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Aruze Develops Linux-Based Arcade Machine System

Posted by simoniker on from the pervasive dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for its news that Japanese arcade/pachinko giant Aruze has announced a Linux-based arcade game system for Japanese release this year. Apparently: "Aruze plans to release twenty games for the AP-3 by the end of March 2005, and aims to persuade third party publishers to develop games for the board as well", and furthermore: "The company expects the adoption of Linux to cut development costs for software developers... Aruze also cited the system's high versatility and consistent updates as other factors in its decision." It's also pointed out: "Taito announced in June a similar PC-based arcade board named Type-X. In contrast to Aruze's AP-3, however, Taito's board uses a special edition of Microsoft Windows XP."

17 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Consistent updates by Brento · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Aruze also cited the system's high versatility and consistent updates as other factors in its decision."

    Consistent updates? Maybe I'm missing something, but it feels like my Windows boxen get security updates at least once a week when the root-of-the-day exploit comes out.

    Oh, you mean that's NOT a selling point? Oh.

    --
    What's your damage, Heather?
  2. You don't expect me to believe this?? by PowerBert · · Score: 4, Funny

    I know Aruze when I see one.

  3. well.. by borgdows · · Score: 3, Funny

    nobody will ask if this thing run linux at least!

  4. some other companies use linux also. by junkymailbox · · Score: 4, Informative

    all the touchscreens i've seen in sportsbars and etc use stuff made by Merit Industries and AFAIK they all pretty much use linux.

  5. Aruze != Good Games by oasis3582 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's just hope they don't use this technology to make more banal mediocre games like Shadow Hearts for the PS2. Now there's a case of squandered potential...


    Doubt the sequel will be any better.

    1. Re:Aruze != Good Games by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3, Interesting
      ...more banal mediocre games like Shadow Hearts for the PS2.
      Ever been in a Japanese arcade? Shadow Hearts is nice and soothingly normal compared to the games sou see there. Think 'Extreme beach volleyball' for the Xbox, only more bizarre (in case you don'tt know this one: it's beach volleyball, but you first have to convince your opponents in the game to play with you, by bribing them with gifts & flowers in your hair). Head-to-head pancake baking (I kid you not), shooting elves with crossbows... and those are the games where you can at least understand the objective.
      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  6. Games for Linux? by MurkyGoth · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wonder if they're going to licences the games to run on standard installations? Not free or open source (they've got to make money somehow!) but pre-packaged binaries for the most popular distros. They could also get more revenue by creating 'authentic' arcade gamepads for standard PCs. Imagine being able to (legally) play your favourite arcade games at home!

  7. This is pretty cool by polyp2000 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Presumably that means we can expect Linux to be garnered with an influx of arcade quality, native games now.

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  8. Finally! by cafard · · Score: 5, Funny

    After all those years of Gauntlet or D&D...
    Nethack: soon in an arcade room near you! :)

    Do you think we'll get a bargain on credits for playing tourists ?

    --
    This post is awesome.
  9. Obligatory link by polyp2000 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Looks pretty good .. Appears to be links to a Linux Package (SDK maybe ?)

    http://www.aruze.com/ir/16_linux/global/info.htm l

    Time to get coding !

    Nick ..

    --
    Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
  10. Games are what will make Linux succeed by Ridgelift · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not everyone will agree with this, but games are what will make Linux succeed as the #1 desktop in the world. When you can buy the same games for Linux that you can for Windows and anyone can install them, there will be a massive push behind Linux as an operating system.

    Games push hardware, which sell more computers, which spur the development of faster machines. Microsoft used to do a good job of releasing bloatware that forced companies to upgrade their work PC to keep doing the same jobs (word processing, spreadsheets, databasing & communication apps).

    If your a Linux fan like me, having a Linux-based arcade machine is a very, very good thing. Linux will definitely succeed in the desktop arena - we have games coming.

