Arcade Project 09: Game: Pole Position

Obligatory Arcade Purchasing Paragraph
Admittedly the choice of what arcades to get is a personal taste.  If you look at refurbished and well taken care of arcades, you will find that they cost well over $1000.  If you go to reputable websites that specialize in selling arcades, you will find them very much expensive.  Ebay and Craigslist are a crap shoot.  Sometimes people will try and give you junk for $2000, and sometimes little old ladies want to clear rooms and sell you pristine Pacmans for $200.  Its the risk you take for the rewards.  My choice in games is my own and will be different from yours.

Pole Position

There is ONE reason why I played a lot of Pole Position in my youth.  Was it because I was a racing fan?  Not really.  Was it because I'm a car enthusiast?  Nope.  No, the reason I played a lot of Pole Position was because it was the longest gaming you could be guaranteed per quarter.

Pole Position also has a very iconic shifting gear that is not replicated in home arcade emulation set ups.  It is an experience from my youth that I want to replicate.  I am very lucky in that I never really got to play much of the sit down version, so that will help me save at least half the cost and space of putting this in my home arcade plans.  The south was FULL of Pole Position and Pole Position 2 arcade cabinets.  Down here, racing is big business and has been even before NASCAR went national.  You'd see Pole Position in gas stations, dive bars, flea markets and restaurants, EVERYWHERE.  Because of this, it is really easy to find an almost pristine cabinet for $300 to $600.  I will put the cost down to $600 as that's what they are showing up on Ebay frequently as.


Actually, now that I think about it, the only reason I never really got to play the sit down "cockpit" version of the game was because it was at the local movie theater.  The local movie theater being the place all the teenagers hung out at on a Friday night.  The sit down Pole Position cabinet was basically a private "booth" for activities that decidedly did not include playing video games.