Xbox 360 virtual arcade?

[Jess Ragan]

There have been arcade games on Xbox Live, but nothing like this!

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/06/xbox-game-room-bringing-arcades-back-to-xbox-360-and-games-for-w/

 

The Xbox Game Room lets you create your own virtual arcade and walk around inside it, similar to the old Emulaxian frontend. The Game Room will include offerings from Konami, Atari, and Mattel, although they won't strictly be arcade games... some titles for the Atari 2600 and Intellivision will be added to the mix as well. It's an interesting idea, but it also sounds like a convenient way for Microsoft to shake even more loose change from the pockets of classic gamers. Still, there is a certain appeal to my avatar playing Crystal Castles...

[+HammR25]

Hey look, it's Xbox Home! This looks like it's a billion times better than what's in the PS3 bowling alley though. I do wonder how many people will actually use it though since it's impossible to find anyone to play games like Joust, Time Pilot....etc on XBL as it is.

[Mendon]

Fortunately, PS Home has improved and is now much, much more than just a bowling alley.

 

Upon its first release, I wasn't impressed at all and wanted nothing to do with "PS Sim's Online". But they have added so many areas, games, adventures, and more that it is actually fun to visit. I don't visit daily or weekly but when I do drop by, I'm usually surprised at how much they've added since I was there previously. Last time I tried PS Home, I must have spent an hour or so just playing the Resistance shooter game.

 

 

Back on topic, The MS Game Room sounds very interesting and I'm looking forward to it!

 

 

Mendon

Edited January 7, 2010 by Mendon

[StormSurge]

Check out the video here:

 

Game Room

 

Combat. Outlaw. YARS REVENGE!!!!!!!!!!

[+legeek]

I think they will get some of my monies.

[Mendon]

Joystiq updated their article with a partial games listing and pricing. CLICK HERE

 

 

Mendon

[moycon]

I wonder if they will have achievements??

I'm glad i snagged a 4000 points card yesterday from amazon when they were on sale for $41.99

[Mendon]

They have a couple of small CES video's on the 360 Dashboard and one of them said that Achievements and Medals(?) will be included with the games.

 

I know it probably won't happen (unless this Arcade becomes extremely successful) but I'd really like to see a couple optional "classic" controllers released for these games..... a trackball and something with a decent D-pad!

 

 

Mendon

Edited January 8, 2010 by Mendon

[Metal Ghost]

They have a couple of small CES video's on the 360 Dashboard and one of them said that Achievements and Medals(?) will be included with the games.

 

I know it probably won't happen (unless this Arcade becomes extremely successful) but I'd really like to see a couple optional "classic" controllers released for these games..... a trackball and something with a decent D-pad!

 

 

Mendon

 

Couldn't agree more about something with a good solid d-pad! That would be clutch. I may even have to eventually pick up one of those mad-catz classing controllers (the one that looks sort of like an Atari 2600 controller), but I don't know if it's wireless, and I really don't want a wired controller.

[Lord Helmet]

I've been wondering how the really classic era games would work on the 360...many of them that they have released have flopped...but this looks really cool.

[Atariboy]

For anyone that is interested, here's some earlier discussion on this topic from when rumors of this first hit back in early October.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/151828-atari-2600-and-intellivision-titles-coming-to-xbox-360/page__p__1855999entry1855999

 

I'm interested, but I'm also concerned because this developer hasn't been involved in emulation before (Easy to fail even with something like Atari 2600 emulation, look how bad Stainless Games' PSP release turned out).

 

Also, the pricing is too high. I hope there are package deals or bulk discounts because the prices are just going to be too high to be able to justify purchasing games I already own (The console releases), and I'd have to restrict myself to the arcade titles I don't have in other compilations. I also hope they're hard at work getting other publishers like Activision and Sega interested and bringing other platforms in eventually. I'd love to be purchasing nearly every release if they're emulated well, but it's simply not possible with their currently announced price structure.

 

With there being an official 1st party wheel that is widely stocked at retailers and is in many homes already, I hope we'll finally see proper home versions of games like Hard Drivin' (and Race Drivin'), Outrun (And Turbo Outrun and Outrunners), Turbo, Monaco GP (If possible, I believe that game can't be emulated due to not having a CPU), Night Driver (Would love to see the arcade title finally), Pole Position I/II, and many others. Also hope they code their emulators to be compatible with rotary spinners and track-balls just in case we ever see a controller released with those abilities (Haven't seen a track-ball since the PSOne).

