Halflife 2 ...on your mame cab

[Shieldwolf]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/562/562384p1.html

Well not really, but in another 10 years who knows

[paigeoliver]

Wow, what a great idea, put out an arcade version of a home game a year or so after the home version came out. Because you know everyone is going to be flocking to the arcades (oops there aren't any left) to play the game they bought the home version of last year.

Better yet, put it in an expensive $7000 cabinet that will take an operator over a decade to pay off, yet still isn't capable of the resolution or controls that the $50 home version can do. Hmmm, I know they could add multiplayer mode, which will of course use a 56k modem, which the operator will need a dedicated line for. The operator will also naturally need to pay a monthly fee for this online service, just like current Golden Tee operators do.

And they wonder WHY the arcades keep closing.

[Yander]

Yeah, I was about to post this yesterday but got side tracked.

If the controls were right I could imagine this being really fun except that it is impractical.

How much Half-Life 2 do you get for a dollar?
You would probablly have to feed over 50 bucks into the machine to beat Half-Life 2.

I agree with paige, this is one reason arcades are dieng. They arent a good investment for an arcade owner. Arcade games shouldn't try to be PC games, they should be (IMHO) simpler games that you can pick up and play but still present depth and a challenge. Arcades need to offer something different then PC games if they expect people to get off there ass and insert money into there machines. Of course they have tried doing this by creating these novelty games with over the top controls. They ussually end up costing 2 bucks to play and arent really that satisfying. Arcade need to find a balance.

[Darkstalker]

Yeah, I was about to post this yesterday but got side tracked.

If the controls were right I could imagine this being really fun except that it is impractical.

How much Half-Life 2 do you get for a dollar?
You would probablly have to feed over 50 bucks into the machine to beat Half-Life 2.

I agree with paige, this is one reason arcades are dieng. They arent a good investment for an arcade owner. Arcade games shouldn't try to be PC games, they should be (IMHO) simpler games that you can pick up and play but still present depth and a challenge. Arcades need to offer something different then PC games if they expect people to get off there ass and insert money into there machines. Of course they have tried doing this by creating these novelty games with over the top controls. They ussually end up costing 2 bucks to play and arent really that satisfying. Arcade need to find a balance.

It isn't the PC that is killing arcades, consoles are driving the nails in the coffin.  Why should I go drop lots of money to play all these new arcade games when I can play them in the comfort of my own home with no lines, crowds, or extra noise?  I think video game manufacturers need to follow the original MAME principal in that home versions of arcade games are not released until the cabinet has been released to the public for a set amount of time.  People are willing to do this with DVDs, why not video games too?

[Yander]

Yes very true. Almost every arcade game has a console port that is just as good.

[paigeoliver]

Yes very true. Almost every arcade game has a console port that is just as good.

AND the console port usually comes out first.

[Apollo]

Why do think arcades are full of redemption "games" or crazy games that have 6 drums as the interface. The true arcade is already dead. There is really only the dedicated retro arcade left and you can count the number of those in a town with 1 finger usually ( if you're lucky )

[paigeoliver]

I might actually have the best arcade in st. louis at this point. Or at least I am in the top 10.

All the good arcades are in people's houses these days. I was in one guys basement and his place was better than Alladin's castle circa 1984.

[MadEditor]

This seems to be for the japanese market which a very large arcade market... Don't forget that PC-Games are almost nowhere in japan...

What interest me in this is this :

"The Type-X arcade board is based on PC technology, with PC hardware components and a Windows-based operating system"

It won't take long to have games for this board "ported/converted" to a normal PC

[GGKoul]

I might actually have the best arcade in st. louis at this point. Or at least I am in the top 10.

All the good arcades are in people's houses these days. I was in one guys basement and his place was better than Alladin's castle circa 1984.

We have a really good one in my area.

http://www.playdium.com/

[DYNAGOD]

seems there is a trend going on here

this is from insert credit .com

Taito has announced (see Dengeki Online) that they are bringing Unreal Tournament to the Type-X arcade board. The arcade version will be identical to the PC, with story mode for single player, and battle mode for multiplayer. The game will make use of the Windows XP OS for ease of porting, and will use the NESYS network to connect the UT machines across japan, with a system-wide ranking system.

In other Taito news, check out their financial results. A bit old, but very interesting. Therein they basically declare that they want to be the only amusement maker in the world.