With the announcement of the coin-op Xbox 360 console, the Arcade Station T2, we hearken back to one of the most amazing evenings of my life. But first, the T2. This is basically a licensed console with two 360 controllers hanging off of it that will play any game including multi-player mode. No official availability or price.
That said, this reminded me of the my favorite gaming memory. Come back with me to 1987 or so. A young man walks into a pizza parlor with his parents and sister. There, near an old Galaga machine sits something uniquely odd. It seems to be playing Super Mario Brothers in demo mode. It was the Play Choice 10, a magnificent mess featuring ten games stuck into a coin-op cabinet. That boy put in a quarter and began to play SMB. A few seconds later he was out a quarter. Good God! What infernal machine is this? Who dares suggest that I am an impotent SMB player.
I learned a lot that day. I learned that I wasn’t very good at coin-op video games. I learned that I wasn’t good at video games, period. And I learned that you should never, ever play exact console versions of video games on a coin-op console. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
wrong picture - not a PlayChoice 10.
Actually it’s a great idea. Especially if you can log in with your gamertag and earn additional coin-op only achievements. Just think, you’re in the airport, the laundromat, the pizza joint and you’ve got some time to kill. Why play that 30 year old, cigarette burned Pacman machine with the sloppy stick and sticky buttons, when you could be earning gamerscore and achievements playing something you actually enjoy? Plus, if they had a tournament mode that could be activated by a third party like a bar owner, they could host an instant lan party, which not only presents the opportunity for sponsored promotional events, but adds value to the establishment by providing them with an unlimited source of entertainment and $$$. It could even act as a communication tool by serving as a messaging kiosk. I applaud Microsoft if this becomes a reality, it’s about time actually.