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Xbox Coming to Arcades
Stanl writes "The San Jose Mercury News reports that Microsoft will be taking Xbox technology into arcades, including a statement that, 'arcade titles influence the kind of console games that fans buy.' That is an interesting unattributed observation."
Do I get to "play" till the machine dies?
Ñ'
Do we get to put mod-chips in these arcades and run linux on them too?
Would a move like this really help Microsoft in the console market?
Their money losses in the video game area. Keep up the good work, Bill.
Sega has done this with Dreamcast games. and Arcade cabinets and hardware is MUCH more expensive than the console. It seems like a natural step.
From what i've seen arcades are struggling. this might not help that much at all.
hmmm did I get a first post?
They do? Funny, I think I remember hearing that the home console had killed the video arcade. I smell desperation in the XBox division...
I get the feeling there's not going to be an XBox 2. Either someone at Microsoft will see the light, or a group of shareholders will, and they'll raise a stink...
blog |
...an 80" BSOD!
Send lawyers, guns, and money!
What arcades?
Of the 5 malls in my neck of the woods only one has an arcade (Sega City). There's one nightclub with a gameroom, and a handful of putt-putt golf courses. Oh, and a Chuck E Cheese, which hasn't gotten a new video game in well over 3 years.
Midway just got out of the biz altogether.
Or does Microsoft just want to be the next Sega?
Arcades were the thing during the 80's when the newest technology really needed to fit in something the size of a refrigerator but kids barely go to arcades anymore. Nearly all the ones in my area have gone way under and I think microsoft is living in a dream world.
If religous zealots don't believe in Evolution, then why are they so worried about bird flu?
Arcade games by there very nature are different from many console games. Arcade games are very time limited as you usually have a bunch of people standing in line waiting. Console games don't have that limitation.
Many arcade to console conversion were very successful. I can't think of one where a console game made it into the arcades.
The most succesful ones are marketed at adults these days. Think places like ESPN Zone and Dave & Busters. They can often offer games most people can't, or wouldn't, buy for long term use, multiplayer gaming and, of course, food and drink.
Imagine the size of those arcades!
Do arcades actually make any money these days? Short of the kid's pizzarias / party places, I can't think of an "arcade" that has a hope of making money. Even the biggies like Dave & Busters seem to make much more profit on the food and beer than on the arcade games.
It seems to me that Microsoft may be dumping these into arcades simply to get enthusiasm up around the XBox so they can traffic more units to the home user. After all, didn't Bill commit that they were going to lose quite a sum on these before profitability was in sight?
The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us. -- Calvin & Hobbes
Bull-fucking-shit, man. I walk past an arcade whenever I go to the mall to deposit my paycheck at the bank, and I have yet to see an arcade version of Xenogears or Suikoden.
They still make those?
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
I remember as a kid playing the arcade version, the playing the console version. Naturally the console version was noticably of lower quality in terms of graphics, and even sometimes in features (Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat come to mind as examples I recall).
I imagine the days may be upon us, if not already here, where this is no longer the case. That said, if the console is a good as the arcade version, why does it influence it anymore? This rings especially true when I compare the popularity of arcades today with the days of my childhood. Before, they were all hopping, happening places where you had to stand in line to play a game. Today they are barely-staffed ghost towns, at least all of them within 20 miles of me. Sure you still have the Chucky Cheeses, but the days of the mall arcade, where people went just to play a game, seem numbered.
Boom Shanka
I, for one, am happy dumping the proverbial quarter into my xbox via the credit card I had to enter when I signed up for xbox live. And since we're all still not *quite* sure how much it'll be, I'd better start saving my quarters...
I have not been in an arcade in years. are they realy such a central rally point for consol trends anymore? I mean most of the consol games out tehre now don't even show up on arcades boxes.
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
I would have thought that Microsoft was going after the 20-something group, with titles like Halo and Morrowind. Maybe even with mind-numbingly dumb kill 'em all games like Bloodwake, because god knows I like senseless violence. But when was the last time anyone my age has been in an arcade, besides the occasional "I'm bored, downtown, have an hour to kill, and the arcade is around the corner" kind of visits? Usually by the time you hit about 16 and can drive to places you really want to go, you stop going to the arcade.
BTW, if it hasn't already happened...FIRST POST!
...you must agree to the game's EULA-- after you put the quarter in!
~Philly
I wish that I too had owned such a dominant monopoly that I could afford to dump millions into a failing market and video game format, in addition to loosing millions in other markets (including another video game market). I wish I was Microsoft.
Good luck to them since arcades in malls are becoming an endangered species. The one in my town shut down about a year ago, and I don't remember seeing more than 5 people at a time in it years prior to it's demise.
I think a lot of the early posters are missing the point here. The home consoles of late killed arcades because they offered the same quality for a one-time charge at home, as opposed to quartering one to death.
By introducing almost identical titles (they would have to change the payment scheme, etc.) in arcades and at the same time offer a one-time buy cabinet that you could easily change the game on (cheaper for the arcade), they would have people paying to advertise for them.
Say you go to blockbuster, or the local game store, and they have a game you never heard of on the arcade. You play a game for $0.25, and really enjoy it. Then you can either rent or buy the exact same quality game and take it home. This was an old dream to have, bring the arcade home (remember atari 2600 pac-man). Now when you do it, it actually IS the game at the arcade. No more need for MAME.
Just my 25 cents.
SEGA tried the exact same thing with the Dreamcast. Actually it was arcade hardware before it came home. But in my opinion, that was one of the largest killers of the Dreamcast. Over 80% of it's games were Arcade ports. An arcade game is designed for 1 thing, to let you play a while, then insert another quarter, play, insert, repeat ad infinitum. If that's the kind of software M$ wants, fine by me. I was hoping the x-box would crash and burn :)
... when the "good" games were .50 to start and .25 to continue, and the really really good games were .75 to start. Nowadays games are .75 (average) and not really any different/more enjoyable than the run of the mill PC/console game.
I used to spend alot of time (and money) going to arcades, but now I'd rather spend 40-50 bucks and buy a game than 1.00 to play one for 3 minutes.
This is my sig. Its pathetic.
In other news, Michael Robertson announces $200,000 in prize money to whomever can boot Linux on a Microsoft arcade console. $100,000 to whomever first boots Linux, and another $100,000 to whomever can do it without a quarter.
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Cheese it! It's the FEDS!
A Pee Cee with NVidia graphics hardware. What's so special about that? How does it compare with current arcade machines? I haven't set foot in an arcade in nearly 10 years.
Stick Men
It's a losing idea. Granted.
Everyone needs a writeoff. Seems like an easy one to me...
Grimwell - old, cranky, mean, obsessive
So I guess that arcades and arcade machines aren't dead after all?
This is a happy moment for me, but I can't really think of any games currently on Xbox that would translate very well into an arcade experience. Maybe Panzer Dragoon, the platformers, and a few racing games that, while I don't personally find them all that interesting, tend to be popular in arcades. Is this just a continuation of this article involving Sega though? Or maybe they're just going to use MAME! Realistically, without Sega's support, what would Microsoft have to offer for the arcade world?
You're only as smart as your brain.
Until recently BARCODE was a massive clubby/upscale-type arcade in Times Sq. Despite it's high prices, and the fact that it always seemed crowded... it went out of business-- it might not be the ideal litmus strip, but it must be indicative of arcades in general. Peace,
Given that home games consoles provide much the same compute resource as arcade machines what is the added value of an arcade? I think there are two 'extras' which arcades provide.
