New Arcade1up Leadership Revealed. What's Next? 

They can't reach average people because they have priced themselves out of that market. I'm subjugated middle class and I wait for sales cause I can't afford to drop full price on cab after cab. Tho it's smart shopping it limits their profits. So why not mark them $399 again and possibly sell more? Quality never met the price increases anyways. I'm not Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller but something has to change.

They should try adding something new to their range - like copying the Supetro Mini form factor. Make it cheap enough that it becomes an impulse buy in stores. Shipping, storage, manufacturing, materials & other costs of these, would be much lower than the large arcades they sell at the moment.

NFL Blitz XL

The issue for me as a collector and why I stopped buying (I currently have 13 machines) is that they didn’t really expand on the options that guys my age who grew up in arcades in the 80’s and wanted to recreate that experience. And the second reason is that it just got too expensive. I understand the push for higher quality, but I am more interested in the “arcade” experience and selling machines at 6-700 bucks each is too much investment for the gains. If A1UP would have sold more classic machines at a lower price point, I’d still be in the market. Instead, we got the same games (how many pac man’s have they released) and very little that excited me from that era. A 6-700 price point is in the Play Station/X-Box range, which is far more advanced technology. Imagine having to buy a new one just to get a few games. To sell to people wanting a bunch of machines, they needed more of the games that were nostalgic to those of us from that era and they needed to stay in the right price point that made it feasible. I still have many Gen 1 cabinets and they have have lasted just fine and when I needed to replace a joystick, it’s not that hard and not that expensive. If they started putting out Mr Do!, Pole Position, Zaxxon, Beserk, Q-Bert, etc for 2-300, I’d be right back at it. Unti then, I’ve been buying A1UP cabinets off the internet and modding them into classics, which can be pricey but is still cheaper.

I think star wars was a pretty good cabinet, and the sizes are great. Theres no universe where im fitting a real machine in my house let alone through a door so I love the sizes of these deluxes where I can cram them into some areas. I just wish the controls were good its just annoying having to switch every one of them out for wicos or happs, those knock off plastic sanwas are just garbage along with the balls screwing off constantly. A1up is failing to satisfy arcade gamers with these horrible controls and washed out monitors, and now no casual gamer is going to buy these things at $699. I dont mind the constant rereleases I see people getting upset about I think they should resell centipede (with vertical monitor this time 🤦‍♂️) dig dug, asteroids, star wars, tempest, tron etc as the deluxe/XL model they should of been just as long as some new titles are being put out. Its just insane we havnt gotten a qbert yet, no robotron, no zookeeper, no house of the dead, no new burger time. I like the point you brought up about them selling the same things to the same people over and over again

Can I do my victory lap now?

Great video.. Q-bert and House of Dead would sell 3000, maybe 5000 units.. I think Arcade1up will sell 3000 units, but wait a year to see if there is a demand to make like Golden axe! The mass produced of cabs is killing A1U when come to walmart, Best Buy, game stop and etc! To see cabs like Sf2 road warriors' legacy can still be purchased is troubled to me!

I have to disagree. What they started with (which was clearly a huge home run success resulting in the creation of a new market) was cheap, cookie cutter toy cabinets that was affordable for EVERYONE. Yes the controls were awfully cheap but since the A1up cabinets were so affordable the cost to upgrade your controls was minimal. This new market clearly caused a boom for the arcade aftermarket. In my opinion A1up abandoned that road of success and pushed towards creating real as possible arcade cabinets which only a small market was interested in and priced out everyone else. It also didn't help that A1up kept going after obscure licenses nobody really cared about. The changes happening within A1up is not surprising to me as I've seen this happen to companies that are top heavy in creative people. Scott Bachrach is clearly a creative entrepreneur who likes to take risks but A1up clearly had nobody with management skill to pull the company back and manage those risks.

Always love to hear your takes, smart analysis. I remember when John D said that, and while a trade in program probably wasn't viable, they should have implemented the ability to buy additional publisher titles via firmware update, like Outrun.

Buddy let’s talk about this on my podcast show! Really good insight! 👊🏼

All the web/email paid ads are $$$$. Assume they're spending like $400 in ads to make a $350 sale. Already got Capcom + Midway cabs....probably should decline the ads to save them a few bucks lol

All told, this is a good move for Arcade1Up. Solid, impartial management can right the ship. They can't continue to pursue pet projects (sorry, Blitz and MvC2 fans) and be profitable. They need to provide titles the community continues to ask for at a reasonable price. Their continual "value add" nonsense and price hikes combined with failed product execution turned many away. But we're still here, just waiting for the right XL titles to bring us back!

