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Would you PAY for new games for your MAME cabinet?

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Ummon:

I paid for a game or two from StarRoms back before I found other sources. I think I bought Tempest, and maybe something else. Actually, I think they gave you two freebies and then you had to buy. Or maybe the other way around. Something like that.

Ray, figure out your idea, work up the estimate, and see what is a necessary figure. Without even pitching it you might know if it's feasible.

Turnarcades:

I'd pay for new games if they were fully original, but I think most concepts have been done to death. Right now we sit in a gaming world that's peaked technically and even the full-HD-motion-sensing-full-immersion-cell-chip-first-person stuff is no more appealing than the first time we picked up a paddle and played pong, so where do we go from here?

It'd be a great thing for someone like RayB to knock out legit, budget games for dedicated arcade use and I agree I'd probably pay for (or even commission for my cabs) a few games that bring that retro feel, but for most people it's nostalgia and having THE ACTUAL GAME you used to pump money into as a kid is more of a temptation for most.

If a few more companies would realise the potential for the retro market and endorse the 'all-doing' MAME instead of trying to knock out their own tiny compilations on next-gen machines at 10 quid a pop, maybe retro would make a mainstream return and they could more reasonably enforce the piracy laws they claim 'hurt developers', and make a few quid without having to create their own servers/burn discs themselves....
 :soapbox:

Xiaou2:


 I bought Playtpus at $20.   Its rare that I buy a PC game,  but that game really
kicks butt.  The look is great, and the gameplay is pretty polished.  Its got its
flaws..  but overall, its really great.

 However... thats a fullblown game that took like a year to make.  Not a flash game
or a quickly tossed together, basic game.
 
 
 I disagree with Turner.   There is plenty of things to be made that will be great
in games.

 As for retro... a game can exceed a classic, and be more desirable to play.  It
hasnt happened however  (that I can think of) ,  because people who make
clones change vital aspects of gameplay... and or do not spend enough time
balancing the game.   

 Back in the day... maybe they spent a few months getting the basic
engine down...  but many more months were spent honing the gameplay
balance near perfection.

 This is why people prefer the classics instead of the remakes.

 Plenty of Robotron clones out there... but even the best of them dont match the
baddie AI of the original.  Nor do that have that same level of difficulty and balance.
One I played, was so easy that after like the 20 level, I simply turned it off.  I was
board to tears, and tired of it.  There was no challenge whatsoever.  And Theres no way I was going to play for more than 20 min to see if it would actually get difficult later.  What was funny.. was how it got great reviews and ratings. Pathetic.  Blasphemous.


 There are those who Want to make money with classics.  However, they want too
much money for them.  People just wont pay what they want to charge.  And rightfully so.
People supported the games with all their money in the arcades.  They may have also
payed again, with pathetic ports.  And now there are games such as Guitar Hero.. which
offer much more entertainment value for the same price...  the majority of gamers
arent going to pay $50 for a Williams classics disc of 6 ancient games.

 Do you really think anyone can get all the licenses needed for about 1000 mame games?
How about 500?  Not gona happen.  Especially because many of those companies are extinct.  Then there are companies like Capcom which arnt going to give up their goods for $1 or less a pop.

 If you cant get companies to sell a compilation of 200 
80's pop songs for  .10   a song... which is basically all that
people really would pay for most of them...   then you can guess that it wont happen
with roms.   If they feel theres value... then they overcharge to the point where
people wont pay.

 Not to mention... that whatever you purchase will have restrictions on it.  You wont
see roms without them being integrated (inseparable) into their own custom player.  And any roms that would be sold on their own would have legal validity until when?
When they fold? When the companies change their minds? Look at all the fools who
bought roms from that fly-by-night company that has long since vanished.  That
agreement that was purchased...  is just about as good as a used Cinema ticket stub.

 And when your integrated system wont play on your New hardware... then what?


 You cant scream for classics... then tell them you wont pay that much.  If you wont
pay that much... its not worth their interests.  They would rather spend the time
on new projects.

 The reality is that these companies dont really care too much about these older
games.   They dont want anybody's selling them... but,  they arnt witch hunting
either.  In fact, it would cost them way too much to even try... and wouldnt be
worth it.

 The people who make the most noise about retro piracy are nazi emufreaks
who get their panties all twisted over little things.  These people often do more harm than good... brining more negative attention than would otherwise be had... which may
force the companies to take negative actions.

 And finally, I believe these companies know that Mame is a good cause.  Trying to
preserve history.. that otherwise may get lost or erased.   Money is what drives the
companies... not morality.  And when the money ceases.. the stupid laws kicks in.  Companies like Atari,  who file bankruptcy..  are legally bonded to dump things that they have written off,  into the trash.   If they were caught salvaging such things...  individuals
would be legally and financially responsible.  While the average joe employee may
not really care...  the decision makers who have great money and power..  arnt about to
risk it.  The average joe prolly dont want the fines and bad reputation of property
theft/disobedience... when they are about to try to get a new job either.

 I say... be very happy with the current situation.  Its the best that its ever going to
be Imop.


SithMaster:

I said 10 but that would depend on a number of things. 

How many players will it be designed for.
Theme and genre.
Will it have built in credit function via the coin door.

I don't like the model based on arcade ports to consoles that force a set number of credits on you.

davidrfoley:

Licensing the classics is a labor of love.  I spent over a decade doing it, and paid millions of dollars in royalties and licensing fees.  The biggest problem is that the big Japanese companies feel their IP is worth much more than the reality.  As an example, I had to pay a deposit of $150,000 just for the Street Fighter Family to Capcom, and $75,000 to Taito for a small subset of games.  Not only do you have to pay enormous up front deposits, they also want crazy per copy fees.  Our best deals were $1.00 per game, but that adds up very quickly on a machine that ships with 86 titles on it.  We had been making some progress but then Global VR screwed up every relationship when they acquired UltraCade.  The dream of a sub $100 "all in" pack is not a reality, nor will it be for some time.  When I was putting together iROMs, I had several deals in place that would only cost $0.10 per ROM, but it required a deposit of $500,000 and a guarantee of $2M in revenues which didn't seem achievable. 

Hopefully, the publishers will realize that there is money to be made with reasonable online distribution pricing.  It took the record industry 20 years to realize this model would work, and companies like Apple investing millions to push it through.  Had we continued with UltraCade, we may have been able to make more progress on this front, but the UltraCade product line was abandoned by Global VR.

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