1. Modern arcade machines tend to be more like fairground rides with hydraulics to augment the game experience and probably better screens
2. An audience.
I can see kids refining their skills at home and then going head-to-head in the arcades. Integrate this with on-line gambling and we may see a return of the gladiatorial arena
-- "Can't sleep, clowns will eat me!"
...I can see why they thought of it.
It is black-letter fact, the arcade is dead. Has been dead, in fact, for a long time. From the article itself:
Eddie Adlum, publisher of arcade magazine RePlay, said arcades have been in decline ever since the rise of console gaming. About a decade ago, he estimates there were 10,000 arcades, but that number has since dropped to about 3,000. Hit games such as ``Ms. Pacman'' once sold 100,000 machines, but today, typical hits sell maybe 4,000 to 6,000 units, Adlum said.
However, there is something very similar to the arcade which is growing moderatealy well both in the U.S. and especially in Asia. It's a kind of mutation of the "internet cafe." It seems, while kids won't plunk down dollars to play conventional arcade games, they will go out and "rent" a PC to play Counterstrike or Starcraft for an hour or three. Multiplayer games, it seems, still have draw. And thus the article goes on...
Lately, the rise of online gaming, especially in Asia, has transformed many arcades from stand-alone machines to networks of connected computers where players can play against each other or anyone else over the Internet. That transition plays to the Xbox's strength, since it is primed for broadband gaming, and it also plays to Microsoft's strong relationship with Sega, which is a big supporter of online gaming.
So they think they will somehow tap into this growing phenomenon, instead of merely blowing 50 million or so producing expensive collectors items. I'm not holding my breath, but anything is possible, I guess.
Want to Know How to Cheat the GPL? Read On!
Microsoft announced today that XBox technology would be a federal requirement for all licensed preschools. FCC Chairman Michael Powell explained that this was a good decision, a consensus decision and had no political component to it whatsoever. After everyone stopped laughing, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer explained that exposing preschoolers to the technology now ensured a steady revenue stream for Microsoft. Ballmer then announced that the first game available will be "Dancing Monkeyboy". Players will jump around trying to collect developers. If they sweat too much, have a coronary or get hit with the dreaded "Monopolist" tag, they lose.
Xbox hackers brought the Arcade to the Xbox, and MS got pissed. Something's missing here....
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
Microsoft is always trying to undermine their competition, and they do that by copying what other companies do and try to saturate the market..
Nintendo/Namco/Sega - have their Triforce arcade system based on gamecube arcitecture, and I think Microsoft is just scared and lost, as usual.
I don't think they actually have a solid plan for what they are doing- just release a few arcade games to push out Triforce's dominance, and in turn take away some thunder from beaneath the wings of Nintendo.
I don't know why no one else (who comments) sees how this works.
The idea behind this is that MS can have some development house make/market an arcade game that is designed from square one to work on an XBox.
Everybody gets hooked on the arcade game, then when the XBox/Console version is released and people go home and buy it - including buying an Xbox if they haven't already. It's pretty much the same as exlcusive titles, but people get to "Try Before They Buy" at the arcade.
-Andrew
is this really news? when i took the xbox home i was convinced i had actually bought a arcade cabinet ;) .
smd4985
"arcade titles influence the kind of console games that fans buy"
just like...
"nobody will ever need more than 4k of RAM"
Ironically both statements would be true if this was 1989. But is isn't.
Where's the innovation in doing this? Wouldn't the logical extension of arcade games be to bring an experience to a player which they couldn't experience in their home or at their friends' houses?
Maybe they should think about longer, RPG/movie style games where the state can be saved between plays and picked up again later, say by putting in a passcode or something? I'm not sure how you could break up a game into chunks like that.
Obviously arcades are dying out in the US (although the last time I went to the southern UK coast, they were in quite full force) - I think the only way Microsoft could pull this off is to find a way to unglue people from their home screens and get them out of their houses - and if they can, this is not a bad thing!
The only other benefit I can see is making the cost of an arcade machine cheaper for construction and maybe deployment.
Oh and I remember Playstations in arcades back in the psone heyday. It had a few games and was time controlled. Lame, but gave those w/out a psone a chance to play. And yes, I know this isn't the same thing as just sticking an xbox in an arcade cab.
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Spam subject of the moment: Offshore account secrets -nashville disrupt
Dreamcast was developed from the Naomi technology available in arcades in the first place.
;)
This is the reversed process. And add the fact that the hardware in the XBOX isn't new or revolutionary at all. Is basically Intel x86 + nVidia + hardware locks + a now-crappy HD + a huge ugly case. Anyway I love some of the games
Recently, I walked by the arcade at the mall, and it was filled with rather insecure-looking teenagers trying to socialize. It certainly wasn't like the stereotypes we see in Tron, but more like something I remember seeing in Mad Magazine.
This sad bunch would probably cling onto anything that looks well presented and potentially trendy, so Microsoft's "get-em while they're young" approach just might enslave a few more into the MS Horde. Unfortunately, Microsoft is very successful at capturing those first seeking direction in their technological lives...but more like a cult leader than a genuine visionary.
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
Why don't arcades let you play against home players or even other arcades across the country??
Imagine the Quake III Arena or UT 2003 deathmatches.
I think this is actually a great idea.. I agree that the old arcade in the malls are kinda out of date with all the new consoles out but the 21+ arcades, like Dave and Busters and Gameworks are GREAT moneymaking places for M$ to display their technology. I just hope the PS3 will have the same headstart that the PS2 enjoyed for so long...
We've definately lost all the mom&pop/mall arcades in the DC area. But all of a sudden we have a good number of Dave and Busters or Jillians popping up. Huge, entertainment centers almost with drinking, pool, darts, and tons of arcades. Its a young Vegas or an old Arcade.
People used to go the arcades because the arcade games were so much better than the consoles. Now you go to the arcade and you see games that don't look good as what you just saw on your PC at home.
Arcades are a in a huge box yet the only have a little board in there with a big TV. Make use of that space, put a quad processor in there if you have to, put the latest in graphics technology, a GeForceFX or a R9700.
Arcades are supposed to show us what can one day be in our living rooms, not the other way arround. Its like going to the worlds fair to see a product you already have.
Its just not exciting anymore.
Pure arcades don't make money. It's the blinky environment with food and drink that make money. The social aspect of arcades. I'm not proud of it but I get joy out of humiliating others in games. All the better if I can practice a game at home and trounce someone in a social setting later. Geeky competition. There may be some money to be made here but probably only in a large scale "Dave & Busters" type setting.
On a side note, has anyone else noticed LAN gaming joints popping up in every strip center? Is anyone turning a profit?
-AC
Can anyone confirm this?
I hate replying to myself, but another problem with arcades is that alot of them (and this isnt really new) went from quarters to tokens. At the start, it was 4 quarters = 4 tokens, and if you bought like, 10 dollars worth they gave you extra. Then it went 4 quarters = 3 tokens, and they upped the amount of tokens needed to play. Now they have "credit cards" that you "buy" and add money to, and games are like, .35 or .65 cents a credit (which means that you'll almost ALWAYS have a balance leftover, so you put more money in to recharge it)...
Now, I can understand that they want to keep their customers, and if you can only spend the "money" in one establishment well you're not going to "hop ship", but there are many times that I've decided not to spend a few bucks in arcades, simply because I wasnt sure how much time I had, and I wasnt going to get stuck with useless tokens (think, at a mall or whatever that is not close to home that you go to maybe 1 time a year if that, or possibly the first and last time you go there for whatever reason)...
