Sega Astro City

Yesterday, I got this:

This is a Sega Astro City cabinet and it is in my house.

I’ve wanted an arcade cabinet for a long time, and since I dig shoot ’em ups (or “shmups”) I’ve more specifically wanted a Japanese style candy cabinet. These are not easy to come by since if you can’t find one nearby, getting one shipped is really expensive. I had pretty much given up hope of finding one locally, but then something great happened.

There used to be an arcade here in Seattle that had candy cabs and shooters. The arcade is unfortunately no longer there but I got to know the insanely nice and genuine guy who ran it and owned all the cabinets. He was looking to sell an Astro City and remembered that I wanted a cab, so he asked if I was interested.

HELL YES!

Not only was this machine from someone I knew and trusted, but I had actually played on it when it was in the arcade. Plus he offered to deliver it and help me get it set up, which is perfect since I’m a total n00b at this point.

He brought it over and we got it inside and hooked up. I don’t have any boards yet so he let me borrow a Vasara board that I might buy if it turns out I like it. I didn’t at first, but now it’s growing on me.

Next I gotta start tracking down PCBs and making it so I can hook up my Japanese 360 so I can play Cave ports.

It’s on!