New Sega Hardware!

[CouldBeWorse]

Sega Japan has announced that its next-generation coin-op iteration is nearing completion, with PowerVR again providing the polygon muscle, following acclaimed partnerships in the creation of both the Naomi and Naomi II boards.

In a press release on the issue, Sega’s recently-appointed head of arcade strategies Hiroshi Yagi said, "The inherent benefits of PowerVR, which are well known to Sega, will be utilised to deliver interactive experiences that will amaze gamers worldwide and continue Sega’s legacy of innovation and excellence." He continued, "Sega's new arcade platform, which will be at the forefront of Sega's current board strategy across all video game genres, will deliver cutting edge gaming, exceeding any other videogame system in the world."

This news will also allay the widespread fears of Sega's fanbase which was braced for the reduction of high-end arcade development, in favour of utilising either current Naomi boards or even Sammy's dreaded AtomisWave system.

Expect the first games for the new machine to be announced within the next few months.

So new arcade hardware, wow what a surprise! ...But still nice to hear. Bring on VF5.

[Popo]

I sooooooo dearly wished that meant anything to me, the local arcade has just shipped off all of its remaining games aside from Initial D and Dancing Stage Euromix 2 and stocked back up on slot machines and one armed bandits

[Madjock]

I sooooooo dearly wished that meant anything to me, the local arcade has just shipped off all of its remaining games aside from Initial D and Dancing Stage Euromix 2 and stocked back up on slot machines and one armed bandits

Ah, sounds of a fellow Glaswegian.

I have my money on Booths just keeping Inital D just so the signs outside saying "videos" are not incorrect.

Really, really disapointing - unless I've missed something, thats the end of Arcades in Glasgow - outside student unions I would guess (can't get in there anymore).

[breaksmith]

I've carved the words 'VF5' into my own flesh.

That is all. Move along. Nothing to see here.

[Calashnikov]

The best arcade in Glasgow was never Booth's in any case. There was a better one. I'm talking about the wee arcade that was at the end of Argyll Street, across the road fae 'Wean's World' ( ) at The Trongate. This was about 6 years ago now. It was great because it had VF2 and Street Fighter Alpha. No neds either, which was strange given it's close proximity to the Barra's. Just lots of Chinese hardcore Street Fighter fans. I think the place is still there but the games are long gone.

[emjay2kay]

If only I'd get to see anything of it.

My nearest arcades are mostly rubbish, filled with Dancing Stage machines and slot machines. Sega Rally, House of the Dead, Time Crisis... all games that are donkey's years old are still prevailant. I can't even think of the newest machine. Police 24/7 maybe.

Still, one of the arcades has all the old stuff at the back, stuff from the late 80's to early 90's (Simpsons, Turtles, that kind of thing) with old stuff like 1942 and Asteroids dotted around. All of them about ten or twenty pence a go.

I just wish I could go down there and shove some money into F-Zero AX or Outrun 2.

[nohsa]

I don't know any decent arcades in the northwest.

But that is good news nonetheless.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

As the company I work for is also distributor of Sega, I get to play most of the old and new Sega games from the comfort of our own showroom or on exhibitions. But it still isn't the same as going into a dark, smoke-filled place with dodgy people and noisy machines. I do wish sometimes we had some real, decent arcades in Holland. At the moment we have some small ones at tourist resorts and there's one or two machines in some coffeeshops or gambling-joints. But a real arcade with all the big ones? Hard to find...

[Molloy]

Bollocks.. here comes another 5 years of Sega games that we'll never see.

They should just adapt a next gen console system like they did with the Naomi 1. Have two cabinets - a stand up one and a driving one. Swappable games for £2000 a pop.

But what we're going to get is a Model 4 board that costs £20,000 and never appears anywhere outside of Japan.

Sammy will sort them out hopefully. I can't stand another generation of arcade idiocy. The economics of the industry are just unbelievably bad. No value for the operators or the gamers.

[Cyhwuhx]

As the company I work for is also distributor of Sega, I get to play most of the old and new Sega games from the comfort of our own showroom or on exhibitions. But it still isn't the same as going into a dark, smoke-filled place with dodgy people and noisy machines. I do wish sometimes we had some real, decent arcades in Holland. At the moment we have some small ones at tourist resorts and there's one or two machines in some coffeeshops or gambling-joints. But a real arcade with all the big ones? Hard to find...

.::: As far as I know Vlissingen has the last (a bit up-to-date) refuge in the Netherlands...

That we should live to see such dark times...

[Jack]

There's already arcade boards for each of the systems. Xbox is Chihiro, GC is Triforce, and PS2 is System 246, IIRC.

[taiAtari]

.::: As far as I know Vlissingen has the last (a bit up-to-date) refuge in the Netherlands...