This is my sig. Its pathetic.
They are losing customers because of their business plan, yes. But what Microsoft sees here is a way to CHANGE the arcade business plan.
Now that a inexpensive console can play multiple games at high quality, why not build these consoles into boxes that immerse people well (decent speakers and control schemes).
Then, with your new super hot games, leave the console boxes to arcades with the promise to upgrade them (ala Dell with corporations) and release the new discs to ARCADE OWNERS a couple months before the general public - say while you were building up your CD stock immediately after the CD went gold.
You'd have people flocking to see the new releases they can't yet own.
Sound familiar anyone? It's the EXACT SAME MODEL that DVD and VHS rental stores use via the RIAA and movie companies.
Stop being so closeminded.
Unless you want to spend a quarter per minute and memorize three pages of joystick combinations, it seems like there is nothing to do in arcades anymore; I went to one in a mall about four months ago, just to see if there was anything interesting. Alas, there was no fun to be had.
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
I think they are a little more desperate.
Two very big companies tried this move: Sega and NeoGeo. Funny thing is both off them haven't had a single piece of success in the home console market for years (giant flops is the word) to the point where it looks like Sega may go under (MS are sniffing around them though - this expains that).
I think there lies are similarities: NeoGeo and XBox both over powerful, over priced and over complicated consoles that flopped to the near extinction of their parent companies.
I remember seeing a beachhead 2000 machine not working and having a windows dialog box saying something along the lines of "can't find movie a."
Not surprising since the game seemed to be a quick and easy port of the pc version.
Well, I disagree with what you say, however I can't respond right now because I am about to get off work and go play Mechassault on Xbox live...
hella fun game
Arcade hardware that uses a console for the base is a good step towards lowering the price. Yes, it's been done before, but the Xbox uses commodity parts like the Celeron and GeForce, so it could potentially be a lot cheaper.
A cabinet redesign to make arcade machines easier to carry would help. Perhaps with LCD technology making strides, we might see that. More durable joysticks wouldn't hurt either.
It's still possible for arcades to make money. Look at the success of DDR...it's a simple, accessible game that doesn't munch your quarters, and the arcade version is MUCH cooler than the home version.
Accessibility is such an important factor, too. I think you could make more money with an arcade full of Ms. Pac-Man and Tetris machines than with the latest Street Fighter clones. Just my opinion, of course...
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
The only thing I can see Microsft betting on is online gaming. It's the only thing that could possibly save the arcade. The arcade in my town just put in 10 machines, and is getting a high speed line for internet gaming. While this is something you can also do at home, most people won't buy the hardware or the high speed lines for a while, which could be just the thing to keep arcades afloat for a few more years. What better way to promote XBox Online then by showing it at it's best to kids first. The kids will whine to their parents, of course, to buy an XBox and get a high speed line so that they can do it at home to. For those kids who's parents are smart enough not to buy into this, they'll still have the arcade. This might not be such a gamble like it looks at first glance.
yeah arcades are dead. back in the early 80s as a pre-teen i made a concerted effort to save my quarters and get mom or someone else to take us to the mall to play games. why, 'cause we didnt have 'em at home. i still like gaming as a 30something. graduated thru NES, SNES, N64, PS1 and play PS2 and XBOX now. do i go to the arcades anymore? hell no. all my quarters go into the titles i can play at home. but, there is another factor in the equation since i plunked in quarter after quarter. namely, the LAN party. i never had those when i was a kid. but, today that's all i hear about. and, rather than having to lug around your 'box' and coordinate an empty house, dorm floor, enough TVs, and powerstrips why not have them pre-setup in arcades. i realize this may be a bit OT, as MS is reportedly talking about making real arcade boxes that play xbox titles....not just putting in a bunch of xboxes. but, the hardware already supports the concept. just implement it. its hard these days to look back through the eyes of a 12 year old. but, seems to me plunkin down a fin for 1/2 hour session (same as 1/2 hour of pool) of arcade LAN party would be schweet.
if it ain't broke, break it.
Arcades are hugely popular in japan. Xbox sells horribly in japan. I think this is more of a stratagey to expose the Japanese to the xbox technology..
Microsoft is in fact very much the 800 pound gorilla when they have a chance to use their Windows/Office monopoly against you but when they have to go stand on equal footing with someone and compete they are so friggin lost it's really kind of comical.
At one time I think this (Arcade games influencing what kind of console games people bought) was true but this is grossly out of date IMO. If anything then today it's the reverse of that.
Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
I don't have an acrade anywhere near me, you insensitive clod!
I can see it already: The first game will be Linux h4x0r, where players must try to hack Linux onto a variety of devices before the dreaded injunctions come down. Players may get more time by submitting 25cent bribes to various legislators.
The market will always evolve and is made of cycles. Remember the video-game crash of 1982? And where are video-games today, dead? Methinks not! People will always want to go out on friday and sat. night and try new things! Get their lardass out of their sofa and leave that gamecube at home and dance or interact with a new wave arcade machine!
The reason it is unattributed is that it truly hasn't been observed any time recently. It is true that 15-20 years ago the quality of games in the arcade far exceeded what a home gaming console could manage. For that matter, computers weren't in every home, so pc gaming graphics wasn't big either. In those days, games you saw in the arcade were pushing the evelope in graphics (as well as controls and genre). Those that did the best were "ported" to consoles in order to continue the earnings after newer games hit the arcades. Most important, an arcade was the after-school / after-work hangout place of choice. Nowadays, the graphics level on arcade games is barely a baby step ahead of home consoles (and is probably matched by many pc games). Controls have moved to realism - motorcycle racing in which you sit on a simplistic "bike" and move it side to side - something that isn't easily translated to the home. Arcades are not the hangout place of choice in most areas. In fact, many gamers don't bother with arcade games except for fighting games (ah, the Tekken empire). Microsoft keeps making mistakes because they are trying to follow a well-worn path that was left by others while claiming it as their own innovative new path.
I was taking one day at a time, but then several days got together and ambushed me. (from a Rhymes with Orange comic)
Thats why they quit the OpenGL ARB.
Clearly they have seen they way of the future and intend to devote all their energies to it!
Arcades? Give me strength! Who goes to an arcade anymore?
j.
"My cat's breath smells like cat food." - The Tao of Ralph Wiggum.
Really, this isn't. Microsoft is far behind in the game. Nintendo has been working on the Triforce board for a while ago (over a year I believe), partnered with Namco and Sega. It's based off the GameCube's hardware, and, guess what? It's going to hit the arcades soon.a ction=item&id= 3987c tion=p rofile&id=547
Sega is developing two F-Zero (a futuristic racing game, for those of you who don't know somehow) titles for nintendo, one for the gamecube and one for the triforce arcade board. Here's the website:
http://www.f-zero.jp/
Now here's a twist. Gamecube owners of the game can use their memory cards in the arcade machine, allowing them to shoot data back and forth between the machines. Innovative ideas at their best.
And, already, both the GC version and the arcade version have been playable, on display at conventions.
http://planetgamecube.com/news.cfm?
http://planetgamecube.com/impressions.cfm?a
Here's what I see coming:
situation 1) Microsoft will try and rush their arcade machine to attempt to release at the same time as Nintendo, ending up with a shitty machine.
situation 2) Microsoft will take their time on and not rush the machine (oh that's so funny it hurts) and end up releasing a machine that's amazingly brilliant.... had it been released a year ago.
