Are coin op games scarce? (cabinets) or you just need to have money.

[Q B]

Is there a game that one of you guys are looking for but just can't find one of them. I know in Canada Jap candy cabs are not as common as they use to be but by the looks of it, if you got the money to import you can get containers full. I was looking at peoples arcade rooms mostly basements etc on youtube and was just wondering. Is it more of just having the cash, than the demand? or is it both? sorry if it sounds obvious. I'm just curious to what you collectors on here think as of today.

[scogon]

space, disposable income for sure... also hitting that nostalgia window where people tend to go after their dreams.... like Atari and NES before it let alone countless toys from the 70's and 80's they all spike up, then the best or rarest keep going up....

I'm shocked at the run on Candy cabs lately, when I started they were $500 and they sat on kijiji waiting for a buyer... not so much any more.

[theyangman]

Just like any other hobby, the more people get into it, the higher prices drive up. Kids who grew up in and around arcades say early 80's to the mid 2000's (30-50 somethings) are now hitting their stride with more and more disposable income and want to recoup some of that nostalgia, and as the internet makes it easier and easier to find, buy and sell machines, pcb's, parts etc. It has grown in popularity alongside its dirty step brother Mame and other all in one PCB's. They don't necessarily have to be all original or rebuilt from NOS parts, people can slap together a half decent looking mame or 60 in 1 in a few days or weeks. So the barriers to entry into the hobby are as high or low as you want to set the bar.

Space is always a big thing though as these things aren't small, or portable like say collecting comics or NES carts. But that doesn't seem to stop the die hards. Plenty of people, myself included have overrun their garages and every other square inch of space with these damn things.

Certain games are scarce. Due to a lot of factors, low initial popularity, so they were converted to other games, low production runs so not many were made, and many get destroyed due to lack of care or poor maintenance and storage. But nothing is impossible with the right bankroll. There is almost always a seller if the price is right. It also takes patience. Especially if you want to find it somewhat locally. I've been looking for the better part of a year for my DDR machine and only recently found one at a price I wanted to pay and without driving to Florida for it. Hoarders also contribute a lot to scarcity. I bet there is still a LARGE percentage of old machines locked up away somewhere waiting to be found again. Like any hobby, there are items lost to the annals of time just waiting to be discovered again in a dusty barn or warehouse somewhere.

[jasonec]

Pop culture these past 5 years have driven a lot of people to the hobby and driven prices up dramatically (Wreck-it Ralph, Pac merchandise, Pixels, barcades, etc.). And the most common titles (MsPac, Galaga, Donkey Kong, etc.) fetch a lot more than the lesser known titles (except for vector games, which are coveted amongst the hardcore collectors).

[Q B]

thanks for your responses.