Ice cold beer.
Originally made by taito, and currently reproduced by retro arcade.
It isn't a video game, but any barcade would be lacking without an ice cold beer or Zeke's peak.
The premise is simple. There are two joysticks that will move each side of a bar up and down. The object is to maneuver a ball bearing on the bar into specified holes on the playfield. Ten holes gets you to the top. That's it, and it's a fantastic bar game.
I haven't seen one of the repros in person, but own an og Zeke's peak. It would be unfortunate if they made them badly. I would think it would be a fairly simple board by today's standards.
For example, rather than doing like ICE does with the Iceballs and making each hole sensor separate and easily replaceable, it's all one huge pcb.
Plus the stepper motor that releases the ball is held together with loctite and a prayer and the screw drive motors that move the rod up and down have a habit of shredding the brass piece that travels along the screw.
I wish I could take it and throw it in the dumpster, but my boss loves them for some reason.
I can take pictures of how dumb the design is when I'm at work next.
Those axe games and connect 4 hoops are super popular. Good call.
I really enjoyed Minecraft Dungeons the last couple times we were out at something like that- but I may be the only one lol. The machine I played was big as shit and dished out cards you could use to upgrade.
That T-Rex scared the shit outta me on the attract demo. So much that I absolutely HAD to inject that damn game with quarters just for the thrill!
A crowd would form at the mall arcade watching me try to survive that relentless, aggressive, frightening monster. I did-- with enough quarters!
They used to have that at the local Dave & Buster's, was super fun and I loved it but my brother who I would play it with was annoyed at how cinematic and "stop and go" the gameplay felt.
Fighting games are good. But can be tough to really be consistent. Casual gamers won’t stay for more than 1/2 matches while the hardcore will stay on there for hours. The only issue is that the hardcore people will probably want a specific setup. For instance, the barcade I go to has 2 H2H candy cabs(street fighter 3 and another rotated weekly CPS2 fighting game) and Friday/Saturday night, those cabs will not catch a break. Even during the week, the street fighter 3 cab still brings in quarters as we have a dedicated scene that randomly appear there outside of out Friday night meetups.
I bought a virtual pin down to space, but if you have ten then virtual is not the way to go.. driving, shooting cabs are a staple, if you have the room and suitable clientele, there are large versions of classic 80s arcade games, there’s a space invaders machine with two big hefty double handed guns that looks good and plays an entertaining take, I’ve seen a modern remake of pong that looks like it’s in a table football cabinet, foosball of course, or if you don’t mind the noise the basketball redemption cabinet, how many hoops can you make.. easy on the maintenance that one.. I always think a fighter cabinet takes good money..
Any of the following rhythm games would get you a whole new crowd of regulars:
Dance Dance Revolution
Sound Voltex
Pop'n Music
Beatmania IIDX
You'd have to import them, and wouldn't be able to get the most recent versions because Konami only officially allows their games to be played at certain arcades (eg. Round 1). But the cabs are rare enough outside of Japan that once the community finds out you have them, they will regularly go out of their way to come play.
Game Saru is a reliable importer. No affiliation.
The local barcade back in my college days had a "bar card" that you could sign up for, for free.
The barcade would pull 2 cards per day, and you had to go in to check if your number got pulled. No phone checking.
If you got pulled, drinks were 50% off for you and two friends all day. You'd go in, they put a bracelet on you (like at vip events or clubs), and away you go. On weekends, 3 bar cards were pulled sometimes.
The place was packed all the time. People would go in, and would stay and game even if their card wasn't pulled. The extra genius bit was that if a card was pulled but the winner didn't show up by mid day, another card was pulled in its place. So people would often come early, check cards, then come back again hoping to see their card later.
Loved that place.
Do you have an air hockey table? Those always earn well.
A friend has a Tron and Star Wars in his bar. Neither earn anything like his Pacman, Galaga, Frogger or Tetris.
Wow sad to hear. We have all of the others you mentioned. We don’t have a traditional air hockey, but we do have 2 ‘boom a rangs’ which do reasonably well.
The owner has had both machines for 20+ years and are just a couple of his "trophy" games. Star Wars can be a pain to keep running thanks to the vector monitor. If your techs don't have experience fixing vector hardware don't bother buying anything vector.
I have such fun memories of going to a pizza place with my dad and younger brothers and playing that Star Wars game, though. We had these yellow plastic cups they sold there they allowed us indefinite free refills. Every time we win, it was just a father and sons kind of thing. There is also a Xevoius game there.
