making an arcade machine

[kasar]

hey guys.

after my GCp projects and acomplish another small projects, I finally decided to start a serius mod.

didnt started yet, but Im planning the stuff

my idea is make/build an arcade machine and earn money with it.

the arcade cabinet will have following stuff:

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system: naomi

game: ikaruga

platform: original naomi mobo, or pc emulation using nulldc naomi version.

screen: I will use old crt tv, the tv will be on vertical position due ikaruga needs it

controls: if I use PC emulation, I will use a keyboard decoder, and will wire the arcade controls to it, else I will wire the arcade controls directly to the naomi MOBO.

addons: sai/ups to prevent power loss, coin system to manage the game continues (the coin system will be attacked to the coin key), I also want to put a solid/shielded case, to prevent damage from users. (plastic cover on screen, fat wood, lockers to access internals... ect)


suposing I acomplish the system, what are the legal procedures to place the cabinet into a "BAR","RESTAURANT" or "PUBLIC GAMMING ROMS".

I mean,what I need exctly?

licenses?, especial permisions?, any other stuff?

thanks in advance, about the electronics/design part, I will be also pleased to accept coments/ideas.

[tom61]

suposing I acomplish the system, what are the legal procedures to place the cabinet into a "BAR","RESTAURANT" or "PUBLIC GAMMING ROMS".

I mean,what I need exctly?

licenses?, especial permisions?, any other stuff?

Call your local Chamber of Commerce to find out what requirements for the build and what licensing you need, as well as what taxes will be an how they are calculated in your area. You'll likely will need to use an actual Naomi, as regulators for gaming tend not to like 'home builds' due to potential fire hazards, and they may inspect it to see if you have proper licensing for the game content (copyrights, trademarks, etc.)

It's not going to be cheap to get a Naomi setup, particularly with Ikaruga being hard to get a hold of. Right now, I'm putting together a Naomi, and with just the motherboard, a rather un-interesting game and the cheaper Sega I/O board, I'm about $150 in. I can save a bit by converting a ATX powersupply instead of getting an original PS, and making my own audio amp. Still, even the cheapest games go for $65, and any cartridge that something cool and still making money will be several hundred. If it's only on GDROM, the costs go higher yet. A GD-ROM unit just went for $160 by itself, and you need a DIMM board in addition to that($80-140 from my short experience hunting on eBay).

[kasar]

thanks mate, so there is no way to use PC emulation without legal issues?

I found a kit:

http://www.coinopexpress.com/products/p ... t_159.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used a dollar-> euro converter and it cost 477€ for me,as for an initial inversion, its ok for me,

appart from the included items at the pack, I think will need a power suply, jamma harness, and audio amp (I think I can use a pc power suply and I can get by myself an audio amp too), appart from this, I need any other stuff? (like converters, mobos, boards, controllers converters... ect)

[MegatronUK]

You'll never make any money with it. Arcades are dead and closing, and even the large operators with economies of scale on their side are not making any money.

For your own amusement, go ahead and build yourself a machine... but I seriously wouldn't think about trying to take it commercial.

[tom61]

thanks mate, so there is no way to use PC emulation without legal issues?

Not sure how strict Spain is in copyright enforcement, nor how "it needs to be commercially built to be good" their mindset is. They may even enforce regional licensing, meaning you may be out of luck unless you get a version intended for Spain (There is a title screen on a Naomi saying not for use in other countries, the one linked is for Japan). Also, no Naomi emulator is 100% yet.

appart from the included items at the pack, I think will need a power suply, jamma harness, and audio amp (I think I can use a pc power suply and I can get by myself an audio amp too), appart from this, I need any other stuff? (like converters, mobos, boards, controllers converters... ect)

Depending on which converter comes with it, you may not need an audio amp. The Capcom I/O and Sega I/O version 2 include it internally. You'll need to wire up a SCART adapter to either JAMMA or VGA cabling for your TV (If it doesn't have SCART, put in a VGA monitor instead).

You'll never make any money with it. Arcades are dead and closing, and even the large operators with economies of scale on their side are not making any money.

For your own amusement, go ahead and build yourself a machine... but I seriously wouldn't think about trying to take it commercial.

IMO, the arcade business doesn't really benefit from economies of scale. Only the rental of space and employees to monitor it are really fixed expenses, everything else scales linearly.

I still agree that putting a machine out on route, is not necessarily the best idea. Depending on your area and luck, the machine could be subjected to a lot of abuse, and may need to be repaired from time-to-time. Making a profit from it may be hard, that's a lot of investment to spend down one small denomination at a time. I'd only really consider it if you own the location it's going into, and know how it will likely be treated. In someone else's location you could have more risk to the machine, and usually there's either a share of the money that goes into the machine with the owner of the space, or you pay rent for the space it takes up.

[kasar]

I tested today the emu at my pc, and like you said,the emulation isnt perfect enough to put inside of an arcade machine. :/

reading all your comments, seems this project is dead even before start try it

due to much legal issues, and other minor misc probls I decided to cancel this project.

thank you very much guys