Arcade Otaku - アーケード オタク

I have recently discovered that a company named Polycade is providing arcade cabinets with some preinstalled games, primarily from Steam along with emulation for older games, with colorful joysticks and buttons along with a sleek design made of steel. It has been around since 2016, and has recently made attendance at Amusement Expo International 2019.


For the default cabinet with machine, it is a standard PC that runs games though PC gamepads emulated by arcade controls. This one aims for more of the social aspect of gaming such as business offices, work spaces, bars, retail, and even home.

For more information, check out the website below:
https://polycade.com

Videos about Polycade:





Feel free to post your thoughts and impressions about it.


Edit 1 -

Difference between home and commercial version

Home version - you can add in whatever game you want on your machine, acts like a PC for games. No subscription. Online not required.
Target market - Arcade hobbyists and people heavily into video games on arcade cabinets at home.

Commercial version - the game library is entirely curated by Polycade and the way to pay for play is through card swiping. Online connection required. Purchasing the commercial unit gives 24 months of updates and online support. Will require subscription renewal. Each credit card transaction has revenue share, with Polycade taking 20% per credit, operator keeping 80%.
Target Market - Neo-Retro arcades, businesses and retail using video games as social means

It looks like what would turn up 9 months after an internet kiosk and a combo AV supergun had sex

I'm pretty sure it's already been featured in the Gallery of ****.

Where it belongs.

arcnl wrote: ↑April 1st, 2019, 10:12 am It looks like what would turn up 9 months after an internet kiosk and a combo AV supergun had sex

nem wrote: ↑April 1st, 2019, 10:28 am I'm pretty sure it's already been featured in the Gallery of ****.

Where it belongs.

This!

+2

Sure it may not be the candy cabinet, and I somehow like the outside of the cabinet of having colorful buttons that reminds me of some candy cabinets. At the CES and Amusement Expo International 2019, there was a 4 player version of Polycade that acts like upright cabinet. Of course, it is possible to have 2 polycades and link together for 4 player through wireless connection with steam or put in the 2 boards that fit inside and then use a link cable with one of them being a slave driver.

I believe that a collaboration between Exa Arcadia and Polycade might be a possibility. I somehow imagine that the Exa Arcadia motherboard might be small enough to fit inside the polycade unit to act as a portable mounted arcade cabinet. Should the 4 player cabinet version of Polycade be available, it is possible to put in several boards that are suited for 4 player games.


Edit:

Apparently for the commerical version of the game, Polycade curates the game library and updates them on a timely basis. If the commercial version is purchased, then the owner of the commercial unit will have 24 months of updates and online support. So the owner will have to renew subscription to allow service to continue. Home versions do not have subscription limits.

I have asked Polycade about inserting credits and Exa Arcadia and I got response through email:

Depending on the version of the machine you may or may not have the ability to configure the games. Our commercial product ships with our proprietary interface and game options are set by us and updated depending on what games are being played and what games are not.

Our pay to play system is designed to be cashless. We handle all the credit card transactions and processing fees and issue a payment of 80% of the total revenue to the owner/operator of the machine.

I have not heard of Exa Arcadia, but it sounds very interesting. I'll look into them and see if it makes sense to discuss a partnership.

For any operator interested in using Polycade for commercial use, it is one of digital arcade library like NesicaxLive and AllNet. Otherwise, the Polycade is mostly suited for hardcore gaming enthusiasts and social gatherings.

I’m a bit confused. Was i just rickrolled exa-style or was this april fools exa-style?

MrJBRPG wrote: ↑April 1st, 2019, 2:28 pm Otherwise, the Polycade is mostly suited for hardcore gaming enthusiasts

Can you please elaborate on this claim?

Belongs in the gallery of overpriced s**t or as an April fool's gag.

You'd be better off buying a Chewlix and putting a PC inside - for the price you could buy a Vewlix and put a PC inside and still have some change for beer.

eh ... you'd have to get into the nitty gritty of the licensing terms are and the spread of games, but this isn't necessarily a complete non starter conceptually; too many black market solutions out there for sure. It'd be interesting to see if you could make a legitimate go of things.

BUT ... the product you're pushing... ergh

arcnl wrote: ↑April 1st, 2019, 10:12 am It looks like what would turn up 9 months after an internet kiosk and a combo AV supergun had sex

^^

And it's white... never going to survive.

gray117 wrote: ↑April 4th, 2019, 12:05 pm eh ... you'd have to get into the nitty gritty of the licensing terms are and the spread of games, but this isn't necessarily a complete non starter conceptually; too many black market solutions out there for sure. It'd be interesting to see if you could make a legitimate go of things.

BUT ... the product you're pushing... ergh

arcnl wrote: ↑April 1st, 2019, 10:12 am It looks like what would turn up 9 months after an internet kiosk and a combo AV supergun had sex

^^

And it's white... never going to survive.

I am not pushing nor promoting as the intent. I only wanted to let you guys know about Polycade and let you decide your own thoughts. Polycade may not be for all kinds of arcade gamers, but I only wanted let you know about its existence.

Anyways, my impression with this machine that it is not primarily aimed at operators nor arcade otakus (ones who crave for arcade exclusive content and hardware), and is more towards people who like playing any game on arcade joysticks (PC Games, console etc.) or the feeling of having a cabinet. That is quite a more niche market to tackle compared to others that do aim for operators with new and exclusive content. I will say that catering to a more casual crowd in work environments may be a trendy thing going in USA, but I do not know how long it will last.

I only like the Polycade due to its outside having colorful buttons and sleek cabinet design (standard 2p version). I am not too thrilled about being primarily a PC based game with library from Steam. That would be more labor intensive for Polycade to select games that would actually hit the mark of 3-5 minutes of play when dealing with the commercial version. I do not even know if they actually do anything for adding credits to game such as play timer or something. I wish them good luck in handling their little niche.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0065/ ... _1512x.png
It looks like the front end of a dump truck painted white.

i like the design, but yeah like everyone previously stated, pretty overpriced.

MrJBRPG wrote: ↑April 4th, 2019, 2:39 pm I am not pushing nor promoting as the intent....

Nps, didn't mean you personally - meant 'you' as in Bushnell/his company.
Same with the license particulars etc.

The intent is noble, the price I think could be more reasonable in commercial terms than it may appear to a home consumer (depending on license/lease deals and where the money goes), it's nice to kind of see efforts to get something like this going legitimately for current devs ... but the product execution is a nope atm imho (which is at least half the job of the company offering this depending on how you value their part in this).

MrJBRPG wrote: ↑April 4th, 2019, 2:39 pm Is more towards people who like playing any game on arcade joysticks (PC Games, console etc.) or the feeling of having a cabinet.

It's not nostalgic to the woodies/candies, so I think maybe the xbox crowd who loved custom cabs in the 70s-80s? It's a real niche of a niche if so. The interesting thing imho is the service/games selection, not necessarily the cab itself, which anyone can kind of make, and I'd argue is done better by several kit companies, let alone commercial outfits (and especially because I hate it). The service on the other hand and the kind of companies and games involved is however pretty unique if fully legit and seeing them compensated + advertised decently.

Fire the designer !

pricey but looks unique.

Wow... Now this polycade is really sinking to an all time low...

Qualifies for the Gallery of ****?

To be honest, that wall design cabinet I can see fit in a customer lounge or waiting room or something like that. Doesn't look too out of place.

But we all know it's a overpriced pc piece of ****.

Honestly, this looks exactly like the sort of thing someone with no industrial design sense would try and do when they set of to make a MAME cabinet.
Horrendous.