Another example of Microsoft's amazing ability to provide a product that provides absolutely nothing new or innovative. Bravo!
http://mediagoblin.org/
If xbox's start to get implemented in 'Arcades' with multiplayer game titles where the whole arcade is playing against one another, I don't see how that is any different than the cybercafe's where people are playing FPS and ORPGs at now.
Except of course, the lattes. Well, and the cybercafes have PCs optimized for games instead of consoles.
If MS/Sony/whoever can get business to start charging $$/hour to play thier consoles, then more shops or arcades or whatever you want to call them will start poping up as teenage gamer havens. I'm skeptical though, no reason to leave the house if the arcade doesn't have something that you don't at home.
Cuz they sound just like Sega.
How to be funny on Slashdot:
1.Take any article that is even remotely related to Microsoft.
2. Mention BSOD.
3. Profit??
Intel Open Arcade Press release
Basically a platform for arcade gaming based on the x86 architechture.
I used to have frequent visits in the arcades, because the coin-ops were miles ahead of home arcade games in terms of graphics, sound and controls. Many coin-ops where stand-alone custom cabinets with huge hydraylic systems that made the experience more believable. Huge amplifiers and 28" screens were some things that I did not have at home (of course I had other types of games at home, more intellectual stuff, which I liked very much, but there was no comparison in terms of graphics and sound).
Now things have changed. Today's machines are so powerful that can play cinema-quality 3d games. The WOW factor is in my PC, not even in the consoles, let alone the arcades!!! The only reason I would get back in the arcades is if they offered me an experience that I could not have at home. For example, a complete virtual environment which rotates 360 degrees at all directions is an experience that I can't have at home (ala SEGA's R360 which hosted G-LOC).
So, If the XBox-based arcade board is going to power those types of coin-operated games (virtual environments/custom controllers etc) then it might be successful. If it is JAMMA based to cut costs down, then it will fail.
Because arcades need the WOW factor.
I'm so old, I remember when games were a quarter to start with!!
The arcade scene really sucks now. It used to be that you could go into an arcade, and play the latest games with other GAMERS.
Sadly, most of the independent / good arcades have shut down nowadays. They've either been forced out of business by the big corporate ventures, or have been killed by the fact that console hardware is just as good if not better than arcade hardware. There are very few "good" arcades nowadays.
So now if you want to go to a "decent" arcade, chances are you'll have to go to a place like Game Works, Dave and Busters, or another lame Bar/Arcade "entertainment center." There you will have to purchase a game "card" ($10 minimum) only to find that a game of Capcom vs. SNK 2 (if they even have it) or Tekken 4 costs 79 cents, and that a game of DDR (if they have it - and if they do it will be "DDR USA," the crappiest DDR arcade release out there) costs $1.55. And forget about finding a Neo-Geo cabinet to play King of Fighters on. The prices are high and are designed so that you'll always have a "little left over" on your card.
You'll also have a hard time finding another real gamer to play a fighting game with, because most of the people there are non-gamers who are there for "entertainment" value.
Bleah.
Fortunately I'm lucky enough to live nearby one of the "real" arcades still out there. I don't know how much longer it'll stay in business, but at least I can play DDR 8th. Mix there, and have a decent chance of playing a fighting game with a "real" gamer. Plus it has the same atmosphere as arcades USED to have... I can't quite explain it, but it is an atmosphere that a place like Dave and Busters completely lacks.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
The problem is that no one has put arcade games, internet games, and rpgs together. The best example I can think of is Pokemon.
It was very nicely tiered across their line of products. You could take your handheld characters and use them to battle in 3D on the console! If you know anything about Pokemon, you'll understand what's next... It would have been the perfect arcade game! They attempted something like it with snap? but it was too low key. As an arcade game, they could have had big screen Poke-battles at the arcade, and connect them with the internet to other arcades. Then you could have standings, and lots of other stuff. And of course, you would take your original cart home and train up your monster after you lost horribily.
I think Id or EA could pull something like this off using PCs instead. Quake isn't really a general public style game--it's too violent. Something like Warcraft or Diablo would work. The key is to involve the spectators as well as the players! Lots of PC games would be cool to watch if you could see the big picture [a whole Quake, Warcraft, Diablo level at once] They would see things the players wouldn't notice.
And of course you could use massive plasma screens with high-powered video cards. [32-way GeforceFX anybody]
The internet cafes are the new arcade, complete with gangs! That is where the XBox will go.
Seriously, this comment should be +5 and the thirty others noting that video arecades are dead should be modded down.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Does Microsoft do ANY research before they p*ss their money away? Do they enjoy throwing about millions on x-box in a vain attempt to own your living room. Now they want to own the video arcade... great. 13 boys around the nation will very happy. The rest of us are content with our PS2.
I seriously don't see the advantage an arcade has over a good console these days. I guess the arguement can be made that I can also drink a beer at home or drink a beer in a bar. Perhaps it's the location and ambience?
"Politicians find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the people."
Why would someone mod this as "over-rated"? People, think for a second!
I didn't read that in the article (MS employee are ya? ;-) Although I'm not a gamer, I know several people who are - ages range from 20's to 30's - and I really don't see them going to arcades. To Blockbuster? Yes, they rent some games, buy few that are new, buy a lot that are used. They swap games also (most have a PS2). But they don't go to arcades and I don't believe some hot new game will drag them down to the arcade just to play it. Now kids may be a different story.
There actually is still one arcade near to where I live. It does have cabinets of sorts (although I think they technically call them booths). You deposit 50 cents, you get 10 minutes of game time and piece of toilet paper.
Of course, maybe this is Microsoft's strategy. Leisure Suit Larry 13 with photo-realistic rendering would be a smash hit at such an arcade.
Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
as an avid patron to arcades still today, i'll throw in my two credits. (don't mod me down for puns!)
;p i might risk a dollar or fifty cents on a game with amazing UT2k-comparable graphics, but i won't play it unless it's fun! and i certainly don't play the game because i know it's got a certified IBM custom-built Gecko CPU! (Nintendo reference) and would not be drawn to a machine because i know Xbox's PC hardware drives the thing.
this new strategy of Microsoft's is not going to work, and not because "the arcade is dead", but because they're going about it all wrong.
most successful arcade machines, today, are successful for one of two reasons: 1) it has an innovative playing style, 2) it has a classic, time-proven appeal. (one could argue, i'm sure, that this statements cover all possibilities, but that's not the case) a necessary foundation underlying both these requirements is that the game is FUN.
typically, the second category (classic gaming) is in a classic console, not a rehash. classic fighters like Marvel vs. Capcom, Street Fighter, MK, etc., etc. - racers - shooters. copy-cats are rarely as successful as the originals.
now - what's making the big money? fun innovation. and that's Konami, right now. consider the Cult of DDR - where i've witnessed at least $30 fly into the machine in the course of 2 hours. the game is fun, it's unconventional, it's SOCIAL, and a buck to dance to 3 or 4 songs (potentially 5 or more minutes of play) is fair - and the experience usually cathartic. Konami's also got the rest of the music game series, which is fairly successful. another of their big hits is Silent Scope - a simple shooter, yes, but unconventional and interesting gameplay.
another big success (in my observational experience) is Golden Tee - which looks, to me, to be the most boring arcade game of all time! but it's intended as a machine for a sports bar - where people enjoy golf. and this game, too, has an unconventional interface. the player spins a ball (think oldschool Centipede) to make the shot - thus putting physical skill (less than reaction-time) into the mix.
now - what does *not* make any of these said games successful? the underlying hardware! while, yes, the hardware makes everything run and look pretty - it's not the selling point. none of the games i'd mentioned above have ridiculously impressive graphics - it's the gameplay that matters. i play DDR because it's fun - i play pinball because it's fun - i play TMNT because it's fun
so, Microsoft can only really be doing this to try to get new developers, because only developers really pay attention to the underlying hardware. but really, then, developers already making arcade games already have their hardware and i doubt they'd switch to a glorified PC (Xbox) - Microsoft must be looking for new developers, who are only familiar with Wintel and therefore more likely to use that hardware.
unless they're stupid or self-aggrandizing enough to throw a big Xbox insignia on the title panel!
and even this is questionable... there aren't many up-and-coming game developers (though i'd like someday to be one myself) - and the arcade market is not what it used to be. if Microsoft *really* were looking to make money and compete with other coin-op companies, they'd start making gambling hardware. that's where the money is. even Konami, who is probably the most successful arcade manufacturer right now, makes Casino machines!
i really don't think Microsoft knows what it's doing with this. maybe Tux poked the octopus in the eye, and now it's just flailing about wildly?
