The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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Virtua Cop 2 Virtua Fighter 4 (aka Virtua Fighter
Evolution)
Sega, 1995
Dedicated Upright, Deluxe Upright, Conversion Kit Sega, 2001
Genre: Shooter, Light Gun Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
400 450 575 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
625 700 850
Virtua Cop 3 Note: A slightly reworked version was released as
Virtua Fighter Evolution in 2003 with minor tweeks.
Sega, 2003
Dedicated Upright, Deluxe Upright
Genre: Shooter, Light Gun
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Virtua Fighter 5
400 450 575
Sega, 2006
Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter
Virtua Fighter LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
600 650 725
Sega, 1993
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter
Dedicated Upright Virtua Fighter Kids
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Sega, 1996
Conversion Kit
Conversion HIGHER Genre: Fighter
LOWER 675
475 AVERAGE LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
550
475 525 700
Price is for PCB set only
Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Golf
Sega, 1995 Sega/WOW Entertainment, 2001
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter Genre: Sports, Golf
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
475 550 675 350 425 475
Note: Several variant versions exist.
Virtua Fighter 3 Virtua NBA
Sega, 1997 Sega, 2000
Conversion Kit Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter Genre: Sports, Basketball
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
425 500 600 650 775 900
Note: There are several versions of this title with very Virtua Racing (V.R.)
little value difference between them.
Sega, 1992
Dedicated Upright, Cockpit, Deluxe Motorized
Cockpit
The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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Genre: Racing
Upright LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
650
450 525 Note: Upgraded games might be titled Virtua Striker
HIGHER 2 ’98 or ’99.
Cockpit 1500
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
4000+
800 1200 Virtua Striker 2000
Deluxe Motorized Cockpit Sega, 1999
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
LOWER AVERAGE Genre: Sports, Soccer
2500 3250
Note: Innovative and popular racer, one of the first LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
successful polygon graphics-based games. Up to 8
units can be connected for multiplayer gameplay.
Virtua Striker 2002
Sega, 2002
Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Soccer
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
Virtua Striker 3
Sega, 2002
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Soccer
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
Virtua Striker 4
Sega, 2005
Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Soccer
Virtua Striker Sales Flyer, Sega 1994 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
Virtua Striker
Virtua Tennis
Sega, 1994
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit Sega, 1999
Genre: Sports, Soccer Dedicated Upright, Deluxe Upright
Genre: Sports, Tennis
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
Virtua Striker 2 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
525 650 725
Sega, 1997
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit Virtua Tennis 2
Genre: Sports, Soccer
The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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Sega, 2001 Genre: Shooter, Mech Warrior Fighting
Dedicated Upright, Deluxe Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Tennis LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
400 500 600
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
525 650 725
Virtua Tennis 3 Volfied
Sega, 2006 Taito, 1989
Dedicated Upright, Deluxe Upright Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Tennis Genre: Puzzle
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
525 650 725 375 450 525
Note: Game plays much like an upgraded version of
Taito’s Qix.
Virtual Combat Volly
VR8 Inc./1993 Ramtek, 1973
Unique Dedicated Upright Dedicated Upright
Genre: Tank Simulator, Shooter Genre: Pong
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 400 450 475 550 700
Note: Controllers are part of a large early VR style
helmet worn by the player that is attached to the
cabinet.
Virtual On Cockpit, Sega 1995 Vs. Super Mario. Bros. Upright (Donkey Kong Cabinet
Conversion), Nintendo 1985-1991
Virtual On
Vs. Unisystem
Sega, 1995
Unique 2 Player Cockpit Nintendo, 1985-1990
The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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Dedicated Upright, Dedicated Dual Cabinet, Two- Vs. Gumshoe
Sided Cocktail, Conversion Kit Vs. Hogan’s Alley
Genre: Multiple Vs. Ice Climber
Vs. Mach Rider (-)
Dedicated Single Cabinet Vs. Pinball
Vs. Platoon (Based on Film, Released by Sunsoft)
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Vs. R.B.I. Baseball (Released by Atari)
Vs. Raid on Bungling Bay
550 925 1500 Vs. Slalom (Came with special Ski controller control
panel and “Skiing” platform)
Dedicated Dual Cabinet Vs. Soccer (-)
Vs. Sky Kid (Released by Sunsoft)
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Vs. Super Mario Bros. (+)
Vs. T.K.O. Boxing (Released by Data East)
1000 1375 2200+ Vs. Tennis (2-4 Players)
Vs. Tetris (Released by Atari)
Conversion Kit (Nintendo Cabinet) Vs. Top Gun (Based on Film, Released by Konami)
Vs. Urban Fighter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Vs. Volleyball
Vs. Wild Gunman
550 800 1300 Vs. Wrecking Crew
Conversion Kit (Midway Cabinet) Note: One Unisystem PCB has the ability to control
both sides of a two-sided cabinet or cocktail, there
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER are two spots on a PCB for two sets of game ROM
chips and processors. Some games uses both sides for
550 675 800 one title, allowing cross play of up to four players
across both monitor screens. Value of a game
Two-Sided Cocktail (Nicknamed the “Red Tent”) cabinet can vary depending on the game title(s).
Additional game titles to the ones listed were
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER released in Japan only. Unisystem hardware shares a
lot of technical details and game titles with the
1650 2000 2700+ Nintendo Home Entertainment System, but the
hardware is not directly compatible. Several of the
Prices can vary wildly due to the game(s) installed shared game titles have dramatic differences
compared to the home versions. Some of the notable
in the cabinet for all cabinet styles differences are…
Vs. System “Red Tent” Cocktail, Nintendo 1985-1991 • Excitebike contains bonus rounds
• Super Mario Bros. is more difficult and
Games released in USA:
(+) More desirable contains additional levels
(-) Less desirable • Many of the “tricks” in the NES version of
Vs. Balloon Fight Super Mario Bros. do not work in the VS.
Vs. Baseball (2-4 Players) (-) version
Vs. Castlevania (+) (Released by Konami) • Castlevania is much more difficult than the
Vs. Clu Clu Land home version
Vs. Dr. Mario (+) • Duck Hunt allows you to “shoot” the dog
Vs. Duck Hunt
Vs. Excitebike (+) Vulcan Venture
Vs. Freedom Force (Released Sunsoft)
Vs. Golf (-) (2-4 Players) Konami, 1988
Vs. Goonies (Based on Film) (+) Conversion Kit
Vs. Gradius Genre: Scrolling Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
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425 500 675 350 425 475
Price is for PCB only
Wangan Midnight
Note: This is Gradius II outside of the USA.
Namco, 2001
Vulgus Dedicated Cockpit
Genre: Street Racer
Capcom, 1984
Conversion Kit LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Genre: Scrolling Shooter 825 950 1200
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Note: There are several variations and upgrade
375 450 525 versions of this game, most are rare in the USA.
War Final Assault
Atari Games, 1999
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: First Person Shooter
Wacko LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
700 925 1150
Bally-Midway, 1983
Unique Dedicated Upright Note: Multiple cabinets can be networked together
Genre: Shooter for multiplayer shoot outs.
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER War Gods
3000 3750 4500 Midway Games, 1996
Dedicated Upright
Prices vary widely for this title Genre: Fighter
Note: Cabinet has a unique purposefully angled LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
marquee and control panel in an attempt to “Stand 450 525 600
Out”.
Walking Dead, The War of the Bugs
Raw Thrills, 2016 Food and Fun Corp./Omni/Artic, 1981
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Shooter, TV Tie-In, Light Gun Genre: Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
600 750 825
Note: Based on the popular comic book and TV Note: Copy/bootleg of Atari’s Centipede designed to
series. use a joystick controller instead of a Trackball
controller. Based on Z80 Galaxian hardware.
Wall Crash War of the Worlds
Midcoin, 1985 Cinematronics, 1982
Conversion Kit Dedicated Upright
Genre: Brick Buster Genre: Space Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
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Upright (Estimated 10-25 Manufactured) bezel artwork. Upright 2-player version uses a black
and white CRT monitor adding color with the aid of
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER colored gel overlays.
3000 3500 4000+
Prices can vary wildly on this game
Note: Designed for a color vector monitor but Warlords (4 Player Version)
released with a black and white vector monitor. Color Atari, April 1981
Dedicated Cocktail
monitor versions exist both as prototype and collector Genre: Brick Buster
modified machines.