That we should live to see such dark times...

There is a an arcade in Zandvoort and one in Scheveningen that's always that bit smaller when I go there...I remember when I used to take the bike to Scheveningen from Rotterdam, with 15 guilders jangling in my pocket.

Playing and watching others play Out Run Deluxe, Afterburner, Star Wars sit in, Discs of Tron, Wec Le Mans, basically all the big machines our local arcade did not have. Arcades were plentiful back then all along the Scheveningen seaboard. To see it reduced to just the small corner in the Palace Promenade while the slotmachines with grannies attached and photoplays are everywhere just breaks my heart...

[Mr Do 71]

If only I'd get to see anything of it.

My nearest arcades are mostly rubbish, filled with Dancing Stage machines and slot machines. Sega Rally, House of the Dead, Time Crisis... all games that are donkey's years old are still prevailant. I can't even think of the newest machine. Police 24/7 maybe.

Still, one of the arcades has all the old stuff at the back, stuff from the late 80's to early 90's (Simpsons, Turtles, that kind of thing) with old stuff like 1942 and Asteroids dotted around. All of them about ten or twenty pence a go.

I just wish I could go down there and shove some money into F-Zero AX or Outrun 2.

Oooh, where is this den of retro?

[emjay2kay]

Oooh, where is this den of retro?

Cleethorpes seafront. Forget the name of the arcade, but it's underneath Fantasy World, the premiere childrens activity centre in the North East Lincolnshire region!*

*Not even remotely true, but it was fun as a kid.

[biglime]

Ah, sounds of a fellow Glaswegian.

I have my money on Booths just keeping Inital D just so the signs outside saying "videos" are not incorrect.

Really, really disapointing - unless I've missed something, thats the end of Arcades in Glasgow - outside student unions I would guess (can't get in there anymore).

The word is that Booths got rid of a lot of the machines to make room for Derby Owner's Club's massive eight-seater horse-fest.

Yeah. It comes in at the end of the month. And its brilliant.

R.

[Mr Do 71]

The word is that Booths got rid of a lot of the machines to make room for Derby Owner's Club's massive eight-seater horse-fest.

Yeah. It comes in at the end of the month. And its brilliant.

R.

Saw that recently at the Trocadero, it was proving popular as well.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

There is a an arcade in Zandvoort and one in Scheveningen that's always that bit smaller when I go there...I remember when I used to take the bike to Scheveningen from Rotterdam, with 15 guilders jangling in my pocket.

Playing and watching others play Out Run Deluxe, Afterburner, Star Wars sit in, Discs of Tron, Wec Le Mans, basically all the big machines our local arcade did not have. Arcades were plentiful back then all along the Scheveningen seaboard. To see it reduced to just the small corner in the Palace Promenade while the slotmachines with grannies attached and photoplays are everywhere just breaks my heart...

Yes, I've been to the Scheveningen arcade which is a bit sad. But at least they had a big VF4, HotD 3 and more recent stuff. Photoplays and slotmachines are a travesty of gaming, but alas, our company is responsible for those as well... At least they help to pay my salary

I bought my own Jamma cabinet today (+ Raiden II), so I don't need the arcade anymore. Especially when I've got a nicely filled up Mame box installed in there.

[Popo]

The word is that Booths got rid of a lot of the machines to make room for Derby Owner's Club's massive eight-seater horse-fest.

Yeah. It comes in at the end of the month. And its brilliant.

R.

I've noticed posters for that when I've been in on the odd occasion to let off bit of uni-related stress. Funky chickens, but I'd rather have Time Crisis 3 back.

[Dimahoo]

I don't know any decent arcades in the northwest.

But that is good news nonetheless.

Thats wonderful. :sob:

[SeanR]

What would you people say to a home retail/rental Atomiswave, in a Neo-Geo stylee?

[roberthazelby]

I think this is excellent news.

For me one of the disappointing things about arcades these days is that the graphics fail to impress me.

One of the joys of going into an arcade in the 80's was that you could neve get the quality of the graphics found there on any of the home platforms. These days, with many companies using hardware based on the home systems it's just like watching a home computer/video game in a cabinet.

Perhaps this will bring some of the `wow` factor back to the arcades.

I do however think that the chance of half of these titles making it to UK shores is next to nothing, but we can hope!

Rob

[Molloy]

But will this system look much better than PS3 and Xbox2 console hardware? It'll cost 50 times as much.

Sega should do like Sammy and stick with console boards, and make the games swappable. Trying to bring people back to arcades with graphics is expensive and frankly didn't work - Model 2, 3 were so far ahead of consoles at the time it was astonishing. But they were too pricy so they failed to a large extent.