My old game room w/ progress on the new game room

[crux]

nice cat, i like the evil eyes!

Mega evil. I've seen red eye before, but that picture made it look like its eyes were missing! Missing!!

Great setup, by the way. I plan to do something similar with the multiple televisions, though I haven't worked it all out yet. (Five televisions would be the ultimate goal, but who knows. I do know I don't have enough space on my entertainment system for more than three.) If I had a big enough basement I'd love a foosball table and a pool table, but alas we just don't have the space for it. Perhaps when my kids are older we could put a foosball table down there, but a pool table wouldn't be possible even if the basement was empty, without pool sticks knocking holes in the walls.

I've never quite understood indoor bars though. I understand mini bars (ie. no actual "bar"), with mixers and glasses and a selection of different drinks to mix, but the bar itself seems like an unnecessary waste of space. Why sit on a stool at the bar when there's a couch ten feet away?

Oh, and a dart board. Once my kids are old enough not to kill themselves with a dart, I'm definitely hanging up a nice bristle dart board.

Edit (rather than double posting): Now I see you also have a television in the corner with the news on. Do you own a bar or something?

My own gaming setup is far from complete, but one thing I would recommend is some large bean bag chairs or something similar. For one, the seating is a bit limited (I'm sure a stool could be dragged over, but chairs without backs and gaming don't mix), and two, that couch is way too far back for those CRTs. I'm sure it's visible, but ideally the players should only be a few feet from televisions that small (20" or smaller?). I have no idea what your new basement is like, but it's food for thought.

I have an old JVC 27" and I recently bought a Commodore 1084 monitor so I can hook up RGB systems to it (just Genesis/Sega CD and Saturn for now, though I will expand on that eventually). Eventually I'd like a 34" Sony KD-34XBR960 and maybe even a large VGA monitor (GDM-FW900, possibly) so that I could keep a gaming PC in amongst the rest of my gaming setup (and hook up the Dreamcast to it while I'm at it). One of the televisions would have to be TATEable too. 34XBR960 is 200 pounds, so fuck turning that thing on its side.

And along with all that television whattodo, having that many televisions opens up opportunities for LAN setups. A lot of games can take advantage of a LAN setup just by giving each player their own screen, but there are, of course, other games which can have 16-32 players too. The Gamecube GBA connected titles are where my five television goal comes from, though spending that much money for just two games is ludicrous, and thus why I might as well tie some videophile motivations in with it.

[the King]

I'd love to have a pool table, but just like you I don't have the room. We had one growing up and it's one of my favorite games and because of having one in the house, I was always better than my buddies when we starting going out the bar. Well I could make it work, but you want to talk about something that takes up a lot of room...

As far as the bar goes, it's great for entertaining when you have a large group over or for the holidays. It's normally where everyone gathers. Sure, when it's just me down there, I'm sitting at the couch, but when you've got like 6 or 10 or even 20 people over its nice to have, sort of like how so many newer kitchens have islands. I also like it because the main tv was viewable from it, so if I wanted to eat some dinner while watching tv it was pretty easy to sit at and do.

That other tv in the corner was for when you were playing darts or foosball, so you could still watch the game. As you may of noticed from the decor in the basement, I'm a pretty big sports fan and we like to have people over for big sporting events.

I never really noticed the couch being too far away for the smaller tv's really. The cords for the controllers on the videogame consoles would reach without a problem, so I figure it was a good distance. The third picture may make it look like a larger area than it actually was, that was taken by the real estate company using a panoramic lens when we were selling the house.

Thanks for the feedback, I'd love to see your setup or anyone else's. Just love getting new ideas and hopefully I'm able to give some as well.

[GagaMan]

Is that Sega marine Fishing on one of the TVs? Love that game.

[the King]

This might be my favorite room of all the ones I've seen posted here. It's simple. Yet effective. Not over-done. But it features SF2 and Galaga cabs. And a bar. Perfect.

The second cabinet is actually my multicade loaded with 48 classic arcade games.

Here are the games on the machine,

[crux]

I can't say I ever have 20 people in my house, and even 10 would be mostly family, but I suppose I can see the use. I think I'd personally rather just have a table and a fridge and a wine cooler filled with a fine selection of Belgian beers, but that's just me. I DO have the kind of kitchen you referenced, but I find it more useful for people to talk to the cook and to have extra seats for dinner.

I can't say that smaller televisions particularly bother me until I get used to larger ones. I have a 27" in my basement and even it's a little too far away, but my Commodore 1084 in particular is 14" and can be a little painful to stare at from the distance of my couch (about five feet - six from the back support). Specifically I guess I'm referencing the THX recommended viewing distances and such (which recommends a particular viewing angle). If it doesn't bother you that works, but I find the extra seats useful for extra gaming company anyway.

My high school had a pool table and a foosball table, so for a long while I could school most novices at each game. My pool skills have gotten rusty, but foosball always seems to be like riding a bike.

My gaming room doesn't look like much. I'll get pictures up eventually, but for now it's just two televisions and a whole bunch of consoles and a closet filled to the brim with controllers. The controllers would be the only interesting part (I have the largest collection I know of - on the internet or otherwise). The entertainment center itself is spiffy looking though (frosted glass for the top shelf so IR controllers will still work).

Nice multicade. Another luxury purchase I'd like is a custom multicade with rotating controls, which would match both my arcade interests and my hardware fetish.

[noiseredux]

maybe the cab has 48 games, but all I'd see is Galaga. Haha.

[Ziggy]

Super jealous, man. Just one question... Where's the pool table?!

I have the Mortal Kombat II boards, but I never have the time/money to get that thing up and running. An arcade is an awesome thing to have, especially in a game room that has a bar. The bar, another thing I'm jealous of. I have a bar counter, stools, and all the little 'nice touch' things like bar signs that light up and mirrors and whatnot. Problem is, there's no room for, so it stays jammed in a room in my basement, along with a million other things.

But nice room, man. I like it a lot!

[shallowgamer]

nice cat, i like the evil eyes!

If I had a big enough basement I'd love a foosball table and a pool table, but alas we just don't have the space for it. Perhaps when my kids are older we could put a foosball table down there, but a pool table wouldn't be possible even if the basement was empty, without pool sticks knocking holes in the walls.

For my space, I really weighed the pros and cons of a pool table; I eventually decided that I could do a lot more with the space that a pool table took up. You really are devoting a great deal of area to one (if you want to do it right, that is).

[the King]

nice cat, i like the evil eyes!

If I had a big enough basement I'd love a foosball table and a pool table, but alas we just don't have the space for it. Perhaps when my kids are older we could put a foosball table down there, but a pool table wouldn't be possible even if the basement was empty, without pool sticks knocking holes in the walls.

For my space, I really weighed the pros and cons of a pool table; I eventually decided that I could do a lot more with the space that a pool table took up. You really are devoting a great deal of area to one (if you want to do it right, that is).

I did the same with my new basemnt. I had always wanted a pool table, but when you figure in the room it takes(4' on each side for cues) and the amount of use it actually would get I decided against it. I figure with the consoles, bubble hockey, darts and arcade games there will be enough "toys" that I won't miss it.

Funny thing is when we were looking at a new house, I would imagine what I could do with the basment while looking. If the basement wouldn't work, then the house got a no from me even if everything else was perfect with the wife. I actually had two spots for a pool table when we put in a offer on this house, one is gonna be my home office instead and the other is going to the main living area.

[Ack]

You, sir, are a god amongst men. When the new gaming room is up and running, I expect two things: pictures and invitations. I will be paying you a visit.