Arcade Games: How Much Does Electricity Cost?

Arcade games are a great investment now to become a business as retro is coming back for another
cycle. Games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, and Defenders are classic games you can play
on a game console with a 19” TV on it. But for those starting out for the first time, their biggest concern
is how much it would cost to keep them running on electricity.

Well, luckily, not that much really, especially if we’re talking about machines that were made back in the
80’s. You may notice that these machines don’t have coolers in them. This is because their printed
circuit boards (PCBs) were designed to not consume as much energy as other consoles. Actually if you
compare the electricity cost of one arcade game with a modern TV, you’re left paying more for the latter
rather than the former. For those that were built in the 90’s, that might have a higher cost but still
relatively small as they have similar PCBs in them.

Now, if we’re talking about modern day arcade machines, they might be a higher cost as they are fully
customized and have bigger screens with higher resolution in them. Not to mention faster processors
and memory, these need a cooling system as they can overheat without them. This means they
consume more energy overtime. But since these machines only function when a coin is inserted, you
can program the machines to go on standby mode to save electricity.

Having your very own arcade might be a dream come true for the inner kid in you. Though it may take a
bit of time to collect the games you want to showcase, they are great investments nonetheless because
they can become vintage games in due time, which will cost you a fortune. As for the electricity cost,
the basic math is that the more modern-made machines you have, the more you might need to pay. But
then again, the profit you’re about to rake in should be more than what you invested in the first place.