No suprize. Really! Actualy I though this was anounced a few months ago when they showed off the tekken 6 footage. Namco has been using Sony HW since the PS starting with the System 11. Umm. This is not going to change much. All arcade PCB are expensive on release. Its still probably going to cost the same that Tekken DR (a 256 board) did when it was released. This is actualy probabl a cheaper solution then developing a whole new system entirely (cpu and all) as well the recent trend in using PC hardware is far from being cheap as well.
This could be a good way to revive the arcade after Naomi dies. A cheap powerful system with easy home ports. Good news for all involved.
The PC based approach of the current SEGA arcade hardware is problematic in my view, to boot. The Triforce should still remain in business, considering the Wii is fully compatible with it (now even in terms of memory) Only thing left is to find an X360 based arcade platform;D PS: A system 11 game was released in 2006, old arcade systems aren't dead it's a totally different world than that of consoles!
XB360 doesn't currently have the reliability to be put in a coinop, IMO. Mine goes back to Bestbuy today.
arcade hardware is much more robust. for example, they don't use constant disc access either. They buffer everything to huge memory caches on the boot of the machine (Chihiro/ Triforce using GD-rom). a 'proper' version of the 360 is feasable if they want to make it. There are no cost constraints when making an arcade board like there are when you make a retail unit.
Nothing will revive the arcade scene. Arcades in Japan thrive on fighting games, and the occasionaly shooting game does well. That new Gundam simulator is doing well, but obviously a homeport is kind of silly. For games like Tekken 6 and other easy sellers on the PS3, this will be very handy. For everything else, it will be meh. How many other non-Naomi games with identical console hardware got ported? Most of what was released on that hardware, but it was hardly enough to warrant reviving arcades. The majority of the cost is in the software. There is some overheard to the hardware, but the most expensive PCBs run about 300,000 yen (Type-X, Lindbergh) , w/ GD-Rom kits running about 180,000 yen at retail. Cave's SH3 board which is by no means a technical monster, retails for 248,000 yen at launch.
well there was a time when you went to your local arcade to play with power. Console versions were inferior. The differences are nowadays minimal between arcade and home consoles, so people don't get all excited that easily unfortunately.