Edited January 8, 2010 by Atariboy

[Metal Ghost]

(Haven't seen a track-ball since the PSOne).

 

There was a track ball released for PSOne? Huh, you learn something new everyday!

[moycon]

I second that a decent arcade stick is needed. One with a trackball and a spinner!!!

They could sell it and a bundle of classic games for like $59.99 and I'd be there.

[moycon]

More info...

 

At launch the Game Room will feature 30 original arcade and console classics in the virtual hub and the service will add new games to the platform every week. The service is said to be receiving so many games over the next three years that come the end of that three year time period, the Game Room will feature over 1000 arcade games. According to Kotaku, the 30 launch titles are:

 

1. Centipede (arcade)

2. Asteroids Deluxe (arcade)

3. Tempest (arcade)

4. Crystal Castles (arcade)

5. Lunar Lander (arcade)

6. Jungler (arcade)

7. Road Fighter (arcade)

8. Scramble (arcade)

9. Finalizer (arcade)

10. Tutankham (arcade)

11. Shao-Lin's Road (arcade)

12. Super Cobra (arcade)

13. Red Baron (arcade)

14. Gravitar (arcade)

15. Battlantlis

16. Astrosmash (Intellivision)

17. Mountain Madness Super Pro Skiing (Intellivision)

18. Armor Battle (Intellivision)

19. Space Hawk (Intellivision)

20. Sub Hunt (Intellivision)

21. Sea Battle (Intellivision)

22. Space Armada (Intellivision)

23. Astrosmash (Intellivision)

24. Star Raiders (Atari 2600)

25. Outlaw (Atari 2600)

26. Yar's Revenge (Atari 2600)

27. Millipede (Atari 2600)

28. Football (Atari 2600)

29. RealSports Tennis (Atari 2600)

30. Combat (Atari 2600)

 

How does this differ from the Xbox Live Arcade you ask? Well Microsoft stated that whilst the "Xbox Live Arcade features re-stylized versions of classic games, “Game Room” stays true to the old-school arcade, and features only original versions.” So don’t expect any flashy upgrades, the Game Room is strictly old skool! And by old skool, if you look at the launch titles, we mean real old skool.

[2600Lives]

So, is it going to be like one giant lobby where the arcade is located, and you can see everyone else who is playing at that time? (or their avatar, I should say).

 

I'm intrigued, but seriously, I wish they'd quit rehashing all the old games like this over and over so they can go into the public domain and make roms LEGAL at some point.

[Mendon]

I don't own one so forgive me if this is a dumb question: do the arcade sticks, like the "Hori Real Arcade Pro" or the "MadCatz Street Fighter Fight Stick" work with most 360 games that use a single stick for directional control? Are they an improvement over using the regular 360 controller on games like Pac-Man CE?

 

As I said in a previous post, I would be more inclined to invest in classic games if a decent controller were available. And there is no way that I'd buy games, even at $3, like Tempest or Centipede with the 360 controller being the only control option available.

 

 

Mendon

[NE146]

So let me get this straight.. will this allow you to challenge people in Combat on Xbox Live? (or any other strictly 2-player 2600 game?)

[Atariboy]

So let me get this straight.. will this allow you to challenge people in Combat on Xbox Live? (or any other strictly 2-player 2600 game?)

 

No online play at this time. They've stated that maybe it will be added later.

[moycon]

So, is it going to be like one giant lobby where the arcade is located

 

Doesn't sound like it...

 

Microsoft bills their latest innovation “as a customized social space for your Avatar inspired by the nostalgic arcades of the 70s, 80s, and 90s.” Your Game Room is said to be a fully customisable environment allowing you to arrange your cabinets, introduce animated mascots, decorate each room with themes and animated icons from your favourite games whilst all the time adding to it and building your collection with new titles every week. You can even invite your Xbox Live friends over or you can visit your friend's personal amusement arcades, but only if they invite you of course. Whether you can play on their games if you don’t own them though seems doubtful as the fact sheet for the platform states, “You can even invite friends into your custom arcade to check out your collection or visit their “game room” to demo games and scope out additions to your collection.” Although that was expected, considering the same mantra applies to things like Sky - if you don't own it, you can't access it. If you have no Xbox Live friends, how about inviting your real friends around and let them get involved, taking advantage of the two player “Couch Mode” where you can show off your silky skills.