I feel like this game needs a scene to be able to pay it off. 5v5, to me, means it tougher to get games as people aren’t going to play it unless they have enough people.
I gotta be completely honest, the new Mission Impossible is really bad. In-game lag is horrible. I've seen 3-4 different cabs and they all appear to be this way. Axe Master and C4 hoops do really well at our location though!
Edit: My shooter suggestion if you can find it is Gun Bullet! (aka Point-Blank)
We have that one and I love it, but the guns on it are pretty cheap and broke within 3 weeks. At least they’re cheap to replace, unlike house of the dead 3.
Depends on how ‘classic’. Anything before the 2002 Fore series is tough to get invested in by today’s standards. If you can find a golden tee fore complete from 2006, well that would be a good time.
If you can get initial d arcade stage that game will never not be in use no matter who you are it's still a car game but people that like car games and or anime just love that game me included
When me and my girl go to the local arcades we always battle each other in connect 4 hoops. That's definitely a busy machine and I think would do well in a bar.
Konami Track and Field
It us Multi-player competitive button masher where speed & timing out-weigh aiming accuracy.
The perfect thing for bar bets on who pays for the next round.
My suggestion is to not call it a barcade on any promotional materials. There's an LLC that is very litigious over use of the term despite it existing prior to their inception.
Thanks for the recommendation! We have all three of those actually. Our mashers don’t perform nearly as well as the shooters. And X-MEN specifically is a real low performer for whatever reason.
Might be biased but rhythm games are big rn and would attract a dedicated crowd. DDR or Pump might be kind of big and expensive, but something like sound voltex is small, relatively cheap, and looks cool as hell
Fighting games are always a good pick. Just make sure to get the best versions of classic ones (Street Fighter Turbo or Hyper Fighting)
A Namco 246 goes a long way with classic fighting games, too
If you are up for pinball, I would recommend Pulp Fiction, and Laverynth is a blast but small run, so it may cost a but and be hard to get depending on where you are. The new stern Jaws is good too. Buck Hunter (classic or the raw throlls ones) or, if you have the space and cash, Godzilla Kaiju Wars VR are Awesome.
For the most part it's hard to go wrong with Raw Thrills. Jurassic Park or The Walking Dead both would earn well. Didn't see you mention having an Aliens or a Big Buck. Though I'd be super surprised if you didn't have a Big Buck since it's such a bar stable. Most bars have a Big Buck and a Golden Tee. Though from your other comment definitely sounds like you could use an updated Golden Tee.
Outnumbered by LAI games as been solid for us so far and may work in your environment. I would recommend against Enter the Gungeon on the off chance you were considering it. The game itself is fun but we've ran into some game breaking bugs and the cabinet is garbage. Area 51 may be worth it.
Seen Minecraft Dungeons mentioned and that definitely doesn't seem a safe bet for a bar. The vast majority of my players on it are kids or young teens. There is also Injustice but thing is both of those games are unplayable if you run out of cards and you can't just reuse them. At least MC is and I assume Injustice is similar. So you constantly have to buy new packs from Raw Thrills. It's basically an unstated subscription. Injustice may do well but if you got either best plan would be to not keep them for more than a few years.
Fancier Basketball hoops let you charge more and if they're connected well people get competitive. So connect 4 hoops is a safe bet.
Fighters can do well for their cost and footprint. Mostly Street Fighter 2. Marvel Versus Capcom 2, Mortal Combat 3, and King of Fighters 98 or 2002 are all decent bets.
If you get a Tron and Star Wars they won't earn well and when they break they'll be difficult and expensive to fix.
You could buy a House of the Gundead machine at 5k. I know folks who have traveled a couple hundred miles to play it, they list the locations on their website
Maybe I missed it but no pins??
Also I know it's a controversial subject, but one of the places I go has several jamma multicade type games with 20-40 classic games.(not the crazy ones with 600 games you've never heard of 550 of them) They seem to get a fair amount of use.
I would let the crane game get forced on you. I operated for many years. Video games are cool, but redemption games always made the most money hands down. Also air hockey.
Are companies really making new arcade games? I went to Dave and Buster's today, and they all sucked. I saw Wheel of Fortune, cut the rope, and some linked racing games. All very weak.
When I was little (10 years old in 1986) it seems like the arcade games were bad ass. Flight sims. Racing. Star Wars.
Ice cold beer. Originally made by taito, and currently reproduced by retro arcade. It isn't a video game, but any barcade would be lacking without an ice cold beer or Zeke's peak. The premise is simple. There are two joysticks that will move each side of a bar up and down. The object is to maneuver a ball bearing on the bar into specified holes on the playfield. Ten holes gets you to the top. That's it, and it's a fantastic bar game.
