Jakks Capcom Stick is out...

[atarilovesyou]

..has anybody played it yet? I saw one at Future Shop the other day but didn't buy one as I have the PS2 Capcom Collection. I might pick one up after I hear some reviews!

[atwwong]

IIRC it only comes with three games for $30 CAD.

[mister_pal]

Argg it sucks to pay 30 bucks for these and get two games or with the two player plug and play games an extra 10 bucks for an extra controller

[Atariboy]

So what's on it? Is it one of those Genesis on a chip things with stuff like the Genesis port of Mercs on it?

[Jess Ragan]

I heard it was five, but that was a long time ago.

 

JR

[atarilovesyou]

...comes with 1942, Commando, Ghosts n' Goblins and the Game Key is MegaMan. Anybody play it yet?

[RickHarrisMaine]

I remember 1942, that was a great game!!!

[+DamonicFury]

Are people seeing these regularly? If so, where at? I have yet to come across one.

[chrisbid]

from that lineup and considering its jakks, im guessing it uses a NOAC?

[bedouin]

Maybe if there was a Street Figher II one I'd care.

[onmode-ky]

I wish I could find one, but all my searching, both online and in physical stores, has only resulted in finding just Best Buy Canada and Future Shop selling it; both of these are in Canada, and their online stores will only ship to Canada as well. I, unfortunately, am not in Canada. Also, I found a Hong Kong website, http://www.superufo.com, selling it, but it costs more, and I'd also rather not pay to have a TV Game shipped overseas.

 

Based on information from Dreamwriter, who worked on the Star Wars TV Game, at least some of the later Jakks Pacific TV Games models use hardware whose capabilities lie somewhere between a NOAC and a GOAC. This one might be like that as well.

 

There actually is a Street Fighter II plug-and-play unit, a Genesis one released by Radica, in their Play TV Legends line. It supports two-player versus fighting with a pair of 6-button Genesis controllers (which I think are smaller than normal ones), and it includes a bonus game, the Genesis port of Ghouls 'N' Ghosts. It's a rather pricey plug-and-play, being at least $33. I tried one out but found the controller too imprecise.

 

Lucky Canadians . . . eh?

 

onmode-ky

[Xot]

Maybe if there was a Street Figher II one I'd care.

 

There's been a Street Fighter II one out for months and months. Where you been?

 

IIRC it plays the Genesis version.

[onmode-ky]

After months of fruitless searching in two States of the Union, I finally went and asked my aunt who lives in Vancouver to see if she could find a Capcom TV Game for me in either a Future Shop or Best Buy around her. In a mere few days, she found one. I received it last Friday, and after having eagerly anticipated this one for 2+ years (since Jakks first announced it), I am happy to report that it does not disappoint in the least.

 

Commando and Ghosts 'N Goblins are fun, though I am and have always been pretty bad at the latter, but 1942, the whole reason I was interested in this plug-and-play in the first place, is pure exhilaration. I find it even more fun than playing the ROM set in MAME (granted, I don't have an arcade stick for my PC, just a RumblePad 2). I can't really comment on accuracy for the other two games, which I've never played much, but 1942 seems pretty close to the real thing to me. The sound of the roll maneuver is a little choppy, but other than that, I didn't notice anything off. I think HotGen did very well porting these to the TV Games platform overall. The "insert coin to continue" option is even mimicked; after you die, if you've passed the first checkpoint in whichever game you're playing, the game prompts you to press and hold 'A,' then press 'B' to continue the game. As for the hardware, I found the stick and buttons very responsive. The buttons are a little small, but then, if they were bigger, the whole thing would be larger, too. For anyone intending to get it, some advice on using the stick: put it down on a flat surface and mash those buttons with your left index/middle fingers for best effect, rather than holding the base in your hand and pressing the buttons with your left thumb.

 

The back of the packaging advertises Mega Man for the GameKey, but I read in a recent interview that Jakks is postponing full-on release of the GameKey line for now, so it probably isn't out yet. Of course, I'm completely satisfied with just 1942.

 

onmode-ky

 

P.S. One minor annoyance is that the opening credit screens (three: 1 for the TV Games logo, one for Jakks/HotGen logos, and one for copyright info) cannot be skipped. However, on the plus side, the unit has the same pause feature as the Namco II unit, and it also saves high scores.

[Dr Galaga]

So is it only available in Canada?

[Atariboy]

onmode-ky, have you checked out Capcom Classics Collection Volume 1 for the PS2 or Xbox (Assuming you own one of those consoles)? Bet you'd enjoy it if you haven't already, as well as the upcoming volume 2.

