I want to get an MVS System

After 2 years of playing emulated Neogeo games, I've decided to go for the real thing. I have never dealt with collectable video game stuff, so I'm a bit worried I'll get ripped off.

I basically want a 4+ slot MVS system with a JAMMA cabinet. Is there anything I should be aware of?

Does anyone know of any good dealers that distribute world wide? Where would I find local dealers? Do you need to know lots about electronics to get it up and running? what are the chances that the gear will be damaged when its imported?

any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Its a costly investment, so I want to know as much as I can about it as possible.

EDIT: OK, I just read about the phantom-1 converter for AES systems, are they they're durable? also, I read that the slot for the MVS games is very tight. Is there a chance of me breaking a game by trying to put it in? How much does it cost?

I don't have any experience with an MVS cabinet. I have had MVS boards hooked up through Super Guns though. That is certanily a cheaper way to go, if you can't find a cab locally.

To answer one of your later questions, the Phantom-1s are $280 new.

Australia, eh? You might want to avoid looking for a cabinet... Unless you know where to find one locally, I doubt it is worth it [or even possible] to have one shipped from another country. www.arcade-inifinty.com is the only site I know of that deals with sit-down Japanese cabs, I belive.

A supergun is probably the route you'll want to take... Or the Phantom-1 route.

If you are ONLY interested in playing MVS games, I guess the Phantom would be a decent choice... But it's fairly pricey. $280 for the converter + over $200 for a home system just to play MVS games... And yes, as long as you get the newest Phantom-1 model, you'll be good to go. [I doubt you can even find the original model nowadays.] As long as your home system hasn't been beat to hell, you shouldn't have any slot issues.

Personally, I went the supergun route. [My unit is coming soon, so I will write up something when it arrives in more detail.] I chose this route because I wanted to be able to play ordinary JAMMA-compatible PCBs and MVS carts. The supergun was around $220 and I paid [a bit too much] $190 for a new one slot board. If you don't have a cabinet, you don't need anything more than a one slot, I think. You can find new one slot boards for around $175 or used models for significantly less.

So for quite a bit less than an AES + a Phantom-1, you can play MVS carts and countless other PCBs with a supergun.

The choice is yours...

Click_Stick, where did you get a Super Gun for $220?

Matt built it for me. It should arrive later next week...

http://www.boomspeed.com/click_stick/gun1.jpg

Write-up and more pictures to come then.

Good luck on your search, NEO GEO is awesome, and a 4 slot isn't that expensive, the games are so affordable!

Damn it... I want my MVS cabinet. Like, right now.

I'm concerned about maintainance issues with a Supergun. Is there any soldering, wire changing, button replacement, etc, involved? Are SGs just "pop 'n play" like the AES?

Only if you were looking to modify a supergun would you have to do anything technical. Other than that, all you need to do is pop a game board into the JAMMA harness and you're set. As long as a game is JAMMA compatible you should not run into any technical issues. [But if you are looking to play a game that requires six buttons and your unit does not support such a feature, you'll obviously have some problems.]

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Originally posted by Click_Stick
Matt built it for me. It should arrive later next week...

http://www.boomspeed.com/click_stick/gun1.jpg

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Who is this Matt? And do you think he would be willing to make one for me if I supplied him with the proper funds?

I'm lucky Matt even built this one for me... He originally intended to stop making them right before I e-mailed him. So I am highly doubting he is willing to build any more of them...

Yar...

So... who builds these things? Is it possible to find schematics online?

The only supergun building guide I know of: http://cps2shock.retrogames.com/jamma.html

And then there are these rigs:

Super Nova

HGA

Sigma

I really do not know muich about any of these, but most people choose a Super Nova over a HGA...

And good old Seven Force can hook you up with something called a control box.... basically a big arcade joystick panel with a JAMMA harness... [I haven't seen a picture in a while, but I think that's the basic setup...]

Personally, I just stick with a modded Neo AES with a Phantom 1 converter. But I can see why many people like the supergun. I wouldn't mind having an arcade cab, but I honestly like the Neo home sticks more than the arcade Neo sticks.

If you happen to go the AES route, dig out my thread in Trade Depot, it's still for sale *shameless plug*

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Originally posted by Click_Stick
And good old Seven Force can hook you up with something called a control box.... basically a big arcade joystick panel with a JAMMA harness... [I haven't seen a picture in a while, but I think that's the basic setup...]

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I've got the Sigma Raijin which is one good control box. Nikke at Kaiten Games used to sell these... unfortunately, KG is no more. :(

http://www.vidgame.net/arcade/arcade_home.htm
This page has a picture of the Raijin.

