RACING

THE PROBLEM

Buckle up, this is a long update!

We like the start-up approach; “Talk to customers, improve the product.”. We’re also trying to strike a balance on popular games vs. playability vs. manufacturing. What’s all this about then? The Falcon Racing wheels, that’s what.

The availability of the arcade pedals has been a huge challenge in the last 18 months. It was bad enough that we started scooping up used pedals and refurbishing them with new powder coating and new electronics. This is completely untenable in the long term as it’s extremely labor intensive and not a reliable supply source. Our previous source for pedals was Suzo Happ but at times there were lead times exceeding 12 months on resupply of the arcade pedals. Also untenable.

We like the authenticity of the arcade pedals, but continuing on with a product that’s been this difficult to acquire demands change.

So what do we do? Well there’s always simulator pedals. Switching things up means we could do force feedback wheels too. This leaves out your 360 wheel games (think Off Road, Super Sprint, Pole Position etc…) so what do we do about the gamers that love those few precious titles? Some of our customers have expressed a desire for FFB wheels instead, so there’s that to think about too.

SOLUTION

So we’re winding down the arcade pedal hardware in favor of consumer racing sim pedals. We’ve tried these on and off before, but I think we’ve got a setup that we’re happy with now. We’ll keep some refurbished arcade pedals in storage for warranty support and sell through the rest of the stock over the coming months.

As mentioned there are still some 360 games that just don’t quite feel right with a FFB (force feedback) wheel. Well, we’ve got you covered. We’ll have the 360 wheels as an available add-on to the FFB setup. We’ve cooked up a huge spreadsheet showing the various pedals and wheels and what works with what, all that’s coming very soon to the Falcon machines. The FFB setup has a handful of games where both players get full force feedback and stick shift implementation. Very cool stuff!

CHANGES

Look for these changes soon! Pricing has been adjusted already to reflect the changes because if you’re buying today you’ll be getting FFB wheels by default.

With all this we’re revising the product builder section, including a “ground up” option with all variables possible on one product. It’s a huge undertaking but it’ll make things much easier for you at checkout.

After all that, let’s get a look at how the first FFB setups are coming out! Everything is detachable and easy to remove - the wheels and shifters store inside the cabinet, alongside the light guns and keyboard etc…

Wheels and shifters off

Wheels and shifters on

Survey Results

First of all thanks to all who voted! A few months back we asked which kind of products you’d like to start seeing us carry. Much to our surprise there’s a demand for printing and DIY parts, despite there being tons of great vendors out there already for that stuff. Here’s how the rankings have turned out so far…

1. Dedicated Custom Racing Arcade Cabinets

2. More Buttons/Joysticks/Parts

3. Vinyl Printing Services

4. In-Stock XL Complete Arcade Cabinets

5. DIY Flat-Pack Cabinet Kits

6. In-Stock 30" Complete Arcade Cabinets

7. Digital Products: Plans and Tutorials

We’ve started on the racing cabinets and flat pack designs, two areas where we think we can add value to the marketplace. Pretty soon we’ll have arcade PCs in the store too. Stay tuned!

Racers and Gun Cabs In Development!

We’re working on linkable racing cabinets and lightgun cabs. Head to the store page to preview them and sign up to be notified when they’re available!

PC vs Pi

THE HEART OF THE MACHINE

So you’re looking at arcade cabinets and wondering “why are some of these custom cabs a couple hundred bucks and some are way more?” Well, apart from materials and build quality a large contributing factor is the processing power that runs it all. If you like speed and accuracy in your games avoid anything that use anything buy a PC. Lots of builders are using the Raspberri Pi, let's look into why PCs reign supreme:

1. Processing Power

   This is a big one. If you’re on Pi most games newer than the mid-90s are going to struggle in one way or another. With powerful CPUs and GPUs, PCs can effortlessly handle the demands of emulating a wide range of gaming platforms, from the 8-bit era to the modern-day consoles. This raw horsepower translates into smoother emulation, higher frame rates, and better compatibility with a variety of games.

