Ultimate Vocaloid Collectable: Project Diva Arcade: Future Tone, Restored

Description: This is a very, very nice condition and working Project Diva Arcade machine. I specifically imported it from Japan to offer here to collectors who might be interested in owning it. It has been cleaned and restored by myself. I have had one of these in my collection for several years, so I have have been working with and maintaining this hardware and I know it very well. I’ve outlined everything about the machine in the below Q&A, but please send me anymore questions you have. Q: An arcade machine? In my house? Why not? I’ve been a coin-op arcade collector for many years and havea always enjoyed it. It’s a unique item to own and gets a lot of attention. This machine will run on a standard US outlet. However, it’s large - arcade machines look bigger in your home than they look in roomy arcades. The machine itself is nearly 2.5’ wide, 3’ deep, and over 7’ tall with the pop. It fits under a regular 8’ ceiling that you would have in typical US home, but will require some disassembly to take it through a standard doorway. They are also filled with cooling fans - they’re very loud even if you keep the sound off or use the headphone jack. These types of noises are not noticable in an arcade, but if you live with multiple people or in a shared-wall apartment or condo, you may bother people just by turning it on. Q: Disassembly to go through a door? Is that hard? No. The machine is a steel cabinet held together with screws and nuts. It might take a little bit, but standard tools can be used to do the job. The only specialty tool required is a Torx T-20 Security Driver and that will be included with the machine. Most of it comes apart with a phillips screwrdriver. The manuals contain picture instrucitons, but I can also help. Some wiring harnesses need to be unplugged as you go and plugged back in at reassembly. To make it comfortably fit through a door, the artwork is removed and the upper part of the cabinet, containing the top two speakers and the title card is removed. This makes the whole machine able to fit through a 30” doorway. Q: This was imported to the US from Japan? Yes, it is. In fact, I know the exact arcade it was being operated in for the last several years. The good thing about Japan is that machines get treated very well by customers, but the bad thing is that with their limited storage and warehouse space, things get treated a bit roughly when being shipped or moved around the arcade floor to allow for things like cleaning the floors and taking machines in and out. I expect to do minor (or sometimes major) repairs on machines when the are sent via boat here. Q: Are you trying to tell me it’s not in good shape? No, it’s actually an excellent machine that had almost no damage when it arrived, this was a good one. It was clearly treated well. I’ve done some work on it to make it even better, though, which I’ll outline below. Q: What’s included? - The Aracde Machine itself - Power Cable - A key that fits the coin door, maintenance panel, control panel lock, and rear monitor access panel - A separate key that fits the cash box, which contains the coin bucket - The original user manual and maintenence manual (in Japanese), English set of manuals in PDF format can be sent to you. - One Project Diva X AIME card for you to use (brand new) - Three Konami eAmusement cards that you can give out to your friends when they play - Extra set of instruction cards (see notes below) - A custom programmed Mango router for assisting with connectivity (see below) - A T20 Torx Seculity Screwdriver, required for some screws on the cabinet Q: It looks super clean in the photos. How clean is it? It’s a pretty nice. As you may know, this machine came out in 2010, and has been through upgrades (Diva’s first release didn’t have the touch slider.) That means before I imported it in 2023, it was being operated in an arcade environment for more than ten years. The coin counter, which is like a permanent odometer in the coin box that shows the number of coins dropped sits at 67,978 coin drops. That means the machine has been played over 60,000 times and at current exchange rates earned the arcade over $40,000. (For a Diva, by the way, that’s on the lower side. My personal collection machine is over 140,000 coin drops). Wear is apparent in some areas as with any used machines. However, these machines are industrial equipment and hold up remarkably well where it counts. I’ll detail condition information below. Q: So what can you tell me about the machine that’s really good and what have you done with it? - A complete cleaning, inside and out. - Replaced all buttons, switches, and springs. The machine contains 4 brand new original OBSA-100UMQ dome switches purchased from Sanwa, new white Sanwa LED lamps, and new Sanwa OBSA-LHSXF-LN opto switches (Diva Arcade does not use switches for the