I purchased you off Ebay for $400 dollars in 2000, and then moved you into my studio apartment on 7th and Avenue A.

I moved you to California, where you sat in a two bedroom apartment, soon to be joined by the likes of Indiana Jones (which I have since sold), Die Hard Arcade (which I couldn’t sell fast enough) and Back to the Future Pinball (which opened up a new obsession).

You moved to the back shed of my first house, where I converted your cabinet to have two-player joysticks.  I put games like Mortal Kombat inside you, even gave you a light gun so you could play Area 51.

And then, when you moved once again in 2006, I gave you a new motherboard and new marquee art -

And you became Aliens Versus Predator.

Then — I sold your ass out.  I traded you away as partial payment for a Star Wars pinball machine.

Oh Konami Aliens, what a saga we’ve shared.

Your motherboard still resides in a cabinet in my shed, like an egg awaiting an unsuspecting host for rebirth.  Somewhere I have fresh side-art decals and a marquee panel…

…All they need is a standard cabinet to install you into.  And a new generation of Aliens will be born once again…

The end???