How Arcade1Up found a sweet spot for scaled-down home game cabinets

Enlarge / A selection of some of Arcade1Up's early 3/4 scale home arcade machines. (credit: Arcade1Up)

Back in June 2017, Tastemakers CEO Scott Bachrach was at a meeting discussing a hole in the ever-expanding market for retro games. Specifically, there was no cheap and easy middle ground for a generation of classic arcade fans who wanted an authentic cabinet in their home.

"We looked and said there are 'under $100' solutions, [but they] don't really feel like a real arcade," Bachrach began in a recent phone interview with Ars. "There are $3,000 solutions that feel like a real arcade, but they're $3,000 and 300 pounds. How do we make something that is affordable to the masses but gives you the same play as a real arcade?"

From that meeting, the Arcade1Up line was born. Beginning in 2018, Tastemakers launched a series of 3/4-scale replica arcade cabinets, each with a handful of emulated games and a $300 to $400 price tag. The initial batch focused on Bachrach's personal wheelhouse: '70s and '80s classics from companies like Namco (Pac-Man, Galaga), Midway (Rampage, Defender), and Atari (Asteroids, Tempest). Soon though, the line expanded into the '90s with Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat-themed machines, a move Bachrach called a "natural progression."

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