buttons, you actually break a beam of light with the button for accuracy and reliability). Replacing controls with fresh hardware costs hundreds of dollars, but is worth it. The Sanwa OBSA-24 start button is brand new as well. The unscratched dome buttons and fresh/even/consistent lights make a huge difference in gameplay and appearance. - Deep cleaned the fabric banners and they look terrific, but show small signs of creases that may come out over time (I do not recommend trying to iron them). - The cabinet sideart, which are decals, have almost no damage on these machines and are exceptional for a Diva. - The speakers and lights throughout the machine are original and work. - I’ve disassembled the motherboard to clean fans on CPU and the graphics card and inspected for any issues. - The acrylics on the left and right sides of the monitor are in very good shape. - The touch screen has a great surface, has been treated well, and works great. Q: What did you do about specific misnsing parts or parts in less than perfect condition? I reproduced some parts for this or I took the parts out of my personal collection of spare Diva parts to put this machine together. - The side banner was missing entirely, I provided one of my extras. - The side banner polycarbonate mount was missing too, I reproduced them to original spec through a shop that does laser cutting. - The cabinet has white touch up paint to cover various chips, especially around the base of the machine. - The front black protruding area under the control panel experienced various impacts over it’s life, these are also touched up with appropriate black paint. - I replaced the SRAM battery on the motherboard, which holds vital information about the machine when it’s turned off, like game settings and local arcade high scores - I replaced various corroded screws, nuts, and washers, or black-finish hardware where the finish had come off. - The ‘pop’ (the large artwork over the top of the machine) was torn in multiple places - I reassembled it by mounting it on a new stiff backing and using some appropriate glues and tapes to recover it as well as was possible to original condition - The instruction cards, above the monitor, had creases in them visible through the plastic. I reproduced them, you’ll get both the reproductions and the originals to use at your preference. They can be swapped out simply by taking off four screws. There are also English Language instruction cards avaliable as scans you can print if that’s your preference. - The game is contained on hard drives - due to the originals being 13 years old, I have replaced the two hard drives inside the machine with new SSDs. The original drives are included for you as well. Q: What did you find on the machine that you chose not to fix? There are a few thnigs that I will not do with machines, and I’ll explain why. - The side plastics remain yellowed. These sides yellow with age and environment in Japan and naturally look this way. Products are avaliable to ‘whiten’ plastics, but all plastic whitening methods weaken plastic and make it more brittle. These have not broken in several years and are designed to be a durable bump point on an cabinet, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to bleach or dye them. - The plastic bezel around the monitor has a few scuffs. As a touch screen game, people will bump it with nails, jewelery, etc. The original finish can’t be maintained when you restore these, so the only way to hide the scratches is to polish out the entire bezel which leaves a non-original finish. So, I don’t recommend it and did not do it for this machine. - The acrlylic over the AIME card scanner is scuffed. This is from people touching it over and over again with a card for over a decade. I don’t believe in polishing these out, because it makes them look wavy instead of flat. - The title panel has some scratches - the clear acrylic over the monitor, to the right of the “A” in Diva. However, since the pop is right behind it and the pop is brightly colored, it’s difficult to see. - There is a nick in the control panel artwork, about 1cm long, to the right of the headphone jack between the circle and X button. This is not really repairable in any good way, but does have much visual impact unless you know where to look for it (It is shown in the photos). - The colored LEDs in the acrylic sides show a little color variation - the right one is more pinkish when showing white, the left one is more whitish. This happens when the blue LED element changes with age. - There is a tiny dent on the back side, and one on the left. Attempting to fix it would almost certainly make it worse, I’ve left it alone. The one on the back does have paint touch-up to help hide it. - The clear plastic pieces on the pop are not crystal clear, they are a bit hazy, and the top left one has scuffs. It’s not a repairable material and is part of what