The exA-Arcadia Multi-Game Arcade System

What is the exA-Arcadia?

Back in 1990, SNK released a platform that became a staple of many arcades around the world, and a symbol of arcade gaming throughout the decade. Called the Neo Geo MVS, this platform allowed arcades to get their hands on more games at a lower cost than normal, increasing their variety. These cabinets also often allowed 2, 4 or 6 games to be installed in a single cabinet.

Fast forward to 2021 and the exA-Arcadia is bringing the Neo Geo MVS idea back to arcades with their powerful and versatile platform. It uses a customized Intel & nVidia PC that is on par with modern consoles in terms of power, delivering 4K gaming at 60 frames per second. It also has been designed to have the lowest input lag in the industry (this means that the reaction times in-game are as close to playing on an old school CRT as possible).

Each exA system allows up to four game cartridges to be installed at one time; As of July 2022, they have a total of 25 games available for the platform, with many more on their way in the coming years. This is also resurrecting a number of genres that have long been dead or mostly ignored by major manufacturers in recent decades, such as 1v1 fighting games, scrolling shooters (i.e. shmups), platformers, run ‘n gunners, beat ’em ups and more. This is allowing arcades like ours to expand their offerings, picking up various brand new games when otherwise the costs would be too large to warrant getting more than one or two a year. Here are what the cartridges look like:

We received our first exA system in January 2020, right before the pandemic pummeled the world. We purchased it with Aka & Blue Type-R (a shmup) and The Kung Fu Vs. Karate Champ (a fighter). We had a custom cabinet made for it, which included a 65″ 4K gaming TV, and since then have added various games to it. As of January 2022, we own seven exA titles, although we can only have four installed at once per cabinet; Scroll down further for more details on the currently installed games.

We presently have three exA cabinets: The original 2-player model; a 4-player model; and the more compact EXA ARC-1. 

One important aspect to note about exA titles is that while many are ported from existing PC, console or mobile games, all titles come with exclusive additions and often major changes. This can include game modes, game balancing, characters, stages, music and more. Thus if you own one of these games on a home gaming device, it will play differently in the arcade edition.