Neo Geo Owners: How much is a MVS converter worth?

[Lastcallhall]

I'm looking at either purchasing a pair of stand up MVS arcade cabinets or a AES import system, but I need to know what would be the better deal, more specifically, how much am I looking at purchasing a converter for the AES to play MVS carts? If the total cost is less than the two arcade machines (minus resale of one, obviously), then I'll go that route, instead. Thanks!

[ApolloBoy]

Be prepared to spend around $200-250 for a Super MVS Converter, or $400 if you want the new Daedalus converter.

[Lastcallhall]

Be prepared to spend around $200-250 for a Super MVS Converter, or $400 if you want the new Daedalus converter.

Shit, really that much? It might be worth it to get the arcade cabinets, then... hmm...

OK. Thanks.

[Guntz]

About the MVS converters, if you were to go that way, since you seem to be good with modding, the Daedalus is definitely not for you. You could buy one of the cheaper, faulty MVS converters like the Phantom-1, Super MVS Converter II or Pranslation and buy one of DavidG's upgrade PCBs to restore 100% compatibility. That'd be a good way to knock a good discount off an MVS converter should you go that way.

However, I've never heard anyone recommend an MVS converter over a real Neo Geo cabinet. If you can get one for a sane price and have the room in your house, that's the best way to go!

[Lastcallhall]

Well there's this guy who's selling 3 arcade cabs on CL - 2 are dedicated original Neo Geo machines, the other is a JAMMA conversion cab with some sort of multiboard setup (I haven't actually seen it so I don't quite know what it is). The Neo cabs come with the following:

They come with quiteba few games samurai shodown 1-3 metal slug 1-4 king od fighter about 5 of them 91-97!! The third machine is converted and that comes with street fighter alpha, double dragon, and more just cant remember!! But i will let u know if i decide to part with them seperately

(I tried to buy just one but he wouldn't bite.)

I'm thinking I can sell the 2nd cab and get some of my money back, but he wants 700.00 firm for the whole set. The price of the converter kit has me wondering if I should just go this route since the MVS carts will be cheaper overall...

[Black_Tiger]

You can get a consolized MVS for the same price or less than a converter.

[Guntz]

Well keep in mind there really isn't anything quite like owning a real cabinet, especially a big red Neo Geo. But yeah if you want you could keep an eye open for one of the cheap MVS converters and contact DavidG (Neo-Geo.com) and ask about one of his upgrade PCBs.

... Or, you know, you could just buy an MVS board and make a supergun, or consolize the board itself...

[Lastcallhall]

Well keep in mind there really isn't anything quite like owning a real cabinet, especially a big red Neo Geo. But yeah if you want you could keep an eye open for one of the cheap MVS converters and contact DavidG (Neo-Geo.com) and ask about one of his upgrade PCBs.

... Or, you know, you could just buy an MVS board and make a supergun, or consolize the board itself...

Yeah, I mean, I've always wanted a big Neo Geo cab ever since I was 10 or so when I saw my first one. Consolizing the 2nd system is also a good idea, and might make some of my cash back... decisions, decisions.

[Guntz]

It's not really a good idea to split the MVS board from the cab, it may be a harder sell. Besides, there are tons and tons of MVS boards floating around. You can easily find an MV-1FZ or MV-1A, or other such common board.

Seriously, there are clearly more loose MVS boards than there are cabs. Also, Xian Xi has said before that there are more MVS boards than Neo Geo fans. In fact, there's probably more MV-1 motherboards than Neo Geo fans.

[Lastcallhall]

Yeah, plus it's a 4 slot on top of it all - I didn't think about that earlier. I might go for the cabs, but I won't be able to get them until next weekend, so we'll see how it goes after all is said and done.

That said, how do you all feel about the AES joystick that comes with the system? It looks oddly shaped to me, but I've never used one.

[Guntz]

If you're talking about the square/rectangular one (otherwise known as the old style Neo stick), it's okay, but to be honest there are better joysticks out there... Like those of a real Neo Geo cab. Though seriously, SNK's home sticks are decent enough, there are certainly worse (like Sega's Genesis 6-button stick, that thing could use some modding), but better options can be had, like adding a Sanwa joystick and buttons to a Neo Geo joystick or getting something custom made. The Neo Geo CD pad is also quite nice if you're looking for a standard game pad but with that same arcade feel.

Good luck acquiring an MVS cab if you decide to go with that. It's certainly the most rewarding option and the experience (both in playtime and repair) can't be had in the home Neo Geo system. If it were an option for me, I too would get an MVS cab, but I must begrudgingly settle for Neo Geo in S-Video on a 32" CRT...

[GohanX]

So did I read that right, $700 for all three cabs? If they are in good shape and you have a truck, you could make some bank here by keeping what you want and selling the rest.

As far as the Neo sticks, the old style sticks are decent. Better than you average commercially available SNES/Genesis stick, but not as good as the real arcade parts. I actuall rather like the stick itself, but the buttons are not microswitched and they are pretty much garbage. However, you can easily replace the buttons with Sanwa or Seimitsu 24 mm buttons, they pop in with no drilling. Remove the button PCB, solder the wires to the new buttons, and you're good to go. It's possible to put a new stick in there as well, but it takes a bit more work. The button thing would take you 5 or 10 minutes max.

[Lastcallhall]

So did I read that right, $700 for all three cabs? If they are in good shape and you have a truck, you could make some bank here by keeping what you want and selling the rest.

As far as the Neo sticks, the old style sticks are decent. Better than you average commercially available SNES/Genesis stick, but not as good as the real arcade parts. I actuall rather like the stick itself, but the buttons are not microswitched and they are pretty much garbage. However, you can easily replace the buttons with Sanwa or Seimitsu 24 mm buttons, they pop in with no drilling. Remove the button PCB, solder the wires to the new buttons, and you're good to go. It's possible to put a new stick in there as well, but it takes a bit more work. The button thing would take you 5 or 10 minutes max.

Maybe... arcade machines around here don't seem to move well at all based on what I've seen. But yeah, it's 700.00 for all three.

Thanks to you and Guntz for the stick info - I'm still debating on getting the AES and not have to worry about reselling the other two cabinets, but that's still up in the air, too.