Wardner Cocktail (1253 Manufactured)
Taito, 1987 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Conversion Kit
Genre: Platformer, Side Scrolling Fighter 3500 4250 5000
Prices vary widely for this title
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Note: Uses a full color RGB monitor and does not
350 425 475 use a mirrored background like the upright version.
Warp 1
Taito, 1980
Dedicated Upright, Cocktail
Genre: Space Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Warp Speed
Meadows Games, 1980
Dedicated Cockpit
Genre: Space Shooter
No known sales or examples
Note: Probably not officially released commercially
or in large numbers. Existing cabinets are most likely
prototype or test location machines.
Warlords (2 Player Version)
Atari, April 1981
Dedicated Upright
Genre: Brick Buster
Upright (1014 Manufactured)
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
1700
1200 1450
Note: Uses a mirrored monitor effect to merge
visuals from the CRT monitor along with printed
The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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Warrior Blade Rastan Saga Episode III
Taito, 1991
Large Unique Dedicated Upright
Genre: Scrolling Fighter
No known sales or examples
Note: Huge cabinet uses two monitors for wide
screen style cinematic action.
Warriors of Fate
Capcom, 1992
Conversion Kit
Genre: Side Scrolling Fighter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
475 525 650
Warp Warp Warzaid
Rock-Ola/Namco, 1981 Konami, 2003
Dedicated Upright Dedicated Upright, Deluxe Upright (4-Players)
Genre: Platformer, Space Shooter Genre: Shooter, Light Gun
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER 2-Player AVERAGE HIGHER
575 750 900 LOWER 925 1000
800
AVERAGE HIGHER
4-Player 975 1100
LOWER
850
Warrior Water Match
Vectorbeam/Cinematronics, 1979 Bally-Midway/Sega, 1984
Dedicated Upright Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighting Genre: Sports, Swimming
One of the Top 50 Historically Important Games
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
850 1100 1250
5000 6500 8000+
Prices can vary wildly on this title
Note: Overhead style perspective game where two Wave Runner
players fight each other as medieval armored knights.
Game uses a mirrored backlit overlay to represent the Sega, 1996
playfield background while a black and white vector Unique Dedicated Upright
monitor provides the players actions and game score. Genre: Sports, Jet Ski Racing
Game was very advanced for the time providing
smooth animation and innovative gameplay. Today LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
surviving games are rare thanks to somewhat less 450 600 725
than reliable hardware and overall low production
numbers originally of most Vectorbeam titles. Note: Large projection monitor cabinet where the
player controls the action sitting on a replica of a real
jet ski boat.
The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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Wave Runner GP Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey
Sega, 2003 Atari Games/Midway Games, 1996
Dedicated Sit-Down, Deluxe Sit-Down Dedicated Upright
Genre: Sports, Jet Ski Racing Genre: Sports, Hockey
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
1000 1175 1350 1500 1700 2200
Wave Shark WEC Le Mans 24
Konami, 1996 Konami, 1986
Unique Dedicated Upright Dedicated Cockpit, Upright
Genre: Sports, Jet Ski Racing Genre: Racer
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
500 650 775 325 450 500
Note: Large projection monitor cabinet where the Welltris
player controls the action sitting on a replica of a real
jet ski boat. Video Systems Co. Ltd., 1991
Conversion Kit
Genre: Puzzle
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
450 575 650
Western Gun
Taito, 1975
Dedicated Upright
Genre: Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
875 1000 1175
WGP
Taito, 1989
Dedicated Upright, Sit-Down
Genre: Racing, Motorcycle
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
Way of the Warrior
American Laser Games, 1994
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
1000 1350 1475
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Note: Same game as Wheels but allows for two-
players at once.
Whizz
Philko Co. Ltd., 1989
Conversion Kit
Genre: Scrolling Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 450 500
WhoDunit
Exidy, 1988
Conversion Kit
Genre: Shooter, Light Gun
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
3750 4000 4375
Note: Offered as a conversion kit for Exidy light gun
games but only in small numbers.
Wheel of Fortune Who Shot Jonny Rock
Game Tek, 1989 American Laser Games, 1991
Dedicated Upright Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Game Show, Trivia, TV Tie-In Genre: Shooter, Light Gun, Laserdisc
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
375 450 500
Note: Has a unique spinner controller that mimics the LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
large spinning wheel on the TV Game Show in which 1100 1400 1550
the game is based on.
Wheels Wild Fang
Midway, 1975 Tecmo, 1989
Dedicated Upright Conversion Kit
Genre: Racing Genre: Scrolling Fighter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
625 700 825 450 575 650
Wheels II Wild Pilot
Midway, 1975 Jaleco, 1992
Dedicated Upright Dedicated Dual Cockpit
Genre: Racing Genre: First Person Perspective Aerial Combat
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
625 700 825 1100 1275 1500
Note: Game plays much like an air flight based
version of Taito’s Chase H.Q.
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Wild Riders Genre: Shooter AVERAGE HIGHER
1350 1700
Sega, 2001 Upright
Dedicated Sit-Down, Upright LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Genre: Racer, Motorcycle 1000 875 950
Upright Cocktail
LOWER LOWER
400 750
Sit-Down AVERAGE HIGHER Willow
LOWER 475 600
475 Capcom, 1989
AVERAGE HIGHER Conversion Kit
550 700 Genre: Side Scrolling Fighter, Movie Tie-In
Wild West C.O.W.Boys of Moo Mesa LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
1375 1650 2000
Konami, 1992
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit Note: Based on the fantasy film of the same name
Genre: Side Scrolling Fighter
directed by Ron Howard and produced by George
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Lucas.
1450 1800 2200
Note: A ROM chip set change can switch the game
from a 2 or 4 player version.
Wild Western Dedicated Upright, Taito 1982 Wimbledon
Wild Western Nutting Associates, 1973
Dedicated Upright
Taito, 1982 Genre: Pong
Dedicated Upright, Cocktail Top 50….
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
1000 1275 1500
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Note: Maybe the first video game to use a color LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
monitor, exists in a 2 and 4 player version. 750 1000 1500
Winding Heat Winning Run
Konami, 1995 Namco, 1988
Dedicated Cockpit Dedicated Motorized Cockpit
Genre: Racer Genre: Racer
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER No known sales or examples
325 400 450
Note: Series of technically accurate racing games
Wing Shooting Championship from Namco that saw very little official presence in
the USA. Estimated value 1500-2500.
Sammy USA, 2002
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit Winter Heat
Genre: Shooter, Light Gun
Sega, 1997
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
400 450 550 Genre: Sports, Winter Olympic Events
Wing War LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
475 550 625
Sega, 1994
Dedicated Dual Cockpit Wipe Out
Genre: Aerial Shooter
Ramtek, 1974
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Dedicated Upright
300 500 625 Genre: Pong
Winner LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
800 975 1150
Midway, 1973
Dedicated Upright Wiping
Genre: Pong
Nichibutsu, 1982
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
750 1000 1500 Genre: Platformer, Maze
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Winner II 500 675 850
Midway, 1973 Price is for PCB only
Dedicated Upright
Genre: Pong Note: This may have only been made available in the
USA as a conversion kit or was produced in very low
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
750 1000 1500 numbers. If a dedicated unit was found I would put
the value around 2500-3000.
Winner IV Witch Hunt
Midway, 1973 Kee Games (Atari), April 1977
Dedicated Upright Unique Two-Part Upright Cabinet
Genre: Pong Genre: Shooter, Light Gun
The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
1300 1750 2200 650 825 1000
Note: The game has a modular design made up of Wolf Fang
two parts, a base with the light gun and a separate
cabinet with the CRT monitor enclosure. Three Data East, 1991
different themed kits can be easily installed in the Conversion Kit
game either Hit the Bear, Raccoon Hunt, or Witch Genre: Scrolling Shooter
Hunt. According to the sales flyer, the game was
shipped from Atari either with all three kits included LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
or just a single title. 575 700 850
Wivern Wings G7 Wonder Boy (Wonder Boy Deluxe)
Semicom, 2001 Sega/Escape, 1986
Conversion Kit Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Scrolling Shooter Genre: Platformer, RPG
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Dedicated Upright
500 575 650
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
2475
2000 2200
HIGHER
Conversions 650
Wiz, The LOWER AVERAGE
Seibu Kaihatsu, 1985 400 525
Conversion Kit
Genre: Platformer Note: Almost all are conversions the dedicated
uprights are very rare although it is possible
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER dedicated cocktail cabinets also exist and would
475 550 675 probably be valued from 450-700.
