Rumor: SEGA and MAME heading to Xbox Live
by Adams Briscoe 
{ Apr 21st 2006 at 2:00PM }
Everyone's favorite kind of tipster (the anonymous type) has come out of Microsoft saying that they have some serious cards to deal in their favor for Xbox Live Arcade. While this is strictly a rumor, word has it that they are working on getting MAME on the system to turn XBLA into the largest arcade machine in the world.
From the horse's mouth: "XBLA has seen some pretty serious deal-making in this first quarter - it's been a real priority," explained the source. "The deal-making has been a no-brainer for everyone we've spoken to and, aside from a few licensing issues with existing products, XBLA is going to smash Nintendo's Virtual Console to pieces."
Big words! But that's not all. SEGA is also supposed to jump on board with some 8 and 16-bit titles. Allegedly, Microsoft will be showing all this off at E3 and making huge news in the process. Think gamers would get excited to see both of these on the 360? Hell yes we would. The potential is staggering, but we'll have to wait until May to see if this anonymous heads-up is worth anything or not.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ashley allen @ Apr 21st 2006 2:08PM
The MAME rumour is totally fake. For MAME needs ROM's (games) to work and since getting your hands legally on a ROM is near impossible unless your actually own the original machine MS would have to go individually to each old game maker (most of which are now out of business) and get the rights.
Plus MS have said they aren't interested in dumping retro games in there hundreds, they want to bring them up to date with online multiplayer and the like (see Street Fighter 2).
The Sega deal is a no-brainer. But the first one. that needs to go on the list of Pre-E3 Bull feces.
jaemz @ Apr 21st 2006 2:34PM
Ahhhh, now it starts to make sense.
Microsoft's high prices of XBLM are there to show companies (like SEGA) how much money can be made by selling games through Live.
MS: Please allow us to publish your old games.
SEGA: Pfffft... whatever.
MS: ...but look, we can sell usless curtains for a horse at $2.50/download, and we have 1.433543x10^7 downloads already of our 'pool/billairds simulator'. You know SEGA, that game sells for $10.
(-Bill G pokes J Allard and tells him not to mention the fact that pool/billiards was a free download with an xbox live kit, and that at least a quarter of downloads were for the 3D update that came out last month... or the fact that we actually only 'sold' 1000 downloads of pool/billards... or that there was a huge outcry over the oblivion download)
SEGA: *thinking* so, I can make another huge pile of money off old games (that are close to having their copyright protection expire)... where do I sign up?
MS: excellent (wringing hands)
Personally, if any of this does go through... I hope some of the original game designers/coders/workers get a portion of this new money.
squall-san @ Apr 21st 2006 2:37PM
This is amazing news, now what I want to know is are there going to be any Saturn or Dreamcast titles on that puppy. Being the HUGE SEGA fanboy that I am, nothing would make me happier. To me the 360 is the next dreamcast only better anyways so having a slew of SEGA titles on the system seems like a natural to me at least.
DA360 @ Apr 21st 2006 2:41PM
The MAME rumor could be a possibility because I have heard of some arcade cabinet makers using MAME for having multiple arcade games (that are "licenced for use and distribution" from the developers) in one cabnet. So, all they would have to do is make a 360 build of MAME and licenses and data from certain developers. But it would be best for them to actually port the code to the 360, like their doing with Street Fighter 2 for XBLA, so they can add extra features (like online play). But if done right, these features could be done in a MAME based emulator as well.
But Sega games is definitely a huge possibility. They never vowed actual exclusiveness to anyone for their classic games, and more than likely want their oldschool games on ANY platform that they can. Also, it is possable for the 360 to emualte ALL of Sega's platforms (Genesis, Master System/GameGear, Saturn, and Dreamcast), though we would need a bigger HDD before they do Saturn and Dreamcast (even if they used allot of compression). But a bigger HDD is comming eventually for the 360, so it might happen.
They could also get other past console devs to jump on board as well, such as Atari.
But, this is definitely the start of a new thing in consoles, and the death of those game classic compilations. Its better than those anyway because we choose what games we want to have and play, and don't get the ones we don't.
Isurus (at work) @ Apr 21st 2006 2:45PM
"Microsoft's high prices of XBLM are there to show companies (like SEGA) how much money can be made by selling games through Live."
Microsoft doesn't set the price of Marketplace content (unless they publish said content), the publisher of said content does. So, your post makes little sense.
