Arcade Game Pickups for 2022 - Did I fail?

RetroRalph·video·6m 13s·analyzed·Sep 28, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.020

TL;DR

RetroRalph scores 2/6 on 2022 arcade acquisition list but highlights strong off-list pickups.

Summary

RetroRalph reports on his progress toward acquiring arcade cabinets from his 2022 must-have list. He grades himself on six target machines: Robotron 2084 (F—acquired a multi-game instead), X-Men (F—still searching), Terminator 2 pinball (F—missed multiple opportunities), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (B-minus—running via JAMMA switcher in Simpsons cabinet), Big Blue (B—acquired Street Fighter II version instead of Punisher), and Daytona USA stand-up (deferred pending new arrival). He also highlights additional significant pickups (Sinistar cockpit, NARC, Smash TV, NBA Jam, Grid) that weren't on the original list, concluding he's doing better overall than the list suggests.

Key Claims

Robotron 2084 with J-ramp FPGA emulation board does not count as a dedicated Robotron acquisition
high confidence · Speaker's self-imposed criteria; states FPGA is 'great emulation, but it's not a dedicated Robotron 84'
X-Men six-player cabinet was at the arcade where speaker grew up
high confidence · Direct personal memory statement; vivid recollection mentioned
Three Terminator 2 pinball opportunities were missed (Flagstaff, California, Indiana)
high confidence · Speaker states 'happened about two other times' and lists locations
Sinistar cockpit had production run of only 200 units
medium confidence · Speaker states '200 of them' but no manufacturer/verification provided
NBA Jam cabinet was acquired for $250
high confidence · Specific price stated in pickup list
Street Fighter II Champion Edition Big Blue was recently acquired
high confidence · Speaker describes it as currently inside house and 'looks great'
Marvel vs. Capcom II Big Blue was traded to Nick Madsen for other cabinets arriving the following week
high confidence · Direct statement about trade; expects video follow-up
Simpsons cabinet runs JAMMA switcher with both Simpsons and TMNT boards
high confidence · Speaker describes setup in detail; confirmed acquisition

Notable Quotes

“it's great emulation, but it's not a dedicated Robotron 84, so I'm going to give myself an F on that one”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 0:27 — Establishes speaker's strict acquisition criteria—emulation/multi-game conversions don't satisfy dedicated machine targets
“I waited until the next day, and it was gone”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 1:45 — Regret over hesitation on Terminator 2 acquisition; establishes pattern of missed opportunities
“I do have a solution. The Simpsons cabinet right here beside me... I'm running a JAMMA switcher where it's running The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the same cabinet”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 2:16 — Creative workaround for acquiring TMNT gameplay without dedicated cabinet; partial credit strategy
“Daytona is a freaking epic game. We all love Daytona... we had so much fun”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 3:26 — Enthusiastic endorsement of Daytona USA; mention of play session at Southern Pride Pinball Gaming Pinball Expo
“Sinistar cockpit, where they only made 200 of them, I mean, come on, that's a huge score”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 4:54 — Identifies Sinistar cockpit as high-value acquisition; limited production run cited as reason
“Robotron 2084, I'm coming for you. X-Men, I'm coming for you!”
RetroRalph (Jon)@ 5:31 — Speaker commits to continued pursuit of primary targets despite current failures

Entities

RetroRalph (Jon)personNick MadsenpersonStringer FilmspersonRobotron 2084gameX-Mengame Terminator 2game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesgame The Simpsonsgame

Signals

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event_signal: Southern Pride Pinball Gaming Pinball Expo is an active community gathering venue for arcade/pinball gaming
medium · Speaker played Daytona USA at venue with friend; characterized as social, competitive gaming environment
$
market_signal: Terminator 2 pinball machines are scarce and turn over quickly; speaker missed three opportunities across geographic region
medium · Speaker states 'happened about two other times' with locations Flagstaff, California, Indiana; describes initial opportunity as 'listed really quickly' and gone next day
?
product_strategy: Sinistar cockpit has limited historical production (200 units claimed)
low · Speaker states 'they only made 200 of them' without source attribution; described as 'huge score'
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product_strategy: Punisher Big Blue variant is particularly rare; speaker describes it as 'Diamond in the Rough' and notes 'You do not see many dedicated Punisher Big Blues'
medium · Direct statement about rarity; settled for Street Fighter II variant instead

Topics

Arcade cabinet acquisitions and collectingprimary2022 arcade game procurement progressprimaryJAMMA switcher technology for multi-game setupssecondaryFPGA emulation boards in arcade machinessecondaryArcade cabinet rarity and production numberssecondaryPinball expo events and community gatheringmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.55)— Speaker expresses frustration with acquisition failures on primary list (Robotron, X-Men, Terminator 2) but demonstrates pride in off-list pickups and creative solutions. Self-deprecating humor about performance ('I'm not doing that great') contrasts with genuine enthusiasm about unexpected wins (Sinistar, Grid, NARC). Ends on optimistic note with commitment to continue pursuing primary targets.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.019