Wizard Fire Wonder Boy (in) Monster Land
Data East, 1992 Sega, 1987
Conversion Kit Conversion Kit
Genre: Scrolling Fighter, RPG Genre: Platformer, RPG
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
725 975 1300 575 700 950
Wizard of Wor Wonder Boy III Monster Liar
Bally-Midway, 1981 Sega, 1989
Dedicated Upright, Cabaret, Cocktail Conversion Kit
Genre: Shooter, Maze Genre: Platformer, RPG
Top 50…
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Upright 600 775 1000
LOWER
700 AVERAGE HIGHER Wonder Planet
850 1250
Cabaret Data East, 1987
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Conversion Kit
900 1400 1750 Genre: Scrolling Shooter
Cocktail
The Vintage Arcade Gal Presents:
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LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
550 625 775
World Beach Volley
Playmark, 1995
Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Volleyball
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 475
World Class Bowling Tournament
Edition
Incredible Technologies, 1997
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Bowling
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
300 375 450
World Cup ‘90 World Kicks
Tecmo, 1989 Namco, 1999
Conversion Kit Unique Dedicated Upright
Genre: Sports, Soccer Genre: Sports, Soccer
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
325 375 425 1200 1500 2000
World Cup ‘94 Note: Large upright cabinet for 4-players, where
soccer ball like sensor controllers are on the base for
Tecmo, 1993 each player to determine speed and control of kicks.
Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Soccer World Rally
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Atari Games/Gaelco, 1993
325 375 425 Conversion Kit
Genre: Isometric Racer
World Cup Football LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
250 325 400
Atari, April 1974
Dedicated Upright, Cocktail World Rally 2
Genre: Pong
Gaelco, 1995
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Conversion Kit
1500 1875 2200 Genre: Isometric Racer
Note: A slight reworking of Quadrapong intended for LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
European markets very few were made. 250 325 400
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Sega, 1999
Dedicated Upright
Genre: Sports, Baseball
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
600 775 900
World Series Baseball
Sega, 2001
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Baseball
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
350 425 500
World Soccer Finals
Leland, 1990
Dedicated Upright
Genre: Sports, Soccer
World Series the Season LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
375 500 600
Cinematronics, 1985
Dedicated Upright, Countertop, Conversion Kit World Wars
Genre: Sports, Baseball
SNK, 1987
Upright (Dedicated or Conversion) Conversion Kit
Genre: Scrolling Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
625
425 500
HIGHER
Countertop 1750 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
450 500 650
LOWER AVERAGE
1250 1500
Note: Has a unique spring-loaded controller set, one Wrestle War
for pitching and another for batting that can prove
difficult to replace (or properly repair) if broken. Sega, 1989
Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Pro Wrestling
World Series LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
450 575 650
Cinematronics, 1984
Dedicated Upright, Countertop, Conversion Kit
Genre: Sports, Baseball
Upright (Conversion or Dedicated) WWF Royal Rumble
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Sega/THQ, 2000
625 Dedicated Upright, Unique Dual Monitor 4 Player
425 500 Upright
HIGHER Genre: Sports, Pro Wrestling
Countertop 1750
LOWER AVERAGE
1250 1500 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
525 600 725
World Series ‘99
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X Multiply AVERAGE HIGHER
1450 1800
Irem, 1989
Conversion Kit
Genre: Shooter
LOWER
1200
X-Men
Konami, 1992
Dedicated 4-Player Upright, Unique 6-Player Upright
with Two Monitors, Conversion Kit
Genre: Side Scrolling Fighter
WWF Superstars 4 Player Version
Technos, 1989 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit 1975
Genre: Sports, Pro Wrestling 1100 1400
HIGHER
6 Player Version w/ Two Monitors 3500+
LOWER AVERAGE
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER 2500 3000
475 550 675
Note: The huge 6 player version contains two CRT
WWF Wrestle Mania monitors side by side to create the illusion of a wider
field of play. One of the monitors is mounted in the
Midway, 1995 bottom of the cabinet using a mirror to reflect the
Dedicated Upright image and the other pointed directly at the player.
Genre: Sports, Pro Wrestling This configuration allows for the two monitor images
to appear to be side by side with no gaps in the
playfield.
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER X-Men Children of the Atom
675 750 875
Capcom, 1994
WWF Wrestle Fest Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter
Technos, 1991
Dedicated Upright, Conversion Kit LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Genre: Sports, Pro Wrestling 650 775 900
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER X-Men Vs. Street Fighter
450 525 650
Capcom, 1996
Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter
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LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Dedicated Upright
400 550 675 Genre: Space Shooter
Xain'd Sleena LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
625 775 900
Technos, 1986
Conversion Kit Note: Licensed from Namco of Japan. Existence of a
Genre: Side Scrolling Fighter prototype cabaret cabinet is rumored.
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER Xevious 3DG
325 450 525
Namco, 1996
Conversion Kit
Genre: Space Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
550 675 750
Xtom 3D
Game Vision, 1999
Conversion Kit
Genre: Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
575 650 800
Xtreme Rally
SNK, 1998
Dedicated Cabinet
Genre: Racer
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
325 450 575
Xenophobe XX Mission
Bally-Midway. 1987 UPL/United Artists Amusements, 1987
Dedicated Upright Conversion Kit
Genre: Multiplayer Side Scrolling Shooter, RPG Genre: Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
800 1000 1250 325 400 450
Note: Highly unique cabinet design with wide control Note: One of the handful of arcade game conversion
panel which accommodates up to three players at a kits distributed by the United Artists movie theatre
time. Monitor sits on a unique thin platform from the
base of the cabinet, and the trigger style joysticks chain in the USA.
each have three buttons.
Xevious Xybots
Atari Inc., 1982 Atari Games, November 1987
Dedicated Upright
Genre: Over the Shoulder Shooter, Run and Gun
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Upright (1752 Manufactured) Genre: Fighter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
875 325 450 500
625 700
Yamato Zap
Sega, 1983 Allied Leisure, 1974
Dedicated Upright Dedicated Upright
Genre: Naval Shooter Genre: Space Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
550 675 800 1500 1750 2000
Note: Probably never officially released in the USA Note: This could be a slight reworking of the earlier
but might have been made available through grey
market PCB sales often advertised in the back of Allied Leisure game Hesitation, only a handful of
vending trade magazines. these games still exist, and probably only in the
single digits.
Zarzon
Taito/SNK, 1981
Dedicated Upright, Cocktail, Cabaret
Genre: Space Shooter
Upright AVERAGE HIGHER
LOWER 725 850
600
AVERAGE HIGHER
Cabaret 1100 1450
LOWER
800 AVERAGE HIGHER
550 675
Cocktail
LOWER
425
Yie Ar Kung-Fu (in Moon Patrol Cabinet), Konami 1985
Yie Ar Kung-Fu
Konami, 1985
Conversion Kit
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Note: Color vector monitor, uses the rather
notoriously unreliable Electrohome G08 vector
monitor which is why so few still exist today.
Zero Gunner
Psikyo, 1997
Conversion Kit (Sega Model 2 System)
Genre: Helicopter Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
300 425 500
Zero Gunner 2
Psikyo, 2001
Conversion Kit
Genre: Helicopter Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
300 425 500
Zaxxon Dedicated Cockpit, Sega 1982 Zero Hour
Zaxxon Universal, 1981
Dedicated Upright, Cocktail
Sega, 1982 Genre: Space Shooter
Dedicated Upright, Cabaret, Cocktail
Genre: Isometric Space Shooter Upright
LOWER
Upright AVERAGE HIGHER 650 AVERAGE HIGHER
LOWER 550 775 800 950
400 Cocktail
AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
Cabaret 875 1100 425 500 575
LOWER
700 AVERAGE HIGHER Zero Point
425 600
Cocktail Unico, 1998
LOWER Conversion Kit
350 Genre: Shooter, Light Gun
Note: A rare sit-down version was recently LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
discovered in the Pacific Northwest USA, it sold for 325 450 500
500 dollars.
