It's been a weird couple of weeks

Someone stole my computer shortly after my last blog post, so I wasn't able to make any until now. I don't know why someone stole my computer, it wasn't a new one or anything.

I've also gotten more strange emails about the video. I even got a phone call about it, and I don't know how anybody got my phone number.

I am going to post the video tomorrow. I have a friend transferring it from VHS to digital. I only hope that someone can help explain this mystery machine more. I'm pretty sure it ends in "IUS" but I honestly have no memory of a game like that.

Once the video is up, maybe someone who has read this can help me out.

I watched the VHS tape that was in the cabinet.

Today I watched the tape that was inside the weird black cabinet I got a little over a week ago. A friend of mine had a VHS player so I watched it with him. I'm not really sure where to begin, but I will try to describe it as best I can. Eventually I will try to show the video on my blog.

The tape was in awful condition, and the quality was lacking. It was very short, just a few minutes, and it was a simple shot of someone standing next to two other arcade machines, both of them painted black. (You could only see the back of one, but the other you could see the side and it was black.)

While it skipped a bit, I got a lot out of it. The man talking about it claimed to be a "Phillip Bergman," a game developer, but I searched his name online for almost an hour and couldn't find anything about him or his company. Maybe I spelled it wrong, there are numerous ways to spell Phillip and Bergman, so who knows. He seemed to have some sort of European accent, but I honestly can't tell what is what when it comes to accents.

He was the lead developer on this particular machine. He claimed that development almost stopped due to people getting sick or having seizures from playing the game. He also said in it's later development stage that it could cause amnesia, although people would remember "elements" of the game, and they would be able to make them remember phrases or something, but not the game. The end of the video the quality gets incredibly bad, so it's hard to understand what he is saying, but never once in the video does he seem comfortable, he is always quite fidgety.

I wish I knew what game he is talking about, but I don't remember ever playing a game that was like that (although who would if it caused amnesia?)

The only clue I have is there was a marquee laying next to one of the machine, and it appears to end in "IS" or "US." It was blue or green, but it was really hard to see in the video.

I'll try to show the video here soon. It's really odd, and I'm not even sure if it's real. I emailed the man I bought it from again, and hopefully he responds soon. If you happen to have any idea what this game might be, I'm definitely willing to listen.

Finally got that weird black cabinet open...

I ended up removing the lock, and actually I was able to keep the back panel in fair condition. What I found inside was actually really weird, I've never seen anything like this.

Before I begin, let me say that the man I bought this from said he bought these games from an auction out west somewhere. I believe he said Oregon or Washington, I know it was a state in that area though. He told me he had never gotten it open, and it just sat for years. This was one of the reasons I bought it; you honestly never know what you might find, as I found that old Zaxxon instruction manual in perfect condition a while back.

Well, when I opened this one up, it seemed that whatever game had been inside had been stripped out completely. Nothing was in there, and that was rather disappointing, but it's about what I expected. What I didn't expect to find, however, was an old video tape. It looks a bit dirty, but I think it's playable. Only problem is....I no longer have a VHS player so I have no idea what is on it.

I will most likely get ahold of one in the next few days, and I'll see if I can somehow post the video on my blog, if it's even related to an arcade game. I am not sure how to convert a VHS to online, but I am sure it isn't incredibly difficult.

Wow, I've been busy...(I, Robot update)

I totally forgot to make a new blog on Sunday, so hopefully this makes up for it.

So I said I was picking up the I, Robot on Sunday, and I did, but I also got two other cabinets this man had. Let me describe them...

The first is Galaxian, a classic, and the prequel to Galaga. While Galaga is more popular, this game is very fun as well. Got a good deal on it, so I couldn't resist.

The second game is a bit more mysterious. It's all black, and seems to be a Williams cabinet. The screen is gone, and the back is still locked, and it didn't come with a key. I'm really not sure if I should break the lock or not, I don't want to damage it but I would like to see what game it is! He gave it to me cheap, so even if it's just the cabinet (which I think it will be) it is in good condition and was worth it.

I'll upload some pictures later once I get them cleaned off. This is very exciting!

I, Robot and other rare cabinets!

So I may have found a treasure chest of arcades! I have been posting want lists on various sites, and I got a response from a former collector who said he has an entire barn full of old arcade games!

I don't know how exactly he got his, but let me explain a bit what happened after arcades started to close in the mid 80's. A lot of arcades sold their games in lots to places, and a lot of games ended up sitting in warehouses collecting dust. I can only assume that something like this happened with this collector, because he said he has over 30 different rare cabinets! Some of them he hasn't even looked at or tested, so this should be very interesting!

In his message he did say he had an I, Robot machine, and I am going to go meet with him tomorrow (Sunday) so I will post a response as soon as I get back from that. I am very excited about this, it is always entertaining to look at old arcade machines like this, you never know what you might find.

Thanks for reading!

Sinistar Update and I, Robot

I got the Sinistar cabinet last weekend for a good price, as the power supply to this one is bad. I will most likely be getting one this week, so I'll update you more on that when I get it.

Anyways, I would like to talk about a much more rare game than Sinistar. The game I am talking about is called "I, Robot" and it has nothing to do with the film that came out a few years ago. This arcade game was revolutionary at the time it came out, because it was one of the first with full 3D graphics. Here is some footage of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmvWxG2zvs8

I remember playing this game when I was young, but I didn't truly appreciate it, and I don't think many did. It was way too ahead of it's time, and wasn't in my local arcade for very long because of it. I read that there are only 750-1500 cabinets made, so it will be a hard find, but perhaps someday I will find one!

Again, if you have any questions about arcades or need help fixing them, I'd be glad to share any advice I have!

Rare Games - Sinistar Part 2

It amuses me that I just wrote about Sinistar, but I have just found an old Sinistar cabinet online for sale that I am most likely going to pick up next week. It is apparently broken, but the cabinet is in great condition. It isn't the sitdown space ship style machine, but I doubt I could find one of those for the price I am getting this one.

I will have more pictures of it next week once I have it here and cleaned up. If I can get it running, that would be a huge accomplishment.

Thanks for reading!