There are many types of arcade cabinets, some being custom-made for a particular game; however, the most common are the
upright, the
cocktail or
table, and the
sit-down.
Upright cabinets Upright cabinets are the most common in North America, with their design heavily influenced by
Computer Space and
Pong. While the futuristic look of
Computer Space outer fiberglass cabinet did not carry forward, both games did establish separating parts of the arcade machine for the
cathode-ray tube (CRT) display, the game controllers, and the computer logic areas. Atari also had placed the controls at a height suitable for most adult players to use, but close enough to the console's base to also allow children to play. Further, the cabinets were more compact than traditional electro-mechanical games and did not use flashing lights or other means to attract players. The side panels of Atari's
Pong had a simple wood veneer finish, making it easier to market to non-arcade venues, such as hotels, country clubs, and cocktail bars. In the face of growing competition, Atari started to include cabinet art and attraction panels around 1973–1974, which soon became a standard practice. Arcade cabinets today are usually made of wood and metal, about six feet or two meters tall, with the control panel set perpendicular to the monitor at slightly above waist level. The monitor is housed inside the cabinet, at approximately eye level. The marquee is above it, and often overhangs it. In
Computer Space,
Pong and other early arcade games, the CRT was mounted 90 degrees from the ground, facing directly outward. Arcade game manufacturers began incorporating design principles from older electro-mechanical games by using CRTs mounted at a 45-degree angle, facing upward and away from the player but towards a
one-way mirror that reflected the display to the player. Additional transparent overlays could be added between the mirror and the player's view to include additional images and colorize the black-and-white CRT output, as is the case in
Boot Hill. Other games, like
Warrior, used a one-sided mirror and included an illuminated background behind the mirror, so that the on-screen characters would appear to the players as if they were on that background. Spinners (knobs for turning, also called "paddle controls") are used to control game elements that move strictly horizontally or vertically, such as the paddles in
Arkanoid and
Pong. Games such as
Robotron: 2084,
Smash TV and
Battlezone use double joysticks instead of action buttons. Some versions of the original
Street Fighter had pressure-sensitive rubber pads instead of buttons. If an upright is housing a driving game, it may have a
steering wheel and throttle pedal instead of a joystick and buttons. If the upright is housing a shooting game, it may have
light guns attached to the front of the machine, via durable cables. Some arcade machines had the monitor placed at the bottom of the cabinet with a mirror mounted at around 45 degrees above the screen facing the player. This was done to save space, as a large CRT monitor would otherwise poke out the back of the cabinet. To correct for the mirrored image, some games had an option to flip the video output using a dip switch setting. Other genres of games such as
Guitar Freaks feature controllers resembling musical instruments. Upright cabinet shape designs vary from the simplest symmetric perpendicular boxes as with
Star Trek to complicated asymmetric forms. Games are typically for one or two players; however, games such as
Gauntlet feature as many as four sets of controls.
Sit-down or table cabinets Cocktail cabinets , known in Japan as T.T. Space Invaders'') Cocktail cabinets are shaped like low, rectangular tables, with the controls usually set at either of the broad ends, or, though not as common, at the narrow ends, and the monitor inside the table, the screen facing upward. Two-player games housed in cocktails were usually alternant, each player taking turns. The monitor reverses its orientation (game software controlled) for each player, so the game display is properly oriented for each player. This requires special programming of the cocktail versions of the game (usually set by
dip switches). The monitor's orientation is usually in player two's favor only in two-player games when it is player two's turn and in player one's favor all other times. Simultaneous, four-player games that are built as a cocktail include
Warlords, and others. In Japan, many games manufactured by
Taito from the 1970s to the early 1980s have the cocktail versions prefixed by "T.T" in their titles (eg.
T.T Space Invaders). Cocktail cabinet versions were usually released alongside the upright version of the same game. They were relatively common in the 1980s, especially during the
golden age of arcade video games; however, they have since lost popularity. Their main advantage over upright cabinets was their smaller size, making them seem less obtrusive, although requiring more floor space (more so by having players seated at each end). The top of the table was covered with a piece of tempered glass, making it convenient to set drinks on (hence the name); they were often seen in
bars and
pubs.
Candy cabinets . Many candy cabinets have CRT screens that can be physically switched between portrait and landscape modes. Owing to the resemblance of plastic to hard candy, they are often known as "
candy cabinets", by both arcade enthusiasts and by people in the industry. They are also generally easier to clean and move than upright cabinets, but usually just as heavy as most have 29" screens, as opposed to 20"–25". They are positioned so that the player can sit down on a chair or stool and play for extended periods.
