Sega's new arcade hardware...

[lost_within]

This just makes me wonder if we will ever actually see it...its kinda like...hell i dont even know what its like besides knowing that someone at sega is trying to fuck with my emotions!

[SpaceBooger]

This just makes me wonder if we will ever actually see it...its kinda like...hell i dont even know what its like besides knowing that someone at sega is trying to fuck with my emotions!

I don't know of any arcades other than Dave and Busters around here... I haven't seen a "new" arcade game since DDR

[t0yrobo]

Anyone have an idea as to what kind of games Sega plans on using these board for?

I think there's only one game for it announced so far, looks like it could be lots of fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7sb_qlP ... eroes.com/

[marurun]

I heard sega was creating the next xbox for microsoft.

It is truly a shame how all arcade hardware is becoming PC based...I miss the days of custom made hardware.

So do I, but hardware engineering is just too big a task and too expensive these days. That's why IBM, ATI, and Nvidia are the companies behind the hardware in all this generation's consoles.

[khyrox]

Make sense... PC hardware is off the shelf, cheap, and ubiquitous. People are comfortable building apps on the platform generally speaking. No crazy overhead. Probably the best route considering how the arcade market isn't as big globally as it used to be.

That said, I also do miss custom arcade hardware... heck I miss all the different platforms (arcade and home computing) from the heyday of the 80's and 90's...

[Jayson]

I heard sega was creating the next xbox for microsoft.

I think that might actually get me to buy another XBOX! Hopefully one that will be built a bit better...

It is truly a shame how all arcade hardware is becoming PC based...I miss the days of custom made hardware.

I hear you, but look at it this way... At least we will get some kick-ass PC ports!

[andythebadass]

i think its so funny that the hardware specs on those new arcade units is less than a mild custom pc build by today standards. you would think for those super expensive units they could through in something comparable to a gx280 or hd4870 graphics card and some more processor speed. but hey what do i know...

[DCsegaDH]

I haven't played any new arcades either except DDR.I never went to Dave & Busters,I should check it out since they have new arcades in there,the one near me has SF4.

[Limewater]

i think its so funny that the hardware specs on those new arcade units is less than a mild custom pc build by today standards. you would think for those super expensive units they could through in something comparable to a gx280 or hd4870 graphics card and some more processor speed. but hey what do i know...

I think a big part of the issue is that to go in an arcade unit, the parts need to be industrial-grade. They could build something with higher specs, but then expect it to not be working in three months. That is one reason why everything they send into space is based upon older technology. They need everything to be VERY reliable, and able to take a bit of a beating, be well-shielded, and they want to be able to fabricate it using older, more reliable and robust methods.

Also, it's worth noting that since this is a dedicated machine, overhead is much lower so far more of the system resources go directly to to game. At home you're running Windows Vista or XP and it's eating up a ton of your resources. The embedded Windows on this machine is probably taking up a megabyte of memory and only really taking up cycles of processor time during startup or in diagnostic mode or when they're installing new games to the hardware.

People are complaining about this using rather standard parts, but that's been pretty common for decades. Heck, the Z80 processor has been featured in the Sega Master System, Gamegear, Genesis, Gameboy, Neo Geo, several TI graphing calculators, the MSX, the TRS-80, the ZX Spectrum, and about a billion other places. The Atari 2600 had a custom processor, but it's customization was to remove functionality from the 6502 processor (used in the NES and arcade hardware) so that it could be cheaper.

They've been using standard parts for decades, it's just that now the parts they are using are ones you recognize from your home PC.

It is worth noting, however, that custom PCBs (populated mostly with standardized parts) were common at least through the 80's in arcades, though even then a single PCB would often be used for multiple games, even if they still shipped the game as a full PCB. However, in that same sense, this new Sega hardware IS custom hardware.

[Niode]

i think its so funny that the hardware specs on those new arcade units is less than a mild custom pc build by today standards. you would think for those super expensive units they could through in something comparable to a gx280 or hd4870 graphics card and some more processor speed. but hey what do i know...

I think a big part of the issue is that to go in an arcade unit, the parts need to be industrial-grade. They could build something with higher specs, but then expect it to not be working in three months. That is one reason why everything they send into space is based upon older technology. They need everything to be VERY reliable, and able to take a bit of a beating, be well-shielded, and they want to be able to fabricate it using older, more reliable and robust methods.

Also, it's worth noting that since this is a dedicated machine, overhead is much lower so far more of the system resources go directly to to game. At home you're running Windows Vista or XP and it's eating up a ton of your resources. The embedded Windows on this machine is probably taking up a megabyte of memory and only really taking up cycles of processor time during startup or in diagnostic mode or when they're installing new games to the hardware.

People are complaining about this using rather standard parts, but that's been pretty common for decades. Heck, the Z80 processor has been featured in the Sega Master System, Gamegear, Genesis, Gameboy, Neo Geo, several TI graphing calculators, the MSX, the TRS-80, the ZX Spectrum, and about a billion other places. The Atari 2600 had a custom processor, but it's customization was to remove functionality from the 6502 processor (used in the NES and arcade hardware) so that it could be cheaper.

They've been using standard parts for decades, it's just that now the parts they are using are ones you recognize from your home PC.

It is worth noting, however, that custom PCBs (populated mostly with standardized parts) were common at least through the 80's in arcades, though even then a single PCB would often be used for multiple games, even if they still shipped the game as a full PCB. However, in that same sense, this new Sega hardware IS custom hardware.

Well said, I was going to post the exact same thing. Couldn't agree more.