Quasimoto Quasicade 2 Review
15 years ago, my routine after school, was to head down to my local 7-11 or Roundtable and blow my lunch money on arcade games. Countless hours of Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and even TMNT which was a blast to play with a couple of friends. We all had NES and SNES at the time but it wasn’t the same as being able to hang out at an arcade, eat some pizza, and beat the crap out of strangers.
Fast forward to today and you see that console is king. A few weeks ago I was at a local Boardwalk for the first time in years, and what was once an arcade section filled with the latest games is now mostly a graveyard of old stand-ups. Early 3D systems like the Playstation, introduced “arcade style” graphics and soon there were less and less reasons to let go of your quarters.
Armed with nostalgia for the old days, a decent PC, and an emulator called MAME, people have been building their own cabinets and arcade sticks for years. One day, while working out of his garage, a video game enthusiast by the name of Chris Gerding decided he would try and put a Playstation into an arcade cabinet. This was the birth of a company called Quasimoto. I first learned about the company from one of my customers who needed a bunch of Xboxs repaired. That’s when I met Eddie, who turned out to be the marketing guy for Quasimoto, and we soon agreed on an even trade for one of their systems.
Quasimoto happens to be right in my backyard in the sunny city of San Diego, CA. Their offices at first glance look rather small, with a few cubes here and there and a Quasicade Pro in the corner. But open the back door and you enter this huge wherehouse filled with arcade parts, where the magic happens. I actually got to witness my Quasicade 2 being put together and also got a sneak peak at some of their future products.
Currently, Quasimoto has an impressive line of 6 arcade products that successfully joins the two disparate realms of arcade and console. Many of your old Xbox or PS2 games take on a second life of fun once experienced on a Quasicade arcade system. This experience alone is worth the purchase. But something truly unique and exciting happens when you combine a modified Xbox with the Quasicade. Remember how you used to drool over the arcade setup on that 80’s show, Silverspoons? Well, imagine that times 10,000 but in one arcade machine! That’s exactly what you get with the Quasicade 2 from Quasimoto - minus the modded Xbox
. Eat your heart out Ricky Schroder!---
Setup was fairly easy since the stand-up was already pre-built for us. We just had to fit it through the door, install the montior, and plug our modified Xbox in.
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The monitor is just a standard 27" TV. There are a bunch of others that fit perfectly with the Quasicade. In front of the monitor is a glass window with a black border that masks the edges of the TV. The TV comes with a remote control and works perfectly fine through the border.
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This is the Quasicon 2P arcade controller. It's a monster of an arcade stick with 26 buttons, including all analog and digital joysticks required for PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox. It even has the Xbox memory card slots built in. At first it's an overwhelming amount of buttons but you get used to it. It even comes with interchangeable credit card size legends for PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox so you know exactly what each button does.
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The Quasicon 2P arcade controller is the most advanced arcade stick out on the market today. It features 8-way digital joysticks and L/R analog joysticks which allow for maximum game compatibility. In contrast, the X-Arcade only has one stick per player and you have to hit a hidden button to switch between analog and digital. On top of that, the X-Arcade is just completely missing the right analog stick so you can't even play the games that utilize it. With Quasimoto's Quasicon, you have the freedom and full control of any game on Xbox, PS2, or Gamecube. Another feature you won't see in any arcade stick are the pressure sensitive buttons. All of the buttons on the Quasicon sense 256 points of pressure. Pressure recognition is essential to certain games and also to the fast forward feature of Xbox Media Center.
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The Quasicade 2 features a marquee with customizable graphics. It even lights up and has a switch to turn the light on and off. It gives you that genuine arcade feel when turned on. You can even push the marquee upwards to reveal a shelf space where you can store games.
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The Quasicade cabinet is very well built with locking door hinges and ample space for all 3 compatible systems to fit at once. A PC tower could easily fit by removing the shelves which simply sit on metal tabs inserted on the sides of the cabinet. The stand-up comes with a 3-way AV cable that supports Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox. It also comes with dongle adapters for all systems that plug into the Quasicon, plus 1 USB for PC connectivity. Quasimoto also offers a switcher if you decide to plug all systems in at once. The power strip is also included and mounted for you at the bottom of the cabinet.
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What you see here is a slide out keyboard tray. It has nice height for most chairs and room for both your keyboard and mouse. Perfect if you have a PC inside your Quasicade. Also convenient if you have the XFPS for Xbox or 360 that allows you to use keyboard and mouse for first person shooters.
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This is the audio control that has adjustments for both volume and bass. Conveniently located right below the keyboard tray for easy access. It even has an on/off button to shut off your speakers/subwoofers when not in use.
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This is a 10W RMS 4" subwoofer mounted at the bottom of the cabinet. Enhanced by the cabinet itself, it provides more than enough bass and typically turned one notch down so not to disturb the neighbors
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3" 6W full range speakers mounted inside the marquee. Sounds excellent!
hell, I'll bring a Dreamcast!
You guys are pretty damn good. Mark got his ass handed to him in SFIII now that's all he wants to play 