5e30de37   
   From: bel@whipassgaming.com   
      
   > The money doesn't.   
      
   Oh, I understand, the money is nice.   
      
   > It's more fun when you run across the actual arcade machine. Really   
   > perks your interest. Two summers ago I discovered OFF THE WALL, an   
   > arkanoid clone made by Atari. They had it at our local pool. Of course   
   > it was out of order, but I finally got it running right in some MAME   
   > for DOS version.   
      
   I agree, to an extent. At one point I was really considering picking up   
   a 4 player TMNT cabinet, but just the sheer amount of space it would   
   have taken killed the idea. Now, I have *every* arcade in existence and   
   they all fit on my laptop's HDD. ;)  Still, it would be fun to have MAME   
   arcade cabinet. I think Scott H is actually using one of his to do that.   
   Imagine it: Every MAME game on a real cabinet...could be pretty hip.   
      
   > Well, it just never seems to excite in any particular area. If I made   
   > a post in here how many good final fight type sidescroller were made   
   > only for the dreamcast, there'd probably be crickets chirping in here.   
   > Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of old-school arcade classics either.   
   > Even the Genesis compilations were pathetic. We had to wait for   
   > Altered Beast TAG to show up on the PS2! Doesn't seem to be a   
   > particularly good system for 3-D games. Lastly, it doesn't even play   
   > DVDs like its competitors did. Just never seemed to impress.   
      
   Well, it's your opinion, and it's fine...but I just can't agree in any   
   area. The DC thrilled me to no end. The retro comps sucked, sure, but I   
   didn't pay $150 for my DC to play Burger Time. The 3D was very strong, I   
   mean even launch titles like Hydro Thunder and Soul Calibur are fucking   
   impressive to this day. As for the DVD drive, it'd of been nice...but I   
   would rather it have been used strictly for games rather than playing   
   movies. Now, don't get me wrong, I used my Xbox as my primary DVD player   
   for the longest time...but most devs were doing a great job of actually   
   using 2+ gigs for the various games.   
      
   > Not the hardware.... there must have been something else that was   
   > amiss. It seemed like developers didn't often put their best foot   
   > forward on this system. I'm guessing Sega grew too lax and starting   
   > allowing developers to do whatever the hell they wanted. The inmates   
   > running the assylum.   
      
   I'll agree that we saw a lot of ports on the DC, some from Windows   
   CE-based games, and some from PSX originals...but not all of them were   
   complete crap. It had a strong library of original titles as well, and   
   over-the-top arcade conversions.   
      
   > Honestly, The PC *SHOULD* be the ultimate gaming platform, even   
   > despite the multitude of different hardware setups that the developers   
   > will and do encounter. It's only because of antics, rude software like   
   > the namco compilation you mentioned (LOL), and MS's decision not to   
   > release a heavily scaled down version of Windows for gamers with   
   > little or no PC knowledge that it isn't.  Ten years ago we were all   
   > predicting that consoles would soon be extinct :D   
      
   I agree, a lot of the reason the PC is loosing ground as a gaming   
   platform is due to most players not wanting to have to dick with the   
   constant issues that come up when getting a game running. Plus, you've   
   got the issue of power: Do you have it? How much will it take to get it?   
   etc. With the 360, or something, you simply pop the disc in and   
   play...and the shit is *way* powerful, more powerful that most people's   
   PCs. It's like a buddy of mine always used to joke about: "Let's see, I   
   want to play Final Fantasy 7 on the PC. It's around 25 lines of   
   requirements for a PC...or you just simply get a PSX." ;)   
      
   Bel   
   --   
   Whip Ass Gaming: http://www.whipassgaming.com/   
      
   "We'll meet again...in Hell"   
     - Cobra, The Space Adventure   
      
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