My Switch ‘N’ Shoot Arcade Cabinet is NOT a Bootleg

Every now and then, I feel the need to iron out certain misconceptions that have arisen regarding the Wilcox Arcade route — just me being proactive about it.

And one erroneous idea that I take extremely seriously is that my Switch ‘N’ Shoot arcade cabinet at Know-a-Guy is in any way unofficial. The truth is quite the opposite: My Switch ‘N’ Shoot arcade cabinet is 100 percent official.

But it is different from any other Switch ‘N’ Shoot arcade cabinet you’d ever see on location, and that’s something I want to better explain in today’s Wilcox Arcade blog post.

This is a Rare Gem

Although Switch ‘N’ Shoot itself is not what you would call uncommon — considering many venues across the United States operate the arcade version, and the various home ports are easily accessible — the particular kind of cabinet in my possession is impossible to find anywhere else “in the wild.”

That’s because I purchased the “cabaret” version of Switch ‘N’ Shoot — one of two in the world that ever saw the light of day.

First, some context for those who need it: The term “cabaret” refers to what we now might dub a “mini” cabinet. In other words, it’s a much shorter, more compact form factor than your typical upright arcade cabinet, meant to fit in more space-deprived settings.

Cabarets used to be fairly prolific, alongside cocktails. If you’ll recall, Pac-Man, Centipede, and so many other classics were offered in this tiny form factor as an alternative for operators who had less cash or real estate at their disposal.

As much as I wish cabarets would come back in fashion — seeing as how the entire notion behind Wilcox Arcade is to cram as many arcade games as possible into third-party venues, which can often be light on spare square-footage — I totally understand why they’ve disappeared. For one thing, bigger games tend to earn more money, and unfortunately, Arcade1Up has created a strong association between “mini-cabinets” and “home use.”

Rest assured that my Switch ‘N’ Shoot cabaret was never intended for home use; instead, Switch ‘N’ Shoot publisher DSM Arcade ultimately chose not to bring that SKU to market after producing a couple proof-of-concept builds.

I Don’t Build Cabinets

Misconceptions related to Wilcox Arcade make me pretty squeamish — but sometimes, I can sort of wrap my mind around how we got here, so to speak.

For one thing, as I mentioned just a few paragraphs ago, cheap Arcade1Up devices have more or less destroyed the public’s perception of cabaret-style cabinets. If you didn’t know a thing about Switch ‘N’ Shoot going into the experience, it wouldn’t be a tremendous stretch of the imagination to assume it was an Arcade1Up release rigged to take quarters.

And with how prevalent bootleg cabinets have become these days, it’s not too far a stone’s throw to think my Switch ‘N’ Shoot cabaret could be running on MAME. (Again, it’s not, but we’re bouncing around hypotheticals here.)

Let me make one thing crystal clear: I don’t build arcade cabinets. I don’t know how to build arcade cabinets, and I’m not all that interested in building arcade cabinets. Nor did I the develop Switch ‘N’ Shoot software — you can thank Matt Glannville and Dan Fessler for that.

What I do is purchase existing arcade games — either brand-new from their respective manufacturers or second-hand from other arcade operators — before placing them in other people’s venues for public consumption on a pay-per-play basis.

This is called operating a “route,” and it’s definitely not something I devised on my own. Other guys have been operating routes of phones, gumball machines, vending machines, pinball machines, and video games for decades upon decades — long before I was even born. In fact, you’re orders of magnitude more likely to encounter arcade games in a route scenario than in a dedicated “arcade” venue.

Pepsi MidAmerica operates the vending machines at Murray State University, Venture River Water Park, and Parker’s Quick Lube. Lemons Coin Machines operates the video games at Pagliai’s Pizza, Forgotten Past, and Archers. “Who” exactly is responsible for these machines is irrelevant to most people, which is you probably hadn’t thought about it before.

Long story short, I’m just some route dude operating an especially unusual — yet fully official — version of the Switch ‘N’ Shoot arcade game, among other things in western Kentucky.

Support This Indie Stuff

Now that you know the circumstances surrounding my Switch ‘N’ Shoot arcade cabinet, I hope you’ll find it in your heart to support it with your hard-earned cash.

You see, I prioritize placing indie arcade games throughout the commonwealth, which is a notably unorthodox take on routing. My long-term goal is to provide greater access to arcade games you may not have ever otherwise encountered without my intervention.

Switch ‘N’ Shoot is one such “deep cut,” so I’m extremely proud that I can showcase it at Know-a-Guy in Murray, Kentucky (where I also offer bulk vending machines filled with trading cards, stickers, capsule toys, and candy).

I view it as an unbeatable value proposition to play Switch ‘N’ Shoot for a paltry 25 cents in Calloway County — and if you agree, please also consider sharing what I’m doing with Wilcox Arcade on social media. Reaching new people is crucially important to justify bringing more of these niche offerings into our region.

But I digress. At least it’s now clear to everyone reading that my Switch ‘N’ Shoot arcade cabinet is NOT a bootleg. I look forward to seeing you soon at Know-a-Guy in Murray, Kentucky.