So, let's say MS brings Halo 2 to the arcade...that's not going to make me go out and buy an Xbox. Why should I? If I need a Halo fix, I can go to D&B's, get a beer and play...and proably tire of it before I spend the $250 needed to buy the Xbox and the game...
Nope, MS was infected by something at Sega. They've no real direction for the Xbox, or even the games division, to take. There is nothing that MS can be said as doing right - other than throwing money at something till they win.
Thankfully, Sony can fight them off, Nintendo should be able to, and I'm sure Bandai can keep kicking their asses in Japan. Certainly is an interesting time to be a gamer...
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/AI 102397.HTM
Our local Wal-Mart supercenter has an excellent arcade, constantly being updated and very reasonable prices (for an arcade, at least). Cruisin' USA is
:(
:-)
50c, the new Nascar sit-down is $1.
The local Simon Mall also has an excellent arcade, it's not being killed by the prices though but by the little brats that keep vandalising the machines
I wonder how long it will take MAME to have an emulator for the X-Box? arcade machine?
Arcades are being handled all wrong by the videogame industry now, because the sole reason they existed (technological) is no longer valid.
Arcades should be morphed into a role that the movie industry uses Theaters for: New Releases.
First the industry needs to develop a group of standard cabinets/hardware that would be able to play similar genres easily. There would be a racing deluxe racing cabinet that could easily house and play Need For Speed, Grand Turismo, etc. There would be a cabinet for fighting games, trackball games and so on. The system would basically be a industrialized MAME cabinet. Delivery of content could be over broadband (so the arcade does not have to do much) or be installed via CD-ROM. The hardware would easily be changeable so you could have different cabinets dedicated to fighting games with 4, 5 or 6 buttons, two joysticks or whatever is needed.
Second, the companies would need to do some advertising to get the word out that game "X" is in arcades.
Third, the Arcades would house many many games, not just a select few. So if I walked up to a fighting cabinet, I could be able to play any Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, etc. Even those from many years ago. This would help broaden the appeal of the games.
Lastly, games would be released to the Arcades first for a certain period of time before the game are re-packaged and released to the home market. Not all games would follow this route, but I know that games like Vice City would rack in a some dough if it was in 3000 arcades three months prior to home release.
The main reason that arcades and games still exist now is because vendors are now offering games that do more with hardware and atmosphere, than just a game in a generic cabinet. Games like F355 Challenge can and were done on Dreamcast, but the experience is different playing it with 3 monitors and 180 degree viewing. Same goes for those dance machines. The problem is, the prices of these games are becoming insane.
Now, how the industry would morph Arcades in this role is another problem, for another day...
-Brian
Seriously, I don't know what the XBox has to do with this, but I think there's money to made in more "adult" (not that kind of adult...) arcades. I suppose Microsoft could use it as a marketing thing, have a room with some big TV's, nice stereo, some couches and some networked Halo action...
I'd love to see more "arcades" with a 21+ only after 10pm thing going on. Serve liquor, and have not only arcade games, but a room with a bunch of machines on a LAN with the "big" games loaded up.
I'd certainly frequent a place like this...
I know Minneapolis (downtown) has an arcade similar to this (no LAN room), and it's a blast. They've got plenty of arcade games, and liquor to go around, and the prices aren't half bad. $50.00 kept three people playing racing games and such for a couple of hours.
- Sighuh?
Start Rant: Arcades in the US are commonplace dead for the most part. Pinball is a dying breed, Arcades are getting there. I have a few arcades in the local area. The most used games which cannot be reproduced are usually the Konami interactive games (Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania, Guitar Freaks, Drum Mania etc.., All Japanese games I might add). The only other comnmon place arcade get togethers is the 'fighting scene'. Whereas you can cram 25 local fighting people vs cramming them in your own living room. In Japan arcades are as common as your local convenience store. In Metro-Tokyo you cant walk 200 feet before without hittin an arcade. I just think that in America we dont make arcade games like we use to. The more innovative ones come from Japan. Hell I play excellent shooters from Japan as well as these Konami games. As far as xbox.. I just think its just more publicity hoo-ha. Yes I agree I'd love to boot up linux and play TUX-racer on a 80" screen. hehe Personally I'd think booting linux and loading up some emulators would really kick-ass .. Well doing it w/ an xbox already at least on a 48" HDTV.
End Rant
There's no Freedom like UFP-dom
While I agree that most in the 20-30 age group won't go out of their way to go to an arcade, most arcade's I know of are in malls.
I can certainly see myself dropping a few quarters to check out an arcade version of some game I've been waiting for while my wife continues her endless plodding through clothing stores...
who else thinks that sega is about to get owned my m$
if this takes off?
bad ppl to deal with.. i'd rather do buisness with the devil.
The greatest right given is the right to be wrong...
is the only arcade out here that is not losing money hand over foot. The best part is they won't let anyone under 21 in except for dinner with their parents. When ever I get the yen for a console game fix I go there. It never lasts more than an hour, then I can get back to some serious gaming on my PC. Someday consoles will get there, maybe soon, but they aren't there now. Just check out EQ, or UT or any so-called cross-port game. Though Mario Kart is a kick in the a$$.
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
House of the Dead III, Virtua Fighter Evolution, and Virtua Striker 3 all run on XBox based hardware.
HotD 3, VFE, and VS3 were all premiered at the AMOA 2002 show.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Instead of calling it "News for Nerds. Stuff that matters" it should be renamed "Microsoft's XBox marketing platform."
Pray tell me, how does MS looking into other, extremely high profit, markets smell like desperation? Smells more like the Great White Shark of Redmond has smelled blood in the water to me.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
People keep saying that consoles killed the arcades here in North America. This isn't true. Broadband Internet Access as well as the death of the fighting game genre.
I worked as a tech in a few arcades from 93-98 and played in video game tournments. Whenever I run into hardcore players from back then, the conversation always goes..
Me: So do you still go to the Arcade?
Them: Nahh, I haven't been there in a long time.
Me: What do you play?
Them: (generic FPS or RTS title on the PC)
Me: Oh that is cool, do you have broadband?
Them: Of course, I play only play online! I'm on the (game title) ladder!
I think at the time fighting games were dying out due to focus on graphics and "wow" factor rather than gameplay, broadband became popular and most people who played fighting games moved to FPS.
One person I know still plays DDR in the arcades, but most 20 Somethings don't want to be bothered with that.
Where, there were once 7 arcades within an hour of my house there are now 2.
