> First $.75 I ever saw out there was Galaxy Force 2, which was *entirely worth* it. > I'd still pay that for a round on one of those if there were any still operational. > I've heard they were prone to frequent breakdowns, and my experience was that there > were 50-50 odds on any arcade visit on if the machine was going to be operational > that visit.
I got a used GF back around 1993 and spent many hours and >$500 in parts making it nice again (game was 5 yrs old at that point). I charged $1.00 per play and it made $250-$450/week. Not enough to justify the space it occupied in my small arcade, so I sold it less than a year later for $2300, and it was already starting to have "Motor Trouble" again. The sad reality is today there are very few arcade techs who can repair this stuff any more and even fewer parts available, since the operational life of coin-op amusements was only five years (at best). The best part was bribing 4 customers with free games so they would help me lift the entire top off the base. That was a sight to see. Thankfully, none of them dropped it or got hurt.
I have some VHS footage of it in operation somewhere. Must locate and rip some day.
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