r/Arcade1UpOfficial

If you didn't care for the artwork on the Supreme Series version of Sonic, this one might do the trick... a very SEGA Genesis -like theme is exclusive to the Deluxe (and much better looking, IMO). Of course, Deluxe means it's a smaller cabinet overall and it has a smaller 17-inch screen, but the price is right at $499 (through 10/16).

Preorder here (ships by 11/30): https://arcade1up.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/arcade1up-sonic-the-hedgehog-deluxe-arcade-game-freestanding-machine

Those of you who caught our new Saturday night show on The Arcade Insiders this past weekend heard that I was recently provided with an OutRun Supreme courtesy of Arcade1Up. While our Arcade Insiders channel doesn't do formal reviews (it wouldn't really be appropriate since the cohost of our show is a buyer), I DID find several things worth noting about the Arcade1Up OutRun Supreme Series during the build process that I wanted to pass along. Please note that these are my own observations and opinions and they do not reflect, nor were they influenced by, the Arcade1Up brand or its parent company Basic Fun. 

1. It's a Costco exclusive. And that's both good and bad. Being a Costco exclusive, you're getting a Supreme-size cabinet at a decent price (possibly even discounted, if they end up not moving stock quickly enough). And, in many cases, you can still physically drive to your local Costco and get one. But it also means you need to have a Costco membership, and you won't ever find it on Amazon or at other retailers. And there's also the chance your local Costco won't have it (happened to me with PAC-MAN XL years ago), or that it'll sell out completely. So, if you want one, you're not advised to wait for a sale... if the sold-out Deluxe version of OutRun is any indication, these may move quickly. 

https://preview.redd.it/3ft3lq1uvkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ee3a6cad24fe5f2d6e8982ba2a50f7cb210c82d

2. It uses cam locks, so there aren't any screw holes to cover. Cam locks use a rotating arm (a cam or tongue bar) to secure parts together and are fairly common in flat-packed furniture (i.e., IKEA), because they provide a secure hold without visible screws or mounting hardware--in most cases. And that's true here, with the exception of some exposed locks around the speakers and above the marquee (neither of which are particularly visible since the locks were smartly painted black). The HUGE benefit is that the sides of the cabinet are ultra clean, with no screw holes or plastic covers!  

https://preview.redd.it/5s7guqfvvkth1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3fa4523d0149bd41e3a9f8dad0b95b04daecf1da

3. There's a slightly higher level of fit-and-finish. One thing I noticed right away is that both of the cabinet's back panels are finished in black on BOTH sides. Nice! It's a small detail, but if the rear of your machine is exposed for any reason, it won't stand out like a sore thumb. I'll also say that it's nice not to have a ton of exposed screw holes, and things like the marquee look great (dark blacks, no bleedthrough). And there's even some black paint applied to the edges of some panels that might be partially exposed where seams meet. Overall it just "feels" like it's made to a slightly higher standard than before. 

https://preview.redd.it/e7ycf3dzvkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9745807bfff3ab668251a6318cb018c92fbe15bc

4. The side artwork lines up and there's no gap. Unlike a recent competitor that used a gap in side art to help mitigate the potential for misaligned vertical art, Arcade1Up relies on no such gap--and it doesn't need to. Even though there are plenty of lines that need to match up on each side, even the "worst" of the sides on my product sample (shown below) is very close to being perfect. And the overall art treatment is very good... very close to original (minus both the SEGA and Ferrari branding, which earlier Arcade1Up versions didn't have, either). 

https://preview.redd.it/lck2aei2wkth1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bef9f190915d3c32815cde82ce86fecffca877a

5. The coin doors are not lit (but the control panel buttons are). Despite being a top-of-the-line Supreme cabinet--AND the despite having lit buttons on the control deck--the coin door in OutRun isn't lit. So, you're on your own for getting those to look realistic. Fortunately, vendors like Retro 530 provide easy DIY coin door lighting kits that aren't super expensive, but it's still something you'll have to do yourself (including drilling into your kick panel). 

https://preview.redd.it/nhw4q0r5wkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9dbe5e4d6d36812234e6220567d74664c8e1fc05

6. If you're stuck on the home screen with nothing working, it's because you didn't plug in the pedals. If you manage to turn on the until before having the pedals plugged in (or you unplugged them to move the cabinet, etc.), you can still turn the cabinet on, but none of the inputs on the control panel will work... none of the buttons or the wheel will do anything. Those pedals have to be plugged in for full functionality. 