happens plastic materials as they age. Q: What about the game software? Do I get access to DIVAnet? No, unfortuantely. Access to DIVAnet is done through contracts that arcades have with Sega, and you will not have access to that contract - once a machine leaves the arcade, it is no longer eligible to access the official network. However, connectivity is possible on privately owned machines. You will receive access to a discord of other private cabinet owners and information on how network connectivity can be implemented. You will use a card on the machine (the machine is compatible with AIME, eAmusement, and banapass cards), your scores will be saved, and high scores will be available. You’ll have to earn all your VP by playing to unlock outfits and accessories. You can inquire for more information. Q: So the game is in Japanese? Yes, from the factory. You can change the language. Q: Can I put this in my arcade/retail shop? I wouldn’t recommend it. It does require physical ethernet access, and there are a few software changes required for machines that are in public. You can inquire for more information. Q: So once I get it, I’m on my own? Not really. I can provide 30 days of support for you with getting it connected, working, and answering any questions about it. Past that, there is a discord of cabinet owners that you will have access to and find unlmiited info there. These folks really care about the machines, and share info on maintaining and troubleshooting them. Sometimes they do limited runs of reproduction parts. Q: So how do I get this to my house? This machine weighs about 300lbs. It would be shipped via truck to your home. You are responible for the cost of the freight and the freight company would accept payment (I will not accept a shipping fee, it’s paid directly to the trucking company). If you are within 1-2 states of me in Michigan, you’ll generally get a quote around $400, if you are far away (such as California or Florida) you’ll get a quote closer to $700. I can get you the quote, I need your ZIP code. I can arrange transport to you. Drop-off includes unloading with a liftgate truck only. The drivers are not required to do anything but unload it, I personally have never had a problem with them rolling it into my garage because the machine is on large, commercial wheels that roll smoothly. The shipper will not white glove the delivery nor will they take it inside your living space, set it up, or remove packaging materials. You will have to unwrap it and assemble any parts I disassemble for safe shipment. Arrival time is generally about three weeks from when we book the shipment. You could also pick it up from me in Sterling Heights, MI. I have moved machines in rented UHauls, so if you want to come get it, and make sure it’s treated in shipping exactly they way you want, make a road trip and come pick it up. Then you’d have no freight expense and I can answer any questions you have before you take it. Moving 300lbs on wheels is easy - moving it up or down stairs or uneven surfaces is very difficult. You might want to have a appliance dolly for any stairs. You can rent them by the hour at hardware stores. I usually have machines delivered to my garage, do a quick inspection and unpack, remove anything I can to make it lighter/easier to move, and then wrap the sides in a towel so I don’t bump the door frame and take it inside using an appliance dolly (and reassemble it there). Q: It’s cool that you have a Diva, but what I really wanted was [some other game name]. I can do that, probably. I have restored several arcade machines. If you’d like to commission a restoration, please reach out to me with the title of the game you’re interested in and I’ll discuss what is possible. Keep in mind, if it starts with me sourcing the machine in Japan, it will take several months. I started obtaining this Diva for this sale in Q2 of 2023. Q: Hey, I think I saw (someone) selling Divas for (some lower amount of money)? Yes, Japanese arcade machines are cheaper in Japan, and often advertised at that price on websites who do export. Of course, if you buy one, you’ll be paying sea freight costs (like, the ship coming into a port plus travel to you from the port), you’ll be getting a customs broker to help with entry and papertwork, and the machines are not guaranteed to work. They do show up with broken parts, non-working monitors, missing parts, wiped hard drives, bad mainboards, missing artwork, missing casters, missing cabinet panels, etc. You get what you get when importing, it’s got risk. If you’re ready to restore a machine or have access to extra parts, maybe that’s a project you want. This machine, however, has the work done and is priced accordingly. _gsrx_vers_1608 (GS 9.5 (1608))

Price: 2939.39 USD

Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan

End Time: 2024-02-05T19:34:45.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD