Wouldn’t It Be Neat If Arcade1Up Entered the Coin-Op Space?

Arcade1Up has made quite a name for itself in recent years thanks to its varied line of at-home approximations of popular arcade games — recently expanding to include a pricier “Pro Series” with larger monitors, Suzo-Happ inputs, and improved sound.

The first title among the Pro Series is Killer Instinct — offering online multiplayer through a Wi-Fi connection — with more to be announced in the near future. On top of that, the original line of “Legacy Edition” cabinets will soon welcome Pac-Mania, Mortal Kombat 30th Anniversary Edition, and Centipede to its ranks.

But the announcement of the Pro Series spurred a thought in the ol’ Wilcox Arcade Discord server: What if Arcade1Up entered the coin-op space?

While the company is achieving enormous success targeting collectors alone, the particularly sizable Pro units draw more obvious comparisons to commercial gaming equipment than their Legacy forebears. In other words, you could slap coin mechs on these and they’d blend into an arcade floor with no problem.

Plus, if history is any indication, some arcade operators are already attracted to the lower price tag and smaller footprint of Arcade1Up units. A Reddit post from 2020 (duly documented by Arcade Belgium on Twitter) showcased a Turtles in Time-themed Arcade1Up unit jury-rigged to accept credits.

Arcade1Up now has the unique opportunity to capitalize on this interest by releasing official coin-op variants of its Pro Series to arcades around the country — possibly with minor tweaks to better withstand public play — to replace the aging cabinets housing these same games. Operators can only keep these things going for so long, people.

I myself have long been a staunch proponent of official multicades to grant operators more bang for their proverbial buck, as well as to provide young folks like myself with easier access to the classics as they were meant to be played. As such, you can see why I’m especially gung-ho about this pie-in-the-sky idea.

Previous attempts by major manufacturers at similar concepts — like Pac-Man’s Pixel Bash, Arcade Classics, or Arcade Legends — have been sparse, leaving the market ripe for the picking. This is truly Arcade1Up’s time to shine.

Whether Arcade1Up actually considers such a move is anyone’s guess, but I wanted to put my thoughts out there at least. Who knows? Maybe a higher-up from the company will read this and agree with my points. Or not. I ain’t too worried about it.

Regardless, home buyers have a plethora of fun replicas awaiting them this year. Look out for these at Walmart, folks.