Zektor Zero Point 2
Sega, 1982 Unico, 1999
Dedicated Upright Conversion Kit
Genre: Space Shooter Genre: Shooter, Light Gun
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
4000 4500 5200 325 450 500
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LAX/Omni/Thomas Automatics/Others, 1982
Conversion Kit, Bootleg PCB
Genre: Maze, Platformer
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
425 500 650
Note: Several versions of bootleg Dig Dug PCB’s are
called Zig Zag, some based on the Dig Dug hardware
and others based on Galaxian hardware.
Zippy Race AVERAGE HIGHER
350 450
Irem, 1983
Conversion Kit
Genre: Racer
LOWER
300
Zoar
Tago/Data East, 1982
Conversion Kit
Genre: Space Shooter
Zero Time Upright, Petaco 1979 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
325 400 500
Zero Time
Zodiack
Petaco, 1979
Dedicated Upright Orca, 1983
Genre: Shooter Dedicated Upright, Cocktail
Genre: Space Shooter
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
775 975 1200
Note: Bootleg of Namco’s Galaxian but with Spanish LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
text in a unique cabinet. 450 525 650
Zero Wing Zombie Raid
Williams/Toaplan, 1989 American Sammy, 1995
Conversion Kit Dedicated Upright
Genre: Space Shooter Genre: Space Shooter, Light Gun
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
675 725 850 575 650 800
Note: Licensed by Toaplan, the Sega Genesis home Zombie Revenge
version of the game was the inspiration for the early Sega, 1999
viral internet meme/video “All Your Base”. Conversion Kit
Genre: Fighter
Zig Zag LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
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375 450 575 LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
650 800 1150
Zoo Keeper Dedicated Upright, Taito 1982 Zwackery Dedicated Upright, Bally-Midway 1986
Zoo Keeper Zwackery
Taito, 1982 Bally-Midway, 1986
Dedicated Upright, Cocktail, Conversion Kit Dedicated Upright
Genre: Platformer, Puzzle Genre: Platformer
Upright (Dedicated)
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
3300+ 2750 3500 4800+
2000 2600
HIGHER
Upright (Conversion) 2300
LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
1700
1500 1875 ZZYZZYXX
Cocktail Cinematronics, 1982
Dedicated Upright
LOWER AVERAGE Genre: Platformer
1300 1500
Note: Very popular game for reproductions via CNC LOWER AVERAGE HIGHER
machine cabinets and reproduction PCBs. Prices are 350 475 550
for original games running on original hardware from
Taito. Conversion kit uprights are often in Taito style Note: Developed by Advanced Microcomputer
cabinets, usually Qix or Jungle King/Hunt. Systems. Also released by Cinematronics under the
title Brix.
Zun Zun Block
Taito, 1979
Dedicated Upright, Cocktail
Genre: Brick Buster
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…edits to come, these
appendix sections will be in
the printed versions only
once finalized….
Appendixes
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Appendix A
Top 50 Historically
Important Games
• Asteroids, Atari 1979 • Daytona USA, Sega 1994
• New concepts in space combat themes • Innovations in polygon graphics
• Atari’s most successful arcade game • Innovations in realistic driving simulation
• Innovations in vector graphics • Sega’s most successful arcade game
• Basketball, Taito 1974 • Death Race, Exidy 1976
• 1st game to represent a human image as a • 1st game to give rise to public controversy
player avatar due to representation of violence against a
human-like avatars on screen
• Battlezone, Atari 1980
• Defender, Williams 1980
• Early pseudo-3-D graphics
• Early sandbox style gameplay • Innovations in scrolling graphics
• Innovations in vector graphics • Innovations in gameplay complexity and
• Innovations in realistic simulation
difficulty
• Breakout, Atari 1976
• Donkey Kong, Nintendo 1981
• First Brick Buster Style Arcade Game
• Gameplay Concept Often Copied and • Innovations within the genre of platformer
gaming
Expanded Upon
• First appearance of Nintendo’s Mario and
• Caveman, Gottlieb 1982 Donkey Kong characters
• 1st true combination pinball/arcade video • Worldwide pop culture impacts
game • The true start of what would become
• Centipede, Atari 1981 Nintendo’s major dominance in video games
• Innovations in color graphic pallet switching • Dragon’s Lair, Cinematronics 1982
• Innovations in the genre of shooters
• 1st major arcade game designed and • 1st and most successful arcade game based
on Laserdisc technology
developed by a female programmer (Dona
Bailey) • 1st professionally animated game using
traditional animation techniques
• Computer Space, Nutting Associates
1971 • 1st arcade game to cost 50 cents in the USA
as standard
• First (disputed) commercial arcade game
• First space themed arcade game • Elevator Action, Taito 1983
• Innovative fiberglass cabinet
• Innovations in Gameplay Concepts Around
• Dance Dance Revolution, Konami, 1999 “Run and Gun” Style Gameplay
• Innovations in rhythm and dance style • Galaga, Namco/Bally-Midway 1981
gameplay
• Innovations in Space Combat Themed
• Pop culture impacts worldwide Gameplay
• Widespread Popularity Worldwide
• Longevity in Popularity in the Mass Public
• Galaxian, Namco/Bally-Midway 1979
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• First arcade game to use a true RGB color • Most popular arcade game of all time
output • Highest dedicated production of any USA
• Gauntlet, Atari Games 1985 manufactured arcade game
• Innovations in RPG Gaming Elements in an • Neo Geo MVS, SNK 1990
Arcade Game
• Innovations in Multigame Systems
• Evolution in the concepts around the genre • Innovations in Arcade to Home Gaming
of the “Dungeon Crawler” game
Compatibility
• Gran Track 10, Atari 1974 • Longevity of System Viability for Operators
• The first true arcade racing game and the • Pac-Man, Namco/Midway 1980
first to use an IC based ROM
• Worldwide Pop Culture Phenomenon
• Gun Fight, Taito 1974 • Innovations in Maze and Platforming
• 1st Game with a Microprocessor Genres
• The First Videogame “Superstar” Character
• Handicap/Pong, J.R.E. Electronics, 1974 • Long-term Popularity
• 1st Conversion/Modification Kit for an • Pole Position, Namco/Atari 1982
Arcade Game
• Innovations in Realistic Driving Simulation
• Hard Drivin’, Atari Games 1989 • 1st In Game Commercial Advertising
• Innovations in Realistic Driving Gaming • Pong, Atari 1972
• Improvements in polygon graphics
• Innovations in Driving Control Feedback • 1st Commercially Successful Arcade Game
• 1st Sports Themed Arcade Game
• Hi-Way, Atari 1975 • 1st Culturally Impactful Arcade Game
• 1st Product Developed by Atari
• 1st cockpit arcade game cabinet • Arguably the most important arcade game
• I, Robot, Atari 1984 ever made
• 1st arcade game with polygon graphics • R-360, Sega 1991
• Innovations in 3-D sandbox style gameplay
• Innovations in player interaction options • Innovations in submerse gaming experiences
• Missile Command, Atari 1980 • Rally-X, Namco/Midway 1980
• Topical Popular Culture Issues Translated • 1st Game with Background Music
into Gaming Experience • 1st Game with Bonus Rounds
• Innovations in Maze Game Dynamics
• Moon Patrol, Irem/Williams 1982
• Robotron 2084, Williams 1982
• Innovations in Video Scrolling (Possibly 1st
game with parallax scrolling) • Innovations in intense gaming experience
• Innovations in twin stick style shooters
• 1st game with buy-in continue feature
• Space Harrier, Sega 1985
• Mortal Kombat, Midway 1990
• Innovations in Pseudo 3-D Raster Graphics
• Advancements in Digital Animation and • Innovations in Cabinet Design and
sound
Presentation
• Realistic visualizations of extreme violence • Innovations in Music
• Cultural Outrage or Controversy
• Influences on pop culture • Space Invaders, Taito/Midway 1978
• Ms. Pac-Man, Namco/GCC/Bally- • Advancements in arcade game play for the
Midway, 1981 masses
• The official start of the arcade Golden Age
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• Cemented the influence of video games as • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Konami
an art 1989
• Showcased Japan as a leader in videogame • Innovations in scrolling 4-player fighters
innovation
• Tempest, Atari 1981
• Influences on pop culture worldwide
• 1st color vector game
• Space Race, Atari 1973 • Innovations in surrealistic gameplay
• 1st Game with ROM image (made from concepts
diodes) • Innovations in the shooter genre
• Space War/Space Wars, • Track and Field, Konami/Centuri 1983
Vectorbeam/Cinematronics 1976
• Tron, Bally-Midway 1982
• 1st to use vector monitor
• Turbo, Sega 1981
• Star Fire, Exidy 1980
• Warrior, Cinematronics/Vectorbeam
• 1st game to allow high scoring player to 1979
enter initials
• 1st player vs. player fighter
• Star Wars, Atari 1983
• Wimbledon, Nutting Associates 1973
• Innovations in wire frame graphics
• Innovations in “on-the-rail” shooters • 1st arcade game with a color monitor
• Street Fighter II, Capcom 1991 • Wizard of War, Bally-Midway 1981
• Tank, Kee Games/Atari 1974 • Innovations in player vs. player
gameplay
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Appendix B
Guide to major
manufacturers
Allied Leisure 1968-1979 Capcom 1979-Present
Florida based Allied Leisure started as a vending History (4-5 Lines)
company making ride-on novelty coin-operated Notable Games – Commando, Ghost ‘n Goblins,
machines for children but would soon branch out into 1942, Bionic Commando, Final Fight, Street Fighter
unique and innovative electro-mechanical coin-op Series
games. Allied Leisure released the Pong copy Paddle
Battle in 1973 which old sold the original Atari game Centuri 1980-1984
but would struggle with consistent successes
throughout the 1970’s despite selling several popular In 1980 Allied Leisure would rename themselves to
cocktail style pinball machine models. In 1980 they Centuri to break away from their reputation as a
changed their name to Centuri along with most of the manufacturer of EM games and cocktail pinball
upper management to focus on video games. machines and its well-deserved reputation for
Notable Games – Paddle Battle, Wild Cycle, Robot lackluster quality. Although Centuri did develop a
few of their own games, most of their titles were
Atari 1972-1984 licensed from well-known Japanese developers such
as Konami and SNK. Despite having their best year
Perhaps the best known of all the gaming companies in 1983 with the release of Gyruss and Track &
during the classic arcade gaming era. Atari was Field, Centuri saw the downturn in the market in
founded by… Atari found success in both home and 1984 as something they couldn’t weather and got out
arcade markets and for a time, dominated the of the arcade game market.