I'm going to have to lean in the direction of the first poster and say that the MAME thing is fake. MAME is all about running arcarde games exactly like they would run on the actual units, and Microsoft wants to go in the direction of adding LIVE functionality to games, which goes against the MAME philosophy. While it sounds good in theory, it ain't gonna happen.
djphatjive @ Apr 21st 2006 3:06PM
I think the MAME thing could be true for this one reason. If microsoft has a peace of software "MAME" to run on its 360 that will make all of a companys old rims just work! then they can Legaly liscence the roms from those companys because its a no brainer. I mean here we will give you tuns of cash just so we can get the rom file from you, thats it. No recoding or anything on there side. Sounds like a win win. Now how on earth they have the right to use a open source thing like MAME in 360 is beyond me.
Matt @ Apr 21st 2006 3:14PM
If they put KLAX onto Xbox Live Arcade, I'm going to piss myself/
Charles Garcia @ Apr 21st 2006 3:22PM
sounds like another reason for me to actually save my money and get me a nice white box from Microsoft. I can't wait to play all my old classic games... err wait... I do that already on my pc! From a marketing standpoint though it makes sense... all those "families" who don't know or don't want to know how to do these things on a computer can do it in their living rooms nice and easy with their fancy hd friendly xbox 360. I STILL WANT ONE.
John Lee @ Apr 21st 2006 3:29PM
I want Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Shinobi and Sonic on XBLA, please!!! :-)
Crimson Angelus @ Apr 21st 2006 3:32PM
One game says it all folks:
Toejam and Earl
The original with Live co-op.....pwnd.
jaemz @ Apr 21st 2006 4:12PM
Isurus, my post was supposed to be funny.
*Disclaimer* Being that I have no acess to inside information from Microsoft, everything I wrote was 100% completly made up.
ashley allen @ Apr 21st 2006 4:51PM
Oh wait guys. If you trace this rumour back to it's source then you find it comes from Spong. So it's bound to be made-up BS
AoE @ Apr 21st 2006 6:26PM
MAME sounds unlikely at first, but as djphatjive points out, MAME's just an enabling software which would make it very easy for M$ to release endless streams of (licensed, of course) roms onto XBLA without the developers, or anyone at M$ having to port the games individually. Talk about a gold mine!
As for the SEGA stuff? If that happens it'll be my happiest gaming moment since the dreamcast days.
AoE @ Apr 21st 2006 8:56PM
Charles Garcia, you forget the best argument for playing mame on 360 vs computer... sure it's good for people that don't want to bother configuring emulators, but it's even better for those of us that have our computer hooked up to a 19-inch monitor but our 360 hooked up to a 61-inch hd set ;)
aaron @ Apr 21st 2006 10:52PM
Some games I would like to see:
The original Space Harrier arcade game...no "enhanced" version...Outrun, that old top down racer(forgot the name), Sonic CD, any obscure Sega arcade game that ran on LaserDisc.
Rosemeyer1939 @ Apr 22nd 2006 6:01AM
I think it's unlikely that it will be 'MAME' but i'm sure MS could produce a generic arcade emulator with very little effort.
If i remember right, Aaron Giles - the main MAME coder at the minute, worked for the company that produced the very accurate PSX emulator (name escapes me) - that company was then bought... by MS, which is where he currently works.
And given the emulation hurdles they've jumped with xbox BC, they've got the right people already.
Just do it. Klax .. no brainer.
Zachary @ Apr 22nd 2006 7:55AM
One thing is though, MAME is released under a custom license that requires the company that used the MAME code to release their code if they modified MAME. So Microsoft uses MAME as a base and ports their custom MAME to Xbox 360, voila they must release the code for 360 MAME, because if they didn't, it would be illegal. Knowing Microsoft they'll try to get away with out it, since they love to rip off others work.
cheesebuster @ Apr 22nd 2006 9:38AM
^^ cock , some1's got a ps2 pad in his ass
Charles Garcia @ Apr 22nd 2006 1:55PM
(cries) I don't have one of those big screens.
Ben @ Apr 24th 2006 12:04AM
It sure has been a while since anything was posted on this site.
courtney @ Apr 24th 2006 6:01PM
I doubt the SEGA thing, I mean they are doing it with Nintendo and that makes sense. I like Xbox Arcade but I really think it won't be better then Nintendos. I mean even if Nintendo only has their games and Xbox has all the others. The back catalog of Nintendo games on consoles is just way better.
People will download more on the Rev. so the companies shoudl just go with Nintendo.