How Old Is ArcadeCab and How Is the Site Maintained?

Updated

ArcadeCab has been online since 2003, making it a two-decade-plus archive of MAME arcade cabinet builds. The site is maintained by its original author, who is gradually modernizing the presentation while deliberately preserving the original projects, photos, and write-ups. Older pages covering dated hardware and software are kept available on purpose as historical reference, and there is a support section for visitors who want to contribute.

What the site's age means in practice

The archive spans full-size MAME cabinets, control panels, tabletop builds, and other arcade projects, contributed by both the author and other hobbyists. That long history cuts both ways:

  • Depth: You get complete build documentation accumulated over many years, including measurements, construction photos, and printable PDFs.
  • Mixed currency: Some documented software and hardware is now historical. The site itself notes this openly — for example, the BarCade project was built around spare PC hardware that is now very dated, though it remains a useful example of adapting a build to parts you already have.

The author's stated approach is to modernize how the site looks without rewriting the past. When a product, software package, or recommendation has aged out, the original write-up stays up rather than being deleted.

How updates are handled

Maintenance is selective rather than a full rebuild. The clearest documented example is Cabinet Plans 2: that entire section was refreshed in 2026, including a newly rebuilt high-resolution printable PDF. Other sections, such as the original cabinet plans and the Ultra-Trackball/single-player plans, remain as originally published and are still offered as starting points for new builders.

If you are choosing which plan set to follow, this distinction matters:

Plan set Maintenance status Best for
Cabinet Plans 2 Section refreshed in 2026, new high-res PDF Builders who want the most current documentation and more construction detail
Original Cabinet Plans Original write-up preserved First-time builders following a step-by-step build with measurements and photos
BarCade Original project preserved; hardware now dated Anyone adapting a compact tabletop build to spare parts
Ultra-Trackball / Single-Player Original plans preserved Smaller one-player control setups instead of a full two-player panel

Can you rely on older pages?

Yes, with one caveat: treat them as reference material rather than current buying advice. The site explicitly keeps historical pages because they still have value as reference and as part of its history. Before following any hardware or software recommendation from an older project, check whether that component is still available or has a modern equivalent — the site does not claim those pages are kept up to date.

How to support the site

ArcadeCab includes a "Support ArcadeCab" section for visitors who want to contribute. Beyond that, the site's own framing suggests the most direct way to engage is to build from the plans and share the result — the visitor cabinet gallery collects builds that followed the dimensions closely as well as ones that were widened, shortened, or completely re-themed.