Multiple Game Arcade Machines

When arcade machines first appeared on the scene they typically used one or two PCBs and designed to have one game. The game was contained on several chips which were usually directly soldered to the PCBs.

The disadvantage of this type of setup is that if the machine owner wanted to replace the game in the cabinet they would have to go through the complex process of removing the old hardware and then replacing it with new hardware. In some cases this might even require rewiring.

In 1980 Data East released the DECO Cassette System which allowed arcade machine owners to swap games out using cassette tapes and a key. SEGA released the G80 in 1981 which allowed for the use of conversion kits to change the game in a machine quickly. Nintendo also created a multiple game arcade machine called the Nintendo VS system.

In 1990 SNK released one of the most popular multiple game arcade machines; the NEO GEO Multi Video System (MVS).The MVS used cartridges to allow quick swap out of different games similar to a home console and came in different versions. There was a single slot version (the MV1 and it’s derivatives), a dual slot version (the MV2B, MV2F, and MV2FS), a four slot version (the MV4, MV4F, and MV4FT), and even a six slot version (MV6). Except for the MV1 series each cabinet had an additional button that would allow players to change the running game.

The MVS was hugely popular in arcades of the 1990’s and had games like Metal Slug, Fatal Fury, and Samurai Showdown. I still have the MVS boot/bios music in my head.

I have always liked the MVS and the idea of having one and about a month ago I stumbled across a working four slot one on eBay. The particular MVS that I now have is the MV4FT which was manufactured by Toshiba under license from SNK. It does play all MVS games as well.

As you can see from the pictures above it does need a bit of work. The steel cover needs to be cleaned up and the two boards are somewhat dusty. I plan to clean the cover up, sand it down, and paint it to keep it from rusting. The mainboard (bottom two images) and the daughter board (top right image) will be easy to clean up since they’re just dusty. While looking online some people have stated that you can wash the boards in water and let them dry throughly but I’m not sure I want to do that so I’ll probably just use compressed air.

During my research I discovered that while the MV1 series MVS boards are 100% JAMMA harness compatible, none of the multi slot ones are. Using wiring diagrams you can modify an existing JAMMA harness to work properly but there are also conversion boards that can be plugged in to directly convert the MVS connection to JAMMA. I should have one of these conversion boards in the next two weeks.

As I work to get this up and going I’ll post more info about it so stay tuned!

-J