Sandy Nicklecade

Information

$3.00 arcade admission. All machines take nickels.
Special admission deals available, call the arcade for specials.
Facebook page not frequently updated

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For the last 13 years, his arcade is where the majority of the local music game community hung out. Once known as UtahDDR, we became Beatgamer and spent many years here at the Sandy Nickelcade running tournaments, lock-ins, game nights for local conventions, or just regular meetups. This is where friendships were made, and where we spent some of the best times of our lives.

Over the years, the arcade fell into disrepair. At one point, rather than letting the only playable ITG machine go to waste, the community got together and decided to fully fund the repair and maintenance of the machine when the owner was not able to. One of our community members spent thousands of dollars, and many others donated their own time and money to make sure the machine was maintained as best we could.

We were even able to bring in arcade machines that we owned ourselves to allow others to play. The state's very first Beatmania IIDX machine was placed here, after a local player bought it from another player in Colorado. Many other privately owned machines were placed here over the years, and we continued to play and hang out here.

These days, many of the old regulars are working their own jobs, have moved out of town, or are focusing on other things. But we do stop by to play and maintain the community managed ITG machine here at the Sandy Nickelcade to this day. The arcade is now under new ownership and is in so much better condition.

We've had to say goodbye to many of our old hangouts throughout the almost 20 year run of the local music game community. Arcades such as the Utah Fun Dome, Tilt at The Gateway, Namco at Trolley Square, and the old machines that were once at the Student Union Building at the University of Utah. But we're lucky that one part of our history, the Sandy Nickelcade is still open, and that the machine is still there available for play.

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The Sandy Nickelcade is open 7 days a week. Their hours of operation change based on the time of year. During the summer, they may be open a little later, and between Fall-Spring they may close earlier.

The arcade is under new management since 2017, and the changes the new manager has made to the arcade have made it a wonderful place to hang out. Admission to the arcade and some arcade prices were raised slightly to help pay for these repairs, but they're well worth it.

As of this edit on the 19th of August 2018, the Sandy Nickelcade has 2 main music games:

OpenITG Dedicab - This is the community managed ITG2 dedicab that is running OpenITG, and is loaded with tons of custom songs. We've recently performed hardware upgrades and have begun to trim the song list down quite a lot, but are open to considering any song pack to be added to the machine. Please note, that because of the family friendly nature of the Sandy Nickelcade, all song packs will be reviewed for content before being put onto the machine. Contact Beatgamer for more information via our facebook page at the Facebook Page URL above. Also, please reach out to us if the machine is in need of sensor replacement or timing adjustment.

DDR Extreme - This machine needs a bit of love. The RTC has died and will need to be replaced. Something that we can offer to do when our community members who can actually swap out the chip are able to do so. Yes, if given the option, we do plan on swapping it out for a socket so that replacing the RTC can be easier in the future. As soon as this is done, we will update this. Until then, if you see the blue screen informing you that the RTC is bad, simply tell the attendant on duty and they can get you into the game mode.


There may also be a Guitar Hero Arcade machine still lurking around from time to time.

In the Groove 2 (North America) deleted.

Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME (Japan) updated.
• Comment changed to "RTC is bad and needs to be replaced. Pads were highly under-sensitive to the point where the cab wasn't playable in my opinion. ".

Location information updated.

Pump It Up Premiere 2 (International) deleted.

PercussionFreaks 6thMIX (Korea) deleted.

In the Groove 2 (North America) updated.
• Location changed to "In the back of the arcade next to the doors that lead to the party room.".
• Comment changed to "Running OpenITG with many custom songs. USB ports are disabled. Custom song requests can be made by visiting facebook.com/beatgamer and messaging the page.".
• Pricing changed from $0.20 to $0.30.

Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME (Japan) updated.
• Location changed to "Near the front entrance in the area where the redemption game are.".
• Comment changed to "RTC is bad and needs to be replaced. Pads are in somewhat playable condition.".
• Pricing changed from $0.10 to $0.15.

beatmania IIDX 19 Lincle (Japan) deleted.

Location website, Facebook, information updated.

In the Groove 2 (North America) updated.
• Condition changed from Perfect to Great.

Guitar Hero Arcade (International) updated.
• Condition changed from Perfect to Broken.

Guitar Hero Arcade (International) added.

Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME (Japan) added.

Pump It Up Premiere 2 (International) added.

PercussionFreaks 6thMIX (Korea) added.

StepMania Converted Cabinet (International) deleted.

In the Groove 2 (North America) updated.
• Comment changed to "Running OpenITG Beta 3 AC with Angel's ITG3 Encore theme, and loaded with at least 5,000 songs. USB unplugged due to issues getting it working but will try to fix asap. ".

beatmania IIDX 18 Resort Anthem (Japan) updated.
• beatmania IIDX 18 Resort Anthem (Japan) is now a beatmania IIDX 19 Lincle (Japan).
• Location changed to "Music game area in the back near the restrooms, just off the side from the party rooms".
• Comment changed to "Timing feels a little weird, it's being worked on. Coin slot is iffy (try to drop nickels directly down the middle of the slot)".

Location address, contact number, Facebook, information, geolocation updated.

StepMania Converted Cabinet (International) updated.
• Comment changed to "Local music gamer community (beatgamer.com) created project. Stand-up arcade cabinet with LCD monitor and computer running OpenITG Beta 3, skinned with Jayce's ITGRetro theme. Just over 2000 songs. Custom control deck (Think Project DIVA controller) used to control game. This is basically ITG for your hands, but so much fun. New control deck as of 11-2012 kind of like pop'n buttons, but bigger. Makes hitting the arrows so much easier. "

In the Groove 2 (North America) updated.
• Comment changed to "Running OpenITG Beta 3 AC with Angel's ITG3 Encore theme, and loaded with at least 5,000 songs. USB unplugged due to issues getting it working but will try to fix asap. Panels replaced with DDR panels due to warping of old ITG panels. All sensors to be replaced in mid-December with official PIU sensors. "

beatmaniaIIDX18 Resort Anthem (Japan) updated.
• Location changed to "Music game area in the back next to Tron party room"
• Comment changed to "Screen is cracked, but game is still very playable. Now running RA. Coin slot is iffy (try to drop nickels directly down the middle of the slot). 2P side is currently down, but 1P works great. "

Geolocation, opening times and location information were updated.

Opening times and location information were updated.

StepMania Converted Cabinet (International) added.

In the Groove 2 (North America) updated.
• Comment changed to "Running OpenITG Beta 3 AC with In The Groove 4 Ever's modded ITG3 theme, and loaded with at least 5,000 songs. Plans for upgrade to different computer pending."

beatmaniaIIDX16 EMPRESS (Japan) updated.
• beatmaniaIIDX16 EMPRESS (Japan) is now a beatmaniaIIDX18 Resort Anthem (Japan)
• Comment changed to "Screen is cracked, but game is still very playable. Now running RA. Coin slot is iffy (try to drop nickels directly down the middle of the slot). "

Opening times, location information and website were updated.

beatmaniaIIDX16 EMPRESS (Japan) added.