Sponsored: Arcade1Up brings affordable classic arcade units to your home…

Arcade1Up offers a selection of retro video games from the golden age of slot-operated arcade machines. These self-build units come in the classic style, and offer authentic old school joystick and roller-ball controls.

Throwback to our collective childhood, a simpler time where buttons were franticly bashed and lifetime friendships forged in the soft glow of that video arcade light.

An experience so enjoyable, we gladly pumped months of pocket money into those coin slots, all in the hope of a marginal creep up the scoreboard, or to excitedly scream “this is the furthest I’ve ever got”.

Now, Arcade1Up hands you the keys to the games arcade. Beating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is no longer dependent on having a seemingly inexhaustible supply of pocket change.

No insert coin to continue. You can finally claim “completed it mate”.

The games

Headlining the game library, there’s Street Fighter II, possibly the most influential fighting game ever released; OG binge-eating cult action-puzzle title Pac-Man; frenetic fixed-shooter Galaga; “get over here” game-changer, Mortal Kombat II; and without question the best 3D side-scroll game ever to feature adolescent metamorphosed martial arts reptiles —Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The attention to detail here is commendable. All designs on the fame of the machines are fully licensed and inspired by the original cabinet artwork.

Arcade1Up has sold over a million units since its launch in 2019. And because of the accessible price point of the units, this sort of hardware is no longer limited to the gaming caves of the super-wealthy.

Ready player one?

It costs less than you’d think to own a piece of gaming history.

You can pick up your own private arcade system from Dhs1,799 (+VAT) and they come in both in 3/4th and 1/6th scale sizes.

The riser (to make the controls at the correct height for stand-up play) is sold separately.

Devices are available in all leading retailers (Virgin Megastore, Toys R Us, B8ta and more).

And My Arcade offers Collectible Handheld Retro Arcade Machines from AED 159 (excl vat).

For more info visit facebook.com/ArcadeNationMEA.

Images: Provided