Before that, I used a Great Western HGA. Unfortunately, the HGA can have problems with some JAMMA boards if you're using composite (looks bad anyway, unless you're using a TV with a good comb filter) or S-Video. More than a few Taito F3 games would cause the HGA to "overdrive", resulting in a loss of color from the picture. I've heard that HGA does support RGB now.

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Dave at Great Western, 2000/07/27
Hi everyone, this is Dave at Great Western. Our HGA, which is a small system that allows you to play most horizontally oriented Jamma boards on your television, has now been upgraded with RGB outputs... We are working on a way to allow computer monitors
to also accept these outputs.

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Originally posted by gameoverDude
I've got the Sigma Raijin which is one good control box. Nikke at Kaiten Games used to sell these... unfortunately, KG is no more. :(

http://www.vidgame.net/arcade/arcade_home.htm
This page has a picture of the Raijin.

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Nice link... Good ol' Nikke. His second site didn't seem to fare well either.

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Originally posted by Click_Stick
I'm lucky Matt even built this one for me... He originally intended to stop making them right before I e-mailed him. So I am highly doubting he is willing to build any more of them...

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Yes, I've given up on the Supergun business for the time being :( I don't have anywhere near the free time it takes, and finding parts is a lot more difficult here in Honolulu than it was back in Toronto. Maybe I'll build another one someday soon, but it'll be on my own time and not on request.

Click_stick has the patience of a rock, BTW!

- Matt

hmmmmm, Superguns sound good, but they seem to me to be a little on the risky side...

does anyone know where there's a list of JAMMA games? I want to mainly play Neogeo stuff, but if there are a few titles that really catch my eye, I'll get a Super gun. Still, I'd love to get a cabinet :) . That would be so fucking sweet...

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Originally posted by arjue
does anyone know where there's a list of JAMMA games? I want to mainly play Neogeo stuff, but if there are a few titles that really catch my eye, I'll get a Super gun. Still, I'd love to get a cabinet :) . That would be so fucking sweet...

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Just about anything released in the arcade follows the JAMMA standard. Really, really old stuff can sometimes be problematic, as is anything that requires a special controller rig.

As far as using a cabinet or getting a supergun, I'm a little biased because I a cabinet (2 now!) I will say though, that cabinets require space and are a real pain to move around. I just love sitting at them though, and they're great for fighting games, which make up a better portion of my collection. With the addition of the 2nd one though, I can rotate the monitor in my sit down one and finally get some vertical shooters :)

A supergun has the advantage of being small and unobtrusive, and you can hook it up wherever, whenever. Want to play a vertical game? Buy a cheap TV and leave it on it's side. No bulky monitors to rotate.

If you have the money and space for a cabinet, I'd say it's worth it.

I'd like to chime in and say that I've had zero problems with my Mas Systems Super Nova. If you can plug a SNES cart into an SNES, you can use the Super Nova. It also comes pre-wired for 4 and 6 button games, so no worries. :)

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Originally posted by Masaka
Just about anything released in the arcade follows the JAMMA standard. Really, really old stuff can sometimes be problematic, as is anything that requires a special controller rig.

As far as using a cabinet or getting a supergun, I'm a little biased because I a cabinet (2 now!) I will say though, that cabinets require space and are a real pain to move around. I just love sitting at them though, and they're great for fighting games, which make up a better portion of my collection. With the addition of the 2nd one though, I can rotate the monitor in my sit down one and finally get some vertical shooters :)

A supergun has the advantage of being small and unobtrusive, and you can hook it up wherever, whenever. Want to play a vertical game? Buy a cheap TV and leave it on it's side. No bulky monitors to rotate.

If you have the money and space for a cabinet, I'd say it's worth it.

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So you have 2 cabinets? Awesome! any pics? how much did you get them for?

Another thing, are MVS cards durable at all?

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Originally posted by arjue
Another thing, are MVS cards durable at all?

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Do you mean memory cards or game carts? If you mean memory cards I don't know, but MVS game carts are like little tanks. You could kill a man by dropping one on him. I'm almost positive that the only thing bigger and bulkier in the video game world is Capcom CPSII carts. You don't want to mess with a CPSII cart. :)

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Originally posted by arjue
So you have 2 cabinets? Awesome! any pics? how much did you get them for?

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I have a Capcom Impress cabinet that I picked up off of ebay a couple of years ago. Shipping about killed me, but I wound up paying about $700 for it. Thank goodness for tax refunds :)

The one I just picked up is your "standard" arcade cabinet. It's had a couple of different games in it, Tekken 4 being the latest. I actually got a deal on this, and pretty much just had to pay to move it from DC to Blacksburg. Total costs came to right around $130

I'm at work right now, but I can post some pictures when I get home.

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Originally posted by arjue
Another thing, are MVS cards durable at all?

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The cartridges are pretty sturdy. Just keep the connectors free from dust and you'll be fine. I have an MVS 1 slot and several games, and haven't had any problems.

