What “12,000 Games” Really Means — Understanding Multicade Game Counts and Quality

When you first start hunting for games — or maybe dreaming about building your own arcade — it’s easy to get hooked on one thing: the more games, the better. I remember when I built my first multicade years ago. I was obsessed with adding everything I could find. If it looked remotely interesting or nostalgic, it went in.

Before long, I had over 56,000 games. It sounded incredible at first — a number I could brag about — but the reality was much different. Half of those titles didn’t even work right. A huge chunk were duplicates, bootlegs, or needed controls my arcade didn’t have. I’d scroll through endless lists of obscure systems like the Commodore 64, VIC-20, ZX Spectrum, and Casio handhelds, and realize: none of this belonged in an arcade.

It took months of collecting and curating before it hit me — I’d spent all that time chasing numbers instead of chasing fun.

A quick scroll through a Simple Arcades system — thousands of classics you’ll actually play, not endless clutter you’ll never touch.

If You’re Building Your Own Multicade, Start With Why

If you’re a DIYer putting together your own system, I get it — there’s a real rush in the hunt. Finding new console sets, tracking down rare ROMs, or filling up a huge hard drive feels like a badge of honor. And maybe that’s your goal — maybe you’re a collector who just loves the process. That’s perfectly fine.

But if your goal is to play the games — not just have them — take a pause now and then. Because that hunger for “more” sneaks up fast. I chased it myself. I kept saying, just one more set, just one more system, and before I knew it, I’d built something that looked impressive on paper but didn’t make me want to play.

And my kids? They didn’t care about the thousands of obscure titles I’d added. They wanted the ones that mattered — Turtles in Time, River City Ransom, Sonic, Bomberman. The fun stuff. The memories. All that extra fluff didn’t make the arcade better — it just buried the games that did.

Why Big Game Counts Don’t Mean a Better Multicade

You’ll see listings everywhere claiming 50,000+ or 70,000+ games — but look closer. Many of those systems include entire computer libraries, not arcade titles. These require keyboards, mice, or special keys just to start a game.

If you’ve ever tried playing an Amiga, Atari 800, or Commodore 64 game on joystick and buttons, you know how awkward it feels. It’s like trying to play a modern Xbox title with an NES controller — it’s technically possible, but it’s not enjoyable.

And then there’s the clutter. Thousands of half-working homebrew titles, duplicates, or ROM hacks. Do you really need 200 versions of Pac-Man or 600 bootleg clones of Pitfall? Those inflated counts don’t make the system better; they just make it harder to find the games that truly matter.

The Multicade Slippery Slope

For builders, it’s a gradual slide. You start small — maybe a Raspberry Pi 3 with a 128GB card. Then you want more, so you upgrade to a Pi 4 with a 512GB card. Before long, you’ve moved to a mini-PC, then a tower with a 20TB drive because why not add everything?

At some point, it stops being about having an arcade and starts being about maintaining a computer emulator. You end up managing files instead of playing games. For me, that’s when it stopped being fun.

So ask yourself: What do I really want from this build? Do you want a gaming PC inside a cabinet — or an arcade machine you can turn on, pick a game, and play instantly?

Think About What You’ll Actually Play

Whether you’re building or buying, think about the games that make you light up. The ones that made you race home to your console as a kid. Maybe it was Donkey Kong, Crazy Taxi, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Metal Gear Solid, or Super Mario World. Those are the games that define the arcade experience — the ones you’ll come back to over and over.

It’s the same idea as collecting movies or vinyl records. Would you rather have 100,000 random titles you’ll never touch, or 100 great ones you’ll actually enjoy? Quality always wins.

Quality Over Quantity — Why We Think 12,000 Games Is the Sweet Spot

At Simple Arcades, we focus on curation. Our systems include about 12,000 carefully chosen games — not 50,000 or 70,000. Every one of them is tested and fully playable with arcade controls.

We don’t pack our systems with filler: no broken ROMs, no obscure computer ports, no hundreds of clones. Just the best arcade, console, and handheld titles from the golden era of gaming — games you’ll recognize, love, and actually play.

Think of it like cars: no one remembers the Yugo, but everyone remembers the Dodge Daytona. The Yugo existed, sure — but that doesn’t mean it deserves a spot in your dream garage. The same logic applies to game libraries. You don’t need every title ever made. You just need the right ones.

The Bottom Line

When you see an arcade boasting 60,000 or 70,000 games, take a closer look at what those numbers really mean. Are you buying thousands of playable classics — or thousands of forgotten, unplayable files?

Bigger isn’t better. Sometimes, the best multicade isn’t the one with the most games — it’s the one with the right games.

That’s why we include around 12,000 games in every system — because that’s the balance point where quality, performance, and fun meet. It’s not about overwhelming you with options. It’s about giving you the best experience every time you power it on.

Always look past the marketing number and ask what that multicade game count actually includes — playable classics, or thousands of untested files you’ll never touch?