The way I see serious players going back to arcades is if arcade games get networked and there is some type of reginal matches going on.
The advantage of being in an arcade vs a internet cafe could eventually be that at least you know that no one is running a aimbot (hack). Online computer gaming is filled with cheaters.
The XBOX move to the arcade is probably more for Japan where arcades are still very popular.
Oh, and about Arcade games driving the sale of consoles...some people tend to forget that most people bought a PS1 on it's release date for one game, Mortal Kombat 3. It may not be true anymore, but arcade games did sell systems up until a few years ago.
What about games requiring custom control systems like light-gun games DDR or complex mech-simulators
(think Steel Batalion)? Games like DDR or Beatmania also benefit from the huge widescreen moinitors on the arcade setups. If Micro$oft could come out with games like these and plaster X-BoX logos on the cabinets it may very well boost their sales especially in and arcade dominated market like Japan.
Well, seems to me the controller is already big enough... They must've had this planned the whole time.
I'm only paranoid because everyone is against me...
I would say the state of arcades (at least around Baltimore, MD) is healthy. There are two major malls (Towson Town Center & White Marsh) in the Northern region, which both have average sized arcades (12-24 machines). There is also one complex "Sports" which is filled with arcades among mini-golf, and air hockey.
I don't know what the specific status may be in any other U.S. cities but I have found in my travels that the Baltimore arcades tend to be indicative of what the scene is like else where.
As a matter of fact, I've been playing The House of the Dead III (which is based on the Chihiro board) in my favourite arcade (here in Paris) for more than one month...
Anything you do can get you slashdotted, including nothing.
I remember when video games were a dime per game and you got five balls for your dime in a pinball machine. Hell, I remember when arcades were pinball machines and a few mechanical games! No digital games at all. None.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Ummm - They still have arcades? I haven't seen one in years. Seriously, in the 1980s maybe arcade games drove the home market, but now its the other way around, if anything.
This is what I have always believed. Aside from Pokemon and other long RPG type games that dont 'fit' arcade quarter minchers, console gaming has always been trying to recreate the arcade experience (see online gaming and xbox live). Nintendo has also seen this and is re-entering the arcade scene with the new F-Zero...The only thing that makes me wonder about the viability for both consoles trying to enter the market is the fact that Capcom is leaving it. What does Capcom know, and what are MS and Nintendo going to find out. Xbox may have a chance in american arcades, but only if they have a few million lying around to lose (oh wait).
---- The real Slashdot is still here. You just have to browse at -1 to read the comments.
Last I checked, arcades were dead. Just about all of them here in SoCal are out of business. Yeah, you have your GameWorks and Dave & Busters, but those games are EXPENSIVE to play now. Consoles have caught up to what arcade machines can do graphics and speedwise, so all that you see now are those huge behemoths that you sit in and they vibrate and such. Thanks but no thanks.
Does Microsoft really thing this will do ANYTHING for their gaming venture?
-R
This site compares the MAME-PC version vs. the real console version (en espanol). But before either of these was, of course, the PC version, and then followed by several console (i.e. gameboy) versions.
My young friend, arcades were cool when every single game in the place was $0.25. I am sorry that you weren't around to see it, it was a very beautiful thing.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
I just hope that they don't try to pull what Nintendo did with the N64. Nintendo made it sound like the N64 was the same hardware as the arcade games for Cruisin' USA and a couple of other games. Far from it.
To me, it always seemed like deceptive advertising.
Masses of Juveniles Riot - Destroys Arcades
Why? Because X-Box systems failed simultaneously city-wide.
Causing Chaos Everywhere,
Nik J.
The strange world of a loner, in a populous city, drowning in society
The Sega Dreamcast and Sega's NAOMI arcade board had quite similar specs, making arcade ports rather easy for Sega.
-insert a witty something-
Tell that to Dave and Busters. They seem to be popular everywhere I go, and have quite a few interesting games which go beyond the standard arcade box from the 80's.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
The article states that Sony and Nintendo are also working on arcade versions of their systems. Is anyone crying doom and gloom over this and claiming that Sony and Nintendo are idiots who must be desperate? No? Okay, why is (almost) everyoine saying that about Microsoft?
Do I need to even ask? No. I don't. It's the typical unthinking knee-jerk "M$ is a bunch of stupid poopy-heads and Bill Gate$ eats babies!" panty twsiting that goes on here every time a article about Microsoft gets posted.
Is the arcade scene dead? In the USA it pretty much is. But it's alive and well in Japan, the one market where the XBox is not doing well at all. The arcade scene is good enough in Japan that Sony and Nintendo also think it's an idea worth looking into.
I'm not a pro-Microsoft nutjob. They do lots of things that piss me off (XP is a disgrace, Media Player 9 is evil beyond compare, MS Bob was a joke, I dislike their embrace and extend policy) but this automatic anti-MS spew is laughable at best and sadly pathetic at worste.
By now most of you mods have decided to mod me down as a troll. But take a momet to think about this. Are we doing ourselves any favors by acting like jackasses every time Microsoft does something?
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
I dont want to sound negative, but who really cares about the Xbox at arcades, Like the author of the article says, in the 70's there were about 20,000 arcades nation wides and now there are somewhere between 2800 and 3000. Doesnt that kind of tell you something? Arcade games stopped being as fun or looking as good as consoles in about 1985. I love the part in the article that says that arcade games influence the games that people by on consoles. Get real! I buy console games on a regular basis and I cant even think of the last time I set foot in an arcade. I think this is just another M$ scam to try and saving the sinking xbox. I feel bad for the poor kid who works at the arcade that will have to give people their quarter back cuz, the xbox arcade game just blue screened. Ok, now Im just ranting, but really, who wants to pay a quarter or 50 cents or whatever to play a game on a low resolution screen, standing up, with low quality sound, when they can play it at home on a hdtv with surround sound on your couch for free?
Microsoft does NOT run all the servers on Xbox Live. Right now, they basically provide a centralized matching service (which IS nice), downloadable content, and some "police" functions like responding to bad feedback about gamers. Games are mostly hosted by users. Some may suggest that MS has a large server bank and persons who choose to host a game are placed in "charge" of a server, but this is simply not the case. For example, if some idiot using cable (128-256kbps upload) attempts to host a 12-player game of Ghost Recon, the game WILL start, but everyone entering will be warning that the game is running above it's recommended number of players. Unreal Championship DOES have a limited number of "XServers" provided by MS, but they are mostly not of the highest quality (3 stars out of 4, as ranked by Xbox Live). Microsoft probably WILL be hosting any massively multiplayer games, but on the whole we're getting just a little bit gypped.
-insert a witty something-
"That is an interesting unattributed observation." That's not new, I made (and others) from early eighties ... all we wanted a Karate Champ at home ...
There are a number of arcade games that are powered by off-the-shelf 3Dfx hardware - at least one game's attract mode shows the Quantum 3D logo (Powered By 3Dfx) every now and then.
I can't see how an "Xbox" branded platform will be beneficial to arcade developers - the only change is that it will give them less flexibility in their choice of hardware. At the moment every machine is tailored to the game's specific requirements.
I also don't believe the types of arcade games people play influence the types of home games people buy - if anything they're the exact opposite. Where else would a rail shooter (such as Beachhead & Time Crisis) work?
Arcade games also tend to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It's rare that the arcade rises above that - one example being Sega's Ferrari 355, that truly is a work of art.
