Nvidia and Linux to Power Namco Arcade Games

jshriverWVU writes "Seems the next-gen Arcade hardware for Namco is going to be running Linux and using video hardware from NVidia. The first game to use the system will be CounterStrike Neo, a version of the popular game currently only available in Japanese arcades. The official press release is also available."

Comments

Babelfish translation of official press release

[a.koepke]

http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pag econtent?url=http%3A%2F%2Frelease.nikkei.co.jp%2Fd etail.cfm%3FrelID%3D82027&lp=ja_en

Another Counterstrike?

[mwheeler01]

Great, cause what this world needs is yet another verstion of Dust.

We are doing similar with FlexArcade ...

[Anonymous Coward]

FlexArcade will also be leveraging PC-based architecture, though we will be using XP / Direct X since we are getting most of our games from indie game developers so it makes sense that way.

http://www.flexarcade.com

Anyone out at Indie Games Con this week should stop by and I'll give them a tour!

James Hills

Good For Linux Ports?

[DeckerEgo]

I wonder if this will do the same thing for Linux gaming that Windows did for the XBox. Producers could easily port DirectX apps to XBox (and vice-versa), which encouraged support for the platform. I wonder if game producers will be more likely to release games for Linux, since they can go from arcade console to desktop distro easily. For that matter, they should be able to go from arcade console to Windows or consumer console easily as well, since it's OpenGL on fairly standard hardware.

Most of all I hope this encourages Nvidia to keep supporting Linux drivers for X... and this becomes a commercial opportunity for other vendors to provide hardcore drivers for the *nix community.

Re:Good For Linux Ports?

[lion2]

Only if titles are going to be Windows and Linux. I seriously doubt we will be seeing exclusive Linux titles just because there is an arcade OS based on it. I can even see companies forget about linux and actually port the product directly to windows.

2 questions.

[incom]

Is it running a regular xserver, and from which branch. And does this mean that they ported counterstrike natively to linux?

Re:2 questions.

[spitzak]

I doubt it is running X. But from the article, the screen interface is OpenGL. This would imply that it should be relatively trivial to modify the game so it runs on Linux and displays in an X window.

This is the display only. The interface to the sound and to the input peripherials is another problem, and may be very difficult. It would be best to write some kind of emulation library so that the arcade machine calls can be used unchanged.

how things change

[doofusclam]

Anyone else find it interesting that home hardware is so advanced over arcade machines that the latter are powering the former?

I remember when I used to look at a Defender machine and think 'no way will I ever have that at home'.

No, my name isn't Bill Gates :D

Re:how things change

[Firehawke]

That's been brought about by the decline of the arcade industry. Game manufacturers used to create custom hardware for games, but diminishing returns make that impossible now. As far as they're concerned, it's cheaper and safer to use a console-based arcade hardware, since they can do the home port more cheaply in the end.

What about emulation?

[chrispyman]

While this seems like a great way for Namco to cut down production and development costs, wouldn't this just make it painfully simple to emulate that sort of hardware (infact you might not even have to emulate)? Or is there some special hardware (like in the XBox) that prevents the software from being made to run on just any PC?

Yeah yeah

[Anonymous Coward]

Just hurry up with the sequel to Katamari Damacy already.

NVidia Drivers

[guard952]

I guess this also means NVidia are going to continue to support their linux drivers... perhaps even update them a little more often?

Re:NVidia Drivers

[superpulpsicle]

I have to admit the "drivers area" is one of Nvidia's strength still. I have an ATI Radeon 9800 card, and their drivers blow, period. If my next purchase is an Nvidia card, it's because they have proven to write better drivers in every platform even linux.

GraphicsWrestlefest

[Neo-Rio-101]

In the wake of Linux gaming becoming mainstream, Things are going to start to look like a tag-team wresting match.

Microsoft + ATi VS. Linux and Nvidia.

I think it's safe to say that ATi is cutting back on its Linux support in the wake of Xbox2, and Nvidia will be the graphics card of choice for Linux gaming.

At least we know where Namco stands.

Re:GraphicsWrestlefest

[Anonymous Coward]

It may happen some time in the future, but at the moment, ATI is still the best choice for people who care about stability and source.

For those who just want a BSOD without paying for Windows, the Nvidia binary drivers are fine.

Re:GraphicsWrestlefest

[Silverlancer]

I think it's safe to say that ATi is cutting back on its Linux support in the wake of Xbox2, and Nvidia will be the graphics card of choice for Linux gaming.

Wait... ATI had linux support in the first place?

Re:GraphicsWrestlefest

[wed128]

i've been using the Nvidia binary drivers for about a year now, never had a problem...especially not a BSOD.

Instructions

[S.I.O.]

1) Insert coin
2) Run "make menuconfig" and select "NAMCO Arcade support (experimental)"
3) Replace Driver "nv" with Driver "nvidia" in /namco/etc/X11/xorg.conf
4) Play!

Re:Instructions

[Anonymous Coward]

love it!!!

Re:Instructions

[Anonymous Coward]

thats funny