# Arcade Cabinet Pickup - Tempest!

**Source:** RetroRalph  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2021-05-12  
**Duration:** 5m 39s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMd_21MI2ow

---

## Analysis

RetroRalph documents the unexpected acquisition of a Tempest arcade cabinet for $900 from a local coin-op operator (Courtesy Coin), who repaired the spinner and monitor. The video includes historical context on Tempest as a 1981 Atari vector display game designed by Dave Thurr, gameplay demonstration, and discussion of the cabinet's cultural significance and investment potential.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Tempest arcade cabinets typically sell in the $1,500+ range on the secondary market — _Jon (RetroRalph) discussing pricing he's observed over the past 1-2 years_
- [HIGH] Tempest is a 1981 arcade game by Atari Incorporated, designed and programmed by Dave Thurr — _Jon presenting historical facts about the game_
- [HIGH] Tempest was one of the first games to use Atari's Color QuadraScan vector display technology — _Jon explaining technical specifications of the arcade cabinet_
- [HIGH] Vector displays draw lines between two points on a screen rather than sweeping an electron beam like CRTs — _Jon explaining vector display mechanics_
- [HIGH] The spinner on this particular Tempest cabinet was worn out and making a 'burr' sound, which was common among arcade operators who didn't maintain the component — _Jon describing the cabinet's condition before repair by Courtesy Coin_
- [MEDIUM] Jon believes holding onto the Tempest cabinet will result in considerable monetary value in the future — _Jon's closing statement about the cabinet as an investment_

### Notable Quotes

> "I never thought I'd be the owner of a Tempest arcade cabinet. I never thought I would. And the reason why is because the cost has become really out of reach for me over the past, you know, 10 years."
> — **Jon (RetroRalph)**, Opening
> _Establishes the rarity and cost barrier for acquiring quality Tempest cabinets in the collector market_

> "look, if you still want it, I'll, I'll do the $900 deal and I'll even fix it up"
> — **Courtesy Coin (local coin-op operator)**, Mid-video
> _The negotiated deal that made acquisition possible; demonstrates operator's willingness to negotiate and provide value-added services_

> "It's an art, it's an iconic arcade title. I mean, it was, it's, it's one, it just has so much history to it. It's a super fun game."
> — **Jon (RetroRalph)**, Mid-video
> _Expresses emotional/cultural significance of Tempest in arcade gaming history_

> "Vector displays, unlike the CRTs found in most arcade machines, vector displays are a bit of a historical oddity. Instead of sweeping an electron beam across the screen from left to right and top to bottom, a vector display draws lines between two points on a screen."
> — **Jon (RetroRalph)**, Educational segment
> _Technical explanation of vector display technology unique to Tempest and similar games_

> "It's definitely from the golden ages of arcade gaming, that's for sure. And I think it's one of those things where if I hold on to it, it's going to be worth a considerable amount of money in the future."
> — **Jon (RetroRalph)**, Closing
> _Positions the acquisition as both culturally significant and financially prudent_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| RetroRalph | person | YouTube content creator specializing in arcade cabinet acquisition, restoration, and gameplay documentation; host of this video |
| Jon | person | RetroRalph's real name; primary speaker in the video |
| Courtesy Coin | person | Local coin-op operator and machine restorer who sold the Tempest cabinet to Jon; runs a company that puts machines on route and handles special events |
| Rudy Roundhouse | person | Local YouTube creator who visited Courtesy Coin's facility with Jon |
| Dave Thurr | person | Designer and programmer of Tempest (1981 Atari arcade game) |
| Tempest | game | 1981 Atari arcade cabinet featuring vector display technology; Jon's recent acquisition |
| Atari Incorporated | company | Developer and publisher of Tempest arcade game; creator of Color QuadraScan vector display technology |
| Captain's Auctions | organization | Arcade auction house where Tempest cabinets sell for premium prices; Jon notes bidding often drives prices beyond his budget |
| Vector | game | Williams pinball game; mentioned in KB but not discussed in this video content about arcade cabinets |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Arcade cabinet acquisition and pricing, Tempest arcade game history and design, Vector display technology
- **Secondary:** Arcade cabinet restoration and maintenance, Retro gaming collecting, Arcade operator networks

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Jon expresses genuine excitement and enthusiasm about acquiring the Tempest cabinet; positive interactions with local operator; optimistic about future value and gameplay enjoyment; no critical or negative commentary present

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Local arcade operator community facilitates casual sales and networking; operator provides added-value services (repairs) to encourage sales (confidence: high) — Courtesy Coin invited local YouTube creators to view inventory and negotiated favorable terms including professional repairs on the machine
- **[market_signal]** Secondary market pricing for Tempest arcade cabinets observed at $1,500+ range; auction house (Captain's Auctions) drives prices even higher through bidding competition (confidence: high) — Jon states he's observed Tempest machines 'in that $1,500 range' and that 'Captain's Auctions' always drives bidding 'really, really high'
- **[technology_signal]** Vector display monitors are aging technology with uncertain reliability; operators acknowledge future failure is inevitable (confidence: medium) — Jon notes 'it's an arcade machine so of course it's gonna fail sometime in the future' regarding the monitor; he plans to learn repairs when needed

