Bill Loguidice's Blog, page 36

The myth of the graphics-centric gamer

The “gamer who is only fixated on graphics” theme is a popular one, but one that I don’t feel is based in reality. There have been plenty of cases of games over the decades with then state-of-the-art graphics getting critically savaged or selling poorly because the gameplay wasn’t there to match. Flashy audio-visuals might get you noticed and might get someone “in the door” so to speak to try your game, but it’s obviously not an indicator for success. Even using a classic example of a game like Dragon’s Lair, which remains undeniably beautiful for obvious reasons, still has an argument to be made for its gameplay, such as it is. While there are plenty of other examples of games where you could argue it was flash over substance (Defender of the Crown, Shadow of the Beast, Battle Arena Toshinden, etc.), only in very few cases, say with a game like Rise of the Robots, could a pretty solid case be made that there are/were no other redeeming factors than its visuals (and the developers of Rise of the Robots learned that the hard way when people had already caught on by the time Rise of the Robots 2 came out – word DOES spread).

And then you only have to look at some of the most popular games today, like Minecraft, Fortnite, Rocket League, Dwarf Fortress, Grand Theft Auto V, Hearthstone, Civilization VI, etc., to see that gameplay still rules even if the visuals are not necessarily best-in-class. And when games like Flight Simulator 2020 do set new visual standards, there’s often considerable depth underneath (or, similarly, enhanced visuals actually enhance the gameplay with things like improved draw distances, more in-game objects, etc.).

Even though it’s getting a graphical overhaul soon, Dwarf Fortress gained its fame looking like this.

So no, I don’t think we’ve ever REALLY had a flash over substance issue in gaming. It’s just one of those tropes that gets repeated, particularly as an argument for when a game’s visuals are subpar or not aesthetically pleasing, that gameplay should rule. And of course, everyone agrees that gameplay should rule and it certainly CAN trump weak visuals, but at the same time, considering what even the most modest technology is able to display these days, subpar visuals or subpar aesthetics are hard to excuse. It’s the classic, “Why not both?”, which is arguably truer today than ever.

Why not both? And really, you’re ultimately there to play a game, not play the graphics, so why would the graphics be prioritized as a player anyway?

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Name your price for great Steam games where you can pet the dog – Blair Witch (with Good Boy Pack), Shenmue 1&2, Death’s Gambit, and more!

Here’s the link to check out the bundle options and pay what you want!

Press any key to pet the bundle. That’s right, we’ve enlisted the help of @CanYouPetTheDog to round up games chock full of the goodest doggos. Pet perfect puppers in Blair Witch (with Good Boy Pack), Shenmue 1&2, Death’s Gambit, and more! Purchases will support animal friendly charities including Sweet Farm, Humane Society, and Best Friends Animal Society; or choose your own charity!

Pay $1 or more. Normally, the total cost for the games in this bundle is as much as $161. Here at Humble Bundle, you choose the price and increase your contribution to upgrade your bundle! This bundle has a minimum $1 purchase. Pay $1 or more to access Steam keys.

Redeem on Steam. All of the games in this bundle are available on Steam for Windows — and some for Mac too. Please check out the full system requirements here prior to purchasing.

Support charity. Choose where the money goes – between the publishers and a charity of your choice via PayPal Giving Fund. If you like what we do, you can leave us a Humble Tip too!

Humble You Can Pet the Dog Bundle

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Legends Universal Firmware 5.2 for Legends Ultimate home arcade and Legends Gamer arcade control top is now out!

There was a fast turnaround for the 5.2 Legends Universal Firmware update for Legends Arcade Family products, which include the full-size Legends Ultimate home arcade and the wireless Legends Gamer series. You can read the full release notes here, but the highlights are new global leaderboards for the following Taito arcade games (note, some games will be released to Legends Ultimate 1.0 owners on September 30th with a free update):

Chack’n PopElevator ActionFront LineKuri Kinton

[image error]Elevator Action running on a 70″ TV powered by the Legends Gamer Pro



Kuri Kinton running on a 70″ TV powered by the Legends Gamer Pro

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Legends Universal Firmware 5.1.0 for Legends Ultimate home arcade and Legends Gamer arcade control top is now out!

The universal Legends Ultimate 5.1.0 firmware for the Legends Arcade Family of products like the Legends Ultimate and Legends Gamer series is now out. You can read the full release notes here, but what follows are some of the highlights:

New PixelcadeX (PCX) features, including support for Taito arcade titles and CoinOPSX (COX)New global leaderboard support for additional Taito arcade games:Kiki KaikaiLiquid KidsLunar Rescue

Kiki Kaikai running on the Legends Ultimate with Pixelcade/BitPixel and PixelcadeX app



Liquid Kids running on the Legends Ultimate with Pixelcade/BitPixel and PixelcadeX app



Lunar Rescue running on the Legends Ultimate with Pixelcade/BitPixel and PixelcadeX app

The post Legends Universal Firmware 5.1.0 for Legends Ultimate home arcade and Legends Gamer arcade control top is now out! appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Legends Arcade Platform 5.0.0 firmware update for Legends Ultimate, Legends Gamer, and more, is now out!

