Go find your best 80s track pants and sneakers; Numskull Designs have announced two 80s classics heading to their incredible Quarter Arcade range!
Yes, today we’re taking a trip all the way back to 1983, the year that The Space Shuttle Challenger set off on its maiden voyage and, more useful to us as games journalists, the Famicom went on sale.
It was also the year that we first got to experience Elevator Action and Zoo Keeper down at the arcade, saving up our coins in a piggy bank for a chance to beat high scores and experience everything these new titles had to offer.
Thanks to the beauty of these quarter-scale tabletop arcades from the legendary Numskull Designs, we can now experience all of the thrills again from the comfort of our living rooms!
Stealthy Skyscrapers & Wild Animal Run-ins
Now that we’ve announced these Elevator Action & Zoo Keeper Quarter Arcades, let’s talk a little bit about the games themselves, shall we?
Elevator Action sees players moving down a skyscraper teeming with sneaky secret agents trying to take you out. It feels a little like that scene where Joseph Fienes is trying to avoid being shot in Flash Forward, except Joseph Fienes isn’t in the game and it was made well before the series aired in 2009… but you get the idea.
Zoo Keeper might not sound as wild as that when you read it on paper, but it requires a lot of patience and skill to calm animals down that have gone on a rampage and to keep a zoo from falling into disrepute.
Hey, anyone who has played Harvest Moon knows how tough that can be!
The graphics on both games have been lovingly scaled down to fit thiese crystal clear screens. It’s simple gameplay with all the power that the 80s arcade scene provided – the Retro Dodo nostalgia factor has skyrocketed all the way to 11!
25% Of The Size, 100% Of The Action
For anyone who isn’t familiar with Quarter Arcades, these units are 1/4 scale replicas of the original arcade cabinets that we used to use down at the arcade.
Standing at 44cm high, 16.6cm wide, and 22.5cm deep, they are fully playable just like the real thing, with built-in screens, working buttons, and traditional joysticks for that nostalgic arcade feeling.
You might need to give your fingers a little work out to cope with the tiny buttons, but that’s all part of the challenge.
Just look how beautiful the artwork on this Zoo Keeper cabinet is, complete with coin slots, detailed side panels, and graphics around the screen.
With 3W speakers to recreate the original sounds of these classic games and internal rechargeable lithium batteries, gamers can play untethered anytime, anywhere.
I mean, if you have a table on your train journey, there’s no reason why you couldn’t get one of these bad boys out and get the whole carriage to join in.
Numskull Designs have given us exclusive information on Just Geek’s pricing too, with discounts for early-bird pre-orders.
- £219.99 GBP (£199.99 early bird)
- $249.99 USD ($229.99 early bird)
- €249.99 EU (€229.99 early bird)
Anyone looking to pre-order can register their interest in the new arcade cabinets now, with the cabinets looking to be delivered in in October 2024. Units will be available from Amazon and other retailers come October, but who want’s to be late to the party?
No-one, that’s who!
Stick around and take a look at our official review of this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cabinet that also makes up part of the Quarter Arcade range, and don’t forget to show your interest in the new release to make sure you get yours on release day!
