Atari 2600 and Intellivision titles coming to Xbox 360?

[Atariboy]

Joystiq reports of a rumored inclusion of Atari 2600 and Intellivision classics in a virtual arcade populated by Avatars, similar to Playstation Home.

 

Atari 2600 consoles can clearly be seen on the Atari branded arcade cabinets, with Baseball being one title that is visible.

 

Also appears that Intellivision games will be included, with banners with Intellivision titles shown in the pictures, and the Intellivision running man is clearly visible (And missed out upon by all these media outlets, apparantly there isn't anyone at these sites that is very familair with the Intellivision).

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/07/survey-shows-xbox-avatar-retrocade/

 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/27063751/microsoft-working-on-xbox-360-avatar-arcade.html

Edited October 8, 2009 by Atariboy

[BDW]

Man, this sounds awesome! I cant imagine it being successful though, since the average xbox player is a foul-mouthed 12 year old who couldn't get a grasp on reality if reality sat right in front of them in the form of a CX-40....

[JamesD]

Man, this sounds awesome! I cant imagine it being successful though, since the average xbox player is a foul-mouthed 12 year old who couldn't get a grasp on reality if reality sat right in front of them in the form of a CX-40....

The average gamer is in their late twenties to mid thirties so I don't see how they can be a 12 year old.

Halo online might be filled with foul-mouthed 12 year olds that use words like "stoked" and "pwned" though.

Edited October 8, 2009 by JamesD

[moycon]

Halo online might be filled with foul-mouthed 12 year olds that use words like "stoked" and "pwned" though.

 

Good thing you can only hear the opposing team for a few seconds at the end of a match eh?

[SoulBlazer]

I know that Intelivision Lives! is one of the Original XBox games you can buy and download for XBox Live, I own it.

 

I'm not sure why would have a collection, though, of Atari games. A lot of Atari's best games are allready on XBox Live -- Battlezone, Tempest, Warlords, Asteroids, Missle Command, Centipede -- granted, those are all ports of the arcade version, but then again XBox Live IS more of a 'arcade'.

[Atariboy]

Because there are people like us that would buy and play them? As well as people that would buy it out of nostalgia. Seems pretty obvious why they'd do it, they think it could possibly be profitable and enticing to users so they're investigating the project to detirmine if it should be undetaken. The presence of 5 or 6 poorly ported and redone Atari coinops on XBLA seems like it should have little bearing on it.

 

And it would give Intellivision Productions a chance to redeem themselves after the poorly done Intellivision Lives compilation. They could get rid of the clunky emulated keypad interface and map the number keys to the keypad attachment, necessary action keys to buttons (There was never any reason why they should've made bringing up that virtul keypad necessary for anything during gameplay, there's plenty of buttons on modern controllers for most any Intellivison title), and the chance to add online multiplayer to such things as classic Intellivision sports titles and things like Triple Action.

 

Again, I don't see why the presence of a poorly done older compilation on the largely ignored/forgotten Xbox Originals line should have a bearing on a new project.

 

If this project happens, there's no word on just what it could entail. For all we know, it's a system with a virtual inferface Microsoft is developing that offers a way for developers to distribute 100% emulated versions of their titles up, with the novelty being the arcade around the game itself rather than reprogramming for things like enhanced modes, online play, hd graphics, reduced licensing fees, loosened up standards, no need for achievements in-game, etc. Also, for all we know, Intellivision and Atari 2600 titles might just be a very small part of the pie.

 

It could even perhaps bring a avenue to finally get things like licensed 2600 titles out there to the public again. If a company like Atari could sell something like Pole Position over the service as a $2 download or say a $5 pack of Namco 2600 classics, perhaps it would be financially viable now since it was an impossibility in the past with compilations.

 

I'd have fun, especially if we could have a AtariAge room where we could see each other and what everyone is playing as we walk around as our avatars in a virtual arcade while we're spending time there playing classic games. Maybe you could walk up and challenge someone to a round of Combat and such even. Or maybe someone's doing really well in a certain game, maybe you'll be able to walk up to that players cabinet and watch.

 

I think it has definite possibilities if well done.

Edited October 8, 2009 by Atariboy

[SoulBlazer]

You make some good points, but I don't think the Atari games on XBox Live are bad ports or versions at all. I love them. You can play either the original game or a enhanced game, and you can play online aganist other people. In fact, I think all of the arcade games on there (Atari, Konami, Bally Namco, Midway, and Sega) are very well done.

[Atariboy]

The Atari XBLA releases all suffer from a variety of ailments that make them poor compared to the games they were supposed to be copies of. The classic modes in each aren't very accurate, with problems such as missing sound effects in Asteroids.

 

That doesn't mean they're necessarily bad games that I'm suggesting you're foolish for enjoying, I'm just saying they fail at the task of being accurate to the originals, which is always my #1 criteria when I see a classic arcade title rereleased in modern form.

 

Also, achievements are largely too difficult in each of them even for people experienced with them over the past 25 years. And the enhanced models offer little to get excited about. Also a major problem that inhibits having much fun with their lineup of releases is they selected several titles to release that didn't have a proper method to control. While you can still ring some fun out of Tempest, Centipede and Missile Command, they never approach the original experience. Warlords especially is unplayable in my opinion without some form of rotary control. It should've never been selected.

 

There's a little done right in them, such as online play in Battlezone and I thought the enhanced modes in Missile Command were enjoyable. But by and large, they were a waste of money that I mainly purchased to satisfy my curiousity knowing that they'd likely be poorly done junk after playing the PSP collection the same developers were tasked to develop (Though the enhanced Lunar Lander was enjoyable, sadly they didn't bring that one to XBLA).

Edited October 8, 2009 by Atariboy

[+HammR25]

I'll pass on Xbox Home

[Atariboy]

If it's just a clone of Home, I'd pass too.

 

But I presume the avatar arcade would just serve just as a fancy menu for classic games, with the games being the primary focus, unlike Home and it's handful of games and Namco arcade cabinets.

 

If there's any compelling classic content on there that provides something cool and is well done, and isn't just the millionith repacking of things like Ms. Pac-Man, I'll be there.

 

If it's just a social interaction program that just happens to have some videogames, I'll likely pass.

Edited October 12, 2009 by Atariboy

[Zeptari1]

I'd like to see a release of activision anthology for xbla!

Or better yet a full boxed store release.

 

-rick

 

i still play the gameboy advance version, it rocks!