Arcade PCB Price Guide
What is my arcade PCB worth?
How much should I pay for an arcade PCB?
*** Click to jump below to the arcade PCB price guide*** - Updated 12/4/2020
The arcade PCB price guide below reflects the price of complete, tested and working arcade PCB game boards based on my experiences and what I have seen in the market place. These prices are largely gathered from sales and listings on arcade collector forums and from in-person transactions. Naturally, opinions will vary so it is always suggested to do your due diligence when buying or selling. Every transaction is unique. The coin-operated hobby or business, or both, depending on your position, has widely ranging prices due to the fact that some see arcade cabinets as large, bulky boxes they simply want to get rid of, while others highly value and appreciate their worth for either profit, entertainment or nostalgic reasons.
Personally, I do not focus on buying and selling arcade games and parts for profit and tend to seek out games based on what I enjoy playing.
When Buying or Selling Arcade PCBs on eBay
Arcade PCBs may often run 15-35% more on eBay (compared to collector forums and between collectors) as sellers on eBay are often trying to cover selling fees as well as drive up prices and/or are patiently waiting to net a customer willing to pay a premium. There are certainly reasonable deals to be found on eBay, and many fair sellers. I have found many great deals there. As with many potential collectibles, prices can vary greatly and can swing like they do in other markets. Condition is important. The prices below do not factor in shipping.Non-Working Arcade PCB Price Guide
Non working and incomplete arcade PCBs sell for considerable less than their working counter parts. Many common titles, such as Pac-Man that are complete, but in non-working condition or “untested” may sell for $35-$65. Less common titles, such as Major Havoc, may sell for even $800+ when not working or “untested” simply because they can be challenging to acquire regardless of working condition. In general, I would say a more common, non-working board goes for around 30-40% of a working arcade PCB price. A “parts board”, which may be missing chips and daughter cards may go for 15-30% of a working arcade PCB price.“Untested Arcade PCBs”
You may see arcade PCBs for sale listed as “untested”. Please assume these are not working and will need some type of repair, especially if these are JAMMA PCB boards. Since the JAMMA standard is so common, it is very easy for a seller to test JAMMA boards for working condition. Rather than list a game as “non-working”, some sellers may list them as “untested” to encourage a higher selling price. Games that are non-JAMMA and are listed as “untested” realistically have a higher chance that they truly are untested. I have sold non-JAMMA PCBs that I simply didn’t have a harness to connect to and these PCBs did in fact work when the buyer plugged them in. When looking for a specific arcade PCB, it’s not a bad strategy to have a backup for parts, so if you first see an untested board going for a steep discount you might consider picking it up first in the event it actually does fire up. Worst case scenario you will have parts to keep another board going, or you may be able to repair it yourself.
Evaluating Arcade PCB Condition
Besides the obvious "doesn't it work or not?" question, here are additional points to consider when buying an arcade pcb.
-How worn is the edge connector? Is it burnt up, are there signs of edge connector repairs, such as solder?
-Is corrosion visible anywhere on the PCB, such as traces or around components?
-Some PBCs, like Punch-Out!! and Williams games like Joust have battery holders on them. Check if there is battery acid around the holders and if so, if it has spread to other components. Other boards may have other sized batteries so be sure to check them as well.
-Are there any noticeable signs of previous repair? These may include actual stickers with repair dates or solder work. There may also be jumper wires to fix broken traces. Keep in mind some jumper wires were factory fixes so they may be standard for some games.
-A variety boards also were designed with "suicide batteries." These batteries typically keep a vital key or encryption code available to be read by the arcade PCB to enable operation. If this battery goes bad the board can be rendered useless. Check to see when the battery may have been last replaced, as well as do some research to see whether "desuicide" methods have been discovered for that particular board set. The Capcom System 2, or CPS2 board sets are one example.
Arcade PCB Background
Arcade PCBs, or printed circuit boards, are the physical game boards that typically run arcade games commonly found in many 70s, 80s, 90s and later arcade machines. Most consist of a single board or a stack of boards fixed together. Even within a single game, there can be variations. For instance, early Donkey Kong arcade PCBs found in red Donkey Kong cabinets often contained four circuit boards and are commonly referred to as a “four-stack DK PCB”, whereas the later revisions found in blue Donkey Kong cabinets contained just two circuit boards.
Compared to a home gaming console, arcade PCB boards are essentially the entire console itself integrated with the chips specific to the game, and typically would only play just that one game (the Nintendo Playchoice 10 and NEO GEO system are two examples that did have interchangeable cartridges or chips). Some games have external sound boards/amplifiers and control interfaces while other games contain everything on one board. Seemingly countless configurations as well as many different edge connector variations exist. This made it difficult to swap different arcade PCBs in and out in a cabinet as the wiring and voltage could vary. In an attempt to remedy this, in the later 80s a standard called JAMMA emerged that promoted the use of a specific pinout so PCBs could be interchangeable. As a result of this, the concept of “conversion kit” games” began to flood the market. These conversion kit games typically contained an arcade PCB and new cabinet graphics (marquee, control panel overlay, and side art) that could be used to transform an old game that was no longer earning money on location into a “new game” that potentially would.
Working Arcade PCB Price Guide - Updated 12/4/2020
This list by no means exhaustive, but does include many classic games with which you may be able to infer prices of related games. Many shmup PCB prices are off the board and vary greatly and so less of these have been included. Keep in mind, these price estimates do not include shipping and are in USD.
