Arcades/Cabs in the London, Oxford Street area ...

[FerociousSwan]

Hey all,

Basically in a few weeks me and the other half are having a few days in London, I was hoping to find a place thats pretty close to Oxford Street which has maybe a few machines or even just 1 decent one! A shmup, run and gunner, even a Street Fighter.
I know there is that Heart Of Gaming, but it means we'd have to specifically go there for that reason ... much more difficult to swing it, rather than popping in somewhere local when we are passing.

Only real reason is, I'm toying with the idea of getting a cab instead of using my supergun, as its been some years (10? +) since I've actually played on a cab that wasn't a gun or racing game, I wanna see if its what I truly want!

Thanks!

[PlanetHarriers]

The only real options are HoG (North Acton), The Four Quarters (Peckham), and if your prepared to travel a bit further Astro City in Southend.

[Mr Halibut]

Don't they still have some proper games at Las Vegas? That's pretty close (Wardour St), though I haven't been there myself in recent years so can't say for sure if they have anything worth playing.

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Just had a quick look at the Facebook page for Las Vegas Arcade, not sure if they have any shmups per se but there's Metal Slug, some fighters (MVC2, some sort of Street Fighter) a Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. And a bunch of dance games and what-not too. Seems like a decent line-up to me.

[FerociousSwan]

Thanks for the responses guys! I did just take a look at the FB page for that Las Vegas place, it looks just the ticket! Quite a few fighters and I also spied that MS2! They should give me an idea about wether I want a cab or not
Also handy that its in pretty good walking distance too!!

Edit -

Heres the full list of games

http://www.lasvegasarcadesoho.co.uk/?page_id=122

[Mills]

LAS VEGAS arcade, is the only place for London Westend, then if travel over the bridge that crosses the river Thames from Big Ben, that takes you to NAMCO County Hall, opposite the big ferris wheel. I have not been in there for a number of years so I have no idea on the number of any shumps cabs.
Probably wanna pop in and speak to Mark@HOG (Heart Of Gaming) for more informative info on arcade cabs.

[spadgy]

They've really put the effort in at Las Vegas in Soho, and it's certainly on the way up.

Sadly, London's shmup oasis Casino Arcade closed March 2013. Loads of us on this forum used to meet there regularly and shoot shit together.

We do still meet up though, and go over to the HoG arcade in West London. So do check in on the Casino Arcade thread, and perhaps the timings of your visit will mean you can join us for a trip to the HoG! And just skip to the end of that thread. I wouldn't wish trawling through all that on anybody!

Also, I'd better put my mod's hat on and move this thread to the shmupmeets section. It's one of those paper 'kiss me quick'

And you should all get involved in shmupmeets and the shmupmeets section. Every single member!

[CHI]

Last time i was in LV (9th October) two Pony cabs had shmups, one was ESPGaluda II and the other one was Gunbird 2, both cabs needed new sticks! There was also a Namco stand-up cab 'Pac-Man's Arcade Party' with multi-games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Dragon Spirit, etc... with a LCD screen i believe, but has a 4-way stick!

[FerociousSwan]

They've really put the effort in at Las Vegas in Soho, and it's certainly on the way up.

Sadly, London's shmup oasis Casino Arcade closed March 2013. Loads of us on this forum used to meet there regularly and shoot shit together.

We do still meet up though, and go over to the HoG arcade in West London. So do check in on the Casino Arcade thread, and perhaps the timings of your visit will mean you can join us for a trip to the HoG! And just skip to the end of that thread. I wouldn't wish trawling through all that on anybody!

Also, I'd better put my mod's hat on and move this thread to the shmupmeets section. It's one of those paper 'kiss me quick'

And you should all get involved in shmupmeets and the shmupmeets section. Every single member!

I think I'll only just get away with popping in and having a few credits! An actual meet might put a dampener on our Christmas break
Not sure I'd be forgiven lol!

And thanks for moving the thread

Also I would like to give Gunbird 2 a try on an cab, its a board I own, so is ideal to test it with a stick on a cab ... even with the dodgy stick!

[spadgy]

But shmupmeets make a lovely romantic break!

Ok, maybe not, though my wife has come along to a few and had a good time. But, yeah, I understand they may not be ideal!

[Mills]

Last time i was in LV (9th October) two Pony cabs had shmups, one was ESPGaluda II and the other one was Gunbird 2, both cabs needed new sticks! There was also a Namco stand-up cab 'Pac-Man's Arcade Party' with multi-games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Dragon Spirit, etc... with a LCD screen i believe, but has a 4-way stick!

Joysticks on both cabs have been fixed.

[spadgy]

Really? Wow! Last time I played the diagonals and even some straight movements weren't registering. That's great news.

[plasticxo]

I went to the LV arcade this week-end, ESPGaluda II and Gunbird 2 are still running. Played 2 games on the first one, controls were OK, but the auto shot button was not working.
My, those Pony are in really sad condition...

That was comforting to see some people in there, mostly for the rhythm and Vs games, but it was not that derelict.

[MX7]

It's a shame the sticks are so shitty in Las Vegas. It's really awesome to see such an enthusiastic bemani/punch em up crowd with the STG cabs going untouched.

[R79]

Any pictures guys? I'd love to see the old, well-rinsed Truxton cab

[Aliquantic]

Uh, which Bemani games? DDR and co was glorious days

[plasticxo]

Any pictures guys? I'd love to see the old, well-rinsed Truxton cab

Sorry, I did not have any camera with me.

[spadgy]

So it turns out the sticks aren't fixed? That's a shame.

[Mills]

It's a shame the sticks are so shitty in Las Vegas. It's really awesome to see such an enthusiastic bemani/punch em up crowd with the STG cabs going untouched.

I didn't say the joysticks were great but they functioned good enough in my opinion. First time i tested out both games, there was 50/50 up/down/left/right joystick movement in ESP cab, and no diagonal movement in GUNBIRD 2 cab, so I told informed the staff and got my money back.
When back around October and both joystick on both cabs worked well enough to have some decent play. But I am use playing those crappy joysticks as they never really upgraded the joysticks on the shumps cabs in the london arcades like they did with the Beat-em-up cabs because obviously the Beat-em-ups were making the most money. So when Beat-em-up players complained about the joysticks the staff had to get them sorted asap.

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

That's a shame. It's not like a couple of seimitsu sticks is gonna break the bank.

[spadgy]

So the sticks have gone from 'near unusable' to 'functional of not high quality'. Better than nothing, I guess. I may try and swing by over the weekend on the way to HoG.

[plasticxo]

I went to Las Vegas over the week-end and sadly discovered the Ponys have all disappeared
I hope they have not been sent to the recycle bin...

[DEL]

^I'll take a look at Las Vegas tomorrow.
Not good.
But if they're not taking coins.......

[Blinge]

Shit. Please do, man.
I enjoyed popping in for a few credits of galuda II whenever I was nearby =/

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Man, I hope they didn't scrap those cabs. I would have chucked them a few quid for one.

[StarCreator]

Sort of a tangent, but for those that were looking for music games, this place opened somewhat nearby?

http://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcade.php?id=3553

I'm not sure if the two are related, but I can see if the missing candies have somehow migrated over there.

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Just been on the phone with a guy at Las Vegas, seemed to be security or something though. Had no idea what happened to the cabs and suggested I ring back in the morning. If they're still there and the price is right, one will end up in my mate's pub.

[PAPER/ARTILLERY]

Update: cabs are gone, sold to a "retro game lover" and good home by all accounts.

[MX7]

That sucks, I was going to pop in today.