The argument that they will be trying to generate interest for the home versions of these arcade games just doesn't hold water. If you are trying to generate interest in your product, you should probably try to reach as many people as possible for as little money as possible. The number of times that a person visits an arcade in a month has got to be low. Why take such a financial risk to generate hype for such a small audience?
Watch MS write it off on their taxes like they did with XBOX development. "Yeah, we're new to the biz. We had no idea Motocross Mania: ARCADE was going to bomb." This just sounds like planned failure from the get go.
Microsoft is in fact very much the 800 pound gorilla when they have a chance to use their Windows/Office monopoly against you but when they have to go stand on equal footing with someone and compete they are so friggin lost it's really kind of comical.
Wrong, proof: mouse. MS can get it right, they can compete on merit.
IMHO the XBox is unconventional and interesting, a modular coin-op built around it could also be interesting. One possible example could be leveraging the hard drive, a coin-op that offers many games that happen to use the same input controller. An arcade manager might find that a more attractive way to allocate limitted floorspace. Just wild-ass guessing here.
found a place where people don't mind paying everytime they want to play.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
It might fly if they did something like the old NeoGeo SNK cabinets. They were great machines, four-player, multiple ROMs, and .25 a play. I got hooked on Ninja Combat and Metal Slug X on those things. Imagine an XBox based system with a DVD changer, and a simple time-limited play system (.25c a minute or so) installed right next to your DDR/BeatMania machines.
I think they could really bring people to the XBox, if they could see a vareity of titles on display. You won't make money, but you'll get people mentioning the games.
That seems like a possibility. Raise their profile in the arcades and hope it translates into more sales of home machines.
However, it only works if you have games people want to play in the arcades. Halo isn't going to cut it.
Mechwarrior might, though. Or Steel Battalion...
At any rate, I wish them ill, because Word still sucks.
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
Is MS fed up to sold out their consoles boxes ?
:o)
I do understand, that they do preffer look to a market where they can be sure people will bought games
-SLK
Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's top game developer and a senior managing director, said ``F-Zero'' would allow someone to take a game stored on a GameCube and put it in an arcade system, allowing the player to resume a home console game on the arcade machine.
I remember this capability was existent with the Neo-Geo system. Does anybody else remember (or have experience with) this feature with the Neo-Geo?
Say what you want about the price or quality of arcade games. I still find the gaming experience of many stand-up arcades with heavy-duty joysticks and game controllers to be very enjoyable experience.
Case in point (Classic): Sinistar, which had a special joystick that allowed for 3-degrees of precision on a 360-degree range of headings. No emulator has given me the proper UI-experience that the cabinet did.
Cas in point (Classic): Robotron 2064 (right year?
Casin in point (Modern): GOLDEN TEE! Yeah baby! You don't have to be a golf-nut to love this game, and the ui is maddenly elegant. No stupid "swing meters" that require perfect button timing. Rather, the game uses a track ball and what happens depends on how hard (or softly) you hit it. Golden Tee is available in most any tavern in your area most likely. At least it is in the Pacific Northwest.
These are all games I've enjoyed in the arcades, and either don't enjoy at home, or doubt I could. There are other examples I'm sure.
There's something to be said for cabinets. I've never wondered what's inside them in terms of electronics, though I thought the NEO-GEO stuff was cool in terms of it's plug-and-play like architecture. Aren't there older consoles that had their hardware in cabinets?
Sony has already entered this market!! Its called Playdium. MS is only trying to compete with the PS on this level.
I for one make it a point to be at a playdium whenever in a town with one. They bring back the memories and have some of the kewlest new pod games around...there is nothing like playin pod racing when you acually twist, bump and feel the breeze slow down when an engine goes.
Arcades are not dead! They are just evolving to better suit what they are ment for.
and in MHO LAN gaming places are just an evolution to arcades i know of one where i live that does really well. and cheap too. approx $2 and hour...when was the last time you were at the arcade and only spent $2 for an hour of game play??
- my $.02? - you can't have it...it's all I have!!
They are ghost towns because we, the arcade generation, are now in our 20s and 30s, and the children born into gaming more recently are faced with the fact that technology in arcades was already near or behind their home PC or console.
.. ?
:P
Without our nostalgia and memories, what's left for them? A few decent games here and there, most of which they already have at home?
But now this brings another opportunity to the equation: with this machine, the sole value that Microsoft wants is that of advertisement. This coupled with the opportunity mix an arcade and a computer/game/netcafe, and you've found yourself the symbiotic mix that just may be the shot-in-the-arm the industry has been waiting for, and their ticket to the mainstream once more. Did I mention XBox Live?
Do not confuse this arcade market to that which our nostalgia holds so dear. Our nostalgia has been franchised, coupled with decent food and alcohol and placed against a mainstream soundtrack partially designed to insight and trigger the memories we're searching for; enter GameWorks, Dave & Busters, and the like--where the concept of an arcade follows the market which gave it life.
You don't suppose that in another 30-40 years our offspring will be loving enough to atleast place us in retirement homes with Galaga, Robotron and Tetris
Jason Fisher
I bought Final Fantasy X because I played it in the arcade!
-----
"You spilled my egg... I needed that egg."
'arcade titles influence the kind of console games that fans buy'
WHAT?!
You mean... people don't WANT to go out and pay a dollar a game at Scandia Funcenter for Sega GT Rally?! Madness I tell you!
I used to play at Nickel City a lot, maybe 4 years ago. Nickel City has a small $2 cover fee, free games, 5 cent games, and games that cost up to $0.50 in $0.05 increments.
If you play a lot of games that are one generation old, this is an awesome arcade.
Here is why:
- The arcade market is virtually dead. Easy to bring something new in.
- XBOX arcade hardware is cheap(Priced with arcade case and monitor it will probly be ~$2000/case)
- It will fill the NeoGeo/SNK niche
- They will be built something like the Atari arcade systems(modified Jaguar MoBo with an IDE interface)
- Easy platform to build for. 2 years of development already and you don't need a mega-powered machine to do Bust-A-Move.
- Easy networking. The NIC is already there.
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
I work at a large retail company in the electronics department during the school year to pay fer my insurance/weekly Nvidea upgrades, and our Xbox overheats about.. once every two minutes. We have the repairman on speed dial and the only thing he ever does is replaces the overheated box. We just got a new one in, and within two hours... BANG! I thought I'd have to grab a fire extinguisher. Apparently some kid tried to beat our demo of Panzer Dragoon Orta 30 times in a row.
At home, you can watch TV shows and movies, but at the theater you can only watch movies. You say the theater is a social experience? Arcade gaming is even more social because it puts you in direct cooperation or competition with strangers. Arcades could update their selections more quickly than movie theaters could thanks to multi-game cabinets like Neo Geo. Arcade gaming is a much more spontaneous, granular form of entertainment than movies are, allowing you to pay just a fraction of a dollar to play for a few minutes, to see if you like it. And arcade games were far higher tech than consoles. The arcade experience changed and improved every few months as technology improved, while the moviegoing experience has not improved in any fundamental way in 40 years. Both arcade games and movies were not available at home until several months after publication.
Both arcades and movie theaters were up against the home market, but how come arcades, with all their flexibility, died off, while movie theaters, far less flexible, live on?
People will still not flock to the arcades even if companies use this scheme.
Even though there arcades offer new imports, simulation games like DDR, and the few releases by companys still releasing new arcade games (Namco, Capcom, etc) there is not really that much to draw gamers in. If the game is going to be on the console in a few months I am not bothering to try and find the one arcade that might have it just to try it out. They already have demo disk for this purpose.
