A home arcade would not be complete without a four player control deck and Trackball. My brother and I assembled this control deck and an arcade cabinet (un-pictured) from scratch. This control deck is still in-use today as you can see that the photographs do show the wear. The best part about it's sturdy construction and size, that it doubles for a coffee table in my living room. I always enjoy that moment when a new guest visits my home and doesn't know what to make of it. At times I'm a bit confused too, as to me at least, it appears to be a frikin' sweet four player arcade controller. Some people act as if they've never seen an arcade? I can't imagine life without video games.

There are (2) 4-position joysticks, (2) 8-position variable performance joysticks, a lighted trackball with left and right mouse buttons, (4) Coin slot buttons, (4) player select buttons, and (7) player action buttons per each player. These controls are wired into an Ultimarc I-PAC4 Board and Opt i-PAC (Optical Interface for PC to Arcade Controls) with USB interfaces into a Windows 2000 based desktop PC running at 1.33Ghz. This control deck was actually made to mate with our arcade cabinet, and be readily removable to swap with an additional control deck including car steering wheel controls.

I've got to tell you... there's nothing like having a functional arcade connected to a 56 inch large screen TV and home theater system. Listening to those 8-bit vintage arcade sound effects booming from two 15 inch sub woofers is amazing. The rush of childhood arcade memories pulse through the body. Remembering how many times you broke the bank only to make it through "Stage 1" of your favorite game. Hoping to obtain that coveted spot on the High Scores list. I always wondered who that [ASS] guy was. He was always in the number one position, followed by [FUK]. At times I was just lucky enough to catch a glimpse of my score before the dreaded "Game Over" countdown. I waited and watched every second tick away on my last quarter 'token'. Disappointed in myself, only to find that I did worse than my previous failed attempt. Never again.. never again.

My brother and I have always been arcade and video game enthusiasts, and we have our father to thank for that. Ever since we were little guys, my father would take us to the video game arcade. I can remember the excitement building inside whenever we would make a family trip out to the local mall, etc. We knew that an Aladdin's Castle or some other was awaiting our .25 cent (x 20) contribution to the video game entertainment industry. We've definitely paid our membership dues.