Megatouch Maxx Jade 2 (2005 Merit Ind.)
The Story: Anyone who's been to a bar in the last 15 years knows what a Megatouch is. It's that coin-operated touchscreen machine that usually sits on top of the bar with all the fun mini games. Card games, trivia games, memory games, it has them all. Megatouch is one of those games that anyone can enjoy, even those who don't care for video games at all. It just appeals to everyone, and that includes me and my family as well.
To give you a brief history on the Megatouch line, basically it really took off just before the turn of the century. Merit Industries was the prime innovator of these popular touchscreen games. The hardware began with a simple PCB and standard resolution arcade monitors. It didn't take long for these Megatouch games to evolve into computer based hardware & software with higher resolution monitors. This lead to more games, many of whoch were improved, but it also lead to higher hardware maintenance. At least that was my opinion.
With that in mind, Let's rewind a few years from now. I wanted a Megatouch game for our gameroom but just wasn't sold on the newer computer based models, nor was I sold on the bartop cabinets. I wanted a classic Megatouch, and once I learned they also came in a cabaret style arcade cabinet with a bigger 19" monitor, I was sold. I bought a classic Megatouch Super IV. It wasn't long before I upgraded it just a couple levels up to a Megatouch 6. Then I bought another one for spare parts, as mine had a dying picture tube. Turns out the parts machine also had this problem, leading me to believe this is a common culprit for these cabaret cabinets. I have since had the tube rejuvinated and the chassis completely worked over, and all is well.
So I already have what I wanted. Now fast forward back to the present time. Why did I get a newer bartop model? Read on...
The Score: Another chain reaction. My wife had found a "High Impact Football" arcade game at a yard sale. Yeah, its a good game, but I really had no desire to own it. However it was working and the $25 price tag was too low to ignore. I bought it, brought it home, cleaned it up, tuned it up and repaired a few broken wires and what not. I listed in on Craigslist for what I thought was a reasonable price. Even though this was the beginning of the new football season, I just couldn't get a bite on it. I even asked Slackers if they would be interested in it, but they also shyed away from it at the time. I was getting restless and wanted to find a new home for this game.
A few days pass and I scan Craigslist for deals like I do in my usual routine. I noticed Slackers had just listed a Megatouch Maxx machine for an unusually low price. It caught me by suprise, seeing as how they usually put retail price tags on all their games. The only reason I can gather for the bargain price was that the game lacked a dollar bill acceptor. Instead, it had an empty hole where the DBA used to be. Otherwise, this was a nice working bartop that would be just fine for a free play environment. I decided to bring up the High Impact Football game again, and this time I mentioned that I would be willing to trade even for the Megatouch. They agreed and the trade was made.
Once I got it home, we were all hooked instantly. Yeah, we really enjoyed our classic Megatouch, but once this one arrived, forget about it. More games plus enhanced graphics. Now would be a good time to also mention that the gameroom had grown so much over the last few years that there just wasn't room for the cabaret anymore. It now resides in my office space upstairs with the console games. However it was really easy to find a spot for the bartop since it takes less space. So Megatouch is back downstairs and is better than ever.
The Service: As mentioned, the game lacked a DBA. I decided to fill the gap with a "mini marquee". I cut a small piece of plexiglass and printed a Jade 2 logo to fill the hole. I also found a nice deal on eBay in the form of reproduction side art as well as a much needed ram upgrade. Beyond that, it just needed the typical cleaning & tuning. It could use a hard drive update. I may look into that later, but for now this is a nice working game, and it's the smash hit of the entire lineup. Welcome back Megatouch.
To give you a brief history on the Megatouch line, basically it really took off just before the turn of the century. Merit Industries was the prime innovator of these popular touchscreen games. The hardware began with a simple PCB and standard resolution arcade monitors. It didn't take long for these Megatouch games to evolve into computer based hardware & software with higher resolution monitors. This lead to more games, many of whoch were improved, but it also lead to higher hardware maintenance. At least that was my opinion.
With that in mind, Let's rewind a few years from now. I wanted a Megatouch game for our gameroom but just wasn't sold on the newer computer based models, nor was I sold on the bartop cabinets. I wanted a classic Megatouch, and once I learned they also came in a cabaret style arcade cabinet with a bigger 19" monitor, I was sold. I bought a classic Megatouch Super IV. It wasn't long before I upgraded it just a couple levels up to a Megatouch 6. Then I bought another one for spare parts, as mine had a dying picture tube. Turns out the parts machine also had this problem, leading me to believe this is a common culprit for these cabaret cabinets. I have since had the tube rejuvinated and the chassis completely worked over, and all is well.
So I already have what I wanted. Now fast forward back to the present time. Why did I get a newer bartop model? Read on...
The Score: Another chain reaction. My wife had found a "High Impact Football" arcade game at a yard sale. Yeah, its a good game, but I really had no desire to own it. However it was working and the $25 price tag was too low to ignore. I bought it, brought it home, cleaned it up, tuned it up and repaired a few broken wires and what not. I listed in on Craigslist for what I thought was a reasonable price. Even though this was the beginning of the new football season, I just couldn't get a bite on it. I even asked Slackers if they would be interested in it, but they also shyed away from it at the time. I was getting restless and wanted to find a new home for this game.
A few days pass and I scan Craigslist for deals like I do in my usual routine. I noticed Slackers had just listed a Megatouch Maxx machine for an unusually low price. It caught me by suprise, seeing as how they usually put retail price tags on all their games. The only reason I can gather for the bargain price was that the game lacked a dollar bill acceptor. Instead, it had an empty hole where the DBA used to be. Otherwise, this was a nice working bartop that would be just fine for a free play environment. I decided to bring up the High Impact Football game again, and this time I mentioned that I would be willing to trade even for the Megatouch. They agreed and the trade was made.
Once I got it home, we were all hooked instantly. Yeah, we really enjoyed our classic Megatouch, but once this one arrived, forget about it. More games plus enhanced graphics. Now would be a good time to also mention that the gameroom had grown so much over the last few years that there just wasn't room for the cabaret anymore. It now resides in my office space upstairs with the console games. However it was really easy to find a spot for the bartop since it takes less space. So Megatouch is back downstairs and is better than ever.
The Service: As mentioned, the game lacked a DBA. I decided to fill the gap with a "mini marquee". I cut a small piece of plexiglass and printed a Jade 2 logo to fill the hole. I also found a nice deal on eBay in the form of reproduction side art as well as a much needed ram upgrade. Beyond that, it just needed the typical cleaning & tuning. It could use a hard drive update. I may look into that later, but for now this is a nice working game, and it's the smash hit of the entire lineup. Welcome back Megatouch.