industry. With the downturn in the market around Notable Games – Phoenix
1983 Atari became a victim of both its own success
and its own bravado forcing a dramatic splitting up of Cinematronics 1975-1987
the company by Warner Brothers.
Notable Games – Pong, Breakout, Asteroids, No video game company had more ups and downs
Tempest, Missile Command, Battlezone, Centipede, financially than Cinematronics …
Crystal Castles, Star Wars, I, Robot Notable Games – Space Wars, Star Castle, Dragon’s
Lair
Atari Games 1985-1999
Exidy 1973-1996
Atari was broken up by parent company Warner
Brothers in 1984 into two companies, Atari Compared to other companies during the 1970-80’s,
Corporation (selling home computers and home Exidy was a smaller scale operation but producing
video games), and Atari Games which continued to unique and often innovative products.
make arcade games. Atari Games had many Notable Games – Venture, Chiller,
successful original titles and a home software
division known as Tengen. Atari Games eventually GCC (General Computer Corp.) 1981-
was absorbed into Midway Games in 2000. 2005
Notable Games – Gauntlet, Marble Madness,
Paperboy, Escape from the Planet of the Robot GCC isn’t well known to the general gaming public
Monsters, Primal Rage, Rush but helped produce several of the best-known arcade
games during the Golden Age. … GCC would also
Bally-Midway 1981-1990 co-develop the Atari 7800 home video game system
and much of its early software.
History (4-5 Lines) Notable Games – Ms. Pac-Man, Quantum, Food
Notable Games – Gorf, Tron, Tapper, Spy Hunter, Fight
Journey, Domino Man, Rampage
Irem 1974-1997
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History (4-5 Lines) Romstar 1984-1994
Notable Games – Moon Patrol, R-Type, Kung-Fu
Master Mostly a distributor of conversion kits developed by
Japanese manufactures during the mid 80’s-early
Konami 1969-Present 90’s. Romstar also dipped their toe in producing
home gaming software during this time. In 1994
History (4-5 Lines) Romstar merged with gaming giant Capcom.
Notable Games – Frogger, Gyruss, Track & Field, Notable Games –
Contra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The
Simpsons, Dance Dance Revolution Sega 1960-Present
Midway 1958-1981 Founded in a post WWII Japan by two American
businessmen,
History (4-5 Lines) Notable Games – Pengo, Space Harrier, Out Run,
Notable Games – After Bruner, Golden Axe, Moonwalker, Daytona
USA, Virtual Fighter
Midway Games 1991-2010
Sente 1982-1988
History (4-5 Lines)
Notable Games – Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, History (4-5 Lines)
CarnEvil, Hydro Thunder Notable Games – Hatrick, Stocker
Namco 1955-Present SNK 1977-Present
History (4-5 Lines)..In 2006 Namco’s assets were History (4-5 Lines) …SNK’s innovative Neo-Geo
purchased by Bandai forming Namco-Bandai. system would go onto to become its most successful
Notable Games – Rally-X, Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig and famous creation. SNK struggled to duplicate the
Dug, Xevious, Pole Position, Mappy success in either home or arcade markets and in…
Notable Games – Neo-Geo MVS, Metal Gear Series
Nintendo 1889-Present
Taito 1953-Present
One of the most storied of all gaming brands,
Nintendo… History (4-5 Lines)
Notable Games – Radar Scope, Donkey Kong, Mario Notable Games – Gun Fight, Space Invaders, Qix,
Bros., vs. System, Punch-Out!!, Killer Instinct Elevator Action, Jungle King/Hunt, Bubble Bobble,
Operation Wolf,
Nutting Associates 1967-1977
Vectorbeam 1977-1980
Sometimes being first doesn’t mean being a success
in the marketplace. NA would produce what may see History (4-5 Lines)
as the first commercial arcade game with Computer Notable Games – Sundance, Warrior
Space. Despite the historical importance of the game
it was not as successful as NA had hoped, nor were Williams Electronics 1974-2016
any of the other arcade projects that would follow
afterwards. History (4-5 Lines)
Notable Game – Computer Space Notable Games – Defender, Joust, Robotron:2084,
Narc, Smash TV
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Appendix C
GUIDE TO Donkey Kong
Style cabinets and
their variations
Introduction
Collectors of arcade games love Donkey Kong, and why not? Not only is it one of the all-time
classic arcade games but would become the cornerstone of the empire known as Nintendo.
Donkey Kong is like the film Steamboat Willy is to Disney, or the Model T is to Ford, or maybe
cocaine is to Studio 54. Nintendo made a lot of Donkey Kong machines, by most accounts
around 75,000 - 80,000 upright machines for the US market alone. For arcade collectors it might
be hard to imagine a Donkey Kong machine in their minds without thinking of the baby blue
color of the cabinet itself. Originally however, the first two runs of these well-known cabinets
left the factory with a red laminate and not the classic baby blue. Opinions seem to be mixed, but
out of the about 80,000 (Maybe more even, some guess the estimate to be over 100,000) Donkey
Kong uprights manufactured, an estimated 1,500 to 2,500 are thought to have left the factory as
red cabinets (That would be around 2 - 3% of all manufactured were red if you prefer
percentages). And like any variation in any collectable these are highly sought after by
collectors, perhaps multiplied by the historical importance of the debut of a very well know
videogame plumber in Donkey Kong. It can be confusing to sniff out a legit red cabinet from a
false one. My hope is this guide will help end the confusion and entertain those people (like
myself) who love odd arcade trivia. So, let's all dive deep into the banana barrel and get started.
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In the Beginning…
In the late 1970’s Nintendo was struggling to get a piece of the red-hot arcade video
game market in the United States and elsewhere. Legendary game developer Shigeru Miyamoto
would be part of the team that would introduce the world to a game Nintendo hoped would be a
huge success, that game would be Radar Scope. Radar Scope is a space shooter very similar to
many other such games that would be released in the aftermath of the popularity of Taito’s Space
Invaders. Despite the attempt at an early 3-D like playfield the game was a huge commercial
failure for Nintendo. This was not so much due to a lack of popularity in Nintendo's native Japan
(Where is did well in the marketplace), but it's bet that the game would do well in North
America. Radar Scope’s clunky gameplay and annoying sound effects didn’t help the situation.