 

I agree MS really need to incorporate online play if they want this to succeed.

[cimerians]

They HAVE to give us proper controllers to play these games. It wont make a difference from all the other collections we have.

 

Its about time they think about this.

 

This makes me really excited but again, the continued ignoring of getting us controllers to play these games amazes me. Doesnt anyone at Microsoft, not one single human being say "Gee...over a 1,000 games all on an Xbox D-Pad/analog stick..........hey guys we need to release an arcade stick and track ball controller."

 

No the madcatz classic controller sucks. I had one and luckily was able to return it to Target.

 

If anyone has info on contacting Major Nelson or Micorosft I'm all for sending an email about this.

 

Someone is about to finally give us something cool..........without proper hardware!!

We really need to make them know we want hardware too.

 

 

BTW - Anyone have those expensive X-Arcade sticks? I wonder if they work well. Still I'd love to see a two button Atari Style stick as well as an Arcade stick.

[moycon]

BTW - Anyone have those expensive X-Arcade sticks? I wonder if they work well. Still I'd love to see a two button Atari Style stick as well as an Arcade stick.

 

I could be wrong but I don't think they sell one that works on the 360. Or they didn't used to. Been a long time since I've looked into them. You are right though. We need a kick ass controller. I have a Hori arcade stick, but honestly I didn't like it all that much. The joystick didn't feel like a real arcade joystick, moved too freely or something. I just found this on Amazon. it's pricey but sounds like it might be decent....

 

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Real-Arcade-Pro-EX-SE/dp/B002FKYPU4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1263236164&sr=8-3

 

From a review:

 

The Seimitsu joystick is much tighter than a Sanwa, as it has less movement in any direction. I actually prefer this, especially for quick and difficult movements in Street Fighter IV. The buttons also turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise. Sanwa buttons register very quickly, but continue to travel downward, which always seemed a little mushy to me - especially after growing up playing American arcade cabinets with clicky concave Cherry micro-switches. The Seimitsu buttons are a nice middle ground between the Sanwa and the American-style buttons: they're a little clicky and don't seem to travel as far, resulting in a much firmer, precise feeling.

 

Now if only they included a roller and a spinner!! LOL

[cimerians]

LOL!

 

Thats exactly what I mean. The review makes some VERY important points such as response time and "tighter" controls. All of which are crucial to older arcade games.

 

The buttons need to click right away without too much of a push and the controller must be tight because most old arcade games required good hand-eye coordination.

 

For years I've been disappointed with arcade sticks. The one you mention on Amazon looks like it may work, problem is I'm too scared to invest in something and it turns out not to

have the qualities it truly needs.

[Jess Ragan]

The MadCatz stick was terrible if you were using it for its intended purpose. The trick is to get creative with it. The board is extremely handy for projects, with a common ground and huge copper pads. I was able to use the MadCatz stick to interface my Xbox 360 with a hacked Sega Saturn joypad, which was something that would have been exceedingly difficult or even impossible with other controllers. For that purpose, it was worth the price.

Edited January 11, 2010 by Jess Ragan

[mckafka99]

I have one of those X-Arcade Tank sticks with trackball but no way to hook up to 360 to test. They have just announced a 'work around adaptor configuration' that is supposed to make it work, but I dont think I'lll be buying in (http://www.xgaming.com/store/x-arcade-adapters/product/x-arcade-xbox-360-adapter/)

btw -The tankstick is pretty awesome for mame -works like a charm, just wish it had a spinner.

[moycon]

The tankstick is pretty awesome for mame -works like a charm, just wish it had a spinner.

 

I can recall a few years back there was a super arcade joystick company that had all the bells and whistles. Trackballs, Spinners, 4 joystick fields (Like Gauntlet) you name it. I wonder if they are still around and if they support the 360, or am I thinking of XArcade and they just don't offer that stuff any more?