Having a dedicated Arcade unit is something a number of gamers dream of. There have been a number of options in the past on how to go about this including options from Arcade 1Up or building your own. One of these options is limited to a few onboard titles and the other can require some serious know-how depending on how in-depth you are looking to go. But a new option has just been revealed on Kickstarter known as iiRcade.
iiRcade is hoping to bring high-quality arcade style gaming to the masses with a number of awesome features including pre-installed games and the ability to buy more through a dedicated webstore for prices ranging from $2.99 to $14.99. As of the launch of the Kickstarter, more than 170 games have been licensed to be released on the iiRcade unit including the likes Double Dragon! Alongside retro classics, the iiRcade hopes to be a home for a number of modern titles.
“The day has finally arrived, and we couldn’t be more excited. We want to thank gamers who have been supporting us and following us over the past few months and we hope everyone is as excited as we are about our amazing line up of games, including Dragon’s Lair, pre-loaded.”
The specs for the iiRcade are as follows.
Featuring a 19” 1280x1024 LCD display
100W Dual Stereo Speakers
1.8GHz Hexa-Core CPU
800MHz Max Quad-Core GPU
4GB Dual-Channel LPDDR4X
64GB of storage
2 x 8-way premium Sanwa-style joysticks and buttons.
802.11ac WiFi
4.2 Wireless Bluetooth Headset Support
HDMI Out
Premium MDF wood cabinets
As of this publishing, the iiRcade has already managed to surpass its goal of $50,000 and is currently sitting at $228.130. As part of the Kickstarter promotional run, prices for the iiRcade units are lower than they will be when the unit release to retail stores. As of this moment, you can get a bartop unit for $399.99 ($599.99 upon retail release) or a standing unit for $499.99 ($749.99 upon retail release). Each backed unit will come with 10 pre-installed titles including Dragon's Lair, Double Dragon, Beach Buggy Racing, Gunbird, Snowboard Championship, Thunder Hoops, Power Balls, Maniac Square, Twin Brats and Fancy World.
What draws my attention to this project in particular is the passion of the people who are making it. There have been many types of projects like this in the past that have come up short because you could tell they didn’t care about what they were making. iiRcade is definitely going to command a premium cost but if they provide a good unit and a great service the value should speak for itself to all the arcade gamers out there.
What do you think of the iiRcade and do you think you will get one? Let us know below!