10 Yard Fight - $65
1942 - $75
1943 - $130
1944 The Loop Master Capcom CPS2 - $250
19XX Capcom CPS2 - $225
720 - $325
Altered Beast - $160
Arkanoid - $75
Arkanoid II Revenge of DoH - $165
Asteroids - $125
Asteroids Deluxe $180
Avengers - $85
Bad Dudes $90
Battletoads $600
Black Tiger $110
Black Widow - $350
Bloxeed - $65
Blue Print - $150
Bionic Commando - $150
Bosconian - $175
Burgertime - $165
Castlevania -
Centipede - $85
Circus Charlie - $140
Cobra Command - $75
Columns - $75
Combatribes - $65
Commando - $85
Congo Bongo - $100
Contra - $165
Crazy Kong - $110
Crime City - $70
Cruisin USA - $130
Cruisin Exotica - $220
Crystal Castles - $125
Defender - $175
Devastators - $65
Dig Dug - $165
Discs of Tron - $500+
Die Hard Arcade (ST-V motherboard + cart) - $95
Dimahoo Capcom CPS2 - $350
Donkey Kong - $225
Donkey Kong Jr. - $215
Donkey Kong 3 - $200
Double Dragon - $135
Double Dribble - $45
Dungeons & Dragons CPS2 - $200
Dyger - $80
Eco Fighters Capcom CPS2 - $250
Elevator Action - $135
Express Raider - $65
Fighter's History - $65
Final Fight - $215
Frogger - $95Galaga - $185
Galaga 88 - $225
Galaxian - $80
Gaplus / Galaga 3 - $125
Gauntlet - $140
Gauntlet II 2 - $200
Ghosts ’n Goblins - $220
Ghouls ’n Ghosts - $325 for a converted version. $500+ for original (converted versions are typically Street Fighter II CE & Hyper Fighting boards)
GoinDol - $70
Gravitar - $350
Golden Axe II: Revenge of the Death Adder $400
Golden Tee - Various $40-70, newer titles more
Great 1000 Mile Rally - $75
Gyruss - $185
Heavy Barrel - $85
High Impact Football - $119
Hot Shots Tennis - $45
Hyper Sports - $300 - (this board saw a large price increase with the release of the multi Track & Field kit, as the kit can only be installed on this game and not the original Track & Field PCB)
Ikari Warriors - $125 JAMMA version
Jail Break - $65
Joust - $225 (with all the various PCBs)
Jr. Pac-Man - $100 (there are two versions, a “field kit” and a “conversion” version, one is designed to work on voltages found in original Pac-Man machines)
Jungle Hunt or Jungle King - $175
Kangaroo - $75
Karate Champ - $95
Killer Instinct - $200
Killer Instinct 2 - $185
Klax - $75
Legendary Wings - $80
Mad Planets - $375-425
Major Havoc - $925-$1,500+ (one of the widest ranged priced PCBs I have personally seen, there are different versions, including a conversion and dedicated machine version which run at slightly different speeds).
Mappy - $200
Mario Bros. - $185
Mars Matrix Capcom CPS2 - $275
Martial Champion - $65
Moon Patrol - $175
Mr. Do - $85
Mr. Do’s Castle - $75
Ms. Pac-Man - $85
Mortal Kombat - $145
Mortal Kombat II 2 - $225
Mortal Kombat 3 - $225
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 - $225
Namco Classics Collection I - $200
Namco Classics Collection II - $200
Nastar Warrior - $85
NBA JAM - $125
NBA JAM TE Tournament Edition - $195
NEO-GEO 1 Slot Board PCB - $100+/- (there are several versions of 1 slot boards and the desireability varies)
Ninja Gaiden - $110
Outrun - $325
Pac-Man - $85
Pac-Mac Plus - $110
Pengo - $95
Pit Fighter - $55
P.O.W. (Prisoners of War) - $80
Progear Cave CPS2 - $400
Punch-Out!! - $375
Qbert / Q*bert - $350+ with sound PCB included
Rally-X $135
Rastan - $130
Rim Rockin' Basketball - $50
Robocop - $75
Run & Run - $75
Rush 'n Attack - $75
Spiderman $320
Star Wars - $450
S.T.U.N. Runner - $250
Silkworm - $75
Street Fighter - $225
Street Fighter II 2 World Warrior - $140
Street Fighter II 2 CE - $200
Street Fighter II 2 Turbo CE Hyper Fighting - $225
Street Fighter EX - $105
Street Fighter EX2 $175
Street Fighter III 3: Third Strike - $600
Street Smart - $50
Strikers 1945 - $110
Super Contra - $200
Super Offroad - $250
Super Offroad Track Pack - $325
Super Pac-Man - $80
Super Punch-Out!! - $600
Super Street Fighter II 2 $175
Super Street Fighter II 2 Turbo $375
Super Mario Bros. - $150 
Time Killers $70
Time Soldiers $75
Tekken 1 - $45
Tekken 2 - $50
Tekken 3 - $65
Tekken Tag - $85
Tempest - $325
Tetris - $125
Track and Field - $175
Tutankham - $125
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - $350
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time - $475
Time Pilot - $85
Time Pilot '84 - $75
Tron - $360
U.N. Squadron $200 (UN Squadron)
World Rally - $85
Wrestlefest - $125
WWF Superstars - $85
X-Men Children of The Atom COTA CPS2 - $185
Zoo Keeper - $225
Zaxxon - $150
...to be continued with more titles
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