All I'll add is this:

If you can squeeze a cabinet into your house/room, that is seriously the way to go im my edumacated opinion.

You can't beat the authentic feel of playing arcade games the way they were meant to be played.

If I can fit a full size dynamo s cab and a neo candy into my house surely anyone can at least fit a candy into theirs...

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Originally posted by Kidnemo
All I'll add is this:

If you can squeeze a cabinet into your house/room, that is seriously the way to go im my edumacated opinion.

You can't beat the authentic feel of playing arcade games the way they were meant to be played.

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I don't know... Arcade games were never meant to be played through a hi fi system with $1000 speakers. My Supernova plays through just that. I just don't think you can get the sound out of an arcade cab that a SuperNova/Supergun will give you. Then there's the big comfy chair issue. I'm much better off lounging back in my gaming chair than I would be standing up or sitting on a stool in front of one of those mini cabs. And since I'm playing on authentic Happ joysticks and buttons through an authentic RGB arcade monitor anyway, I'm not losing much at all without the cabinet. SuperNova/Supergun is the way to go if you ask me.

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Originally posted by Chibi Nappa
I don't know... Arcade games were never meant to be played through a hi fi system with $1000 speakers. My Supernova plays through just that. I just don't think you can get the sound out of an arcade cab that a SuperNova/Supergun will give you. Then there's the big comfy chair issue. I'm much better off lounging back in my gaming chair than I would be standing up or sitting on a stool in front of one of those mini cabs. And since I'm playing on authentic Happ joysticks and buttons through an authentic RGB arcade monitor anyway, I'm not losing much at all without the cabinet. SuperNova/Supergun is the way to go if you ask me.

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When I initially got my cabinet, the main reason was for playing fighting games, and for me, nothing beats having an actual cabinet to play on. I play much better on a nice fixed stick, although for shooters or beat-em-ups, you're right, I'd rather be in a chair. But then, that's part of what makes the sit down cabinet nice. :)

As for sound, well, you can always hijack the sound from a cabinet and hook it up to whatever you like. My Impress is set up like that, although I don't have it hooked up to anything atm.

I've played on both, and I'd say that it depends on the game, and of course, personal preference.

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Originally posted by Chibi Nappa
MVS game carts are like little tanks.

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I don't know about that! I've had several MVS carts arrive DOA due to bad solder joints on the ROM chips. But this problem is easy to fix by just reflowing the solder around the pins. I've never had a Neo cart that permanently dead.

Aside from that little problem, Neo carts are very durable and will last pretty much forever if you keep them clean.

And I'd say go the cabinet route if you can. If you have a local arcade dealer (or even better, an auction), it'll be cheaper than a supergun. Cabinets are a lot more fun to play, but they do take up extra space. I bought a covnerted 1-slot Neo cab with Metal Slug a couple of years ago for $175 Canadian, which works out to $120 or so US. That's including the Metal Slug cart and the MVS mobo.

- Matt

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Originally posted by Matt I bought a covnerted 1-slot Neo cab with Metal Slug a couple of years ago for $175 Canadian, which works out to $120 or so US. That's including the Metal Slug cart and the MVS mobo.

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Thats fucked up...

holy shit man, thats cheap...

well, thanks for the advice guys. I think I'm just going to save my money and worry about it when I have enough. I think I might go the cabinet route as I can afford space much easier than money. Also, I could practice with it so I can beat the robotic asians at KOF (seriously, I'm considered good at fighters, and these guys own me. When they beat me, I try to be a good sport and say "good game" or whatever, and they just stare at me coldly. I want to beat them! :evil: )

Uhm stupid question here but since I live in europe I shouldn't go for a Super Gun right? Someone told me that at least, so what should I look into?

Well, SuperNovas and most Superguns come with an RGB to NTSC converter so you can play on a regular television with composite or S-video. Obviously, this wouldn't do you much good in Europe. However, SuperNovas and most Superguns also output RGB. This should work fine in Europe. If you order from MAS, just tell them you want a SCART cable for you SuperNova and they'll make one. In fact, since MAS hand makes each SuperNova you might be able to tell them right off the bat that you live in Europe and would prefer an RGB to PAL converter instead of the NTSC converter in your SuperNova. Or if SCART is all you need you could save some money and tell them to not put any converter in there at all.

Thanks, I'll have to start checking out some games that might force me into purchasing it then.

Might I suggest starting off with a Neo Geo 1 slot? Great cheap fun. Assloads of $10 carts. And you get to play Magical Drop III and Waku Waku 7. It doesn't get much better than those two games. :)

Double Dragon I and II are both under $20, and NBA Jam is really cheap as well. I think I even managed to buy my SFII Hyper Fighting board for under $30.