New arcade joint venture from Nintendo, Namco and Sega
GameCube based coin-op platform looms
As we reported last month, Nintendo is poised to release GameCube-based arcade hardware into the market. In a venture with Sega and Namco, Nintendo will be releasing a GameCube compatible platform later this year.
The system will be called TriForce and will be designed to facilitate cost-effective arcade releases. Nintendo describes the machine’s main roles as, “to expand the arcade videogame market, to create a cost-effective environment for arcade videogame development, and to establish a totally new game system that will bridge gameplay between the home and amusement facilities.”
It is believed that the new hardware will come equipped with data transfer capabilities for use between the GameCube and the arcade, in a move reminiscent of the Neo Geo memory card system and, more recently the VMU transfer between Dreamcast and the Naomi arcade system.
The announcement also fuels speculation that Nintendo is at a more advanced point in formulating its online gaming strategy than it has been letting on. The focus of the arcade market at this point is revival-based around global, or at least semi-local networking. Japan already has a functioning broadband-equipped arcade infrastructure, and all the big players have announced that they see community-based arcade gaming as the future.
Anyway, the TriForce will be unveiled at the AOU 2002 arcade show in Tokyo on February 22. Stay tuned for a full write up.
The system will be called TriForce and will be designed to facilitate cost-effective arcade releases. Nintendo describes the machine’s main roles as, “to expand the arcade videogame market, to create a cost-effective environment for arcade videogame development, and to establish a totally new game system that will bridge gameplay between the home and amusement facilities.”
It is believed that the new hardware will come equipped with data transfer capabilities for use between the GameCube and the arcade, in a move reminiscent of the Neo Geo memory card system and, more recently the VMU transfer between Dreamcast and the Naomi arcade system.
The announcement also fuels speculation that Nintendo is at a more advanced point in formulating its online gaming strategy than it has been letting on. The focus of the arcade market at this point is revival-based around global, or at least semi-local networking. Japan already has a functioning broadband-equipped arcade infrastructure, and all the big players have announced that they see community-based arcade gaming as the future.
Anyway, the TriForce will be unveiled at the AOU 2002 arcade show in Tokyo on February 22. Stay tuned for a full write up.
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