SNK sold many
Neo-Geo MVS cabinets in this configuration, though most arcade games made in Japan that only use a joystick and buttons will come in a sit-down cabinet variety. In Japanese arcades, this type of cabinet is generally more prevalent than the upright kind, and they are usually lined up in uniform-looking rows. A variant of this, often referred to as "versus-style" cabinets are designed to look like two cabinets facing each other, with two monitors and separate controls allowing two players to fight each other without having to share the same monitor and control area. Some newer cabinets can emulate these "versus-style" cabinets through networking.
Deluxe cabinets '', an exceptionally-large deluxe cabinet that uses a full-scale
Mazda MX-5 dashboard arrangement for the controls '') Deluxe cabinets (also known as DX cabinets in Japan) are most commonly used for games involving gambling, long stints of gaming (such as
fighting games), or vehicles (such as
flight simulators and
racing games). These cabinets typically have equipment resembling the controls of a vehicle (though some of them are merely large cabinets with features such as a large screen or chairs). Driving games may have a bucket seat, foot pedals, a stick shift, and even an ignition, while flight simulators may have a flight yoke or joystick, and motorcycle games handlebars, and a seat shaped like a full-size bike. Often, these cabinets are arranged side-by-side, to allow players to compete together.
Sega is one of the biggest manufacturers of these kinds of cabinets, while
Namco released
Ridge Racer Full Scale, in which the player sits in a full-size
Mazda MX-5 road car.
Cockpit or environmental cabinets A cockpit or environmental cabinet is a type of deluxe cabinet where the player sits inside the cabinet itself. It also typically has an enclosure. Examples of this can be seen on the
Killer List of Videogames, including
shooter games such as
Star Fire,
Missile Command,
SubRoc-3D,
Star Wars,
Astron Belt,
Sinistar and
Discs of Tron as well as
racing games such as
Monaco GP,
Turbo and
Pole Position. A number of cockpit/or environmental cabinets incorporate hydraulic
motion simulation, as covered in the section below.
Motion simulator cabinets A
motion simulator cabinet is a type of deluxe cabinet that is very elaborate, including
hydraulics which move the player according to the action on screen. In Japan, they are known as "taikan" games, with "taikan" meaning "body sensation" in Japanese.
Sega is particularly known for these kinds of cabinets, with various types of sit-down and cockpit motion cabinets that Sega have been manufacturing since the 1980s.
Namco was another major manufacturer of motion simulator cabinets.
Motorbike racing games since Sega's
Hang-On have had the player sit on and move a motorbike replica to control the in-game actions (like a
motion controller). Driving games since Sega's
Out Run have had hydraulic motion simulator sit-down cabinets, while hydraulic motion simulator cockpit cabinets have been used for
space combat games such as Sega's
Space Tactics (1981) and
Galaxy Force,
rail shooters such as
Space Harrier and
Thunder Blade, and
combat flight simulators such as
After Burner and
G-LOC: Air Battle. One of the most sophisticated motion simulator cabinets is Sega's
R360, which simulates the full 360-degree rotation of an aircraft.
Mini or cabaret cabinets Mini or
cabaret cabinets are similar forms of arcade cabinet but are intended for different markets. Modern mini cabinets are sold directly to consumers and are not intended for commercial operation. They are styled just like a standard upright cabinet, often with full art and marquees, but are scaled down to more easily fit in a home environment or be used by children. The older form of mini or cabaret cabinets were marketed for commercial use and are no longer made. They were often thinner as well as shorter, lacked side art, and had smaller marquees and monitors. This reduced their cost, reduced their weight, made them better suited to locations with less space, and also made them less conspicuous in darker environments. In place of side art they were often clad in faux wood grain vinyl instead.
Countertop cabinets Countertop or
bartop cabinets are usually only large enough to house their monitors and control panels. They are often used for trivia and gambling-type games and are usually found installed on bars or tables in pubs and restaurants. These cabinets often have touchscreen controls instead of traditional push-button controls. They are also fairly popular with home use, as they can be placed upon a table or countertop.
Large-scale satellite machines Usually found in Japan, these machines have multiple screens interconnected to one system, sometimes with one big screen in the middle. These also often feature the dispensation of different types of cards, either a smartcard in order to save stats and progress or trading cards used in the game. ==Conversion kit==