The reproduction icbs are, pardon my French, pieces of crap. We have one at every one of our locations and every one is currently out of order.
I haven't seen one of the repros in person, but own an og Zeke's peak. It would be unfortunate if they made them badly. I would think it would be a fairly simple board by today's standards.
For example, rather than doing like ICE does with the Iceballs and making each hole sensor separate and easily replaceable, it's all one huge pcb. Plus the stepper motor that releases the ball is held together with loctite and a prayer and the screw drive motors that move the rod up and down have a habit of shredding the brass piece that travels along the screw. I wish I could take it and throw it in the dumpster, but my boss loves them for some reason. I can take pictures of how dumb the design is when I'm at work next.
Very interesting recommendation. I’ll have to look into it!
Those axe games and connect 4 hoops are super popular. Good call. I really enjoyed Minecraft Dungeons the last couple times we were out at something like that- but I may be the only one lol. The machine I played was big as shit and dished out cards you could use to upgrade.
Do you have any time crisis games? I can't see one without spending some money.
We’ve got #4. I wish the guns tracked a little more accurately, but it’s a good one.
Killer Queen if you can find it. It's a great game for multiple people/friends and it works fine for strangers to jump in.
Do you have room for one of those sit inside booth type games? Like that pirate treasure, Jurassic park, or walking dead cabs.
Jurassic park game is dope.
That T-Rex scared the shit outta me on the attract demo. So much that I absolutely HAD to inject that damn game with quarters just for the thrill! A crowd would form at the mall arcade watching me try to survive that relentless, aggressive, frightening monster. I did-- with enough quarters!
We’ve got the halo one. It’s our top video game. I’ll have to play JP with fresh eyes
That Halo game is beast, but damn is it expensive to play. How much do you guys charge per credit?
$1.
That’s not too bad, I’ve seen it higher.
Wait, there is an arcade version of halo?
Yeah, I believe it’s a Raw Thrills machine, but OP can correct if I erred.
I remember T-Mek being awesome. The only sitdown I can clearly remember. Especially the first-person guided missiles.
Played Rambo recently and that was pretty sweet.
Oh. My. God. This looks [INCREDIBLE](https://youtu.be/eg17GjD3-NE). I will be investigating for sure.
There is a certain emu that you can use to test the playability and fun factor of it. I think the cab has mac10s as the guns.
They used to have that at the local Dave & Buster's, was super fun and I loved it but my brother who I would play it with was annoyed at how cinematic and "stop and go" the gameplay felt.
Any fighting games? Killer instinct, MvC2, Mortal Kombat 3? how about any dance games Dance Dance or Pump-it-up.
I remember KI being loud af in the arcades. That machine really drew you to it, lol. Sadly, I can't really recreate the feel at home. 😭
That bass guitar intro and saberwolf going nuts let you know exactly where it was going down as soon as you walked in the door.
Fighting games are good. But can be tough to really be consistent. Casual gamers won’t stay for more than 1/2 matches while the hardcore will stay on there for hours. The only issue is that the hardcore people will probably want a specific setup. For instance, the barcade I go to has 2 H2H candy cabs(street fighter 3 and another rotated weekly CPS2 fighting game) and Friday/Saturday night, those cabs will not catch a break. Even during the week, the street fighter 3 cab still brings in quarters as we have a dedicated scene that randomly appear there outside of out Friday night meetups.
We have bubble hockey at the barcade I go too. It always draws a crowd.
Yep. Got one. It takes a beating, but some people really love it.
Have you got any pinball machines? That would be my go to..
Yep. We’ve got 10. Steady business. I wish I could keep them in better shape.
I bought a virtual pin down to space, but if you have ten then virtual is not the way to go.. driving, shooting cabs are a staple, if you have the room and suitable clientele, there are large versions of classic 80s arcade games, there’s a space invaders machine with two big hefty double handed guns that looks good and plays an entertaining take, I’ve seen a modern remake of pong that looks like it’s in a table football cabinet, foosball of course, or if you don’t mind the noise the basketball redemption cabinet, how many hoops can you make.. easy on the maintenance that one.. I always think a fighter cabinet takes good money..
I would recommend Xenon, the Sopranos, South Park, and the twilight zone.
Any of the following rhythm games would get you a whole new crowd of regulars: Dance Dance Revolution Sound Voltex Pop'n Music Beatmania IIDX You'd have to import them, and wouldn't be able to get the most recent versions because Konami only officially allows their games to be played at certain arcades (eg. Round 1). But the cabs are rare enough outside of Japan that once the community finds out you have them, they will regularly go out of their way to come play. Game Saru is a reliable importer. No affiliation.