The universal 5.0.0 firmware update Legends Arcade Platform for the Legends Arcade Family of products like the Legends Ultimate home arcade and Legends Gamer series, is now available. There are a lot of big features in this update, including a free Taito arcade Game Pack 1 for Legends Ultimate 1.0 users. You can see the full release notes, here, and there’s a summary image of just a few of the highlights, like vertical display mode, below.

Legends Arcade Firmware 5.0.0 Highlights



Legends Ultimate and Legends Gamer Pro

The new online global leaderboard games are as follows:

Alpine Ski



Colony 7



Crazy Balloon



Don Doko Don



Don Doko Don

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Comparison Chart of the AtGames Legends Arcade Family products running the Legends Arcade Platform

With so many home arcade products in the Legends Arcade Family like the Legends Ultimate, Legends Gamer, Legends Core, Legends Connect, and Legends Pinball all running on the Legends Arcade Platform, it’s hard to appreciate the scope of features. AtGames has addressed part of that challenge by creating a handy comparison chart, which can be found on their website along with additional details. I’ve also reproduced the chart below.

What’s important to keep in mind is that these shared features across all of these products are made possible by one account and friend list. In short, if you buy one Legends Arcade product and create an ArcadeNet account, you’ll be able to use that same account and features on any other product in the same product family going forward.

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Pay what you want for PC Building Simulator, Elite Dangerous, theHunter: Call of the Wild, and more in the Humble Super Simulation Bundle!

Here’s the link to check out the bundle options and name your price!

Escape the mundane with these simulation games! Tackle a myriad of endeavors in our newest bundle! Get games like Elite Dangerous, PC Building Simulator, and theHunter: Call of the Wild. Plus, your purchase will support a charity of your choice!

Pay $1 or more. Normally, the total cost for the games in this bundle is as much as $149. Here at Humble Bundle, you choose the price and increase your contribution to upgrade your bundle! This bundle has a minimum $1 purchase. Pay $1 or more to access Steam keys.

Redeem on Steam. All of the games in this bundle are available on Steam.

Support charity. Choose where the money goes – between the publishers and a charity of your choice via PayPal Giving Fund. If you like what we do, you can leave us a Humble Tip too!

Humble Super Simulation Bundle

The post Pay what you want for PC Building Simulator, Elite Dangerous, theHunter: Call of the Wild, and more in the Humble Super Simulation Bundle! appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

AtGames Brings the Full Features of an Arcade Machine to Televisions with the Legends Gamer Series

Three new wireless, open and connected home arcades, starting at $99, available for pre-order today in advance of early-October ship date

 Systems feature one hundred or more licensed games, arcade-quality hardware, online connectivity, leaderboard events, voice chat, extensive software customization, and a thriving community as part of the Legends Arcade Platform

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (September 1, 2020) The Legends Gamer series becomes available for online pre-order starting today at: www.atgames.com with the products shipping to consumers in early-October.  The same great technology and gaming fun that has made the full-size Legends Ultimate home arcade such a runaway hit is now available in three new products, starting at only $99, and feature all the great gaming controls, including premium joysticks, buttons, and trackball, just without the full cabinet and monitor. Take arcade action to any room by simply connecting to a television or display device of your choice.

The Legends Gamer series is available for pre-order at major retailers in the United States, including Sam’s Club, GameStop.com, and Walmart.com, and has distribution in Europe. More details on where to purchase the Legends Gamer series are at: https://www.atgames.net/arcades/shop-now/

The three additions to the Legends Arcade family are the Gamer Pro, Gamer, and Gamer Mini. These fully featured “arcades” come pre-loaded with up to 150 classic arcade and home video games from licensors like Data East, Disney, Jaleco, Taito, The Tetris Company, and more. The full game lists can be found on the Legends Gamer product page: https://www.atgames.net/arcades/legends-gamer-series/

“The community spoke and we are responding,” says Dr. Ping-Kang Hsiung, CEO of AtGames. “People love the Legends Arcade experience, but not everyone has the space or budget for a full-size machine. Our fans let us know they wanted more ways to get the true arcade experience, which is why we are adding the Gamer Series to the Legends Arcade family.” 

The Legends Gamer series gives players the same complete arcade control experience: joysticks, buttons, and trackball as the full-sized Legends Ultimate Arcade, in packages designed to fit any living space. The Legends Gamers work with any HDMI-based projector, monitor, or TV, including vertical displays, for true big-screen gaming, and features a wide range of built-in, licensed arcade and console games. Internet connectivity means ArcadeNet® and BYOG cloud-gaming and streaming capabilities,  voice chat, friends lists, global leaderboards, and more. 

The Legends Gamer Pro (MSRP $249). The most full-featured of the Gamer series, it includes a trackball in addition to arcade quality joysticks, pinball buttons, and 150 built-in licensed games.The Legends Gamer (MSRP $199) Great for two-player action, it features two arcade-quality joysticks and pinball buttons, and includes the same 150 built-in licensed games as the Gamer Pro. A trackball is optional.The Legends Gamer Mini  (MSRP $99) For solo players, it has a single arcade-quality joystick as part of its wireless control top, 100 built-in licensed games, and eight action buttons. Pinball buttons are optional.

