Stage 1: Getting Control

The first piece of gear I laid actual money out for:

The X-Arcade Dual Joystick

Got this on eBay for $170 CDN taxes and delivery in. FedEx sent me a nice "you owe us $11.17 for brokering this across the border for you" invoice, those bastards. Anyways, it was all worth it.

This is where any MAME project must begin. It was a lot cheaper than I imagined, and was a big hit around the office when it arrived.

Hooking this puppy up to my PC and tooling around with MAME Roms and Front End software really got my juices flowing about the project. I can't wait to throw a few RYUKEN fireballs with this badboy once my machine is complete!