Atari Paddle TV Game Confirmed, Capcom, EA Next
Thanks to IGN Gear for its article confirming the forthcoming Atari 2600 Paddle TV game from Jakks - the news story explains: "Like the Atari TV Games joystick released two years ago... gamers simply plug it directly into the television to experience the old-school games", and indicates the game line-up for the 1 or 2-player versions will include "Breakout, Canyon Bomber, Casino, Circus Atari, Demons to Diamonds, Night Driver, Steeplechase, Street Racer, Super Breakout, Warlords, Warlords Arcade, Video Olympics, Arcade Pong and Pong." We've previously covered announcements of many other licensed TV games from Jakks (Midway, Namco, Activision), but haven't mentioned a forthcoming Capcom TV game "including 1942, Ghosts 'N Goblins, Mega Man, Gun Smoke and Side Arms" - the official Jakks TV Games site also has 'EA Sports' listed as an (unelaborated on) game choice.
Warlords was a lotta fun - a multiplayer breakout, very cool.
The problem here is that once you collect all these joysticks, then you've got a big collection of joysticks to hook & unhook, depending on which games you want to play. They should figure out a way around that, like have one joystick, with, I dunno, a cartridge system or something.
Oh, wait...
I had the pleasure of playing the original Atari controller, and I could tell, it was NO atari. They're ports. It's slightly entertaining, but I'd rather pay $10 than $20 for it. I don't know much about the first Namco one, other than Pacman's patterns are missing. (I kind of wonder how the vertical screen was handled). If the first namco one had Galaga instead of galaxian, it'd have been mine. They split up my favourites, I'm not going to get them both. All of these things are well emulated, so the only one I could make good use of is the paddle version (sold my atari collection).
Does anyone know what Megaman game is going to be on the Capcom controller? It'd be a crime to humanity if it weren't Megaman 2 or 3. The first is just masochistic. Are the other games arcade ports or NES ports?
I got the Namco one (pac-man etc) for my wife, but thinking "she'll never really play this...", to my surprise she fires it up fairly often. Something about zero load times, simple game play, being able to insta-reset and play a different game...she loves it. Plus it has a "real" arcade joystick. I think games have gotten too complicated for a lot of people to bother playing...but don't try and take away my Far Cry mind you!