Rumor: XBLA's Future - MAME anyone?

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A bit of juicy gossip for you today as SPOnG's US arm catches some sizzling information on the future of the already excellent Xbox Live Arcade service, currently the download darling of 360 owners around the world. Except in Japan, obviously.

Speaking to us in an "off the record so as not to get sacked" capacity, a Microsoft staffer explained how Xbox Live Arcade is going to swell to a monster of epic size. "XBLA has seen some pretty serious deal-making in this first quarter – it's been a real priority", it was explained to us by a source as close to the project as it's possible to get. "The deal-making has been a no-brainer for everyone we've spoken to and, aside from a few licensing issues with existing products, XBLA is going to smash Nintendo's Virtual Console to pieces. We're going for a major coin-op these[?], so the two offerings are different in that respect."

More? "You've heard of MAME right? Right. We're just doing a legal version of MAME, meaning that all the game owners get paid and the users get quality product based around a community. Imagine the biggest arcade in the world, just 1,000 times bigger. It'll have as many machines as we can possibly get, all with score-rankings and other community stuff. It's not a secret that MAME was massive for hackers of the original Xbox and the pull and sales of retro game packs on current machines is still really high. If this is taken and put under the right noses, it should become the biggest thing in mainstream/hardcore gamer crossover in the industry."

What's more, it looks as though Sega will be offering a major contribution, though frustratingly, we didn't get to the bottom of exactly what will be included in this major revision of Xbox Live Arcade. "Sega games will be included in a major way. It's a surprising addition to the deal and will include games that Nintendo will also be selling. The Nintendo deal is not exclusive."
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http://news.spong.com/article/9913?cb=379&cb=681
 
Even if this was true it would have to be free to be worth it to me since I'm almost finished with my real arcade machine. playing co-op over live and high score leaderboards would be nice though...
 
Sometimes these guys from Spong, I don't even think they even have a source and could be even making the quotes up themselves.
 
Smash Nintendo? Yeah. How many people buy PSPs just the play emulated versions of NES/SNES classics [raises hand]. All Nintendo has to do is give us a handful of great SNES RPGs and it will kill the 'MAME' XBL. Who really wants to pay $5 to play Pac-Man? This is coming from someone who have purchased nearly every XBL title to date.
 
[quote name='gizmogc']Smash Nintendo? Yeah. How many people buy PSPs just the play emulated versions of NES/SNES classics [raises hand]. All Nintendo has to do is give us a handful of great SNES RPGs and it will kill the 'MAME' XBL.[/QUOTE]

Uh, no. SNES RPGs are a niche category. A popular niche category among the hardcore, but it lacks the universal appeal of classic arcade games. No one's girlfriend cares about SNES RPGs, and anyone who is a teenager now likely doesn't care either. RPGs for them started with FF VII.

Arcade games just work better as XBLA material, if for no other reason than online multiplayer.

"How many people buy PSPs just to play emulated NES/SNES games?" A small fraction of PSP owners. Most people have no idea what it takes to do such a thing.

I thought the developers of MAME specifically forbad any commercial use of the product?
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This (if it's true) IS NOT MAME. MAME isn't the only emulator out there. There's nothing that prevents anyone from making other emulators.


While I find this article questionable, especially considering the source site, this is probably something MS is aiming for.
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']"How many people buy PSPs just to play emulated NES/SNES games?" A small fraction of PSP owners. Most people have no idea what it takes to do such a thing.[/QUOTE]

:lol: :lol:
 
[quote name='gizmogc']:lol: :lol:[/QUOTE]

What a stirring response. Your hard facts and clear, concise thoughts really made me ponder this situation.
 
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