https://preview.redd.it/chko7w48wkth1.jpg?width=2944&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7003db1a1ecdc3f870ec40e80adc6a07f2adb75d

7. The on/off switch is NOT a momentary switch (hooray!). Also called a "maintained" or "latching" switch, Arcade1Up has finally gone back to the type of switch that stays in either the "on" or "off" position until switched to one or the other. So, depending on your setup, you can theoretically leave the switch in the "on" position so your arcade can be turned on or off remotely (I have done this since 2018 with great success, though it is not necessarily the recommended procedure).

https://preview.redd.it/k7i5gjrbwkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=689a5b8308c14b4329f6d153cbf52bbecf49c726

8. You might actually need that spare parts bag. For the first time in the roughly 8 years I've been building these home arcade cabinets, I actually had to use parts from the "spare parts" bag. And not just one part, either. In fact, I had TWO defective parts... a malformed cam lock and a dowel that wasn't tapered at either end. Both defective parts caused problems that I couldn't detect right away (the cam lock got stuck in the hole and the dowel was in an interior location where I couldn't see what was keeping the panels from aligning). All told, the two, defective parts added nearly an hour to my build in terms of diagnosing, retrieving (cam lock was stuck), and replacing the defective parts. 

https://preview.redd.it/zg2m83udwkth1.jpg?width=3023&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1272c5c1cf749d8b695cd37cc6ca89def3cb929b

9. The monitor is a 5:4... so there ARE black bars. It seems proper 4:3 aspect ratio monitors (the screen ratio found in most classic arcade games) are increasingly uncommon, so Arcade1Up used a 5:4 monitor as they have in past designs. While very close to 4:3, using a 5:4 monitor means that games displaying in their original 4:3 ratio will have black bars of maybe 3/8" tall at both the top and bottom of the screen. These are not noticeable during gameplay, and are MUCH preferred vs. stretching the games to fit the screen. Oh, and it's a BOE IPS, so it does look good and off-angle viewing is not a problem. 

https://preview.redd.it/ays9x8ggwkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ffda77a739a6ad3f488193444278849456734b6

10. The faux scanlines can be turned off. When I turned on the cabinet for the first time, my immediate reaction was "EWW, what the fu...!?" It seems the faux scanlines (which are heavy-handed and ugly) can be turned off. But you have to do it game-by-game in the menu that appears on the home screen (press the start button for 5 seconds while in game to get back home). 

https://preview.redd.it/dqh9y4kswkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3644fa8e8e66bcf3e04ba1d8a72322ded662b56

11. There's no full-size USB port. BUT... there is a micro-USB port. So, if you're thinking of doing certain "mysterious" but "rad" upgrades via this port, you'll need to acquire a micro-USB to USB adapter. 

https://preview.redd.it/01t2v3qywkth1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea7068f0eef973f6047855c2b5d561753b6cdab1

12: The bezel art is oddly pixelated. The original arcade OutRun used a molded bezel to provide some added dimensionality around the monitor. In lieu of providing a molded part, Arcade1Up attempts to replicate the effect with printed bezel art. What's strange is that the dimensional "bevels" the art attempts to recreate look very, very blocky. Perhaps this was done in an effort to "blur" the edges and make the effect more diffuse, but there are other ways to do that (gradients, for example). Instead, it comes off looking as though a high-res art file didn't finish loading or something. 

https://preview.redd.it/36xilpi1xkth1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60b090c91a7bb9d5c8e825ab1d93845938f33db4

13. You can easily add a powered subwoofer (feel the engine and crash sounds)! Unlike the overly complex audio solution used in some competing products, Arcade1Up makes it incredibly easy to add add a powered subwoofer with volume that accurately tracks via the built-in volume control. While a subwoofer might be better suited to fighting games (think Killer Instinct), it makes a signifcant difference in how the game "feels" even in simple racers like this. And it's a quick, 2-minute install with a non-permanent Y-splitter. 

https://preview.redd.it/dw97agb5xkth1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=379e1c1574205df676196b2cee81303ed3ccdad5