The video game market was at the time already flooded worldwide with countless Space Invader
type games by 1979-1980, and Radar Scope simply didn’t click with most gamers outside of
Japan. Only around 800-1,000 of the 3,000 estimated units manufactured and shipped to the
USA from Japan sold, living Nintendo in a rather tough spot financially.
Some red cabinets (From Left to Right: Heli Fire, Radar Scope, and Donkey Kong)
As Nintendo scrambled to resolve this misstep that was turning into a financial crisis, a plan
was created to help reconfigure unsold Radar Scope games made with a blaze red laminated
wood. Nintendo would reconfigure Radar Scope printed circuit boards (PCBs) into a new game
which would be called Donkey Kong (A long and interesting development story that we won’t be
covering here). Unsold Radar Scope cabinets would simply be reused and sold as Donkey Kong,
the game which would become the foundation for Nintendo’s modern fortunes. The success of
Donkey Kong extended well beyond the left-over run unsold red colored cabinets, and newer
cabinets would eventually be made in the more commonly known light blue laminated color to
keep up with demand for the new game. These original red cabinets however, thanks to not only
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their rarity but what they represent with Nintendo’s history, have become a much sought-after
piece of arcade history. Over the years I have seen a good bit of speculation and misinformation
regarding these cabinets. With that in mind, let us dive deep into the variations of these lusted
after, ruby sided, pixel producing wonder boxes.
Red vs. Blue
Before we get to the well-known Donkey
Kong cabinet let's go back about 18 months from its
original release. Two Nintendo arcade games named
Heli Fire and Space Firebird would come out before
Radar Scope and Donkey Kong. Neither of these
games could be called a wild success, but they did
debut the classic Nintendo arcade cabinet design for
the first time with one slight variation. Heli Fire and
Space Firebird (Space Firebird was officially
released in the USA by Sega/Gremlin in a totally
different cabinet than the Nintendo version) used a
cabinet design that had an angled side around the
marquee area from the top of the cabinet all the way
to where the bottom of the control panel ends coming
out of the cabinet. It's an elegant design, but with a
critical flaw for operators and arcade patrons. These
"side blinders" make it difficult for other people to
see the action
of the game
when someone else is playing.
The coin door is also almost the same as what
would be on the classic Donkey Kong style cabinets. Early
cabinets do sometimes appear to have only one coin
mechanism instead of two. It also appears that some early
red Donkey Kong games have only one coin mechanism
from the factory. The number of coin mechanisms might
have been an operator ordered option at the time (Many
arcade machines from the 1970’s normally only had one
coin mechanism). Once Donkey Kong production officially
started in earnest, two-coin mechanisms would be the
standard.
With the release of Radar Scope, the cabinet design
has sides with a more traditional cut out approach allowing
for non-playing patrons to see what is going on with the
game. This design element was especially helpful for
Nintendo games since the monitor sits slightly back from
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the front bezel at an angle under tinted plexiglass. The bezel for Radar Scope uses the same art
design as the art used for Heli Fire and Space Firebird, just with different colors. As stated
above, Radar Scope didn't sell so unsold machines would be modified (PCB's as well) to Donkey
Kong machines to clear out the underselling machines. These modified at the factory Radar
Scope machines turned into Donkey Kong’s are often known as “TKG2” machines (more about
that in a bit).
After the left-over Radar Scope machines were used for conversion to Donkey Kong, Nintendo
made another run of red cabinets specifically to be Donkey Kong machines from the start. These
are TKG3 machines and would be the last red Donkey Kong machines from Nintendo. After this
short run of TKG3 machines in red were made (about 2,000 estimated) the traditional baby blue
colored Donkey Kong cabinets would start rolling off the assembly line. These baby blue
machines are usually TKG4 machines but sometimes will have serial number plates designating
them as late production TKG3 machines. Below is my best guess so far on how all of this breaks
down, and some more important differences on how to identify each machine variation correctly.
(Photo on left: A red Donkey Kong TKG3 cabinet with the 7-slot speaker grill, note the non-
copyrighted side art and marquee)
Speaker Vent Holes
Some collectors get very picky and excited about the number of speaker slots on the left
side of the front of the red version of these cabinets. Some red cabinets will have 5 larger slots
for the speaker holes, where others will have 7 thinner slots. Over the years there has been
speculation about if the 5 slot versions are earlier versions of the cabinet. The truth is both
versions were in production at the same time during the original cabinet manufacturing of Radar
Scope and early Donkey Kong machines. Because of this you will see both legitimate Radar
Scope machines and red Donkey Kong cabinets with either 5 or 7 slots for the speaker grill.
Legitimate blue Donkey Kong cabinets will only have the 7-slot version of the speaker holes.
Nintendo was in the process of changing the design during the manufacturing of these game
cabinets, so like many manufacturing variations in any factory, changes sometimes slowly
happen and not all at once. It does appear the 5-slot version is slightly harder to find than a 7-slot
for a red cabinet for Donkey Kong, and a bit easier to find in a "true" Radar Scope cabinet.
Unless someone is able to dig up exact production numbers from Nintendo's past however, we
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will never know how many of each style left the factory floor. Due to the somewhat unique
nature of the 5-slot variation for a red Donkey Kong cabinet they do tend to garner higher prices
from collectors.
Serial Number Plates & Serial Numbers
If you still happen to have the original serial number plate on your red cabinet, this is
your ultimate key into figuring out which version of the red cabinet you might have, or at least
what it was when it left the factory originally from Nintendo. If you have the letters TRS as the
first three letters on the serial plate (usually located on the back center of the game cabinet in the
space for "Model Number"), you have a game that left the factory as a Radar Scope, and it was
never officially converted to a Donkey Kong by Nintendo. So, even though you could restore a
TRS/Radar Scope into a red Donkey Kong (as many collectors have done), technically this
would be an incorrect restoration. The proper restoration would be to turn it back into a Radar
Scope machine. Some early Radar Scope and Donkey Kong machines will have the serial
number colored with red paint for an unknown reason, perhaps to make it easier for operators to
read from the serial plate.
A TKG-2 serial number plate
The designation of TKG2 as the model number is when Donkey Kong first enters
the picture (There are no TKG1's). These games are the very first USA bound Donkey Kong
machines ever made. TKG2 machines are factory converted Radar Scope machines and can be
found in both 5 speaker and 7 speaker slot variations. TKG2 serial numbers will start with
100001 on the serial number plate, starting with TKG3 versions the serial numbers "reset" to
000001 (or possibly 000101). If you have a TKG3 designation on your serial number plate, your
machine started life as a Donkey Kong and was not from a converted from a Radar Scope.
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TKG3’s are more commonly have the 7 speaker
slots with a few rare 5 slot versions being found over the
years by collectors. It appears that the transition from 5
speaker grill slots to 7 happened during the production of
Radar Scope, and as the cabinet inventory cleared out
newer production went to 7 slots. TKG3's will often be
red, but there are reports of TKG3's in the more traditional
baby blue color as well (recently I have been contacted by
a few collectors about blue TKG3's and they might be
more common that I had originally thought). I personally
would even be willing to bet blue and red machines might
have been rolling off the assembly line at the same time,
at a certain point of the factory production. There are also
a number of other variances regarding the coin bucket,
how many coin mechanisms might be on the front, the
number of insert coin stickers, the placement of the insert
coin stickers, and some other odds and ends we will
get too. The accounting of all these variances might be
due to Nintendo attempting to get as many of these games
out the factory door as quickly as possible. (Photo on the
right: A typical baby blue TKG4 Donkey Kong cabinet)
A typical TKG2 version of Donkey Kong would have the "PP7-A” power supply (The same
one found in non-converted Radar Scope machines) and a black isolation transformer in the
bottom of the cabinet. Even if your game has been converted to another game (which is
common), this isolation transformer usually is still in the bottom of the cabinet. It is possible
there is some transitionary TKG3 machines that also have these items. Most early TKG2’s and
some TGK3’s will have the marquee art, bezel, control panel, and side art without any copyright
notice or trademark logos printed on them. A true no copyright bezel will be two pieces with a
clear plexiglass front (the artwork will be printed on the reverse side) and a separate tinted
plexiglass piece behind it. These two-part bezels are very difficult to find today, fragile to
handle, and can command some serious money for collectors seeking out to make their machines
as historically correct as possible. Most TGK2 versions of Donkey Kong shipped from Nintendo
without side art at all, but if they do have it, it will be the version without a copyright. There are
also reports of a slightly darker red colored version of the side art on these cabinets. TGK3’s
mostly shipped with side art and may or may not include the copyright information on all other
artworks. TKG3’s will have a one-piece bezel, a PP7-B power supply, and a black isolation
transformer most of the time. There are also a number of variations of all the artwork at this time,
and some versions might just say “© Nintendo 1981" compared to the more common "© 1981
Nintendo of America, Inc".
