A Stardew Valley fan shares pictures of their custom Nintendo Switch arcade cabinet. The unique item wasn’t cheap, but the Stardew Valley cabinet is sure to make an impression on anyone who sees it.
Indie developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone released Stardew Valley in 2016. Inspired by the classic Story of Seasons games and featuring beautiful retro-inspired pixel art, the open-ended farming sim won critical acclaim and massive financial success, selling over 3.5 million copies by the end of 2017. This had ballooned to 20 million by 2022, and some consider Stardew Valley to be one of the greatest games of all time. The game even earned praise from Story of Seasons creator Yasuhiro Wada, who felt that Stardew Valley captured the freedom of the earlier games.
Given Stardew Valley’s incredible popularity, it’s unsurprising that some fans want a physical piece of it. However, fans are willing to go further than others, such as Reddit user Additional_Handle736 who spent around $96 on a custom-built Stardew Valley arcade cabinet. Created by Etsy seller The Tree Rat Symposium, the cabinet doesn’t appear fully functional and is just a very fancy USB monitor for the Switch. Still, it’s an impressive piece of custom gear, and The Tree Rat Symposium deserves a lot of credit for its design and craftsmanship.
The cabinet features custom Stardew Valley artwork on the front and sides. The side panels depict an idyllic pixel-art scene depicting a quaint farmhouse with a dirt trail and blue stream. Animals graze on the grass, flowers bloom in the trees, and blue mountains tower in the background beneath an orange evening sky. It’s a beautiful scene that expertly captures the cozy atmosphere Stardew Valley cultivates.
The cabinet’s dashboard features the familiar image of Stardew Valley’s cover art, though the buttons, unfortunately, aren’t real. Meanwhile, the cabinet’s lower body depicts the characters Sebastian and Leah kissing on a scenic cliffside overlooking a city at night. While romance is a big part of Stardew Valley and both characters are marriage options in the game, the pairing is still an interesting choice, given their lack of any significant relationship in-game.
Playing Stardew Valley on a real arcade cabinet with limited controls probably wouldn’t be practical. However, a few Reddit commenters pointed out that it would be perfect for the “Junimo Kart” minigame. It’s unfortunate that the buttons don’t actually work since that would really help capture the experience of slamming buttons at one of the arcade cabinets in Stardew Valley’s Stardrop Saloon.
Stardew Valley is available on Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.