David R. Foley, who founded Ultracade in 2002, is accused of copying the "game packs" - multi-game software that ran on the cabinets - from his Los Gatos home prior to selling off the company, using a company burner. Foley was later fired from Ultracade - the reasons weren't specified - but the indictment alleges he used the code and trade secrets belonging to the new owner, Global VR, to create and sell counterfeit game packs.

The charges therefore mean not only was Global VR defrauded, but also licensees Namco, Nintendo and Taito, whose games ran on the cabinets. A second man - the buyer of Foley's allegedly counterfeit packs - was also named in the indictment. He allegedly sold the packs via eBay, and also used a proprietary burner to replicate them.

Ultracade had a tortured organizational history going back to the 1990s but its cabinets were chic enough to be something of a luxury item among gaming cognoscenti.

Two Indicted Over Theft of Software [San Francisco Chronicle]

Welcome to "Bella's Arcade," built by James, who has built and restored other arcade cabinets. This cabinet is built 80 percent to scale, so little ones can play it standing straight up, while adults would have to sit down to see the screen fully. He put in a Windows 98 machine that boots up to a MAME custom skinned with the Bella's Arcade theme. Players can choose from 250 arcade classics.

For me, the best feature about this is the coin box. Instead of crediting your game with a button on the dash, you press the coin slot - or you can insert a coin. And why not, this is the age when kids get piggy banks, too. Good work, daddy! Someone got a huge, huge neckhug when this rolled in.

Bella's Arcade [production blog]

Awesome. Just think of the four-player drinking games. During Gauntlet, a player must do a shot when he or she shoots the food. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a player must do a shot when the game forces a cheap death upon you.

Hey, guy who has this set up, can we be pals?

Video Game Bar Tackles Two Life-Hindering Addictions at Once [Gizmodo]

Building a MAME console inside a TARDIS [ASCIIMATION via Wired Gadgets]

Moose 2000's Photostream [Flickr via Wonderland]

The architect writes:

This table is excellent when I throw large parties. There's always someone who doesn't feel comfortable around large groups of people, and so sits at the table playing video games. But because I serve food and drink on the table, and there's always someone sitting down across the table, this person is forced into social situations which are lubricated slightly by the involvement of video games.

For anyone looking to recreate this arcade ready contraption, the BJURSTA table from IKEA will do the trick. Additional specs and photos are at the Flickr account linked below.

IKEA MAME Dinner Table [Flickr via Boing Boing]

The Last Starfighter [Rogue Synapse via Arcade Heroes]

Thankfully, the industrious LiveJournalists of the world with ROM hacking skills took the liberty of fashioning themselves a Pac-Gentleman binary playable in MAME. It seems very much like the original, but with mustachioed ghosts, a derby wearing protagonist and period appropriate language.

Pac Gentleman [S.D. Lawrence, ESQ LTD. via MAKE]

Kanashimi Danny has a review of sorts on his LiveJournal, giving us a look at the very NSFW game that can only be discussed on Kotaku After Dark. You have to jump over pike-wielding herpes viruses and giant enemy crabs to engage in a series of sex acts that involve massive genitalia and the drinking of "hot, wet juice." There's even a promise of "oozing pussy." Man, that's hot.

Lots of pics of Martian Manhunter getting and giving head to a green haired devil girl that might get you fired are at the link below.

A Night In With MAME (part 1) [LiveJournal via Waxy]

The only gaming company actually listed as such in the CEDIA catalog was Game Cabinets Inc. which sells MAME-loaded gaming cabinets.

While I found the cabinets surprisingly pricey and their disco-fied CrystalCade immensely gaudy, I was very impressed with the guts of their machines and their incredible take on pinball.

All of their machines come with computers and DVD drives built into them, including their table-top StingerPlus, which probably explains some of the high cost. They also use Cherry Microswitches and Happ parts, which probably accounts for the rest of the high cost. The end result? A beautiful feeling set of controllers that not only give you precise, arcade-like gameplay but will, in my experience, last you quite awhile. I tested out their StingerPlus playing MAME versions of Joust (for the buttons) and Street Fighter II (for the sticks) and the play was fluid and amazing.

While I was impressed with the parts used in the controllers, GCI isn't the only company that uses them for controllers. They are, however, the only company that has GCI Pinball. The company obtained the rights to a slew of actual pinball tables and used a blend of computer graphics and actual photographs to replicate the tables in digital form. While the ball graphics weren't the best I have seen and the plunger control, which uses one of the joysticks, was a little wonky, this was still by far the best digital Pinball I've ever played. It was amazing to play games like Hook or The Simpsons on a big screen and have it look and feel just like the real thing.