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A PP7B power supply with the hard-to-find black isolation transformer
PCB Variations
The PCB variations for Donkey Kong can be just as wild as the cabinet variations. Three
version of the Donkey Kong board set exist for the US market, they are labeled as either TKG2,
TKG3, or TKG4 just like the cabinets. The board set would have originally matched the serial
number plate part number when it left the factory. On top of that there are also two different
ROM sets for the US as well. The Japanese release would see 3 different ROM variations, not
including bootlegs or the other licensed versions of the game. It's important to note here the
board letter and number combo refers to the part number of the PCB version and not to the ROM
set version. Usually, you can find the ROM set number on the chips themselves, or just by
observing changes in the game screen information.
First let's look at the TKG2 board version, which as we have stated originally were not
Donkey Kong boards. These are Radarscope boards that were modified by hand one at a time in
Japan to Donkey Kong. These are the very first Donkey Kong PCB's and were shipped in the
modified red Radar Scope cabinets. A "TKG2" sticker was placed overtop the original TRS (or
Radar Scope) PCB part number. Sometimes they also include a sticker stating "Nintendo,
Kyoto" with a handwritten number on the sticker from the conversion on the metal connecting
bracket (These board sets were modified one at a time by hand in Japan, then shipped back to
Nintendo’s USA headquarters just outside Seattle, Washington). These original boards are very
difficult to find today and can be somewhat difficult to make reliable. If we believe the lore of
Radar Scope, 2000-3000 of these PCB's were originally manufactured. I believe around 800-
1200 were converted to Donkey Kong, maybe more. This board set is made up of 4
interconnected PCB's.
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TKG3 board sets would be the first purpose-built Donkey Kong boards and although they
are also 4 board sets, these are not converted Radar Scope boards. There are reports of TKG3
sets with stickers over the part number as well, but there is no real evidence why this is. Maybe
some unpopulated boards were used in production of early TKG3 PCBs, or some PCBs were
simply mislabeled and needed to be corrected.
On the left: A TKG2 PCB set, notice the sticker has been removed on the front board
reveling the original TRS2 part number indicating a Radar Scope PCB. On the right: A typical
TKG3 set, with all 4 PCBs intact.
TKG4 boards are the most common of all the Donkey Kong PCBs. These are 2-board sets
that Nintendo put into production soon after the red cabinet production ended, and the more
traditional light blue color production started. If you own a Donkey Kong arcade machine, it's a
good bet you have this version of the PCB. TKG4 sets included the 2nd version of the ROMS (or
gaming coding), which confusingly is known as Set 1. For TKG2 and TKG3 sets the older "Set
2" ROM version, and the newer "Set 1" version are known to exist.
A note here about the ROM versions, Set 1 and Set 2 are MAME emulator designations
and not the official title for these ROM versions. A better explication of the variances of US
ROM sets comes from fellow arcade game collector Mike Haaland. Mike sent me this
information, "The (1st) US ROM sets are the original with the ladder cheat (With (C) Nintendo
1981 on the title screen), and 2 different 'speed-up kits'. The ROMS that replaced all ROM sets
were the final TKG4 sets that shipped on all 2 board (TKG4) sets. Then there was another
'speed-up kit #2" which replaces eproms 5A and 5E on the TKG4 set, or 5F and 5K on the
TKG2/3 sets. I have no details on this kit and don't believe I have seen those ROMSA. Nintendo
service bulletin TKG-06 describes the 2nd kit, but only says "....in an attempt to increase revenue
of Donkey Kong we are making available an updated speed-up kit, part number TKG-23-70'."
It's important to remember that Nintendo was surprised by the success of Donkey Kong
and was making changes and modifications to the game quickly as production initially ramped
up. Cocktail and cabaret machines would all receive TKG3 versions of the boards set, since the
longer 2 board set of the TKG4 will not fit into a cocktail or cabaret cabinet. Cocktail and
cabaret cabinets that shipped with the second ROM set are listed as part number TKG3-7. Earlier
versions that shipped with the original ROM set, are listed as TKG3-6.
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Added to the confusion of ROM Sets, updated ROMs were made available for purchase
to operators starting as early as December 1981 for pre TKG4 board sets. The original ROM set
(Set 2 if we are referencing the emulator MAME designations) will show the message on the title
screen "(C) Nintendo 1981", where the updated set (Set 1) will show "(C) 1981 Nintendo of
America Inc." on the title screen. Earlier ROM sets will also allow what is known as the "ladder
trick". Standing on a ladder with one hand visibly touching the girder above you, the barrels
can’t roll down the ladder. Only a barrel thrown from Donkey Kong, or a fireball can kill you
when doing this. There is also a change from the message of "How High Can You Try?" to "Get"
during the intro screen. With the availability of the updated ROM sets, and the ease of getting
ROM sets burned today it’s somewhat impossible to tell if the ROM set was the original one
shipped with the game or was modified later.
Other Internal Variations
Internal paperwork in the cabinet can also be helpful to figuring out the exact lineage of
your red cabinet. Any previous dip switch setting instructions or monitor adjustment paperwork
glued into the cabinet can help you find the cabinets true origin. Often these papers are either
missing (removed by the operator), have deteriorated, or have been destroyed by pests.
Sometimes you might get very lucky, and an original owner’s manual might still be present in
the bottom of the cabinet or an invoice from the operator. Even if a game was converted into a
different title lazy operators and technicians usually tend to leave things like previous paperwork
or even original parts in the machine.
Above, an original first run marquee without the copyright information. Below, the more
common version with ©1981 Nintendo of America above the Nintendo logo (Donkey Kong and
all artwork is © Nintendo of America)
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Marquee, Bezel, Control Panel, and Side Art Variations
As mentioned above, early production Donkey Kong machines will be missing the
Nintendo copyright information on the marquee, bezel, control panel overlay, and the side art. It
has been reported that early Donkey Kong conversions in the factory from Radar Scope machine
might not have even had side art applied at the factory. The placement of some early side art
sometime seems to be much lower on the cabinet sides than the later higher placement (usually
starting at about 3 inches from the top of the cabinet sides). This lower side art placement could
just be a random variation from workers attempting to get the games out as quickly as possible.
Given how easily early Nintendo side art is peeled off the may or may not be true.
The earliest productions bezels are a two-piece item. The
tinted plexiglass is a separate sheet of material behind the
main clear piece that contains the artwork. (Photo to the
left is a rare two-piece bezel, courtesy of Jeff Willard).
The two-piece design would be quickly replaced early in
production with a one-piece version with no copyright,
then a copyrighted version. Some early transitional
versions of artwork will state "©1981 Nintendo" rather
than the much more common "©1981 Nintendo of
America, Inc.". Some early machine appeared to not ship
with the additional instructional sticker below the bezel
(and above the control panel) on the front of the machine
on the left side. Recently yet another variation where the
"©1981 Nintendo of America, Inc." on the bezel is a
sticker on the front of the plexiglass and not printed on
the glass itself like the rest of the art. This sticker is easily
taken off and I doubt many of these styles of bezels have
survived after 40 years.