14. The Supreme size gets the proportions right. I've been very vocal about getting cabinet proportions as close to authentic as possible--these at-home units don't have to be as large as the originals, but if they're going to be 90% scale, they should be that way in every dimension, not just one. Arcade1Up's own Deluxe cabinets are far too skinny relative to their height. Sure, you can fit more in your space, but no one will mistake them for the real thing. On the other hand, I've noted that Iconic Arcade's SFII cabinets had the opposite problem. Due to the need to use a full 16:9 monitor (with bezels covering the sides), they made the cabinet the full width of the arcade original--but not the height. So the Iconic sits low and wide (even my wife commented, and she knows nothing about these things... she just knew it looked "off"). The OutRun Supreme makes no such mistakes or concessions... it just looks like a slightly scaled down version of the real thing, exactly as it should.

https://preview.redd.it/cxibub98xkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db5108576cb2a2645182739e2aee9ce095063a1f

15. The pedals are just "ok." We've heard that the pedals in this generation of OutRun have been improved, but let's just say... "not enough?" Perhaps the spring rates were changed, but I happen to have a spare Fast & Furious pedal kit and I think the improvements in OutRun are modest at best. I suspect (and hope) that Buy Stuff Arcades releases a pedal upgrade kit for this model like they have with others (and that I highly recommend). 

https://preview.redd.it/t4dhnnbnxkth1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=891ca0a15fc438f0c45a589b30c98641121b72b9

16. There are some strange mechanical noises. This is the third Arcade1Up racing cabinet I've owned, but the first one that makes a "crunching" or "grinding" sound when I turn the wheel, and the first one that makes an audible "click" in the pedals when the accelerator is depressed. Both of the parts function well enough in game, but the sounds they make certainly don't feel premium, and do make me wonder if they'll last. 

https://preview.redd.it/hukajivpxkth1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=726d94aad4699f691092c8fc7862786c95098ad1

17. Code Mystics did the emulation, so it's good. As most people know, Code Mystics are basically the kings of doing proper emulation work. Fortunately, they did the work on these games, so they'll look, feel, and play pretty much exactly as you remember. 

https://preview.redd.it/t2bnro29ykth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0feccdbce1ebd372fce4215d559042d7b5aba70c

18. The coin door has a BLACK Arcade1Up logo! It may seem like a small thing, but the chrome Arcade1Up logo on most of their coin doors is absolutely obnoxious. I routinely removed them and spray-painted them black (if you just removed them completely on the older models, you'd be left with two holes). But that's not needed here, as the logo comes "un-chromed" from the factory. Let's hope they keep doing that.

https://preview.redd.it/npc0zlhoykth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7f91697d992a4c2e983004445b6bb8a49127aa3

19. There are still 7 (seven!) Arcade1Up logos on the cabinet. We've heard Arcade1Up is trying to reduce the overuse of their logo on cabinet designs and, at first glace, they've largely succeeded. The sides of the cabinet are (thankfully) completely free of Arcade1Up logos. And the only "full" Arcade1Up logos on the front are found at the top of the monitor bezel and on the control deck. However, there are more... you'll find one embossed into the pedals, two more on the coin doors, one molded into the coin door itself, and one on the steering wheel. Overall, it doesn't feel nearly as intrusive as past designs, but that's still far more Arcade1Up branding than use of the "OutRun" name itself. 

https://preview.redd.it/n9xy8w21zkth1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7ccc60c94941b94d16590a0a3780d7ca6db9833

20. The deck protector is gone... but the bolt holes remain. In keeping with recent Basic Fun designs, OutRun Supreme does not have an acrylic deck protector. Instead, they use a "rub-resistant finish" that supposedly does not need extra protection. This is not a game title that should experience excessive contact, so this isn't likely to cause any problems (and many people prefer the protector-free look). However, there are still bolt holes at the top of the deck to allow the deck to attach to the cabinet body. The benefit to not having a deck protector is that the bolt holes can now be covered with color-matched plastic caps, and that's exactly what Arcade1Up has provided. 

https://preview.redd.it/00pzo3v4zkth1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f02a67ffc8e06c7fff5c695ba4e2b94c8a995ec8

Hopefully these observations help assist anyone who may be considering purchase of an Arcade1Up OutRun Supreme Series from Costco. OutRun Supreme is a very nicely executed version of this classic SEGA property and I look forward to seeing more of what Arcade1Up can do with racing titles in 2027 and beyond!