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WFMZ Channel 69 News: Macungie Man’s Unique Hobby Could Soon Become Unique Business
June 27th, 2019 | In The News
Written by Julia Rose for WFMZ
MACUNGIE, Pa. – David Bracetty is often hard at work sanding in his Macungie garage. That kind of work isn’t uncommon, but what he’s working on is anything but.
Bracetty sanded the laminate off of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, a retro arcade game from the year 2000.
“It’s just another thing you learn along the way, another skill you pick up,” said Bracetty.
He never thought he’d need the skill, but quickly learned it after buying his first retro arcade game nearly two years ago.
“I knew as soon as I bought one I was going to buy a whole boatload of these,” said Bracetty. \
And so it began. Bracetty bought that first Popeye arcade game off of Craigslist and hasn’t stopped buying games since.
“I just kept buying and buying games here and there from Florida, Jersey, Long Island,” said Bracetty.
He filled his garage and a separate warehouse with games and pinball machines that he rips apart and then refurbishes.
“It’s like Google university baby, you can learn anything online,” said Bracetty.
And order anything online. From joy sticks to buttons to decals, Bracetty’s garage is now a one-stop shop for retro arcade games.
“You plug it in and it fires up and you just feel like you’ve discovered something new,” said Bracetty.
Just like in his games, there are levels to Bracetty’s story.
Level one: he buys the game. Level two: he pulls out the power tools. Level three: the games are good to go again.
“To see someone enjoy the games after they’re all completed is extremely rewarding,” said Bracetty.
Right now those games are being enjoyed at the Kemerer Museum in Bethlehem as part of a pop up arcade exhibit. That’s just a temporary home, which brings us to level four which he has yet to complete.
“When I open up I want doors to open with the full sha-bang so people know what I’m really about,” said Bracetty.
To beat level four Bracetty has to open his own bar arcade, a goal he set for himself years ago.
“I just kept thinking like this would be really cool to bring here,” said Bracetty.
He’s currently on the hunt for the perfect spot, and while level four is proving to be a challenging one he says he has no doubt victory will be sweet.
“I’m very excited for what’s next.”
Until then, you can find Bracetty sanding, sticking, spray painting and of course playing a little Ms. Pac-Man along the way.