[onmode-ky]

When I called Jakks a few months ago asking about the availability of the Capcom TV Game, the rep on the phone said it was available in the US as well (I specifically asked that, since I knew it was in Canada already). However, I have personally not seen it in any stores around me, nor can I find an online store in the US that sells it. Amazon.com has had it listed as "Currently not available" for a really long time.

 

I think the limited availability of the Capcom unit is due to the shift in Jakks' thinking about the TV Games audience. This and the Super Pac-Man TV Game might be the last retro units. I have no hard evidence of this, but Jakks has said that market research indicates their audience is mostly children and people who watch game shows (hence releasing the Wheel of Fortune TV Game). The EA Sports and Mortal Kombat units bombed despite generally positive reviews (the MK one in particular had some positively glowing reviews, even from a hardcore MK fan site), and Jakks lost a bunch of money on them. Now they're shying away from "gamers' titles" and going mostly for kids licenses. Pac-Man is still popular with kids, but I think the remaining classic arcade library doesn't hold the same level of interest. Jakks actually has had TV Game licenses with Tecmo and SNK/Playmore for some time, but I think they dumped their plans for those already, after the failure of the EA and MK models.

 

Yes, I know of the Capcom Classics Collection Volume 1, and I actually own the PS2 release. However, I don't own a PS2; I'm so cheap that even the current $130 price tag is too much to bother with. I did play my copy of CCC, though, on my cousin's PS2 once, and I really liked what I saw. Still, there's a charm to the TV Game that can't be replicated by the disc. For instance, I think the product design looks great.

 

onmode-ky

[atarilovesyou]

I don't feel sorry at all for Jakks and the demise of their products. They released a so-so product when they COULD have released something truly great....how do you lose money on Ms Pacman for God's sake? They wanted to make a shitload of money of garbage, really, that's what I'll remember them as. Had they been the real deal, I would have gladly paid 50 bucks for their stick based products and had NO need to buy a PS2 and the Namco Museum. Instead they used cheap sticks, buttons, and passable software versions...then they tried to oversaturate a small market with minor improvements by the Gamekeys....thanks Jakks.

 

I know a lot of people 'like' these sticks but I tell you, if you wanna play a game of Ms Pacman that is ANYTHING like the arcade, steer clear of Jakks. Namco Museum is as close as you can get, and buy a good arcade style stick. These sticks will never be collectable, even the Capcom one. I couldn't imagine anyone 'really' wanting one other than for collectibility.

[onmode-ky]

Actually, I got the Capcom stick and like it because I really wanted one, and for reasons other than for collectibility. I'm sorry you were disappointed by your TV Game purchases, but I have been pleased with all of mine (and I have 6).

 

Incidentally, I never said Jakks Pacific lost money on Ms. Pac-Man. In fact, I'm pretty sure they made a huge amount of money on the Namco II stick, maybe even more than they did on the original Namco stick. Jakks cites only 3 TV Games as having been failures: the World Poker Tour, EA Sports, and Mortal Kombat models. They say the others have sold pretty well, and I know of certain models being singled out as top sellers: the Namco (presumably the first one), Spider-Man, The Batman (apparently, this one alone sold over 1 million units), and Wheel of Fortune models. I'm also pretty sure that the Namco II model was a good seller, considering it was on Amazon.com's best sellers list for a while.

 

Also, atarilovesyou, you may have gladly paid $50 for a better stick and more accurate port of Ms. Pac-Man, but for the average consumer, and also for me, $50 is out of the question for a plug-and-play game. I honestly don't think Jakks Pacific, being a large, publicly owned, mainstream toy company and not a small specialist manufacturer, would have turned a profit selling plug-and-play games at $50. I know I wouldn't have bought any.

 

onmode-ky

[Atariboy]

I was pretty pleased with my gamekey Ms. Pac-Man stick. I hated the Atari joystick they did.

[onmode-ky]

It looks like I might have been wrong about Jakks dumping the Tecmo project. I found this recently. However, I wouldn't put any faith in the listed release date, as many of the other TV Games sold by this website are also future-dated for release, even the ones which Jakks released a while ago. Still, this is the first and only place I've seen a picture of (the prototype for?) the Tecmo TV Game unit. I think the Tecmo unit is supposed to be all NES games, hence the NES-style gamepad look. Still, there is the possibility that the project got as far as the form factor design stage and then was canceled, so maybe this is just a misleading, early image.