There is also the fact that besides certain chains, most arcades their selections are dead, most companys are not producting new games, and with a few exceptions the arcade machines just don't offer anything that would draw most people away from their consoles to the arcades.
I have seen a lot of the small ones die, and except for the big chains most of the others are starting to close up.
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Malls all over america host or are next to arcades.
Bullshit most malls I know no longer have any arcades, and most gamers are anti-social.
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While I haven't experenced it, I do remember it.
It seemed kind of poinless to me since the game carts tended to cost over $100 and there really wasn't any benifit to using one.
These days with game like DDR where you can use your own steps, get hidden characters, etc it makes sense. I still think his idea of saving and continuing is a stupid idea though.
Personally i think that's a fallacy. The number of console games that have been influenced by _recent_ arcade games is very small. The strength of arcades currently is games that would be difficult to reproduce at home on a console. DDR is a a good example of this. They've got pads you can use to play the game at home, but the people i know who are into DDR and own the game at home still prefer to go to the arcade and play it there when possible.
Microsoft can make money in the arcades, but only if it comes up with original ideas for games that would be hard to recreate on the console itself. Trying to influence what console games people want to buy is in large part doomed to failure. I don't think people go to arcades to play games they could play on a console anymore.
And yes, i have read the article.
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You make a good point..
I have to admit it , my housemates and I used to (video) golf when the pool table was jammed. Beers and video games are an interesting combo. It was fun though
Its fun to have friends over and play a multiplayer game as well.
In an arcade that's in one of the many malls in my state (CT), a bit after DOA3 came out for XBOX, they set up one of those big-screen arcade screens hooked to an XBOX with two controllers hanging out on the place where the joysticks and buttons would be. I think they rigged it to do a certain time limit (like OLD school arcade machines with NESs in them did) or a certain number of rounds. I didn't bother to find out cause it was like a dollar, and I had DDR to waste money on.
So we have Wave Motion systems. Cool, now all we need is to raise the Yamato and retrofit it for spaceflight.
Right as arcades are down to just fighters and Bemani, MS will swoop in and take it over with predatory pricing to offer 25 cent games to all!
Honestly, why support the arcades with it NOW? It needs to go through some major restructuring and realize that we go to arcades for something we can't experience at home, like a $3,300 dance mat or a sit-down race car simulator. Cheap fighters, shooters don't do it anymore, unless it's a light-gun.
Why DRIVE down to an arcade to go into a DARK room and spend MONEY to play something you could rent for half the price and pollution and twice the value?
People go to arcades to get what they can't get at home. Whether it's a Dance Dance revolution machine of today, or Pac Man of the 80's, either were light years ahead of home technology. Unless manufacturers can successfully implement some coin-op based entertainment that users can't go home and plonk it into their XBox, why go out? Having been in the industry for over 10 years, I have seen the trends. The only thing that makes money in arcades today is redemption machines (the ones that spit out tickets), because it's legalized gambling for kiddies. Hopefully people will get bored with consoles eventually (anyone else out there starting to see a plateau in gameplay vs. graphics?) and the kids will venture into daylight again (This reminds me of the scene in the Simpsons when all the of kids come out into the daylight because Itchy and Scratchy got cancelled).
The Saturn, Dreamcast, and Playstation all had direct arcade versions. The arcade versions were slightly modified (mostly with more memory) but still the same hardware.
'Standards' in computing only impress those who are impressed by things like 'standards'.
This isn't news at all. Back in the late 90's 3dfx, Intel, Microsoft and a range of hardware manufacturers attempted a standard called the Open Arcade Architecture.
The concept was that a standard machine spec would be decided upon, and games developers would create content for that product. This was meant to promote cheaper and simpler rollout and development of new games.
Games that you may have seen out there that were running OAA were Midways 3d Gauntlet and Hydro Thunder, a boat racing game. I worked at a company called Perception developing 2 other titles called Thunderboats and Top Down Racer.
Ultimately the only reason why this system did not yield the economic performance people would have hoped was because every developer tried to customise their own machines for their own needs to make their games look better. Swapping games then became impossible.
I have seen allot of people writing off the X-Box's ability to pull off arcade machines, but I think they have a real chance. They have the advantage of ease of development like a PC, plus they have a large library of games they can port straight across.
I for one will be very interested to see how they perform and this is a very logical step for them.
So the console that's lagging behind is going to increase sales by diversifying further into a dying market dominated by two companies (Namco and Sega)? Not to mention the fact that while it's the most powerful console out there, the next gen stuff is less than 2 years away. Unless they can get A) a half a dozen games released B) get them into arcades and C) make them profitable immediately (i.e. development time + shipment + profitability 24 mos), this is only going to lose more money for this department. Sad thing is, development and profitability time is the easy part at this point for MS; they have yet to come out with a SIGNIFICANT number of quality games for the HOME console; this is just going to dilute things further with 2 different areas to develop for.
Go ahead MS, keep flushing money down the toilet muahahahaha!
Chris
Sydney arcades as well. Our friday and saturday nights in the late 90's in Sydney consisted of practising on the Saturn until about 9pm in VF2, Daytona and Sega Rally. Then we would head down to the arcades near the cinemas/China Town in Sydney and challenge for the VF2 machine. I actually got quite good at it.
When I came to the US in '97 I expected to find the same thing, but other than a mall in New Jersey found nothing similar. I was expecting to play some great American VF2 players who hung out in the arcades in the US to play and challenge for the machine. But there was nothing like that. I was pretty disappointed at the time about it.
omico--
Why is Microsoft trying to be cool by taking a name out of a recent, popular anime. If they really wanted to be cool, they would have taken it out of a lesser known, sci-fi, geek oriented anime. Seriously, its almost like the "codename" is a marketing statement.
when the arcard games where the thing!
when your console jsut coudlnt match
the expance of the arcarde..
then came the NeoGeo.. mmmmmm
os maybe it wasnt all that bad,
but an intresting reversal
You have 5 Moderator Points!
Which Helpless Linux zealot/MS basher do you want to mod down today?
Maybe it'll be running a new version of Mame-X and allow you choose from 9Gb of ROMs from the past 20 years!
A friend was telling me of a location with XBOX games for the kids and wi-fi connections and TV on plasma displays for the grown-ups. What's next?
House of the Dead 3 from Sega, the Arcade version, runs on XBox hardware. It's already in game centers in Japan. Has been for a few months.
Its a shame that a portion of the market not touched by MS suffer the same that the PC market.
;)
Killer Instinc (Nintendo) maybe wake up again...
LoL = Old school
Actually, in case this hasn't been said, the latest Sega Naomi internal architecture is indeed based on the Xbox - giving rise to the latest rumours the MS are going for a takeover. It's a generic thin looking, upright console with room for steering wheel/joystick or whatever. Thought this was common knowledge??
...and your PS2, and your GameCube...
Check It
Do the Evolution
The eye is a menace to clear sight, the ear is a menace to subtle hearing, ... Fuss, the god of the Southern Ocean, and Fret, the god
the mind is a menace to wisdom, every organ of the senses is a menace to its
own capacity.
of the Northern Ocean, happened once to meet in the realm of Chaos, the god
of the center. Chaos treated them very handsomely and they discussed together
what they could do to repay his kindness. They had noticed that, whereas
everyone else had seven apertures, for sight, hearing, eating, breathing and
so on, Chaos had none. So they decided to make the experiment of boring holes
in him. Every day they bored a hole, and on the seventh day, Chaos died.
-- Chuang Tzu
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