Sega Sonic character The Sega R-360 preservation project  
Brought to you by: www.GameRoomRepair.com    

This page is dedicated to Sega's R360 arcade game flight simulator.


R360 animation If you are on a "dial-up" connection, please be patient. The animation to the left will take a while to fully load. Once loaded, it should spin smoothly. The object of this game is to pilot an F-14 jet fighter and shoot down as many enemy planes as possible. This video was taken in my shop. It shows what happens when you get hit by the enemy. This spin is shown at actual speed. The R360 can really move out! Keep in mind that the spinning you see in this video only lasted about 3 seconds, I made this video clip into an endless loop. Normally, you have full control of cockpit motion by moving the joystick and you spend most of your time in an upright position. If you don't move the stick, the cockpit will remain stationary. If you move the stick a little to the right, you will roll a little to the right. If you slam the stick hard right and hold it there, you will do continuous barrel rolls to the right at full speed until you let go (does wonders for one's equilibrium). The funniest thing is to watch someone try to climb out of the cockpit after a "rough ride". There is a big red emergency stop button inside the cockpit that the player can press if he starts to feel sick. It stops all motion immediately and sets off the red flashing alarm beacon mounted on the Attendant's tower. The attendant then presses a button on his control panel to bring the cockpit back to the upright position and end the game (sorry, no refunds for wimps)... This video clip shows my first R360 that I purchased from an arcade operator in Southern California in May, 2001. I currently own three of these machines. I rented a car hauler and drove to Las Vegas, Nevada to buy the second game from the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Another came from Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. Thanks to my good friend Jeff Wilson for taking this video and driving with me to Las Vegas when I picked up the second machine. Also, thanks to Tim Young for volunteering to be the poor soul in this video who is stuck in an "endless spin." ( He's gotta be turning green by now...) And finally, a special thanks to my wife Sherry and my three kids who just roll their eyes and accept my hobby/obsession, even if it's not quite normal. By the way, I will always be looking to buy these machines in the future. So, if you know where any might be (for sale or not, working or not, complete or parts), please send me an E-mail.


Select any link below by clicking on the titles, or the spinning balls:

Sold:

link to my R360 for sale page R360 Sold in 2009
The link above, contains pictures of an R360 that I sold in April, 2009. It was purchased by the Estonian Aviation Museum in the country of Estonia. Click Here to visit their website. When you get to their website, click on the "ENG" link to view their website in English. I am keeping the pictures of this R360, here on my website, for future reference.

link to my sold R360 page R360 Sold in 2007
Over the summer of 2002, I restored my second R360. This machine was sold to a private colletor in July, 2007. It was sold as "fully shopped and guaranteed 100% working". This link has detailed pictures of how I offered it for sale. The "Details, Specifications and Terms of Sale" link below includes the quality and level of restoration that I had put into this game and other information like power requirements, shipping suggestions and the level of support that I can offer on any of my R-360s. Even though this game and the one above are sold, these pictures and info are good for future reference. Call or E-mail if you have any questions.


Parts for Sale:

Reproduction Safety Mats. These are brand new mats for the R-360. All cabinet motion is immediately stopped when you step on these mats. Click Here for pricing and more information.

Safety Mats

Reproduction decals. These two are usually worn out or heavily scratched. My decals match the originals in color, size and texture. Die cut, self adhesive vinyl, just peel and stick. Printed with archival ink that is UV and chemical resistant. The large decal in the cockpit (Emergency Button) is $45. The small "DANGER" warning decal at the entrance to the cockpit is $25.

decal #1 for sale decal #2 for sale

Word document on the R360 R360 Details, Specifications and Terms of Sale
This is a Microsoft Word document that lists many aspects of the R360 that I have for sale. If you own an R360, think that you may ever own an R360, or if you just have some time to kill, this link has some valuable information for you. The document includes the following subjects:


Magazine Articles:

magazine article #1 R360 Article
This is a Microsoft Word document. After I purchased and restored my first R360, I wrote an article that was published in the September 2001 issue of GameRoom Magazine. The same article was also published in the December 2001 issue of Replay Magazine. This link contains the original article, as published in 2001. I wrote a second article with revised content and more pictures. It was published in the September 2008 issue of GameRoom Magazine. I will post excerpts from it, as time permits.


