Buttons, buttons and more buttons - how many? what is the min # of 'other' buttons required?

I'm just about to start building a new cabinet and have a couple of quick questions I'm hoping the more experienced folks here might be able to shed some light on ...

1) I'm planning on Player1 and Player2 having 7 buttons - but, I've seen many references to 8 button setups... what games really use this? Is it only for PS1/PS2/Wii Games? or others?

2) What are the 'command' buttons needed for the Hyperspin front end - select/enter, exit, menu, etc.? And, now that 'shift' functionality is available in the i-PAC (what I'm planning on using) -- what's the cleanest / minimal number of these 'command' buttons needed?

Any insight or shared configs would be greatly appreciated!

It seems only 1 'admin' button is required -- exit/escape. Many folks recommended adding a 'pause' button, as that is handy. Otherwise it seems, using the shift functionality in the iPAC, all other requisite functions can be easily mapped to other key combinations.

Hey Txpenguin,
#1 When I built my cab I wanted the old skool arcade games to be well old school. So I use a 2 player 6 button setup which works well with arcade games. For emulators, I switch to Xbox.
#2. This is a good question. I prefer to use minimal buttons and if you are only designing it for yourself....
For others you're going to need Player 1/2 Start, Coin 1/2 (or mech) and an exit button. On mine I have Exit and Pause above CP. On CP, I have P1 /2 coin, start and mouse for admin. And some PC games. Go for the minimum amount of buttons you'll need. You don't want a FrankenPanel! Marty.