I have known Dave (AKA Retro Dave Nintendo) for a good while now and I have seen his arcade collecting hobby grow and evolve over the last few years. I am lucky enough to live fairly close to Dave, so I have been lucky enough to see his collection in person as well as watching his YouTube videos where he showcases his collecting hobby for arcade collectors.
Dave is a big Nintendo fan but over recent times it is fair to say that his retro gaming console collection has shrunk a little to make way for an increasing arcade collection.
When I first got to know Dave, he had 3 arcade cabs and since then he has increased his collection and even seen various cabs come into his collection before being moved on to make way for new arcade cabs. He is one of the serious arcade collectors out there,
For this very reason I thought it would be great to interview Dave to share his insights into arcade collecting and hopefully we can learn a few tips too.
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Arcade Collectors Interview
Let’s go back to the beginning Dave. What are your first arcade game memories?
The first arcade game I can remember playing is Operation Wolf back in 1991 at the Sports Centre in the town where I used to live. Every Friday morning we would get the school coach to the Sports Centre for our weekly swimming lessons. The 20p I used to get back from my locker I would put into Operation Wolf which was just outside the changing rooms. Upstairs they used to have Street Fighter 2 and another couple of games that I can’t remember. Other kids would crowd around SF2 but I wasn’t interested in playing it at the time because the moves looked too complicated. I thought shooting the enemies on Operation Wolf with a light gun with added recoil was a better game and use of my 20p coin.
What were some of your favourite arcade games growing up?
4 player TMHT and Operation Wolf were the two games I specifically remember playing back in the early 90’s. Unfortunately my arcade exposure was quite limited back then.
What was your first arcade cab purchase?
A UK full size dedicated Operation Wolf in August 2015.
What gave you the push to buy your first arcade cab and got you into the arcade collecting community?
Making new friends on YouTube got me talking to two people in particular (Nintendo Arcade & Craigshereagain) that helped me locate and put me onto the Operation Wolf arcade. I told them I would love an arcade one day and thought my first game should be my old favourite, Operation Wolf. Little did I realise that they would locate one in a matter of weeks of asking, and put me onto the seller to close the deal. Since that first purchase many more have since come and gone.
What cabs have you since owned that have now moved on to new homes?
Operation Wolf, Special Criminal Investigation, Popeye, Ms.Pac-Man, & a PlayChoice 10.
What makes up your current collection in your games room?
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, TimePilot, Track & Field, Hyper Sports & a Jamma cab.
I’ve watched a lot of your YouTube videos where you have done various works to improve your cabs (including converting a JAMMA cab into a dedicated Track and Field cab). Did this scare you to begin with?
I wouldn’t say it scared me, I would say it intrigued me. I spent some time researching how I could do it, looking into the wiring and connections, adapters, buttons, and other parts I would need to get the conversion done. I enjoy tinkering so enjoyed doing it. I was very satisfied with the end result, and the satisfaction of having done it myself was great.
What tips would you give to someone who is thinking about buying an arcade machine or becoming an arcade collector?
I would advise to ask yourself what you want from it. Are you looking for an original, dedicated game? Or a multi-cade type setup? And go from there to start with.
Do your research on what price you should expect to pay for the game/cabinet type you want.
You should be prepared to ‘get your hands dirty’ especially if your buying an older original machine or even a Jamma cabinet with a CRT. It will break down at some point and these machines will require some servicing and maintenance eventually, so a basic understanding of electronics and some practical skills would be an advantage
Arcade cab collecting is very much dictated by the space you have for them. Some collectors might use storage others may just have their games room. Do you think it is common in the UK collecting scene for collectors to keep moving cabs on from time to time?
I would agree yes. This is certainly true in my case. I’ve owned several cabs from 6 months – 3yrs at a time before deciding I’m ready to move them on to get a new cab in the set up. Although I do know of arcade collectors that store cabs in lockup storage containers when they are out of room instead of selling them.
I recently helped you get your latest addition – a pinball machine into your games room. What drew you to getting a pinball machine?
I thought about getting a pinball at some point down the line however, I didn’t anticipate getting one so soon. I haven’t played many pinball tables so haven’t got much knowledge on them, but wanted one to have something different to play as a break from video games. I’m really enjoying it and my family have also really taken to it! It’s really fun.
You know that I have one, but would you ever be tempted by a MAME arcade cab?
Like most, I understand that the average gamer / collector can’t own multiple cabs so a MAME / Multicade set up is an ideal solution to have one machine that can play most games instead. At the time of writing this I have just secured my final grail arcade game, a dedicated Track & Field, so my plan is to now convert my Jamma cab from T&F to a multi game set up so I can play other games too. Whether this will stay long term however remains to be seen…
What do you think about the Arcade1up machines that have hit the market in the last few years?
I’ve never seen one in person so can’t really comment with an opinion; however I’ve seen a mixed bag of videos from others where some owners really like them and others have found faults in them. Being 6’2” myself they would not be suitable for me personally to play.
What are your arcade collector grail cabs that you would love to own?
Well; I feel incredibly lucky to say that I now own all my grail arcade games. I literally picked up my last one, last week as of the time of writing this. As mentioned earlier, it was a dedicated Track & Field.
My 4 grail games are Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Track & Field, and Hyper Sports. There are other games I love, and games I would love to own; but those 4 were my most wanted and I’m so happy / lucky to have acquired them over the last couple of years.
Finally, what advice would you give to anyone that loves playing arcade games but doesn’t have the space for an arcade cab?
If you want the real arcade experience, then I recommend visiting Arcade Club. If you want the arcade games at home and don’t have the space for a physical cabinet, I would recommend a raspberry pi and arcade stick to play the games on your TV. I have this setup myself and believe that this is a great solution to experience games that you couldn’t otherwise own or play elsewhere.
Thank you so much Dave for taking part in this interview and sharing your arcade collectors experiences with us. I’m really looking forward to seeing where it takes you in the next few years.
Where Can You Find More from Retro Dave Nintendo?
Dave’s current arcade collection looks fantastic in his games room and I have been lucky enough to play on his cabs both old and new. You can find Dave on his arcade collectors and pinball YouTube channel below and also on Twitter and Instagram using the links below.
You can find Dave on YouTube here.
You can find Dave on Twitter here.
You can find Dave on Instagram here.
More Arcade Game Articles
Thanks for stopping by you can find more arcade articles below.
See you in the next article.
Daz
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