I've been after an original dedicated Street Fighter 2 (World Warrior) cabinet for a while and was hoping someone could give me some advice as I've never owned a cabinet before. I've seen a few on ebay with various faults such as corrupted picture, are these easily fixed? Or is it better to spend a bit more on a fully functional unit? Are the cabinets easy to maintain? And lastly, is it worth shelling out the £300 or so it'd cost for this original Street Fighter 2 arcade machine I so fondly remember from back in 1992? I'd love to hear from someone who has bought one :icon_bigg
I'm sure he has heard of MAME, but it looks like her perhaps wants the cabinet. Street Fighter 2 cabinets have been known to show up on Jamma+ and of course eBay.
Yeah I just wanted the original jamma & cabinet just like you'd have played on in an arcade back in the early 90s. I've got the arcade game on my PSP but it just isn't the same
Corrupted picture is pretty vague, however... SF2 boards are dirt cheap and can be had for £30ish here in the UK, so any problems with the software will be easy to overcome. Problems with the monitor may be a little harder to overcome, but not impossible. Screenburn is fairly typical for cabs 10+ years old (where a game image is permanently burned into the screen like a shadow) Only way to fix that is a new tube. Problems with the chassis (blurry picture, bad geometry, etc) can usually be repaired. Depending on the extent of the damage a new monitor may be the best solution, a bit trickier to make happen due to the weight involved, again not impossible though.
Are you dead set on an original dedicated cab? If not, you're better off grabbing a Dynamo or other generic cab locally for dirt cheap. It's not uncommon to find a Jamma+ cab in good cosmetic condition and decent monitor on Craigslist for less than $100, you might want to start there. If you have any arcade auctions in your area you'll likely be able to pick up a cab for next to nothing there as well. I feel like the only thing pulling any cash at auctions lately are brand new cabs, candy cabs, and redemption machines.
I'd like a dedicated cabinet but I'd be happy with any generic cab. I'll definately get one soon, it'll be great to have my own Street Fighter 2 machine and not have to stand in line for 3 hours to have a play like back in '91 (There were only 2 good Street Fighter 2 cabinets in my city!).
Why not go for a Candy Cab instead? Something like an Egret III or an Astro so that you can pretty much plonk any jamma board into the cabinet that you wish. I mean I am sure you love SF2, but you may decide that you want to play other titles as well. They are sit down units, but if you wanted a stand up then I'm sure you'd find something suitable on Jamma+. There are a few people off loading a variety of older wooden cabinets right now, plus a few boards that might be of interest. You can get Sega Astro units right now on eBay and have a tri-sync monitor inserted. That'll pretty much be the only cab you'll really need for a whole host of different boards and configurations. There are also quite a few Egret units (2 & 3) floating around for sale on Arcade Otaku and other forums.
An Egret III is a pretty hefty investment for a first cab, although I agree that candies are the way to go. If he is looking for a cab to relive his favorite early 90's arcade moments, I think tri-rez might be overkill. Something like and Egret II or an New Astro City would be a little cheaper on the front end. Of course, if he wants to switch back and forth between vert and hori games, something with a rotation mech like and EII/EIII/Atomiswave/Q25 would be the way to go. If you just want to play some Street Fighter II the way you would back in '91 without the lines, buy a cheap generic woody with a good monitor (preferably one that has been serviced recently with minimal burn), buy some Happ buttons and sticks, and enjoy!
£300 approx. for original SF2 as opposed to £400 or so for a Candy cab. I almost sold my Egret II (tri sync) for £350 a couple of months back, which is the price I paid for it, but decided against it as I might still use it yet. Prices in the UK have been coming down as there are a lot of Candies being brought in. I've even seen a few cheaper units floating around and picked up a bargain or two of my own. He might be new to the scene, it may be his first cab, but I'd still prefer to point out the alternatives. Just a thought ;-)
Damn, is it really £300 for an original SF2??? I'm not up on prices over seas at all, I just assumed it would be much cheaper. If that's the case, and you can get a tri sync EII for £350 (I'd love to pick up a trisync candy in my neck of the woods for that price), a candy cab seems like a no brainer to me too.
Yes, I've never owned an arcade machine before so am totally unfamiliar with types of cabinet etc. I'll try and get a nice example soon when I can spare the money it'll cost. Thanks for the advice.
