Turnarcades Custom-Built Arcades: Who we are and what we do

Turnarcades is a home-based arcade builders based in the West Midlands, England. We mainly build video arcade and entertainment machines based around home PC architecture. Our unique machines are designed to replicate authentic arcade machines as closely as possible to bring the 'old school' arcade experience home, but also take advantage of the power, capacity, flexibility and customisable properties of modern home PC technology.

Turnarcades machines - What are they?

For those who aren't part of the home arcade gaming online community, here is a little info on what these machines can do and their intended use:

Put simply, these machines are built for and intended for use as a retro gaming platform. Though there are many ways of accessing retro games and classics through the internet or by way of disc compilations for your PC, there are no easy ways of bringing back the arcade feel that made most of these games the classics they are. In recent years enthusiasts have devised ways of re-creating the arcade experience by creating electronic interfaces and software that allows those games to be played the way they were intended; with genuine arcade controls and dedicated cabinets.

A more specific example of this fusion of technology is found in the creation of emulation techniques to recreate classic games to play on your PC and the building of cabinets intended for this technology. The community refers to these as 'MAME cabinets', in reference to the definitive arcade emulator MAME which is capable of almost perfectly replicating thousands of classic arcade games.

Turnarcades machines are a essentially a type of 'MAME cabinet' and are constructed and programmed in such a way that allows the user to add their own games and software relatively easily. Turnarcades are great for any classic game fan who wants a customised retro-arcade in their home; whether they are a total novice who does not know where to start, an amateur who wants a 'turn-key' machine to customise the look themselves, or an experienced member of the community who just wants the back-work done for them so they can spend more time tweaking their own software. Whichever one of these best describes you, our machines are a great choice.  

What products do we offer?

We have created a complete line of arcade designs, ranging from common generic arcade machines such as the two-player upright cabinets were found in many seaside arcades, pubs and cafes back in the day, right up to our flagship machine that resembles the huge cinematic cabinets that were only found in the huge specialist arcades of the big cities and abroad.

As well as these generic designs, we have also created a selection of unique machines that have been tailored to the needs of modern gamers. These machines have been designed to accommodate people with limited space requirements, but still want the feel of an arcade in their home. In particular, our exclusive 'Box Arcade' and 'Bar-Top' machines represent this reasoning very well.

Other machines and custom work

Turnarcades started out as a customising outfit, and as such we have remained committed to offering cabinets and machines for the more discerning customer. As well as the large range of set designs we offer, we also offer a range of other cabinets, complete machines and services. After listening to demand, we now also build jukeboxes, peripheral-based arcades (driving cabinets, shooting cabinets etc.), standalone control panels, one-off cabinets, self-assembly kits and cabinet plans, as well as parts and accessories, PC's and arcade software for people who would like to have a hand in building their own machine at home. 

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