Legends Gamer Mini

With more than 10 million units of game and console products shipped by the company to date, AtGames is poised to greatly expand the home arcade market with its three new Legends Gamer products.

Features of the Legends Gamer include:

100 – 150 licensed arcade and console games built-inWi-Fi, Ethernet, and Bluetooth connectivityArcade-quality hardware and controlsOnline gaming, including eSportsArcadeNet® games serviceStream gameplay directly to popular streaming servicesBYOG (Bring Your Own Game)AtGames Leagues and Leaderboards (ALL)

Legends Gamer

With weekly firmware releases, the Legends Gamer series is constantly evolving. Among the major evolutions that have been unveiled on the Legends Arcade Platform have been the introduction of eSports to retro games with the AtGames Leagues and Leaderboards (ALL), voice chat, friends lists, and the ability to stream gameplay directly to popular streaming services. No other home arcade products come close to these and the many other features made possible by the Legends Arcade Platform.

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PR: The Legends Ultimate, a Connected/Expandable Home Arcade, is Now Available!

Press Release

AtGames® announces immediate availability of the Legends Ultimate with hundreds of licensed games, arcade-quality multiplayer hardware, online connectivity, leaderboard events, voice chat, extensive software customization, and a thriving community that makes this one of most sought after home arcade machines

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (August 28, 2020) AtGames®, a leader in interactive entertainment products, announces the immediate availability of the Legends Ultimate home arcade. This full-size machine, which stands over 66” tall and 29” wide, features premium two-player arcade controls, a 24” HD LCD monitor, down-firing stereo speakers, and Wi-Fi connectivity. With 300 licensed, genre-defining arcade and console games built-in and access to countless more through its industry-leading ArcadeNet® and BYOG features it is no wonder it is such a hit. 

The latest iteration of the Legends Ultimate is available now for an MSRP of just $599 at major retail outlets and online. Check here for availability: https://www.atgames.net/arcades/shop-now/

“After overcoming the global supply challenges due to COVID-19, we can now put a greater supply of one of the most sought-after home arcades into retail,” says Dr. Ping-Kang Hsiung, CEO of AtGames. “More families than ever can now join the tens of thousands of existing users who have fun playing this versatile machine on a daily basis.”

Among the 300 games that appear on this full-size arcade unit is a large selection of classic arcade and home video games from licensors like Atari, Data East, Disney, Jaleco, Taito, The Tetris Company, and more. These legendary games can be enjoyed from the authentic arcade-style control panel, which includes two joysticks, six action buttons per player, a high-performance trackball, and two spinners. The full game list can be found on the Legends Ultimate product website here: http://legendsultimate.atgames.net/arcade/assets/legends-ultimate-game-list.pdf .

If you want to enhance your gaming experience even more, you can add to your games list with titles from ArcadeNet®, an ever-growing subscription game library. Every game is optimized for the Legends Ultimate Arcade’s high-performance hardware and arcade quality controls. BYOG, which stands for Bring Your Own Game, allows you to play even more games, including by streaming your favorite PC-based titles from the top digital distribution platforms from our cloud servers or your home computer.

With weekly firmware releases, the Legends Ultimate is constantly evolving. Among the major evolutions has been the introduction of eSports to retro games with the AtGames Leagues and Leaderboards (ALL), voice chat, friends lists, and the ability to stream gameplay directly to popular streaming services. No other home arcade product comes close to these and the many other features made possible by the Legends Arcade Platform family of products.

Features of the Legends Ultimate include:

 300 licensed arcade and console games built-inWi-Fi, Ethernet, and Bluetooth connectivityArcade-quality hardware Optional arcade-style pinball buttons Online gaming including eSports!ArcadeNet® games service Stream gameplay directly to popular streaming services BYOG (Bring Your Own Game) APL (Arcade Play Link)AtGames leagues and leaderboards (ALL)Optional accessories like light guns, interactive marquees, steering wheels, and more!

From January 2020 until the end of July, the number of hours owners have played games each month on the Legends Ultimate has increased by 553%. From May 2020 until the end of July, there has been a 254% increase in online global leaderboard scores posted. Both impressive percentages are expected to continue their upward trend with this release of the latest iteration of the Legends Ultimate.

The Legends Ultimate is available at major retailers in the United States, including Sam’s Club, GameStop.com and Walmart.com, and has distribution in Europe. More details on where to purchase the Legends Ultimate are at: https://www.atgames.net/arcades/shop-now/

The Legends Ultimate in its natural habit

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Legends Ultimate home arcade firmware v4.34.0 – New leaderboard gaming with Fatal Run and Fighting Ice Hockey

The weekly firmware update for full-size Legends Ultimate home arcade machine is a bit light this week as preparations are made for the major 5.0 milestone. You can see the full release notes here, but the major highlights are two new online global leaderboard games added:

Fatal RunFighting Ice Hockey

Fatal Run running on the Legends Ultimate with Pixelcade



Fatal Run running on the Legends Ultimate with Pixelcade



Fighting Ice Hockey running on the Legends Ultimate with Pixelcade

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