Arcade1Up’s Countercades are great for those who have limited space as well as anyone who doesn’t want to drop $500 on a standing home arcade machine. Unfortunately, Arcade1Up seems like it could be done with its series of compact machines. All of the manufacturer’s Countercades are discontinued. Until this month, we hadn’t seen an Arcade1Up Countercade in stock since last holiday season. So we were surprised to find the Arcade1Up Class of ’81 Countercade in stock at Amazon this week.
The Class of ’81 Countercade is themed around Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga, though it also includes Dig Dug. The cabinet launched last October for $150 and then disappeared before Christmas. It had a peculiarly brief lifecycle, and now it has a fittingly strange restock. The Class of ’81 Countercade is sold and shipped by Amazon, but the price is $167.16. It’s only $17 above the original MSRP, and the $150 MSRP was surprisingly low to begin with–and contributed to it selling out so fast.
Snag the Arcade1Up Class of ’81 Countercade while you can; over on StockX, resellers have it listed for $299. The compact machine is one of only about a dozen Arcade1Up cabinets available on Amazon at the moment.
$167.16 | In stock on August 23 (Discontinued)
The Class of ’81 Countercade has a 7-inch, vertically oriented LCD screen surrounded by Ms. Pac-Man artwork on the left and Galaga artwork on the right. Despite the compact form factor, Arcade1Up Countercades have full-size controls. This one has a red ball-top arcade stick, two yellow buttons, a red button, and switches for power and volume. The marquee, side panels, and control deck have Class of ’81 art icons and logo art.
As mentioned, the machine has three arcade classics developed by Namco:
The full dimensions for the machine are 8.7 x 9.4 x 13.11 inches, and it only weighs 6.3 pounds. Though designed to be played on a flat surface like a desk or countertop, it’s light enough to rest on your lap while you’re on the couch. You don’t even need to be near an outlet, because the Class of ’81 Countercade can be powered by the included Micro-USB cable or four AA batteries (not included).
If you hate Micro-USB as much as we do, grab this rechargeable AA battery 4-pack and charger kit for $12.
The previous Pac-Man Countercade retailed for $200. Amazon’s store page makes it seem like $167.16 is MSRP. This sometimes happens when Amazon restocks discontinued products. Amazon sometimes has really random prices for things that have effectively turned into Amazon exclusives.
$600
Arcade1Up just launched a new Ms. Pac-Man machine in its Head-to-Head Arcade Table line. The table has a light-up control deck and joysticks/buttons on each side of the 17-inch LCD screen. The $600 Ms. Pac-Man Arcade Table comes with 12 games:
- Ms. Pac-Man
- Pac-Mania
- Dig Dug
- Dig Dug II
- Galaxian
- Galaga
- Galaga ’88
- Mappy
- Rolling Thunder
- Tower of Druaga
- Rompers
- New Rally X
The Ms. Pac-Man Head-to-Head machine is the only arcade table from Arcade1Up available on Amazon today. Some of Arcade1Up’s traditional standing Deluxe Edition Cabinets are still actively being produced today. Most are priced at $600, though a few such as Pac-Man, NBA Jam, and Mortal Kombat are $500.
Arcade1Up Deluxe Edition Arcade Cabinets (August 2025)
If you’re interested in Namco arcade classics, check out the upcoming Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition Console Bundle. This special-edition system plays real Atari 2600 and 7800 cartridges and comes with a yellow wireless joystick and Pac-Man: Double Feature, a cart with a newly developed version of Pac-Man and the original 2600 release. Extra joysticks themed around the Ghost Gang are available to preorder separately, as are three additional Namco classics on cartridge, including Galaga and Dig Dug.
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