Cool artwork by SACOA in Argentina

Earlier this year a photo showing a reproduction Galaga marquee caught my eye that was shared by a woman based in Argentina. The marquee was reminiscent of the original but had a local flavor, and was just one of dozens that had been produced locally for a number of well-known games from the 80’s.

I purchased three of these Argentinian marquees (including the Galaga) that arrived in the mail today. Here is a little bit about my experience.

Arcade artwork from around the world

When I first started collecting arcade games I was interested first in games that reminded me of my childhood and that I loved to play. As I’ve met other collectors over the last 12+ years, seen their collections and heard the stories of how they found their games my tastes have changed. My desire now is for other collectors to be able to get a taste for what the advent of gaming looked like across the world, and – for that individual to see something they have never seen before.

I collect marquees because it allows me to have record of these games from around the globe as well as of the little companies trying to make some money – without the space necessary to contain a fleet of machines.

Sacoa in Argentina

Sacoa Entertainment is a company based out of Argentina (founded ~1957) that started out in Jukeboxes and Pinball machines that has evolved over the last 60 years. Although the information online is limited, this article from Replay Magazine is an interesting read summarizing their history.

If you scan this article, one key note is that Sacoa struggled with import bans for Argentina which made it difficult to bring in new machines to put on route. Sacoa worked around agreements with various game companies to manufacture their own games locally in Argentina.

This is where the Galaga and other marquees come in, as they were reproduced (presumably) under license in Argentina with the intent to look similar to their international counterparts.

Of the many marquees that Susana Margot posted on Facebook I selected three for my initial purchase – a Galaga, Gaplus and Pole Position – take a look.

Susana has shared a lot of photos of the items she has for sale (boards, pinball playfields, marquees, etc.), but of those photos here are a couple of my favorites.

Photo showing the amount of marquees

Photo showing these SACOA manufactured games on site

Working with Susana Margot

There was a natural trepidation in deciding on a purchase from someone I didn’t know based out of Argentina, so here is a bit about my excellent experience with Susana if you consider to make a purchase. Here is where you can find her:

eBay – thebestcds1
Facebook – Susana Margot

These three marquees were not high dollar items, but she spent a lot of her time providing information to me over the span of a week. In our conversations over WhatsApp I found her to be extremely accessible, willing to answer a lot of questions, and provided a ton of photos. I asked her for some references of other customers here and in my conversations with three prior to my purchase, all of them had glowing reviews of their experience purchasing from her.

After I sent payment, the marquees shipped out on 8/28 and they arrived to me on 9/12. Compared to my shipping experience on some items from Italy (60+ days), I thought the total time for shipment was quite reasonable and reflected on Susana’s knowledge of handling the shipping appropriately.

There ended up being a change in the total cost, and Susana refunded me the balance immediately without question. She has been available during the shipping window and has still been responsive after the marquees arrived.

Here are a couple of photos of the packaging, which was completely appropriate for these three (plexi) marquees. They arrived safe and sound with no damage.

From my experience with Susana and her communication, getting to know her, I would have the utmost confidence in making a purchase from her. If you’d like to chat more with me about my experience, feel free to message me at any time on my Facebook profile

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• Have you met my friend Ted?…err, Herb
• What’s it worth? Donkey Kong Jr. Parts
• A gorgeous Magical Spot surfaces in Missouri
• I’ve become a black hole for Zaccaria arcade games

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