MAMEWorld Forums - EmuChat

The market for using second hand real 720 controllers out of busted cabs is absolutely as niche as it gets. If you looked up niche market it the dictionary, this might as well be in as an example. And in fact, it would be an extremely small niche market. Calling it niche would be an ego boost for this minuscule group of go-getters.

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-You really do not think in realistic terms. When
A MFG like Atari made Videos... they didnt make 500.
They made THOUSANDS. As in like 50,000... 200,000.
The games were all over the states, multiples in every
city, and even all over the world.

Where do you think all those machines ended up?
In hands of the public. People who liked the game, have
the game. 720 was not the kind of cabinet that was easily
convertible... and so its more than likely that there are
more complete 720s out there than many other well known
classics.

And anyone who has one, is going to want to replace their
worn out controller with a brand spanking new one. Especially considering that the controllers have some
very wear prone parts inside of them.

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You're wrong about "people who are actually interested in 720". It was a childhood favorite of mine yet I'm not seeking out this option. I just want it to play on typical PC hardware. I wouldn't complain if there was a 720orig switch added to mame.ini that let you hook up a real controller, but I wouldn't put on whatever this public display of yourself is that you are doing either.

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- Its obvious that you were not a big fan then. Because
there are big fans out there, that Do invest in real
controllers.

- And if you say you wouldnt complain about not being
able to control a certain game... then either you really
dont have passion for a game that uses unique controlls..
or you are fearful a dev will Quit the Skene. Or Guru
will threaten to charge you $10,000 in interest on money
borrowed.

- 720 is just One of the MANY games that dont control
correct in Mame... for which options are very poor for
those of us who are actually passionate about playing the
games.

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Again wrong with the Starwars comment. Lots of people want to play it and play it in MAME with a mouse. There's a niche market for these controllers with Ramcontrols or whatever they call themselves seek to fill.

- To this date, there is Huge demand for Starwars
controllers. Yes, people Do play it with a mouse... but
many of those same people are not content, and want to
buy the real controller... and in fact ARE buying it. The
price is a somewhat steep $300, not including the needed
interface... and yet, its selling out faster than the guy
can get a string of them made.

Do you realize how many Starwars cabinets there were
produced in the USA ALONE?! Its probably one of the most
popular games ever made! People Love the custom controller,
and nothing else really feels and controls as good as it,
and thus, eventually, even if 1/10 the people who liked it
as a kid bought it... added to the Cabinets that need them,
and Ramcontrols will probably be selling them for Ages.

BTW - What do you think happens when a person cant get
parts for his cabinet to make the game play correctly?
Ding Ding Ding... it gets Parted out. Or trashed
completely. New parts = longer preservation of actual
games.

Also, many MGFs made custom pc parts, such as custom
spinners, which means people are not hacking real tron
panels to get the spinner. And if they did originally do
that, they can now sell that panel back into the hands of
a cabinet owner.

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I'm not under any delusions. I like how you think I'm the one out of line here yet you're the one pissing people off, including the people who could help your nichie cause.

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Really? Cause the people who seem to be doing the
money collection, and the work on preservation, dont seem
to care one bit. Which to anyone with passion for these
games, is Infuriating. Including collectors, as well as
again... the designers of the originals.

Quite simply, the people who Do have passion, Do the work.
Im not going to walk on eggshells just cause someone who
lacks passion, might quit. Im certainly not the only
one person in this world who actually has a passion for
the old games. And certainly not the only person who
is ticked off that you cant play any of mames driving
games with a real shifter... let alone all the other hacks
that screw with controls, or limit the real output/inputs
of the machines.

And BTW - Jeff Anderson, a collector and person who runs
VideoTopia, sold that Namco shooting gun to the local
museum. People like him actually have passion for games.
But people like him, are not always very happy with people
from the Mame collective... for reasons stated above, as
well as poor attitudes dished out.

Devs seem to have this idea that people who like the old
games are a tiny group. Its hilarious. Arcade games have
been out there for decades, to all generations of people
all over the world. In my small city, we had like 5
large busy arcades. Ive played just about every classic
ever made, and even some of the lesser known machines.

In this city alone, I know like 15 collectors.. many of
which own ENTIRE BASEMENTS FILLED WITH ARCADE / PINBALL
MACHINES! In fact, when I worked at the arcade in the mall,
I also Sold machines to the public.

And Pinball? An even smaller more expensive hobby... which
is supposed to be "Dead" and I know many pinball collects
here, including myself, that have more than one machine.

These machines just didnt all vanish, nor did the
Passionate players throughout all the years. And if Mame
made more of an Effort towards such passionate people,
you would see a 100x rise in donation levels.

The saying goes... You scratch my back, and Ill scratch
yours.

But pissing all over people by telling them what they
cant do... giving them a hard time when they ask for
something simple...and poor/no efforts made to rectify
poor areas of preservation... along with threats and
bad attitudes from people like "Guru"... and Donation
levels are going to stay pathetic.