---

## Transcript

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel. So I am really shocked that I'm even making this video right now. Do you want to know why? Because I never thought I'd be the owner of a Tempest arcade cabinet. I never thought I would. And the reason why is because the cost has become really out of reach for me over the past, you know, 10 years. But come to find out, you can get these if you look around. So this was the funny story is I wasn't looking for this machine. I've come across various Tempest machines over the last year or two, but they've fallen into that $1,500 range. And then forget about trying to get one at Captain's Auctions because they're always bidding up really, really high and I just can't afford that. So I happened to be over at a local company, Courtesy Coin. He is someone that puts machines out en route. He does special events and all sorts of stuff, but he's owned a coin op company for a really long time. So he's moving from one facility to the other and he goes, hey, if you guys want to come over, me and another local guy who does YouTube, Rudy Roundhouse, He over and check out what I have, feel free. No problem. And we said, okay, we'll go over there. So went over there and he's got like some golden tees. He's got a Daytona USA that he wasn't selling, by the way, and a bunch of other stuff. But he goes, I have one thing in the trailer if you want to take a look at it. Opens up the trailer. It's the Tempest. And I said, how much do you want for it? And he said But I said does it work And it didn work at the time and you know because of the vector monitor and a couple other things I more familiar with 90s arcade technology than the 80s stuff. So I was like, I don't know if I want to tackle that project right now. Plus I have a million other projects in the garage. And I was like, yep, I'm never, nevermind. I'm not going to take it. It's fine. And he goes, well, I'm just saying there's this guy coming tomorrow. If you don't take it, the guy's definitely going to take it. So it was weighing in the back of my mind. And I guess the guy comes and he like tries to lowball him and he was kind of offended by that offer. So he got back to me and said, look, if you still want it, I'll, I'll do the $900 deal and I'll even fix it up. And I'm like, what? So of course, yes, of course I would want to do that because this is one of those cabinets I had to have in my collection. It's like a staple. It's an art, it's an iconic arcade title. I mean, it was, it's, it's one, it just has so much history to it. It's a super fun game. So anyway, so he fixed the spinner, which freely spins now, but it was making that burr, burr sound. And you guys probably remember that means, you know, it's starting to wear out, but most arcade operators never took the time to fix it. It didn't affect the gameplay really. It might've dragged a little bit, but everyone remembers that sound. I could care less if it makes that sound or not. So anyways, it was cool that he fixed it. I didn't even know he was going to do that. And then he fixed up the monitor for me. Now it's an arcade machine so of course it gonna fail sometime in the future but right now I can enjoy it until that happens and then I learn how to fix it But I super super pumped up So here a little quick history about the game and then we jump into some gameplay and wrap things up Tempest is a 1981 arcade game by Atari Incorporated, designed and programmed by Dave Thurr. Tempest was one of the first games to use Atari's Color QuadraScan vector display technology. Vector displays, unlike the CRTs found in most arcade machines, vector displays are a bit of a historical oddity. Instead of Sweeping an electron beam across the screen from left to right and top to bottom, a vector display draws lines between two points on a screen. The goal of Tempest is simple. Survive for as long as possible and score as many points as possible by clearing the screen of enemies that appear on the playfield. Okay, so we're going to start the game up. And you're greeted with these two blinking lights. One is for player one and one is for player two. And they actually still work, which is really cool. So I'm going to hit player one. And you can select from novice all the way to expert. So I'm going to start with Novice. One of the things that's interesting about Tempest is I feel like the game works its way up in difficulty, so it's not an especially intimidating game for someone to start playing. You know, if you've never played before, you can kind of get the ropes really quickly. As far as the game, you have unique controls because you have this idea of a spinner. This is something that's really cool, and it makes for some unique gameplay aspects. The other thing is you got this control called the super zapper So the super zapper will allow you to kill all the enemies on the screen one time so if I hit it once it just kills everyone on the screen now if I hit it again it just kills one random enemy and I don know who that's gonna be so you can use it more than once and then once you've cleared a level it just warps you to the next level it gets progressively harder though like I said as it goes on but it's a fun game to introduce someone into retro gaming because it's fairly easy to pick up open I died and it's super fun. So I'm ecstatic to have this in the collection. It's really, really cool. It's definitely from the golden ages of arcade gaming, that's for sure. And I think it's one of those things where if I hold on to it, it's going to be worth a considerable amount of money in the future. So hopefully you guys enjoyed this video. If you did, give me a thumbs up, consider subscribing to the channel, and leave your comments below. Is this a game that you would love to have in your collection what is your holy grail game put it in the comments below i want to know what is that one game that if you could get it you would definitely buy it that's it for now guys we will see you oh the next one you

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 4f0718f0-8daa-4b90-8c33-a32e8024c835*