going to spend a little bit more money on that. All right, guys, here we go. Let's check out the Oasis Creations marquee. So I'm going to turn it on for you real quick right there. You're going to notice there's some almost refresh rate lines on the screen. That's actually the refresh of the LEDs and the camera's picking it up. You will not see that on the naked eye. So the one thing you'll notice about this is the light distribution is really, really good. It's actually better than the other marquee we just looked at. But is it worth that extra price? That's going to be up to you. Some people like the wood touches of it. It looks really nice on the cabinet. It looks great from afar. And like I said, that light distribution is probably the best I've ever seen. I think the other thing to consider with this one is that it was much more difficult to install. So that is going to have to be a factor when you make your decision. All right, well, let's do some final thoughts and we'll wrap this up. All right, final thoughts time. So I brought my son Ryan Tanner with me to help me out. Hi. That's Ryan Tanner. He's 11. He likes soccer and Fortnite, but we won't hold that against him because Fortnite's super cool, right? Yep. Yeah. Okay. All right. So Ryan Tanner's holding the Arcade Game Factory one, Marquee, and I'm holding the Oasis Creations one. I got to say, you've heard a lot during the video and this one's just really expensive and we can't afford this expensive stuff, right? Yep. Yeah. So you heard Ryan Tanner, he said it's too expensive, but yeah, this one's $50 and this one's about $130. So honestly that kind of makes the decision for me. But if you're into like the wood outlines and you know, maybe the light box appeals to you and maybe this is the way to go, but it's really expensive and it's harder to install. So I say the clear winner is the one Ryan Tanner's holding. And I didn't just do that because he's my son. It is the better one, in my opinion. Any last words, Ryan Tanner? Bye. That's it? Yep. Just bye? Bye. Nothing else? Like you're not going to floss or anything cool? Nope. All right, that's it. Woo!

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 252e8abd-994d-42e2-9c36-7cc412864474*