Arcadeshop Programmable PCB (Also labeled as: Arcadeshop Multigame PCB, or simply "The Programmable Multi-Game PCB"), is an 80s Multi-Arcade game PCB created by Clay Cowgill for Arcadeshop. It is the successor to the Gamma-1 PCB, and the predecessor to the ArcadeSD. It was released on January 27, 2005[1], replacing the one time programmed Gamma-1 PCB. It was discontinued on June 22, 2010[2] due to clones (bootlegs) being made and sold by other companies such as Coinopstore.com and Paradise Arcade Shop.[2]
It has a total of 54 games in the vertical orientation, and 21 in the Multi-Williams horizontal orientation. While every game can be programmed on the board in horizontal mode, the vertical mode is limited to about 40 games that can be programmed due to limited memory.
General info[]
The Arcadeshop Programmable PCB is a "User programmable Multi-Game JAMMA PCB!" designed for Multicade Jamma machines. It includes recognizable titles such as Pac-Man, Galaga, Frogger, Centipede, Donkey Kong, and much more. It also includes rom hacks created by other people. The games are officially licensed via serial programming. The games have to be programmed using the COM port connected to the computer. It can also be programmed as a Multi-Williams which was previously also an available option for the Gamma-1 PCBs.
Not much is known about the history of the PCB currently.
Games Included (Vertical)[]
- Arkanoid
- Bagman
- Burgertime
- Carnival
- Crash
- Crystal Castles
- Centipede
- Dig Dug
- Donkey Kong
- Donkey Kong 2: Jumpman Returns (Rom Hack, Discontinued)
- Donkey Kong 3
- Donkey Kong Foundry (Rom Hack, must buy from Jeff's Rom Hacks)
- Donkey Kong Junior
- Frogger
- Galaga
- Galaga 2000 (Rom Hack)
- Galaga: Enduring Freedom (Rom Hack)
- Galaxian
- Galaxian: Part X (Rom Hack)
- Gorf
- Gridlee
- Jr. Pac-Man
- Liberator
- Mappy
- Mario Bros.
- Millipede
- Missle Command
- Moon Cresta
- Moon Patrol
- Mr. Do
- Mr. Do's Castle
- Ms. Pac-Man
- New Rally-X
- Pac-Man
- Pac-Man Plus
- Pac & Pal
- Pengo
- Phoenix
- Pooyan
- Qix
- Rally-X
- Space Invaders
- Space Invaders Deluxe
- Sinistar
- Star Luster
- Stroke and Match Golf (Listed as "Golf")
- Super Bagman
- Super Breakout
- Super Pac-Man
- Super Zaxxon
- Tetris
- Vs. Pinball (Listed as "Pinball")
- Vs. Soccer (Listed as "Soccer")
- Zaxxon
Games included 
(Horizontal)[]
- Bezerk
- Bubbles
- Crash
- Defender
- Frenzy
- Joust
- Mario Bros.
- Moon Patrol
- New Rally-X
- Qix
- Rally-X
- Robotron 2084
- Sinistar
- Splat
- Star Luster
- Stargate
- Stroke & Match Golf
- Tetris
- VS. Pinball
- VS. Soccer
- Wizard of Wor
Bootlegs[]
A Picture with all differences spotted
Starting around 2007 or 2008, the Arcadeshop Programmable PCB had been copied and started selling on other marketplaces, most notably Paradise Arcade Shop and Coinopstore, While the system was the exact same, some differences can be spotted to identify a real and a fake PCB
Here are the key differences
- Jamma connector slight difference
- Different sound amplifier
- Test switch twisted to the left
- No manufacture date written
Important notes[]
This PCB was discontinued by Arcadeshop on June 22, 2010[2], it is not currently sold new anymore. It does not support VGA, only CGA connection, you MUST use a CRT monitor or arcade LCD monitor with CGA connection. In order to program the PCB you need rompack15.exe, menusys, A COM programming cable, power cable.
Gallery[]
Arcadeshop Programmable PCB/Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The original price for the PCB was $379, 3 or more costed $359 each.[3]
- When a coin is inserted, the credit sound is the same as Donkey Kong's credit sound.
- Despite being called "Multi-Williams", many non-Williams games are featured such as Rally-X and Mario Bros, these games were not previously featured on Gamma-1 Multi-Williams PCBs.
- The PCB's successor, ArcadeSD, was released in 2011 by Phoenix Arcade, it is still sold today and can be purchased here.
- Despite being very popular games, Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man weren't available on the board until sometime between September 2007 - February 2008. Despite this, Pac-Man Plus and Jr. Pac-Man were added earlier.[4]
- The PCB was bootlegged and sold by Paradise Arcade shop, and coinopstore, this lead to the eventual discontinuation of the real PCB from Arcadeshop.
- CoinOpStore.com, which had cloned the PCB, had previously encountered other legal issues that continued before leading to its closure in 2024.
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20050206172956/http://www.arcadeshop.com:80/multi-williams/multi-williams.htm
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://forums.arcade-museum.com/threads/arcadeshop-multi-board-discontinued.139088/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090830062614/http://www.arcadeshop.com/multi-pcb/multi-pcb.htm
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080118024912/http://www.arcadeshop.com/multi-pcb/multi-pcb.htm