# Arcade1up NBA JAM - MEGA MOD!

**Source:** RetroRalph  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2019-06-18  
**Duration:** 5m 42s  
**Beat:** Pinball

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

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## Analysis

RetroRalph showcases a custom Arcade1Up upgrade kit from Hollywood Marquise, featuring a high-quality LED-backlit marquee, elevated monitor mount with interchangeable bezel artwork, and modular one-piece kick plate with vinyl graphics. The kit brings Arcade1Up cabinets closer to official arcade height, improving viewing angles and overall ergonomics, with plans for additional options like backlit bezels and interchangeable graphics.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Hollywood Marquise's LED light distribution in the marquee is the best RetroRalph has seen for an LED-backlit marquee on a unit like this — _RetroRalph directly states 'The light distribution is the best I've ever seen for an LED backlit marquee' and 'It's probably one of the best ones I've seen period.'_
- [HIGH] The Hollywood Marquise kit brings Arcade1Up cabinets close to official arcade height — _RetroRalph notes 'it gets the cabinet up to what I would say close to an official arcade height' and describes the cabinet as 'really damn close' to his ~6 foot height._
- [MEDIUM] The elevated monitor reduces head strain during extended play compared to stock Arcade1Up — _RetroRalph states the higher monitor position 'gives you a better viewing angle' and 'less of this head strain to play the game.'_
- [MEDIUM] Hollywood Marquise is planning to offer a backlit bezel as an additional option — _RetroRalph notes Emilio 'hinted to me that he thinking about offering a backlit bezel' but 'He didn't give me too many details.'_
- [HIGH] The kit is designed to be modular with interchangeable marquee graphics, bezel artwork, and potentially kick plate graphics — _RetroRalph explains 'he's thinking about making the whole entire system modular where the marquee graphics can be changed' and mentions potential for 'interchangeable graphics.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "The light distribution is the best I've ever seen for an LED backlit marquee. It's awesome."
> — **RetroRalph**, ~1:20
> _Direct endorsement of the marquee quality as superior to existing LED-backlit marquee solutions_

> "It gets the cabinet up to what I would say close to an official arcade height... it feels awesome which then in turn gives you a better viewing angle"
> — **RetroRalph**, ~3:10
> _Key value proposition: addresses major Arcade1Up ergonomic complaint through height adjustment_

> "The artwork is sandwiched between the plexi and the mount. That's awesome because it can be interchanged at a later date."
> — **RetroRalph**, ~1:50
> _Design innovation allowing future graphic customization without permanent installation_

> "If I have a fighting game and maybe the moves are on here... that would be really neat and easy to see and it'd look really cool in a dim room."
> — **RetroRalph**, ~2:10
> _Potential use case for backlit bezel feature showing practical gameplay application_

> "This isn't generally available right now this is actually a prototype at the moment but Emilio and myself I want to hear your feedback"
> — **RetroRalph**, ~4:30
> _Status clarification: product is pre-release prototype seeking community feedback_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| RetroRalph | person | YouTube content creator and pinball/arcade enthusiast who hosts the channel; reviewing the Hollywood Marquise kit |
| Emilio | person | Founder/owner of Hollywood Marquise; LED lighting expert for marquee signs; designer of the Arcade1Up upgrade kit |
| Jon Hey | person | Co-host or personality appearing in the video alongside RetroRalph |
| Hollywood Marquise | company | Business specializing in LED-backlit marquee signs for movie theaters; launching custom Arcade1Up upgrade kit |
| Arcade Graphics | company | Partner company to Hollywood Marquise providing dimension specifications and alternative graphic designs for modular components |
| Arcade1Up | product | Compact arcade cabinet line being upgraded with Hollywood Marquise's custom kit; subject of the review and modification discussion |
| NBA JAM | game | Classic arcade basketball game; appears to be the specific Arcade1Up model being featured in this video based on title |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Arcade1Up aftermarket modifications and upgrades, LED lighting technology for arcade marquees, Arcade cabinet ergonomics and viewing angles, Modular customization systems for arcade cabinets
- **Secondary:** Arcade cabinet aesthetics and visual design, Arcade1Up cabinet design improvements

