/vr/ - Retro Games

I have owned a few cabs, and played on a lot more for long periods of time. I would say the single most important thing to keep in mind when you're building an arcade/video game cabinet is comfort. Most cab designs out there are not really that comfortable to play on for any time longer than about a half hour or so. You end up having to sort of hunch over and extend your neck out in an awkward position that gets painful over time.

Upright cabinets are usually more comfortable to play than cocktail cabinets, even though you're standing up. However, using a stool in front of an upright actually makes it less comfortable than just standing. So your legs may get tired. Namco-style uprights like you usually see with a Galaga that have the low-boy laid back style of monitor in them are pretty comfy for longer sessions. Cabinets with my upright monitors like a Dynamo cab you'd usually see Street Fighter in are harder on the back and neck over time. Midway cabs like Mortal Kombat are a little bit better, but still not to comfortable with a stool.

Japanese candy cabs are overall better about this, as well as some cabinets like the Nintendo VS sit down cabinet that came out in NA.

If I were building a new home cab I would build something that sort of resembled a computer desk that you can get your knees under and maybe even a computer chair with a good back to it. Just with a joystick and buttons where a keyboard and mouse would usually go up on top of the desk. Internal hardware could go off to the side and the monitor would either just sit on top or you could build an enclosure for it. There used to be these things called half-cabs or cigarbobs (after the guy that popularized the concept) that were like this and I always wanted to build one.

I stopped using cabinets because they just didn't have comfortable ergonomics for me. A nice chair + heavy arcade stick + good sized monitor at eye level is better in most practical ways. But I do miss that arcade feel.