 

Going back to the Capcom stick, I clearly enjoy mine very much; I was up until past 6 AM this morning, first playing some Commando and then hours upon hours of 1942. Sadly, despite over an hour of attempts, I could not pass the end of the second-to-last stage (yes, all 32 stages are in the TV Game) and finally quit the marathon session for sleep. I tried all sorts of tactics, but the best I could do was almost complete the stage. Was the arcade original this hard? I never had enough coins to even try, back in the day. I must say, though, I'm quite proud of myself for beating three superbomber bosses, all without taking a single hit, especially considering I'd never even seen one before today.

 

onmode-ky

 

P.S. I was also impressed that my Capcom stick lasted through the entire marathon run without even a hint of running low on battery power. And the batteries were not even freshly recharged.

[atarilovesyou]

Actually, I got the Capcom stick and like it because I really wanted one, and for reasons other than for collectibility. I'm sorry you were disappointed by your TV Game purchases, but I have been pleased with all of mine (and I have 6).

 

Incidentally, I never said Jakks Pacific lost money on Ms. Pac-Man. In fact, I'm pretty sure they made a huge amount of money on the Namco II stick, maybe even more than they did on the original Namco stick. Jakks cites only 3 TV Games as having been failures: the World Poker Tour, EA Sports, and Mortal Kombat models. They say the others have sold pretty well, and I know of certain models being singled out as top sellers: the Namco (presumably the first one), Spider-Man, The Batman (apparently, this one alone sold over 1 million units), and Wheel of Fortune models. I'm also pretty sure that the Namco II model was a good seller, considering it was on Amazon.com's best sellers list for a while.

 

Also, atarilovesyou, you may have gladly paid $50 for a better stick and more accurate port of Ms. Pac-Man, but for the average consumer, and also for me, $50 is out of the question for a plug-and-play game. I honestly don't think Jakks Pacific, being a large, publicly owned, mainstream toy company and not a small specialist manufacturer, would have turned a profit selling plug-and-play games at $50. I know I wouldn't have bought any.

 

onmode-ky

 

....when I say 50 bucks, I mean 50 Canadian...something around 41 American I think...but the point is that they could have done a STELLAR job but instead they did a so-so job.

 

If they, as you state, only lost money on THREE units, then why is it that I can only find ALL their products in the clearance bins? It's because of word of mouth advertising, friend. And these sticks were almost universally dissed by those who actually know what Ms Pacman used to play like. Jakks obviously screwed up....in this case, they could have turned one of the most popular and lucrative game titles in history another MAJOR success by incorporating an IDENTICAL version of it at a great price, and hooking a newer generation onto the 'real deal' Ms Pacman.

 

Instead they cheaped out, and we got a game that, if you know anything about Ms Pacman, wasn't very representative of the addictive, fast moving accurate game that once was. Playing for high scores in Ms Pacman is a blast, but not when the MAIN limiting factor is determined by a crappy joystick (or programming, it's hard to blame the stick when it works SO WELL in Galaga and Xevious) flipping the direction of Ms Pacman when being tailed by a ghost in close quarters.

 

In fact, it's not even worth playing in my opinion. My stick is in the closet to stay. It's a shame to think Jakks could've had a MASSIVE hit that could have provided ALL the revenue they needed to expand into newer platforms...instead, they're in the Walmart discount bin.

[onmode-ky]

atarilovesyou, I think we're not talking about the same thing. You seem to be talking about the plug-and-play market as it is right now. I don't disagree, as lots of retailers have slashed prices on plug-and-play games (though I will note that this is not the case at my local Toys 'R Us and Target stores, which have not dumped them as clearance material yet and are actually continuing to restock with new products; only the local Wal-Mart is really going nuts with the slashing, with the WWE and Star Wars ones at $4.88 and the TechnoSource Coleco ones at $2.50, both 1- and 2-player). I was talking about the Ms. Pac-Man' unit's sales performance back when it came out. It was released in the summer/fall of 2004, and the period from then until the end of the 2004 holiday season was pretty much the peak of the plug-and-play market. Jakks Pacific reported company record sales and a 119% year-over-year increase in net sales for the fourth quarter of 2004, at $184.8 million (mind you, that's an increase of 119%, so it's more than twice the previous year's fourth quarter). At the quarter's investment analyst conference call, the company cited the TV Games line as a significant part of the earnings success, and they specifically singled out the Ms. Pac-Man Namco II stick as one of the top sellers. Also consider that the Namco II was one of Amazon.com's top-selling toys of that holiday season and that it won a few toy-of-the-year type honors. I can cite specific awards if you want.

