Retro Arcade Collecters- WHY?

What's more pathetic and worthless than someone who collects classic cars? Someone who collects vintage videogame cabinets.
Me, I don't collect anything. I've got some of almost everything, but I don't build cases or shelves to display it. I spend most of my money on grass.
The appeal? A nostalgic videogame experience.
The drawback? Where the fuck do I start. You don't need a half ton machine to play an NES game. If you are someone that frequents Twin Galaxies with the ambition to cement your name to a high score, I have to suggest that you try and harness your best talent (besides playing Galaga) to something that might make you successful.
I watched that movie The King of Kong several times. The first time I really enjoyed it, but everytime after it just got more and more sad. Seeing 40+ year old men talk with such passion about something so frivolous makes me just as mad as hearing old men bitch about sports.
I grew up begging for quarters and digging through furniture so I could get a Big Gulp and waste half an hour playing Street Fighter 2. I appreciate the feel of the joystick (when not covered with some sticky mystery substance). I appreciate the flawless gameplay. However at the same time I had an NES, which made it much more convenient to play Donkey Kong.
I love those old arcade games. I love pixels and sprites the same way that I love black and white movies. However, buying an original arcade cabinet makes as much since to me as buying an original print of The Cincinnatti Kid, instead of buying it on blu-ray. All that being said, if a Gauntlet machine materialized in my house I wouldn't throw it away, I'd probably sell it on E-Bay after I got bored playing.

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Bottom line is that in this day and age, emulation is too easy for the hassle of owning a half-ton arcade machine.
PS. Original Xbox laying around? Mod it(you don't even have to open it), throw some homebrew software and some ROMs on it. You're set.
(The above statement was issued with a tone of complete sarcasm and meant as a mockery to all capitalist pigs. It is not the true opinion of the author and must not be regarded as such.)
you can get broken games for pretty cheap at auctions in downtown kansas city and put a cheap computer in it for not too much more. it's still a big investment, but that way you have EVERY nintendo game instead of an arcade machine that only plays a few games.
this guy talks slow, but these videos explain how to take any video cab shell and put a computer in it.
part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFGObA6iK9w&feature=related
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d50LbSlxQxI
there's also mods where you install a ps3 or xbox360.