    --
    Ruby on Rails Screencast
    1. Re:Games are what will make Linux succeed by pandrijeczko · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Not everyone will agree with this, but games are what will make Linux succeed as the #1 desktop in the world.

      You're probably right but I don't see why it's that important that Linux is #1 in the world. Surely, it's more important to have open standards globally such that you can view any web site with any browser, exchange documents with anyone else's operating system & applications, etc? What does it matter what OS people choose to use to achieve that - sure, you and I porbably use Linux but others choose Windows which is fine also, as long as they have a genuine choice.

      When you can buy the same games for Linux that you can for Windows and anyone can install them, there will be a massive push behind Linux as an operating system.

      Unfortunately, the major problem here is that, like it or not, Microsoft DirectX provides a more readily available suite of games APIs for developers than does the cross-platform OpenGL standard and that's probably the biggest thing stopping games companies producing for Linux. Those that do, like ID, can do it because they work in OpenGL in the first place.

      Games push hardware, which sell more computers, which spur the development of faster machines.

      I'm not sure this is necessarily a good thing. In the days of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit machines like the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga, etc, upgrades were virtually unheard of and games developers were force to push the machines to their limits to achieve certain features in games. My personal belief is that this made games of old generally much better than most modern games - sure, graphics are thousands of times better now but I don't think that addictiveness or playability has got any better in all but a handful of titles.

      having a Linux-based arcade machine is a very, very good thing

      There may be some developments as a result of Linux going into the arcades but it's important to realise that although the Linux OS in these machine is Open Source (it has to be), the games definitely won't be (and don't have to be) so it's not as though you'll be able to play these at home unless a games publisher decides to releases them for home usage.

      Any games exposure for Linux is a good thing but it always boils down to financial concerns in the end and games developers will only release Linux games if they are confident they can make money from it.

      --
      Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
  11. Before someone starts to whine... by News+for+nerds · · Score: 4, Informative

    Aruze Linux source code site

    Click "English" in the right to go the English web site for Linux source code distribution.

  12. Finally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Something I can comment on, if only I could remember my pass so I didn't have to AC it.

    I work with a lot of SWP type machines (Skill With Prizes aka Quiz machines) and the overwhemly large majority run some form of Windows, either NT, XP or embedded. I can tell you this, Before PC's turned up in arcade machines, they were great fun to work on. Normally they are quite simple electronics for a reason, simple doesn't normally break as often. I'm not even going to start on the amount of BSOD I used to see on a daily basis because my company thought it was a good idea to use Dial-Up to push down updates like videos/new games.
    At least one company I know use Linux in their terminals already, some German/Austrian firm who make the MegaTouch series. I remember being very impressed seeing Linux booting for the first time in a Arcade cabinet!

  13. Young man, you know not what you say! by numbski · · Score: 3, Interesting

    These are the same geniuses that tried to rip off SNK/Playmore by using KOF characters in some casino games.

    Wonderful....although the idea of a Linux machine at the arcade is kind of interesting, especially given the fact that a few games have started to utilize net connections to share stats.

    It's more than a little tempting to find out the local aracade's IP, nmap it, see if the machine shows up, if sshd is up by default, and uh...oh...Trinity, you around? :)

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  14. More specifically... by numbski · · Score: 4, Informative

    The exact frame.

    The interesting part of this is:

    1. It uses RPM.
    2. NFS? On an arcade machine?

    Ooooh, this could get interestin'. ;)

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  15. Linux Arcade Systems Already Here by Perl-Pusher · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I was playing guitar in a bar one night and the power died. The bar had about 10 of these arcade games with touch screens that had about 20-25 games each with great graphics. I've watched people dump alot of money into these games all night. When the power came back on I was pleasantly suprised to see everyone of those machines going through an init with a bright green OK after each step. After closer examiniation each system was running RedHat 7.3. I've played these games several times and never realised they were running linux. These games were really quite good.