What's a cockpit machine?

The crown jewels of any arcade were the cockpit machines. These big, all encompassing machines that had authentic controls (steering wheels and pedals for driving games, yokes or pistol-grip joysticks for flying games) and an integrated seat, hence cockpit.

Most cockpit machines were open, like this Hydro Thunder machine (right):

Sometimes cockpit machines were enclosed, like the Star Wars machine pictured below.

These machines were great, because they provided a sense of seclusion in what might otherwise be a bustling environment, helping the player focus.

There were even cockpit machines that had hydraulics, so the whole thing moved as you played. Sega made loads motorised cockpit machines, including Space Harrier, Hang-On and After Burner, but the absolute king of morotised cockpit machines was the ultra-rare G-Loc 360 machine, pictured below, which used a gyroscopic mechanism so it could turn players fully upside-down:

For those of us who dream about having our own private arcade, cockpit machines would be an amazing addition to the collection.

MTW