Building your own Android arcade machine? Why not? [video]

To say that the quality of games on Android has improved since the early days is an understatement, but great graphics alone don’t make a title worth the time investment. It’s the gameplay that keeps folks coming back for more.

This explains why some keep going back to playing classic arcade games on their Android device – using emulators like Mame4droid – despite the less than impressive graphics.  We’re sure nostalgia also plays a role, though. One guy decided to take the concept of taking the trip down gaming memory lane a step further by building his own Android arcade machine.

It’s easy to mistake the homemade arcade machine with those you’ll find in an old-skool amusement center, but look closer and you’ll see that the he’s playing Pac Man, After Burner, TMNT, Mortal Kombat, and other classic arcade games on a Lenovo K1 tablet, which can be positioned in either landscape or portrait mode. As for the joystick, a Wii Tatsunoko Vs Capcom stick is connected wirelessly to the tablet via Bluetooth. And that’s about it, no quarters are needed to play!

While the above video doesn’t show how the arcade machine – specifically the cabinet unit — was built from scratch, there’s another video that you can watch from the same enterprising gamer right here. Save for the iPad, the setup is similar and it should give some pointers on where to start. Assuming you already have your Android tablet of choice, that leaves you with the arcade stick to buy, which now costs around $65.

Planning to start a game arcade project anytime soon?