1up has always been kids toys and not adults. I brought the Pacman deluxe and sent it back. I just could not get my head around being taller than the machine, oh and it is still a riser, just a redesigned one, you still build a bottom and then a top and the split looks horrible. I would buy a XL version if that ever comes to the UK, I did make a post saying that I wanted Space Invaders to be told they have already done that, I looked and two games included. I would not pay £/$500 for two games. However, if I only have room for one cabinet, then that is my problem and nothing to do with 1up, you would just choose which game is more important to you. However, you might want to see lightgun games, and I would buy one or two maybe, but they are not thinking about the World, the same with Atgames, they only focus on the states and not the World. So buck hunter, NBA, NFL are not going to be hits in the UK market. A cabinet with three games is not going to be a big hit, the same games on each machine is also not going to be a hit. The only cabinet that I like is Street Fighter, because they have different games. If 1up want to survive then they really need to make their cabinets multi functional, same as Atgames have. 1up produced baby pinball tables with a handful of games, while Atgames have OTG which means you can play thousands of titles if you know how. I honestly would fill up every inch of space with the right machines, looking at their coming soon and the so called leaks, means that it is not a good time for them. Space Invaders. Bubble Bobble, Double Dragon, Defender, Pacman, Mr Do, six cabinets that I would buy and I could go on. I would 9/10 only want XL but I would be happy enough with deluxe but they are selling just to make as much money before they are either sold to Atgames/Zen or bankrupt.

Hey Dave. Just wanted to let you know that QVC and HSN are currently having what they call a "Black Friday Sale" on several Arcade 1up games. The prices look pretty decent IMHO.

At the end of the day. Arcade1up just simply blew through the top 100 popular arcade games and now they are done. Unfortunately you probably can't save this company. The only way is to start making console games with the unit. Arcade enthusiasts will leave saying that they aren't even arcade games anymore. But you will have more options and opportunities for games.

I waited to watch the full video before I wrote anything. Fantastic breakdown and speculation dude! I think there are multiple factors that are driving the decisions along with the areas you called out. Original factors like "New Shiny fun toy" perspective, Covids Lockdown, Federal money giving out Thousands of Dollars to people who then went and spent it on cabs and NOW currently they face new issues like Layoffs (they were well over 80+employees when I was more tuned in), quality concerns, supply markets shifts/struggles, loss of licenses, massive inflation, strained retail relationships and NOW the Vision from the founder is gone...My experience has been once the vision is gone the mission will dissolve and soon after the morale and drive of the field employees. If I were a betting man, the board is looking to LEAN the spreadsheets up to show a positive cashflow, pay down any debt that has interest attached (maybe they got in when rates were 0%) and find a new owner to sell to ASAP and recoup any and all initial investments and move on. Just my 2 cents but I don't know too much.

When they first came out the riser was an after thought because these arcades were designed to sit in front of with a chair. As for me I believe the riser helps with a "ONE" piece cannot "TWO" pieces like the new Pac-Man. Also the riser makes them more portable and more stable. Bottom line they are a toy unless you buy a full size can made from plywood and not particle board. Some people like risers some don't.

Guess we’ll never get the interview John D promised you 😂

If Q-bert can't sell 3000 units, there are no titles left to do.

The market is not stable, plain and simple. Why go pay $699 for something that is most likely going to be drastically reduced to a desperate $299 sale? Many of us are building our own arcades now too as we can get the cab and screen size we want with a title of our choice.

Great topic. I really wonder if A1Up could sell more of the niche titles directly to consumers like they did with Burger Time. Rumored cabs like AVP, Lethal Enforces, and Smash TV probably won't sell well at a Walmart or Best Buy to the average consumer.

this is an excellent breakdown

They did not help themselves by having hardware and software devs not appreciating the content. Also doing insane licenses like with the NFL. John oversold and it started to collapse.

Again, all came down to poor managements and don't know their market. Maybe they made the right choice for once and got rid all those losers.

Great point about the new heads coming from within. That is huge. Also, the way A1UP can make more titles that the core audience (i.e., us!) wants, even with fewer unit sales, is to stop relying so much on retailers and improve their direct to consumer operation. They pocket what, double when they sell directly to consumers? (Ok maybe not quite double, since they have to handle shipping and logistics, but you get my point.) So those minimum sales to sustain a title are far less, meaning titles like Qbert, Spy Hunter, House of the Dead, etc. are more feasible. I never understood why this wasn't a priority for them years ago. I hope they figure it out.

I have 4 arcade1ups. I do not play any of them.

I waited and purchased two cabs when they dropped to 150 bucks because I wanted them to mod and put real Jamma boards in them. I got a Centipede cab and had to mod it as it had their clicky spinner not a real one. My last purchase and untouched was Star Wars Gen 1 cab and the only cab I purchased at full price. I have no room, nore desire to purchase anything that has come out. The only cab I will/would purchase is if they do an XL Star Wars cab I will get it. But I have real pins and arcade games that I would never sell to make room for an A1Up.

Nostalgia only goes so far. Most of these games can be played on other platforms with better experiences. If Arcade 1up wants to command the prices they are charging, then the whole experience needs to be complete. No wifi issues, better lobbies, better controls, etc. upgrade packs would also be a huge benefit. A1up is leaving tons of money on the table by letting third parties pick up the slack. Maybe a direct to consumer model instead of paying retailers.

Glad John D is gone. 👍🏻

Excellent analysis! 👍

Release replica cabinets. No riser. Xl or pro size. Not sure why am they make cabs with stupid risers

Inflation is bad. And that's not Arcade1up fault.

elon drago