A converted Donkey Kong with both its original TKG4 Made in Japan serial number plate, and
it's made in the USA conversion kit from a VS. Unisystem game plate intact
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Made in the USA Vs. Made in Japan Cabinets
Despite having a dedicated USA headquarters for North American markets, early
Nintendo products were all manufactured in Japan and then shipped to the USA. With the
overwhelming success of Donkey Kong, Nintendo started to build cabinets in Redmond,
Washington along with ones built in Japan and shipped to the USA to keep up with demand. All
red cabinets, however, were made in Japan and shipped to the USA factory. The more common
light blue cabinets can be found with both Made in Japan and Made in USA serial number plate
versions. This would continue with production of future Nintendo cabinets as well for other
titles. There are slight measurement and manufacturing variations in these cabinets as well, and
like most things opinions of with one is "better" depends upon which collector you speak to.
Materials and the design of these cabinets are slightly different depending on which side
of the ocean they were manufactured. Japanese cabinets will be made from plywood and will
have the slot for the flat white T-molding perfectly centered. USA built cabinets will be made
from a particle board like material, and often (but not always) will have the T-molding slot
slightly off center. T-molding will be a flat narrow white which is exclusive to Nintendo games
on both cabinet styles. The sides and fronts (no matter the color) are not painted wood, but a high
gloss laminate or Formica depending on the cabinet. Colored laminate is the most common, so if
you are going to repaint or touch up the paint it's imperative to use oil-based paint. Some
laminate was indeed painted at the factory instead of chemically colored, but I don't really know
enough about laminate to tell you which is which. There are of course, variations to all of these
with the one constant being that Japan cabinets will always be made from plywood.
Made in Japan and earlier upright cabinets might also have a more simple and less stout
"Front Screen Clamp" which holds in the bezel plexiglass. These were commonly popped out by
players in early Donkey Kong games in attempts to get free credits. Later versions are a bit more
"heavy duty" and will lock down much more securely. It is possible (although I can't find any
evidence) Nintendo sent out a modified version for operators and owners of earlier versions of
the game. I have seen many Donkey Kong style cabinets over the years with some hackery
involving brackets of all types to prevent players from popping out the plexiglass bezels. Very
early TKG2 cabinets will also often have large wooden frames around the monitor, and different
variations of the number and style of metal bolts that hold the monitor into the machine from the
sides of the cabinet.
Other Cabinet Variations and Versions
Donkey Kong was also made available in a dedicated cocktail cabinet and a smaller
cabaret sized cabinet for the US market. The cabaret cabinets are rather difficult to find today,
since they were not originally sold in large numbers (I would estimate a production of less than
2,000 units). Cabaret versions of almost all arcade games from a variety of companies are far less
common than the upright versions as a rule. The cocktail version seems to have been
manufactured in a decently large amount but is normally somewhat shunned by collectors
compared to the upright versions due to its odd (but traditional for Japanese cocktail arcade
games) flat to the player control panel design. Even as cocktail games go, Nintendo's design
leaves something to be desired as far as esthetics.
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On the left, a USA cocktail version of Donkey Kong and on the right a cabaret
Also of note are the large number of bootleg versions of both Donkey Kong PCB's and
cabinets themselves. The bootleg cabinets tend to vary wildly and do not mimic the Nintendo
cabinet design. Many of these cabinets carry the title Crazy Kong, Congorilla, Big Kong,
Donkey King, Monkey Donkey, King Kong, or Crazy Junior. There are however versions of
Crazy Kong by the company Falcon (and others) that were officially licensed by Nintendo with
several variations of the hardware they are based on.
The basic design of the Radar
Scope/Donkey Kong cabinet style would be
reused for the games Donkey Kong Junior, and
Popeye. Donkey Kong Junior would come from
the factory in a dedicated beautiful bright
orange, and Popeye's cabinet would share
Donkey Kong's pale blue color. Donkey Kong 3
would only be sold as a conversion kit and had
no official dedicated cabinet from the factory.
With this in mind, it is common to see Donkey
Kong 3 machines in either blue, red, or orange
cabinets depending on which donor cabinet the
arcade owner/operator decided would be a
viable donor. The same is true for conversion
kits for Unisystem kit titles, and Playchoice 10
kits. Donkey Kong Junior was also seen in pre-
release advertising as coming in a blue cabinet
just like the original Donkey Kong machine.
The unreleased Nintendo game Sky Skipper,
and the very limitedly released game Space
Demon are also known to exist in the same blue
Donkey Kong style cabinet.
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With the release of the two player game
Mario Bros. in 1983, the Nintendo arcade cabinet
design would take its first slight tweak to allow a
control panel with a bit more real estate for two
players to play at the same time. This cabinet is
often known as the "Wide Body” and can be quickly
recognized thanks to its unique center speaker
cutout under the control panel (Photo on right).
Mario Bros. was also released as a kit for older
Nintendo cabinets and is commonly seen in the
traditional Donkey Kong style cabinets. The game
Punch-Out!! would share a very close lineage with
these cabinets as well with some changes to
accommodate two monitors. These cabinets also
enjoy not just one, but two speaker grills blasting
sound and music at the players knees. Punch-Out!!
cabinets are commonly converted for two screen
Playchoice kits, as well as Super Punch-Out!! kits,
and the very rare Arm Wrestling game by Nintendo.
Between Radar Scope, Donkey Kong,
Donkey Kong Junior, and Popeye Nintendo
produced a massive amount of the Radar Scope
style cabinet over the course of about 4 years.
Production of this style of cabinet by Nintendo
might be in the neighborhood of 200,000 or so.
Thanks to this large production, the Radar
Scope/Donkey Kong cabinet is commonly seen in
conversions for other games not made by Nintendo.
You can expect to find all sorts of color
combinations, repainted versions, and modified
cabinets with any number of arcade games
especially from the 1980's era of video games
(Photo on the left: A converted Donkey Kong Junior
into a Capcom Final Fight). I have seen many
converted Nintendo cabinets over the years with all
manner of game titles.
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Wear and tear can be tough on these cabinets if they have seen multiple conversions over
the years, or just a lot of play. There are a few well known weak points in this cabinet design that
normally will have to be addressed in any restoration attempt. First the control panel base is not a
great design, and prone to breakage. It will often see alignment issues over the years. The famous
speaker grill slots are often broken or smashed in from repeated gameplay over the years. These
can be tricky to repair properly if the damage is severe. As these cabinets approach 40 years of
age, I am sure the original designers never would have dreamed they would survive this long.
One of the other well-known trouble spots of Nintendo cabinets is the small wooden base on the
bottom of the cabinet. A video game urban legend would tell you these were built on USA bound
cabinets because Americans tend to be taller than Japanese people, but this is simply not true.
All Nintendo cabinets of this style
have this thin inset wooden base on the bottom
in order for the rear casters to "tuck" under the
back. These bases often break from the weight
of the cabinet, and water damage over the
years. Even if a cabinet hasn't been submerged
in water, water damage can occur on the
bottom of an arcade cabinet due to mopping
the floor around the cabinet. Luckily, it's
relatively easy to rebuild this base platform if
yours is damaged or missing. Without the
platform the game will cause most players to
hunch over a bit to play.
Some Final Thoughts
Hopefully this guide will bring a bit more clarity to the mystery and allure of a red
Donkey Kong cabinet. Just a word of warning here as we enter the 2020's, and the rise of CNC
cutting machines and high-quality reproduction artwork. It is possible that someone with the
right parts could reproduce a red cabinet with great accuracy. In the realm of any collectable,
originality will always be worth more than a good reproduction. A very clean game or a cabinet
in amazingly good condition might be a red flag for a reproduction. Even serial number plates
can be reproduced (although they are never imprinted like the originals). It also appears everyone
with a large format inkjet printer feels they can now make decent replacement side art and new
bezels. The quality of restoration parts can vary wildly, as well as the skill of an individual who
is restoring a game. Proceed with caution always, and if you aren't sure consult an expert.
This page is an evolving document, if you have questions or comments or any information to add
please reach out to me at [email protected] . Apologies to anyone I swiped a photo
from without giving credit. Thanks to Trinity Quirk, Mike Haaland, Jeff Willard, "Kong Klub",
and Alex Busch (who inspired me to write this) for contributions to this article.
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Appendix C
Guide to BASIC Game
Genres
Appendix D
Originality vs recreation
Appendix E
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RESTORATION VS
PRESERVATION
Appendix F
Understanding conversion
kits
Appendix G
GUIDE TO Donkey Kong
Style cabinets and their
variations
Appendix H
GUIDE TO NEO GEO MVS
GAMES