Art-cade cabinet to raise funds for Red Cross Tsunami appeal

Now this is a method of fundraising that we can get behind – Bespoke Arcades, masters of the custom-built arcade cabinet, has teamed up with legendary graffiti artist Shok-1 for a one-off arcade machine that will be auctioned to raise money for the Red Cross Japanese Tsunami appeal.

No strangers to building arcade cabinets from scratch, Bespoke Arcades has lovingly crafted a unique cabinet filled with over 350 classic games, a dual-core Intel PC and massive 28in high definition screen. Two six-button joysticks, a trackball and light-gun compatibility should mean it can play almost any old-skool classic, from Pac-man and Centipede to Point Blank and Time Crisis. The whole unit, as well as the bundled light-gun, has been covered in stunning graphics courtesy of pioneering European graffiti artist Shok-1.

To open the auction up to as many people as possible, Bespoke Arcade are listing the system as a [A HRED=”http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250893212865″]public eBay auction[/A]. The initial bid started at £5,000, but considering the equipment alone usually costs around £4,000, we’ve no doubt that someone will happily pay more than the asking price for a unique cabinet with one-of-a-kind artwork.

Anyone luckily enough to have tickets to London’s Eurogamer Expo at the end of September will be able to try out the system, as Bespoke Arcades will be bringing it to Earl’s Court for the entire show. Bidding ends on the 25th of September, which is also the last day of the show. We expect the final price to be much higher, but we’ll still be searching down the backs of our sofas this weekend for any forgotten fivers, just in case.