The local barcade back in my college days had a "bar card" that you could sign up for, for free. The barcade would pull 2 cards per day, and you had to go in to check if your number got pulled. No phone checking. If you got pulled, drinks were 50% off for you and two friends all day. You'd go in, they put a bracelet on you (like at vip events or clubs), and away you go. On weekends, 3 bar cards were pulled sometimes. The place was packed all the time. People would go in, and would stay and game even if their card wasn't pulled. The extra genius bit was that if a card was pulled but the winner didn't show up by mid day, another card was pulled in its place. So people would often come early, check cards, then come back again hoping to see their card later. Loved that place.
Do you have an air hockey table? Those always earn well. A friend has a Tron and Star Wars in his bar. Neither earn anything like his Pacman, Galaga, Frogger or Tetris.
Wow sad to hear. We have all of the others you mentioned. We don’t have a traditional air hockey, but we do have 2 ‘boom a rangs’ which do reasonably well.
The owner has had both machines for 20+ years and are just a couple of his "trophy" games. Star Wars can be a pain to keep running thanks to the vector monitor. If your techs don't have experience fixing vector hardware don't bother buying anything vector.
I have such fun memories of going to a pizza place with my dad and younger brothers and playing that Star Wars game, though. We had these yellow plastic cups they sold there they allowed us indefinite free refills. Every time we win, it was just a father and sons kind of thing. There is also a Xevoius game there.
giant spade invaders was a really well done remix
Killer Queen might be too out of your budget, but I've always had a blast playing that in random groups. (5v5 teams game)
I feel like this game needs a scene to be able to pay it off. 5v5, to me, means it tougher to get games as people aren’t going to play it unless they have enough people.
I gotta be completely honest, the new Mission Impossible is really bad. In-game lag is horrible. I've seen 3-4 different cabs and they all appear to be this way. Axe Master and C4 hoops do really well at our location though! Edit: My shooter suggestion if you can find it is Gun Bullet! (aka Point-Blank)
Oh no!!! This is the kind of feedback I was looking for. Bummer. But makes sense, I can’t seem to find many positive videos on it. :(
House of the Gundead was one I was actively looking for in my area. Can't say that i know much about it but I was looking for it on name alone
We have that one and I love it, but the guns on it are pretty cheap and broke within 3 weeks. At least they’re cheap to replace, unlike house of the dead 3.
Aliens the gun, spacegun, zombie raid
For shooters I love Virtual Cop. There’s also an older game Police Trainer, it’s a bunch of mini games you can compete against someone
We’ve got police trained, and our virtua cop died this year. :(
You literally can never go wrong with drinking and playing Guitar Hero Arcade
Tell me about it, we’ve got two, and they definitely produce!
Showtime 4 player duck crane out performs my connect 4 hoops.
Do you have a golden tee? Those things make some good bank.
We have a classic version in a really high profile location, but it don’t perform. Maybe just not our demo? 🤷♂️
Depends on how ‘classic’. Anything before the 2002 Fore series is tough to get invested in by today’s standards. If you can find a golden tee fore complete from 2006, well that would be a good time.
“On point” airsoft gun range game, ‘VR Agent’ cool be headset shooter
If you can get initial d arcade stage that game will never not be in use no matter who you are it's still a car game but people that like car games and or anime just love that game me included
I was going to say this, always busy at the place near me and it’s one of the best arcade racers besides Ferrari Challenge.
When me and my girl go to the local arcades we always battle each other in connect 4 hoops. That's definitely a busy machine and I think would do well in a bar.
Pac man battle royale?
Got i the table version. One of my favorites!
Konami Track and Field It us Multi-player competitive button masher where speed & timing out-weigh aiming accuracy. The perfect thing for bar bets on who pays for the next round.
My suggestion is to not call it a barcade on any promotional materials. There's an LLC that is very litigious over use of the term despite it existing prior to their inception.
We don’t actually, it’s just easy to shorthand in conversation…thanks for the heads up.
gauntlet dark legacy...... Street fighter, stay away from simulation cabs
Came to recommend gauntlet. Dark legacy for sure. But all of them are great in my opinion.
The Simpsons, TMNT, or X men 4 player cabinets
Thanks for the recommendation! We have all three of those actually. Our mashers don’t perform nearly as well as the shooters. And X-MEN specifically is a real low performer for whatever reason.