 

So, right now, no, it's probably not really a big hit. But, it doesn't have to be, since it's already been one. It's like how Final Fantasy VIII sure isn't a big hit now (though it's still sold), but it was a very big seller back in 1999 (1998?).

 

However, since holiday 2004, the market has been fizzling, and I don't think any of the subsequent TV Games, with the possible exception of the Star Wars model, have seen that kind of success. However, I don't have any numbers or company statements to back me up here.

 

onmode-ky

[AtticGamer]

Capcom would be smarter to release a SF2 Champion Edition Joystick for 17$.

[atarilovesyou]

..in a way, you're kinda backing me up with regards to one point. Of course I don't think that a game released 2 years ago is going to selling as strongly today, as you cited. And yes, I picked up the first 2 Namco sticks as soon as they were released. It was that Christmas that they released Namco 2 that it really took off, and they KNEW it was due to the Ms Pacman inclusion...the game was bigger than Pacman, with good reason!

 

And here's my point:...if they spent a lil more effort in bringing out a QUALITY job with Ms Pacman and NOTHING else, the repercussions would have been MUCH more lucrative. Instead, I along with MANY friends had to exchange our Ms Pacmans multiple times when we realized that something 'wasn't quite right' with Ms Pacman. I've stated the problems at length so I won't go into it now. FOUR RETURNS on my very long ToysRus receipt...each stick having something wrong with it...only to find out that the programming was at fault more than anything.

 

It's a shame because they could have made so much more money PLUS I'd have a game I'd still play frequently instead of turning to my PS2...which, by the way, I bought as an ultimate alternative to the crummy Ms Pacman (In my opinion)...normally we'd go down to the local arcade and also hope the stick was in good shape and play away..but what's the point of having the play at home version when you KNOW that when you die, 90 percent of the time is due to an equipment malfunction...and that's not me being arrogant, it's the truth. Our high scores of the arcade returned when we got the PS2 Museum (and now Museum 2) and a good arcade stick.

 

They could have made the sticks better, the programming better, and QUALITY control would have IMMEDIATELY spotted the problems. But they didn't care, they just knew they'd make some good money and move on...which they have, evidently.

 

And then to lament over the 'death' of the plug n play market? NO way! They did it to themselves, and nobody else is to blame. And after the majority of the buyers saw what kind of quality they were getting via Ms Pacman, can you blame them for not trying the others? Why should they? Even I tried the pinball game....great idea, CHEAPLY executed. The can fit a great version of Mortal Kombat in a genesis type thumbpad and can't pull of a better version of Pinball???....hmmm.

 

Anyway, I hear what you're saying. It would have been nice if they did it right when it REALLY mattered, the flagship of their line nonetheless. I've heard the Capcom stick is great...I would have bought one, but ...nah. Not after Ms Pacman. And I think this type of thing hurts ALL plug n plays, Flashback systems included. Consumers remember negatives, and BUY positives...but perhaps the negative backlash of multiple returns during 2004 Christmas lingered into the 05 season when the BEST plugnplay so far, Flashback 2.0, was released. Just my thoughts.

Edited June 9, 2006 by atarilovesyou

[Student Driver]

And after the majority of the buyers saw what kind of quality they were getting via Ms Pacman, can you blame them for not trying the others? Why should they?

 

[...]

 

Anyway, I hear what you're saying. It would have been nice if they did it right when it REALLY mattered, the flagship of their line nonetheless. I've heard the Capcom stick is great...I would have bought one, but ...nah. Not after Ms Pacman. And I think this type of thing hurts ALL plug n plays, Flashback systems included. Consumers remember negatives, and BUY positives...but perhaps the negative backlash of multiple returns during 2004 Christmas lingered into the 05 season when the BEST plugnplay so far, Flashback 2.0, was released. Just my thoughts.

 

The only people I've ever heard complain about the performance of Ms. Pac-Man (or any of the gameplay inaccuracies in any of these sticks) have been classic gamers... and classic gamers are a very small segment of the much larger market for classic game plug-and-plays. Frankly, the only complaints I've heard "regular" people make regarding the Namco II was that they thought Pole Position didn't work. (This was the primary cause for returns-- at least at Wal-Mart-- and the reason that Jakks ended up putting a sticker on the unit in the future trumpeting the twist control.) Normal customers-- casual gamers, all-- either don't remember or don't care what the original arcade games played like, as long as the plug-and-play somewhat approximates their memory.

 

The Namco sticks continue to be money-earners for Jakks (and probably the few currently making money); it's why they continue pumping out iterations of the first units and continued the line w/ Super Pac-Man.