The Simpsons was a monstrous hit when it debuted as a weekly animated series in late 1989, spawning a mountain of merchandise. Most of it was terrible, but there were a few shining examples of merchandising done right, including Konami’s multiplayer arcade game. Now, you can finally bring it home.
For a few years now, Arcade1Up has been realising the dream of countless ‘80s kids with a collection of accurate recreations of classic arcade machines including Golden Tee, Pac-Man, and Mortal Kombat. The recreations feature the same controls and cabinet graphics as the originals, but with updated hardware, LCD screens, and dimensions that are 25% smaller than the originals so arcade enthusiasts can squeeze more of them into their homes.
Like IKEA’s products, Arcade1Up’s arcade machines come flat-packed for easier transport and require assembly, but if you can use a screwdriver, you can easily get them together. One of the biggest appeals of arcades, which helped them endure long after home consoles arrived, was the ability for up to four players to crowd around a cabinet and all play at the same time.
Arcade1Up has already created miniaturised versions of four-player beat-’em-ups like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-men, but The Simpsons cabinet has been high on the list of requested machines from fans, and starting July 15, it will be available for pre-order from Arcade1Up’s website for somewhere just shy of $520, based on the pricing for the company’s other four-player beat-’em-ups. Arcade 1Up is also promising an additional bonus game that comes with the cabinet, but since Konami never made a sequel to The Simpsons, it makes you wonder if one of the many console games featuring the nuclear family will be included as well.