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel. Earlier in the year, I did a video of my must-have arcade cabinets of 2022. And I saved that list so we could go over it to see sort of how I did. So this is a report card of my progress so far. Okay, the number one game on that list was Robotron 2084. And if you remember, I did kind of pick up a Robotron 84. I went down to this guy's house and it was a Williams Multi in a Joust cabinet. Now, it was running the J-Rock board, which is FPGA, so that's great emulation, but it's not a dedicated Robotron 84, so I'm going to give myself an F on that one. Okay, the next one is X-Men. I love this game, and in the video I talked about the six-player one, and honestly, my memories of the six-player one are pretty vivid in my mind. because that X-Men cabinet, they had the six-player one at the arcade I grew up in, and I just remember how cool it was to have six friends or people you didn't know, and they became friends, that you could play the game with, so it was pretty cool. But anyways, I did totally fail on, and I wasn't going to buy a six-player one, believe me, but I did not succeed so far in finding an X-Men. I did, however, get a Simpsons that I'm running Simpsons and Turtles in, but we'll get back to that in a second. The next one was a Terminator 2 pinball machine Honestly this sucks but there was one north of here in Flagstaff It was listed really quickly for It a little bit of a drive for me and honestly, where I was at the time, I just couldn't get there, and I knew if I contact this guy, it's going to be gone. I waited until the next day, and it was gone. So, and actually, I can say that happened about two other times. There was one in California, and I think one in like Indiana and I missed out on both of them. So Terminator 2, I'm still looking for you. The next one, and obviously I get an F on, I think both of those. So, so far the theme is I'm failing, but we'll see how it goes. The next one is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now I couldn't find myself a dedicated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for a good price. However, I do have a solution. The Simpsons cabinet right here beside me. If you'd missed that video, I'm running a JAMA switcher where it's running Simpsons and TMNT in the same cabinet. So while it's not a dedicated TMNT, I do have the capability of playing it. So I'll give myself like a C, a B minus. I'll give myself a B minus on that one. Okay, Big Blue. But I wanted a Punisher Big Blue. I'm looking for like a Diamond in the Rough. Like that's really hard to find. You do not see many dedicated Punisher Big Blues. However, I just recently picked up a Big Blue. It's a Street Fighter II Champion Edition Big Blue. It's inside the house. It's beautiful, it looks great. And actually my other big blue that was running Marvel versus Capcom too, I traded to a buddy of mine, Nick Madsen, who you probably know who watches the show for a couple of other cabinets that are gonna be coming probably next week So be on the lookout for a video for that one So on Big Blue I give myself like a I mean I didn't get a Punisher, but I have a Big Blue and it's in good shape. So I'm going to give myself a B. You be the judge. I mean, if you want to give me an F, that's fine. I think I at least deserve a B on that one because I have an actual Big Blue. Now on my list was a Daytona USA stand up. Daytona is a freaking epic game. We all love Daytona. And trust me, if I had all the room in the world to sit down. He's just amazing. I played it with my buddy UAG at my friend Stringer Films house for Southern Pride Gaming Expo, and we had so much fun. You know, you're like razzing each other. Is that even a word? Do I even say that? I've never used the word raz in my whole entire life. I don't know. We're talking shit with each other, elbowing, and he plays dirty. That guy, don't play racing games with that guy. He plays dirty. But I wanted a Daytona USA, but not the side-by-side, full-size stand-up. And maybe, just maybe, this is one where I'm just going to leave you hanging? I can't grade myself on this because there may be something coming next week that would fulfill this. So I'll just kind of leave that one empty for now. So I'm not doing that great on this list because I really didn't get any of them, I guess. I mean, you could argue I have a TMNT. I mean, I have the board that's running in here. I do have a big blue, so that's two out of six. and then the, I might be, I might be three for six. So 50 right I not that good at math But anyways I think I think I actually doing okay I know it said F but come on maybe a D maybe give me a D I deserve a D anyways that it for this video guys I just wanted to give you this quick update, but hey, hey, hold on, before we get out of here, there's been some pretty epic pickups, maybe I didn't make this list, but there were some other things that came in here, I mean, right besides me is a Sinistar cockpit, where they only made 200 of them, I mean, come on, that's a huge score. I got a NARC. I got the Smash TV. Well, I converted it back into a Smash TV. I got the NBA Jam for 250 bucks. I got a freaking grid. I mean, I'm not getting an F because there's a lot of, maybe I'm getting an F on this list in particular, but in general, I think I did pretty good this year. And that's not even to mention the stuff in the house. So I think I'm doing okay. But anyways, I am going to try to close the gap on some of these between now and the end of the I think the Terminator 2 pinball is just not gonna happen. Plus, I don't really have the space for it, but Robotron 2084, I'm coming for you. X-Men, I'm coming for you! And Daytona USA stand-up? Oh, I'm coming for you. This video, give me a thumbs up, consider subscribing to the channel, put your comments below, I want to hear from you, and that's it for now. We will see you OH-HO-HO-HO-HOOOOOO THE NEXT ONE! If you enjoyed this episode and you love arcade gaming, go check out another. I appreciate you watching and I hope to see you in the next video.