GCI's uprights sell for $5,000 to $10,000 and come with built in LCD monitors and speakers. The Cocktail system sell for $5,000 and the Stinger controllers sell for $3,100.

I still can't justify the price, but if you have the money it's likely worth it, especially with that proprietary pinball.

The MAME port's author writes that performance on the SDL is a tad flaky—Pac-Man and Q*bert run well, but Galaga and Gyruss suffer. No word on how accurately Burger Time's performance is but the project lead is looking to port an older version of MAME to the Apple phone.

iPhone MAME [Google Code]

SPEKSNK.org has tons of shots of how the emulator has progressed, with noticeable improvements coming out by the hour. Impressive stuff. Ideally, I'd prefer to see this sort of content coming for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network, but seeing games like Street Fighter III and Warzard running on a PC is heartwarming for the jaded emulator within. Michael McWhertor

UPDATE: As PSMonkey points out, these screens are not from the MAME CPS III driver, but from a CPS I/II emulator Nebula. Thanks for clarifying that!

New CPS III Emulator: Images, Information [SPEKSNK.org via MameWorld]

• Warzard / Red Earth (1996)
• Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997)
• Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact: Giant Attack (1998)
• JoJo's Venture (1998)
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1999)
• Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future (1999)

Obviously, many of these games were available as Dreamcast releases, but hopefully we can look forward to MAME support. Legally, of course. Michael McWhertor

David Haywood's Homepage - Haze's Mame WIP [MAME via NeoGAF]

I posted about Taito Legends 2 coming to North America earlier this year, but today, publisher Destineer Studios (eh?) makes it official, announcing that the second PlayStation 2 collection, as well as the PSP version, will be released in the spring.

Gamespot has the full line-up, but fans of Qix, Ray Storm or Darius Gaiden should take a look. It's loaded with 80s and 90s arcade sexiness. Michael McWhertor

More Taito Legends Headed To The US [Gamespot]

Other than that, I may fire up some MAME and brush up on a few classic games in anticipation of our visit to Barcade next week. I'm ready to take on you Brooklyn based chumps in some old school arcade games, with shots of bourbon on the line. Kotaku pays! I also may re-familiarize myself with The Warriors in anticipation of something undisclosed and will probably hit up the local brick and mortars for a Wii.

So what's up, gaming weekend warriors? What electronic burdens will you shoulder during your scheduled down time? Let us know in the comments. Michael McWhertor

There's always a lot of banter about the best this and the best that, but it's rare that something actually fits the description, especially in the realm of gaming oneupmanship. Well, it's going to be awhile before anyone topples rluzinski from his throne for best homemade game-themed Halloween costume.

At first glance, all you see is a guy dressed as the Pac-Man arcade cabinet. But the thing is, this costume actually plays the game. That's right he spent last weekend bar-hopping as greasy-palmed drunks played him. Cheat code for the Pac-Man Costume: Up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down.

Hit the site for the instructions for how to make your own. Brian Crecente

Pac-Man Arcade Costume [Another Baseball Blog]

Still looking for that Halloween costume? Fret not, it's still way early. Big brother site Gizmodo points to this MAME cabinet costume. Wear this Super Snake (yes, we geddit) to parties, have strangers jerk your joystick, mash your buttons and extinguish cigarettes on the cabinet's paneling—just like the real thing. It's available at Amazon, one size fits all. Though, the online retailer points out that the "White and pants no included." Thank goodness. Look at that guy's mock turtleneck! *shudder* Brian Ashcraft

You Can BUY This [Gizmodo]

Got an old, crappy arcade cabinet lying around for some execrable game like Professor Pac-Man? Looking to gut it to make a shiny MAME cabinet? Check out the Arcade Art Library at LocalArcade.com, were you can download lots of wonderful images to transfer to stencil and reinvigorate your rotting wooden arcade cabinet with either classical overlays or original creations by the community's talented artists. Florian Eckhardt

Arcade Art Library [Local Arcade] (via B&B&P&S)

A mysterious geek known only as "Scott" has created a meticulously wee foamboard Ms. Pacman cabinet to house his MAME-enabled iPod Nano. Yes, I said Nano.

See the little white arrows on the right side of the cabinet? That's the scrollwheel.

Not much to say about this except an enthusiastic thumbs-up on design and execution. That is indeed, a very tiny Ms. Pacman cabinet. Scott, we salute you.Eliza gauger

See complete gallery here. [Scott's Photo Gallery]