Regular readers of this column know that every year, typically toward the end or beginning of the calendar year, I compile a listing of five upward and downward trending segments within the antiques and collectibles trade. For the past several years I have cautioned collectors, speculators, and casual enthusiasts about spending significant sums on vintage arcade coin-operated video games. The market for acquiring most of these monstrosities has been on a downtrend for some time, and another nail in the proverbial coffin of this collecting genre has just arrived in an unexpected form.
Up until recently, collectors of vintage full-size arcade games have had few options if they wanted to bring the actual arcade experience home. While most casual enthusiasts and collectors of home video games were happy playing classic arcade games on newer home consoles, there seemed to be a serious gap in the modern era retro revival of vintage video games that has gained strong momentum in the past few years. This has caused several industrious entrepreneurs to come up with some interesting solutions to bring actual vintage arcade games into the home.
The first development in giving nostalgia-driven gamers their fix of vintage arcade games was to come up with various plug and play devices that connected directly to any modern television set and had several classic and fully licensed arcade games built right into the unit’s controller. A lot of these devices were very affordable, and some did a good job at bringing a glimpse of nostalgia into a retro gamer’s home. That said, most of these devices were cheaply made and considered gimmicky by serious vintage arcade game enthusiasts. They also lacked the ability to bring the feel of the true arcade-like experience home.
Then in 2017, rumors of a brand new concept in bringing affordable vintage arcade games into the home began to gain momentum. By 2018, the first of this company’s products were shown to diehard fans. The company, Arcade1Up, would do the unthinkable. They would license full-sized vintage arcade video games of yesterday and repackage them in beautiful three-quarter sized scale arcade game cabinets. Better yet, the company would group together three or four popular vintage arcade games in one easy-to-assemble cabinet that would retail for about $299 and be available at your favorite retailer. Some of the company’s first releases were based directly on popular arcade games of yesteryear. They have a three-quarter sized arcade cabinet version of “Pac-Man” that also contains the game “Pac-Man Plus” and several cabinets that contain classic Atari games as well. And these were just the company’s very first releases.
When Arcade1Up products were first announced, I know of a lot of hardcore collectors of original vintage arcade video games who thought the products may just be a passing fad, but now as we delve deeper into 2019, and more incredible arcade offerings have been announced, most serious collectors of vintage standup arcade games are worried this innovation is killing demand for their beloved coin-op games. Arcade1Up’s newest arcade cabinet announced in secret at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this past June is generating a lot of buzz, as it is a three-quarter arcade cabinet replica that features all three of Atari’s original “Star Wars” games released into arcades in the 1980s. Up until this point, obtaining an original vintage “Star Wars” arcade cabinet from the 1980s was no easy task. Prices hover at around $1,200 for a full working arcade cabinet, and finding replacement parts for the specialized built-in flight yoke controller can be quite frustrating. Being able to secure a three-quarter replica cabinet that contains all three classic “Star Wars” games built in a replica standalone arcade cabinet is breathing new life into these games and causing more enthusiasts to purchase Arcade1Up products than the actual vintage arcade games of yesteryear. This is now wreaking havoc in the vintage coin-operated video game collecting realm.
Arcade1Up has even ventured into reproducing some of the most popular arcade titles from the 1990s, with a “Mortal Kombat Trilogy” machine already available at most retailers for $299.99. The device features “Mortal Kombat,” “Mortal Kombat 2,” and “Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3,” all ready to play in a miniaturized version of the original. You just plug it in any electrical outlet and choose your game, and the game is displayed on a built-in crystal clear LCD monitor. It is just like playing the actual arcade game that was released into the arcades in the early 1990s. It even uses the actual joysticks and buttons made for the arcade.
I am always fascinated by newer technologies that impact the market for older obscure collectibles. These kinds of developments have been happening often in the over-hyped and over-speculated vintage video game and computer market. Nintendo released an excellent version of their NES and Super NES systems in mini form that each contained several popular built-in games. The release and availability of these systems caused a lot of the original cartridge-based games that were built into these systems to fall on the secondary market as a result for their mass market release. Collectors of vintage video games and related items need to understand that the market for these items is ever changing, and as more and more technologies and innovative entrepreneurs work to find creative ways to release a lot of the classic games of yesteryear, speculators should use extreme caution when entering this market. I personally know several collectors of full-sized vintage arcade games who are now getting out of the market for these items altogether and instead choosing to buy Arcade1Up replicas of these games.
Still, some collectors and hardcore enthusiasts remain skeptical of Arcade1Up’s effect on the vintage arcade game market as collectibles. As more than one collector told me, Arcade1Up’s entries are great for the retro gamer or collector with limited space and a limited budget, but it still does not compare to the real thing. However, these collectors are not being honest with how the market is changing, in my humble opinion.
This should serve as a great reminder about how even collectors of vintage items need to be abreast of all the latest trends in the antiques and collectibles marketplace. For one thing is sure, the market is always changing. It doesn’t matter if that market is five years old or 50. Now back to gaming on my new Arcade1Up Final Fight machine. When they release that new “Star Wars” arcade cabinet, I just may not have a reason to leave my house. Until next time.

Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.