Welcome to the Plug and Play Arcade article.
If you don’t want to build or buy an arcade machine and would rather not use your computer to play games there is an option for you. Over the years a number of Arcade themed plug and play TV games have been released by various manufacturers. Almost all of these devices have at least 4 games although there are some that have only one. These devices are generally simple in both design and functionality. The games are not necessarily the originals being faithfully emulated but are translations true to the originals. Some of the systems have even enhanced the games.
Of the various plug and play tv game systems I have been able to play the Arcade themed units are some of the best out there. I didn’t check on how accurately the games play or graphics reproduction was even with the MAME Cabinet available. I figured I would go with straight enjoy ability and playability. As long as the games are playable it doesn’t really matter if it is the exact game from the arcade.
Of the various manufacturers the most popular is probably the Jakks Pacific series
of Retro-
I have not tried all the different systems but from the ones I have he games remain very true to the originals and I would not be surprised if some are the originals. All the game sets include at least one popular title that will keep you occupied. It isn’t uncommon to see one game that wasn’t so common in the collection for some reason. When they picked the games they made sure they worked with the control they were giving you. There are a few games where the controls are different from the original but they seem to have tweaked the game so this is not so much of an issue.
The controls on these devices are usually shrunk down arcade controls, be it a joystick, buttons or steering wheel. The joysticks and buttons are easy to use and seem to be fairly durable. So you can play the units for a long time before the controls give out. The actual box the controls are in vary in shape and design but almost all of them are hard plastic. They are fairly durable and can take a few drops due to intense game play. They should still be treated with care though.
Like all TV plug and play games they require batteries but are simple to connect to a TV with the RCA audio and video cable attached to them.
By the simple act of owning one Plug and Play arcade game you have a P’N’P Arcade, as you probably have 5 games. If you have two or more you are verging on real arcade territory with an equivalent of 10 or more machines. The problem is you need multiple TVs one for each device preferably. This of course would take up a lot of space and is unlikely to happen. Although it would be very simple to build a small unit with sides shaped like an arcade machine, a shelf to hold the TV and a shelf for the controller to sit on. You could make as many of these as you want and then stand them next to each other like a real arcade. If you have the room and power. Better yet make the bottom of the cabinet a shelf that holds your collection of controllers. You can then switch out the games whenever you want and you only need the one cabinet.
There is another way.
If you have three plug and play controllers and a 3 way RCA Audio/Video switch you
can make a simple multi-
Attach all three units to the RCA Switch box and then connect it to the RCA input on your TV. To activate a different arcade joystick you just put the slider to the unit you want to use and switch that units power on and you are ready to play.
To make it even more like an arcade machine you can build a simple shell that holds the controllers and the switch. All the cables can be hidden in the small box. This way you have a single cable that runs to the TV and you can remove the joysticks if you want or need to.
This idea could be taken even further if you wanted. I would be tempted to find a small TV and enlarge the shell to include the TV. This would create a small unit like the bar top machines. It becomes much less portable though and is cross between making a single dedicated unit and the 3 way system. You can of course get a 4 or 6 way splitter and have more controls I find three is really about all you can fit comfortably onto a panel.
Instead of making three custom fit holes for the controllers, you may want to make 3 rectangles that can hold different sized controllers. To make this work better, place a layer of Velcro into the rectangular cut outs and then a strip or two on the controllers. This will make the controllers stick better and allows you to change the controllers if you want. You can also use this method with the single stand up unit.
As a simple test I used the Jakks Namco 1 and 2 Joysticks and the Taito Space invaders console. This gives me a total of 15 games to play in a variety of genres.
Namco 1 (5 Games)
• Pac-
• Dig-
• Galaxian
• Rally-
• Bosconian
Namco 2 (5 Games)
• Ms. Pac-
• Galaga
• Pole Position
• Xevious
• Mappy
Taito (5 games)
• Space Invaders
• Phoenix
• Lunar Rescue
• Qix
• Colony 7
Onto the Arcade
At the time of writing this I have not taken any of these ideas beyond a simple test and a good think. I do however plan to create a finished version of at least one of these units over the summer and possible both. It may well turn out that they are worth documenting further. I will decide if I should update this article, write new one or not bother when they are finished. Much will depend on the time available and how the build actually goes.
