For the love of the games Morristown man designs video game console cabinets

By: 
Jay Schneider, Life/Enterprise

Brian Wheelock, owner of Waters Edge Cabinetry, left stands next to the video game console cabinet which he and Matt Coulsey of Morristown built. Coulsey has been building these consoles for a number of years. (Submitted photo)

Back in the days when there were actual video game arcades, Morristown resident Matt Coulsey enjoyed spending a quarter or two.

His love of video games along with an interest in technology has blossomed into a part-time business for Coulsey.

“Like many of us, I grew up playing video games on consoles,” Coulsey said. “I started going to an arcade (Magicland in the Faribault West Mall) when I was on breaks at the Cinema 6 movie theatre.”

The business, Retro Replay Arcade is the brainchild of Coulsey, who has turned his love of video games and technology into something individuals can purchase and enjoy in their own homes.

“It’s still very much a hobby for me,” Coulsey said. “What I enjoy the most, besides playing the games from my childhood, is meeting new people who are just as excited about resurrecting these old games as I am.”

The cabinet which Coulsey sells is about eight inches smaller than the “old-time” cabinet.

It includes a 24-inch monitor and has a sub-woofer which gives games classic sound. The game console is capable of playing more than 5,800 games. No money is needed to plays the games. There is a button on the console which electronically enters “money” into the game.

The games are categorized by companies and then by alphabetical order.

Once an individual finds games they like, they can make a favorites play list so they don’t have to peruse through all the games.

Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Play Station are among the companies which produced games.

“A few years ago, I started playing around in the garage with some older arcade games I found on Craigslist for next to nothing,” Coulsey said. “I figured out the basics: the power supply, the computer board, wiring, and the screens.”

Coulsey admits it took a lot of You Tube and internet searching to learn how to bring a game “back to life.”

“The popularity of arcades has really come back in recent years, making the....

To see more on this story pick up the March 21, 2019 Life or Enterprise print editions.

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