A few trademarks have been filed by Sega in regard to “stand alone video game machines, arcade game machines with built-in screens” and a few other terms, obviously relating to new arcade hardware. Good for you, Sega! Arcade machines aren’t the money printers they used to be (in the 80s) but a successful arcade-based franchise like House of the Dead can end up on consoles, PCs, and even the silver screen.
The trademarks are for “Ringwide” and “Ringedge,” and your guess is as good as mine what they are for. The logo (left) is not illuminating. I will tell you, however, that no matter how much some people want it, that Sega is not returning to the console business — these filings aren’t for some “top-secret console,” that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard and Sega is surely shaking their heads at such unparalleled folly.
Whatever Sega’s got planned, I’m looking forward to it — as diminished as they are, they still make good games.
I actually miss arcades. What happened to them? Sure consoles have beefier graphics now. But it was always about the peripherals at the arcade.
I don’t know if I agree about the peripherals part, that was a very recent addition to the arcade.
What the arcade was about was community and competition.
There was the pinball mob, and the vertical shooter experts, the fighting game people and the adventure game people.
Half the time spent wasn’t playing, it was watching and cheering (or jeering) on your mates. I have stood there in a group watching a mate play 1942 right through to the end on one credit, it took him ages to get good enough.
Nice. I’m a vert shooter expert myself :)
If arcade is so dead how come Namco number and Taito numbers are up on AM business?
Arcade still has a place – http://www.arcadeheroes.com