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — RetroRalph is enthusiastic about the Hollywood Marquise kit, praising the marquee quality as the best he's seen, endorsing the ergonomic improvements, and expressing excitement about future modular options. He maintains balanced perspective by acknowledging Arcade1Up's own improvements (tilted screens in newer models) while clearly positioning this kit as a significant upgrade. No criticism or negative sentiments expressed.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Product developer (Hollywood Marquise/Emilio) actively seeking community feedback on prototype kit through RetroRalph platform before general release (confidence: high) — RetroRalph directly states 'Emilio and myself I want to hear your feedback' and encourages viewers to comment; product explicitly described as 'prototype at the moment'
- **[market_signal]** Third-party manufacturer identifying and addressing unmet demand in Arcade1Up customization market through premium aftermarket components (confidence: high) — Hollywood Marquise pivoting from movie theater marquee business to arcade cabinet upgrade market; partnership with Arcade Graphics suggests established ecosystem for graphics solutions
- **[product_strategy]** Hollywood Marquise addressing Arcade1Up ergonomic limitations (cabinet height, viewing angle, control positioning) through elevated monitor mount and modular upgrade system (confidence: high) — RetroRalph explicitly states the kit 'gets the cabinet up to what I would say close to an official arcade height' and improves viewing angles and control height, reducing 'head strain' during extended play
- **[product_strategy]** Hollywood Marquise planning modular expansion including backlit bezel option with potential dynamic lighting for gameplay context (fighting game move displays) (confidence: medium) — RetroRalph notes Emilio 'hinted to me that he thinking about offering a backlit bezel' as future option and discusses potential for interchangeable graphics across marquee, bezel, and kick plate
- **[technology_signal]** LED backlit marquee technology as premium aftermarket upgrade addressing display quality gap in Arcade1Up ecosystem (confidence: high) — RetroRalph emphasizes 'The light distribution is the best I've ever seen for an LED backlit marquee' and Emilio's expertise derives from professional marquee lighting background

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## Transcript

On this episode, I'm going to mod your NBA Jam. Wait, what? We don't need power tools? Hey guys, welcome back. So in today's episode we're going to do something a little different than we normally do. It is arcade one-up related, but where it came from and how it came to fruition is kind of an interesting story. So Emilio over at Hollywood Marquise, his day-to-day business is creating updated marquee signs for movie theaters, right? But he uses LEDs. So as we've seen on the show from various different episodes I've had, is that LED light distribution in a marquee is not a very easy thing to do And it takes some specific skills to get it just right Well that his sweet spot So he decided you know he loves he loves arcades and he decided hey I gonna kind of release my own sort of arcade one-up upgrade kit. It's not available yet but he trusted me to check it out and test it out for him. So I'm super excited about this. It's definitely different than what you've seen out there and I think you guys are going to really enjoy it. So let's just get right to it and take a look at Hollywood Marquis Custom Arcade 1-Up Kit. Let's do it. Alright guys, let's talk about what you're going to get in this kit. So, Emilio and Hollywood Marquis, they make marquees. And they make marquees really well. And that is very clear to me when I look at this marquee. The light distribution is the best I've ever seen for an LED backlit marquee. It's awesome. There's no doubt in my mind it is the best one I've seen on a unit like this and I would imagine It's probably one of the best ones I've seen period. It's really good. So you're gonna get the awesome marquee You're also gonna get the monitor mount with the bezel artwork and the plexiglass So for all intents and purposes you have everything you need here to replace the monitor And get the monitor lifted up higher and also have the graphic artwork Why this is unique is the artwork is sandwiched in between the plexi and the mouth. That's awesome because it can be interchanged at a later date. And Emilio has even hinted to me that he thinking about offering a backlit bezel That really cool He hasn shown me pictures of that or anything but the idea that the bezel might have a glow to it might be really cool especially if I have a fighting game and maybe the moves are on here. Like that would be really neat and easy to see and it'd look really cool in a dim room. So I'm really excited about that. He didn't give me too many details, but it is something they're gonna maybe offer as an additional option. The kick plate itself is one piece, right? It's a one-piece kick plate and it's got vinyl graphics on it. Now Emilio partnered with Arcade Graphics so Arcade Graphics is going to have all the dimensions if you want graphics you know other than what Emilio is offering. But the cool thing about it is he's thinking about making the whole entire system modular where the marquee graphics can be changed that can be done today the bezel artwork and they're going to potentially offer a kick plate that can actually have interchangeable graphics. So as you can imagine you could change out the whole look and feel of the cabinet really simple and easy so what are the key points about this like why would I want to do this well first of all it gets the cabinet up to what I would say close to an official arcade height I'm about look at me I'm about six feet this thing is really damn close so it feels awesome which then in turn gives you a better viewing angle because of the way the monitor is actually up higher so it less of this head strain to play the game which if you played an arcade one up for a long period of time and I not I not bagging them clearly I a supporter but um but this does make it a lot better now in arcade one ups defense. They actually, in the newer models have tilted the screen back a little bit. If you watch my E3 video, you'll see that. So they are making, you know, strides to actually make the viewing angles better and things like that to help, uh, you know, when you're gaming for a long period of time. So the other thing is it brings the, it brings the controls really higher up which feels really good it's just overall really improves the look and feel of the cabinet now this isn't generally available right now this is actually a prototype at the moment but Emilio and myself I want to hear your feedback so you know especially Hollywood marquees they want to know how you know what you think of this thing so please put your comments below please subscribe to the channel if this is something you're interested in like it hit notifications so you can be informed of future videos but guys this is a bad mod. I think you're gonna really enjoy it. So be on the lookout for more information as I get it from Hollywood Marquise. But thank you so much for watching and checking this out and we'll see you on the next one.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8cc010e0-6597-40db-b64f-2b5bc24bb094*