2. Flexibility

   With a PC you can upgrade components in the future, adding more RAM, upgrading the graphics card.

3. Software

   Emulators are often optimized for PC hardware, leveraging advanced features like DirectX and Vulkan to deliver exceptional performance. Additionally, PC users have access to a myriad of plugins, shaders, and customization options, allowing them to fine-tune their emulation experience to perfection. Pi falls way behind in terms of active marquee, led buttons, and force feedback racing support.

4. Support

   We offer remote wifi support on most of our machines, an experience that’s optimized on PC.

While Raspberry Pi has its merits, particularly in terms of affordability, when it comes to game emulation, PCs are the champion. All of our PC specs are fully listed so you know exactly what you’re getting. Don’t skimp on the brain, it’s important!

New Controller Add-Ons!

Guitar Hero and Wii controller add-ons are now live in the store!

Guitar Hero Controllers Add-On

$395.00

Hello 2024!

Thanks to those who’ve taken the product survey below, we’re looking to integrate your requests as soon as possible!

Watch the store for some changes; pricing, products and system spec refreshes to keep up with component availability. The Falcon PC is getting a full refresh with slight price increase. Stock PC ram spec doubled (8b to 16gb) a few months ago when we doubled the ssd size (1tb to 2tb) so that’s been updated on the store as well.

As ever we’re always updating features and bashing bugs. Stay tuned for more and happy 2024!

Survey Says...

The majority of our business is in complete custom machines, but we’d love to know what else you might be interested in. Give us a click, let us know what else you’re shopping for! All of these are in various stages of development here but it can be hard to know where the demand is.

Year end wrap up, pedals, features, and more...

Greetings!

It’s been another eventful year here at the shop. More hardware, more designs, more features. This year we DOUBLED the base hard drive from 1tb to 2tb along with adding more software. We also rolled out a few more hardware features and improved compatibility on the back catalog. You should see the changelog, it’s extensive!

We’re always pushing to do more and improve, so thanks for sticking around with us! One great phrase that comes from the startup world is “talk to the customer, improve the product” and we really try to carry that out all the time. Making complicated machines with complex software requires dedication and commitment and we’re happy to provide all levels of service to achieve satisfaction.

PEDALS

For well over a year we’ve been dealing with vendor delays on pedals (our supplier is actually showing these with a 9/2024 ship date now!) so we found a giant lot of used pedals, bought those up, and have been in the process of refurbishing them. This involves disassembly, cleaning, new potentiometers and a fresh powder coating. Check out some pics of the process below. We’re still playing catch up on these things, but the good news is we’ll have plenty left over for future orders.

QOL Cabinet Additions

We’ve added a couple inset handles to the rear of the Colossus machines to make them easier to move around. We’ve also finally found some adequate swivel casters, being just the right size and rating to fit alongside the leg levelers to allow the cabinet to roll without the need for tipping or a dolly. It’s not just nice for you when you receive the cabinet, it’s nice for us in the shop too!

Coming soon…

The Falcon PC will get a refresh pretty soon. Something like i7 12th gen with a gtx3080. Similar price and with slighter faster speed than the current Falcon PC offering. PC parts are always churning so we have to refresh this periodically. Stock PC parts will remain the same for now.

Thanks again for your patronage. Happy Holidays from Paradox and see you in the new year!

LEAD TIMES AND SHIPPING

EDIT (Dec 2023): Previously published rates have seemed to come back down on white glove service, so shipping charges will remain as-is!

LEAD TIMES

We have increased the lead times on all cabinets while we’re catching up on backorders. Dec/Jan tends to be a little slower, production schedule will go back to normal around then. Also in Q1 ‘24 we’re rolling out some “in stock” options with standardized artwork, so stay tuned for that!

Fall Hours

Fall Hours

Fall hours are in effect for us! Now closed on Saturdays with slightly shortener weekdays. Need to chat after hours? Message us on the site or send us an email! We typically respond within 24 hours.