R-360 Related Links:

R360 YouTube video part 1 YouTube Video - Detailed Operations Part 1
R360 YouTube video part 2 YouTube Video - Detailed Operations Part 2
R360 YouTube video part 3 YouTube Video - Detailed Operations Part 3
R360 YouTube video part 4 YouTube Video - Detailed Operations Part 4
These are four videos that I posted on YouTube. They combine to make a single 35 minute video which describes the operation, and some specifications, of the rarer R360 Wing War version.

A little history: Sega originally made the R360 in 1991 and designed it to play their G-LOC game. This software is a one player only game where you battle against the computer. All other airplanes (there are many dozens) on the screen are your enemy. The object is to shoot down as many as possible in the allotted time. G-LOC was manufactured in an upright cabinet, in a sit-down cabinet that has limited up-down and side-to-side motion, and also in their "El Grande Deluxe" R360 cabinet. All three cabinet styles play the same single player G-LOC game.

Then in 1994, Sega introduced their newest airplane battle game called Wing War. This software is designed to allow two players to battle each other, head-to-head. There are only two planes on the battle field, you and your opponent. The original cabinet style for Wing War is a dual (side-by-side) sit-down game. You can battle the computer if only one person plays the game, but it's more fun to fly against another live person. When Wing War was introduced in '94, the R360 was still very popular, so Sega made a few more of these machines and sold them with Wing War software. I don't know the number of units produced, but I don't think that very many were made. Only the arcades with deep pockets were able to purchase two of these and link them together. The establishments that I know of, were Disneyland in Anaheim California, the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas Nevada, and one or two other locations that fellow collectors have told be about.

I have not been able to find a second Wing War R360, so I bought one half of a dual sit-down game and linked it to my R360. This turned out to be a challenge because there are a few software programming differences between the R360 and the sit-down versions. I mention this in the very first R360 video that I placed on YouTube. CLICK HERE to watch this video, which is different from the four part video series listed above.


Kevin Keinert and his first R360 machine R360 and Me!
This picture was taken with my first R360 while I was in the restoration process. Many of the access panels and decorative covers were removed when this photo was taken. Therefore, the picture may not be suitable for all ages (you know, 'cause the thing is partially naked... ).

Larry Brockmeier inside the R360 Larry Brockmeier in the R360 Cockpit
My father-in-law, about to "go for a spin". The experience really "threw him for a loop" (bad pun intended...) But seriously, he only tried it once and that was enough for him, and he even owned his own airplane as a young adult!

Wiring Harness Adapter Wiring Harness Adapter
This is the adapter harness that I refer to in my first magazine article (see the link above). I had to make this adapter so that the G-LOC game boards could be plugged into my first R360 that is wired for the Wing War game board set. I now have the ability to change games (between G-LOC and Wing War) in my R360. Many people ask me if other games like PC based flight simulators, race cars, rollercoaster or other software can be adapted to run in the R360. The answer is yes, but not easily. The G-LOC and Wing War board sets and the "Video and Drive" board (that drive the motors) are all run by custom firmware that is placed into EPROMs. Every game would require different firmware codes to interpret it's controls and joystick positions. This code can be created, but it would take a person knowledgeable in hardware design, software development, and emulation. My many and varied collecting interests prevent me from dedicating the time required to this level of effort. So it is not a task that I ever plan to take on.


Please contact me if you have any questions,
or visit my main webpage at
http://www.GameRoomRepair.com for more information.
Thanks for your visit.

Kevin R. Keinert
4351 Beverly Dr.
Santa Maria, California
93455   USA
(805) 937-8881

Sega Sonic character email animation    kevin.keinert@gmail.com  Valid XHTML 1.1