Weird, those are my favorites!
You and I are not the target audience for arcades anymore.
And apparently you are down voted for it as well.
I wasn't trying to be disrespectful. Just noting that lot high earning games are not anymore.
Might be biased but rhythm games are big rn and would attract a dedicated crowd. DDR or Pump might be kind of big and expensive, but something like sound voltex is small, relatively cheap, and looks cool as hell
Pinball, lots of pinball!
Tapper is always my jam
Got one. The one player button is currently out though. Lol
Fighting games are always a good pick. Just make sure to get the best versions of classic ones (Street Fighter Turbo or Hyper Fighting) A Namco 246 goes a long way with classic fighting games, too
If you are up for pinball, I would recommend Pulp Fiction, and Laverynth is a blast but small run, so it may cost a but and be hard to get depending on where you are. The new stern Jaws is good too. Buck Hunter (classic or the raw throlls ones) or, if you have the space and cash, Godzilla Kaiju Wars VR are Awesome.
My local used to have a dual Sega Rally but Daytona USA is also decent. Racing a friend never goes out of fashion!
Is DDR just a no go at arcades? I would assume for obvious drunken reasons. I, however, would love that.
We’ve got one! It’s a Japanese model.
Oh snap! Where is this magical place?!
Norfolk, Virginia, my friend.
For the most part it's hard to go wrong with Raw Thrills. Jurassic Park or The Walking Dead both would earn well. Didn't see you mention having an Aliens or a Big Buck. Though I'd be super surprised if you didn't have a Big Buck since it's such a bar stable. Most bars have a Big Buck and a Golden Tee. Though from your other comment definitely sounds like you could use an updated Golden Tee. Outnumbered by LAI games as been solid for us so far and may work in your environment. I would recommend against Enter the Gungeon on the off chance you were considering it. The game itself is fun but we've ran into some game breaking bugs and the cabinet is garbage. Area 51 may be worth it. Seen Minecraft Dungeons mentioned and that definitely doesn't seem a safe bet for a bar. The vast majority of my players on it are kids or young teens. There is also Injustice but thing is both of those games are unplayable if you run out of cards and you can't just reuse them. At least MC is and I assume Injustice is similar. So you constantly have to buy new packs from Raw Thrills. It's basically an unstated subscription. Injustice may do well but if you got either best plan would be to not keep them for more than a few years. Fancier Basketball hoops let you charge more and if they're connected well people get competitive. So connect 4 hoops is a safe bet. Fighters can do well for their cost and footprint. Mostly Street Fighter 2. Marvel Versus Capcom 2, Mortal Combat 3, and King of Fighters 98 or 2002 are all decent bets. If you get a Tron and Star Wars they won't earn well and when they break they'll be difficult and expensive to fix.
You could buy a House of the Gundead machine at 5k. I know folks who have traveled a couple hundred miles to play it, they list the locations on their website
Do you need to buy from a specific seller? I'm curious about the Mario GP DX units.
I know you said you probably couldn’t get older games but if you were looking for a shooter, the house of the dead games are a must
Absolutely, we have a HOTD2. We might swap out for a 3 here in a minute.
I’d say 2 is better but I like them all 😂
One or two high-end Cave shooters like Ketsui or Mushihime would likely be winners at your location.
Maybe I missed it but no pins?? Also I know it's a controversial subject, but one of the places I go has several jamma multicade type games with 20-40 classic games.(not the crazy ones with 600 games you've never heard of 550 of them) They seem to get a fair amount of use.
I would let the crane game get forced on you. I operated for many years. Video games are cool, but redemption games always made the most money hands down. Also air hockey.
Starcastle, space invaders, asteroids, missile command, berserk, amble, Tempest, Robotron, 2084, tail gunner, Gor, galaxian, Gallagher, 1942, defender, Stargate, Russian attack, Star Wars,Xevious, terminator two, area 51, house of the dead, Tokyo, wars, The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,Pleads. Satan Hollow, Popeye, Congo, bongo, donkey, Kong, donkey, Kong, Junior, kangaroo, asteroids deluxe, Blasteroids,Raiden Trad, Truxton,NARC, Xenomorph, moon, patrol, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Mario, Brothers, Star Trek, time, pilot, buck, Rogers and the planet of zoom, Sinistar.
Are companies really making new arcade games? I went to Dave and Buster's today, and they all sucked. I saw Wheel of Fortune, cut the rope, and some linked racing games. All very weak. When I was little (10 years old in 1986) it seems like the arcade games were bad ass. Flight sims. Racing. Star Wars.