Game Sack - Left in the Arcade 2

[Redifer]

Let's look at some more games that were never ported to a home console in Left in the Arcade 2!

[Hobie-wan]

I imagine the problem with the Alien and Moo Mesa games was licensing. Just like Konami didn't bring the Simpsons arcade game home either. I guess we're lucky that the TMNT game more or less made the jump. NBBM is indeed awesome though.

[EllertMichael]

Nice to see these games get some well deserved recognition.
Although, it seems rather pedestrian to just credit feed through some games on MAME...

I'd like to see a real "Left in the Arcade" video - unemulated games

http://unmamed.mameworld.info/

[Hobie-wan]

I'd like to see a real "Left in the Arcade" video - unemulated games

Well, they've been pretty good about having (or borrowing) the games they talk about most of the time in tie videos.

[Redifer]

With arcade games it is really tough to get the boards. We did one episode with real boards (EDF and Fantasy Zone compared to their home counterparts). But that's why we put up the MAME logo because it's rare that we use emulation and we don't want people thinking we're using the real boards with these games. Also, it is incredibly difficult to record the real boards as they have ultra-weird video modes like 57Hz and whatnot. EDF was a pure bitch and I could only use a few seconds at a time before the screen started tearing to shreds on the recorded footage. MVS games are also very hard to record unlike the AES. Not as bad as EDF but they don't seem to be locked in at 59.94Hz like they should be.

And yeah, I think the reason most games don't come home can be attributed to one or more of the following:

1 - Licensing issues
2 - Overall finances of the company
3 - Popularity of the game/lack of interest according to the company's crappy research.


That doesn't explain some games like SegaSonic the Hedgehog. Maybe Sega thought it was too short and simple, but it would have been great on the Saturn.

EDIT: If someone wants to build me a Supergun that can play all/most boards at EXACTLY 59.94Hz and has at least s-video out, please contact me.

[EllertMichael]

With arcade games it is really tough to get the boards.

Oh, totally! And I completely get that MAME is much more convenient for making videos. Kudos for including real hardware when it's possible. A little pricey, but maybe this would be helpful in the future?


Please don't take my comment too personally. I just really want to see videos of unemulated arcade games I've never seen before. Although, it would be bittersweet haha I understand from your standpoint it does make more sense to review games that most people can actually play

[Ghegs]

MVS games are also very hard to record unlike the AES. Not as bad as EDF but they don't seem to be locked in at 59.94Hz like they should be.

That's weird, I can record MVS footage on my DVD recorder just fine. And seeing how the two systems are pretty much the same thing, it's very odd that you'd have recording problems with one but not the other.

EDIT: If someone wants to build me a Supergun that can play all/most boards at EXACTLY 59.94Hz and has at least s-video out, please contact me.

I'm not sure if this is even feasible, but if it is, it could potentially be a Very Bad Idea as some games simply don't run at that Hz. Changing that might have some much more undesired effects than just running the game faster/slower than expected.

A far better solution would use something like the product EllertMichael linked to.

[Erik_Twice]

That doesn't explain some games like SegaSonic the Hedgehog. Maybe Sega thought it was too short and simple, but it would have been great on the Saturn

Probably being a trackball game was the main reason. In fact, hardware limitations seem to be a pretty big reason why many games weren't ported (Say: Planet Harriers or Laser Ghost, for obvious reasons).

[Redifer]

Nah, hardware hasn't really stopped companies in the past. Space Harrier was ported to the Master System, after all. SegaSonic could have been made to work with a d-pad just like Marble Madness. Laser Ghost came out on the SMS.

That's weird, I can record MVS footage on my DVD recorder just fine. And seeing how the two systems are pretty much the same thing, it's very odd that you'd have recording problems with one but not the other

I agree, it is very weird. Maybe it was the Supergun I was using, I don't know. But it definitely was different. I don't record to a DVD recorder though. They cut the resolution in half and add lots of MPEG2 compression artifacts. Then it needs to be transcoded before it's edited.

A far better solution would use something like the product EllertMichael linked to.

No, because that won't change the Hz, either. My equipment captures at 59.94Hz. It can also do PAL captures and HD captures at different frame rates. But these games generally run in SD, not HD. So transcoding with an RGB converter won't do much good with most games. I might be able to see them on my TV, but recording them is an entirely different matter. Dumbass arcade manufacturers... they should have known that I'd want to record their games in the future!

[Ghegs]

I don't record to a DVD recorder though. They cut the resolution in half and add lots of MPEG2 compression artifacts. Then it needs to be transcoded before it's edited.

Maybe if it's some dollar-store generic brand DVD recorder or one that's not configured properly. But if you'll look at some of my replays you'll notice they look just fine. All the MVS/PCB captures were done with a DVD recorder and most of the other ones as well.

No, because that won't change the Hz, either. My equipment captures at 59.94Hz. It can also do PAL captures and HD captures at different frame rates. But these games generally run in SD, not HD. So transcoding with an RGB converter won't do much good with most games. I might be able to see them on my TV, but recording them is an entirely different matter. Dumbass arcade manufacturers... they should have known that I'd want to record their games in the future!

That's why you bring in the scan converter. With an upscaling device and a scan converter you'll end up with 480i59.94Hz video.