19 replies to this topic

[carmel_andrews]

Like it says on the tin, were there any coin of or arcade games that were ported from computer or console games

I am purposefully not counting coin op systems designed around existing computer or console hardware (only systems i am aware of are coin op systems based on amiga, sega MD/genesis, A8, ST and NES as well as the various Neo Geo systems)

only games i am aware of are the following

Boulderdash

Pitfall II (according to mame)

Loderunner (according to mame)

Choplifter (haven't seen it emulated in mame but i think it was done by sega, the gameplay and gfx were updated a bit, released in the mid 80's)

Can't think of anymore

Edited by carmel_andrews, Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:35 AM.

[rmaerz]

Cosmic Chasm (Vectrex) was the first console game ported to arcade that I'm aware of

Edited by rmaerz, Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:03 AM.

[Tempest]

rmaerz, on Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:40 AM, said:

Journey: Escape was the first arcade game ported from a console (Data Age's 2600 release)

Not even remotely the same game other than being based on the band.

Cosmic Chasm is the first game I'm aware of that was ported from a home console (Vectrex) to the arcades.

Tempest

[Shaggy the Atarian]

I know it's not supposed to count but Arcadia Systems created an arcade board out of the Amiga and ported some games to arcades that way in 1987-89. I'm not sure if it actually reached full release status or not but I came across a flyer for Ninja by Masterronic that was supposed to be available for the platform. I always loved that game on the Atari 8-bit, having an arcade version of it would be cool.

[Knubberrub]

I'm pretty sure, around the time the SNES came out, I remember playing in the pub an arcade version of F-Zero which had SNES controllers stuck on it as well. I seem to remember somebody telling me the machine was a promo version for advertising the SNES (I don't know what was inside the machine and how the system was designed). According to Mr Weiss (whoever that is) the arcade version came out first which surprised me:

Quote

Like the futuristic arcade racer on which it is based, F-Zero is a one-player contest, which is a shame considering how the insertion of a two-player mode would've made this fantastic port even better than its coin-op counterpart. Still, with its high speeds, slick graphics (aided by Mode 7 effects), three levels of difficulty, and exorbitant fun factor, this launch title is a must-have title for Super NES owners. Casual fans will enjoy the simple act of racing while hardcore gamers will race for hours on end so they can save (and improve upon) their best times via battery backup. This is a highly faithful port of one of the all-time great racing games.

http://www.allgame.c...ame.php?id=2485

[Rex Dart]

Mario Kart got an arcade port. F-Zero GX, too.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Some I thought of since yesterday, most of these are recent:

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Guitar Hero (called Guitar Hero Arcade)
Fruit Ninja (for TouchFX)
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Arcade
GRID
Paradise Lost (FarCry, although heavily modified)
Need For Speed
Mechwarrior 4
Twisted: Nitro Stunt Racing

And from the 80s

Boulderdash was referenced in the first post and it was Exidy who brought that to arcades. They used hardware called MAX-A-FLEX (which was just some sort of modified Atari 8-bit computer) and they ported some other Atari 8-bit games to arcades with that including:

AstroChase
Bristles
Flip And Flop

I actually wonder how big of a modification the Max-A-Flex was and how hard it would be to convert other A8 games over to it

Oh and there's also Spelunker which was on 8-bit computers before it was brought to arcades in '85

Also before Cosmic Chasm had been ported to arcades, Sega decided to "borrow" Atari's DodgeEm and made an arcade version of that called Head On

Edited by Shaggy the Atarian, Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:18 AM.

[Tempest]

Shaggy the Atarian, on Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:15 AM, said:

I actually wonder how big of a modification the Max-A-Flex was and how hard it would be to convert other A8 games over to it

My understanding is that it's just a regular Atari 600XL with an RGB adapter on it to display on a monitor and some coin mech hooked up to it. The cartridges are the same as the home versions I believe.

Shaggy the Atarian, on Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:15 AM, said:

Also before Cosmic Chasm had been ported to arcades, Sega decided to "borrow" Atari's DodgeEm and made an arcade version of that called Head On

I think Head On came first. There's a Dodge Em prototype floating around that says Head On on it (who has that BTW?).

Tempest

[Rex Dart]

Oh yeah, the Dave & Buster's in Houston TX had some crazy LAN-linked 8-way Mechwarrior 2 setup where you'd get inside a cockpit/outhouse lookin' thing.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Rex Dart, on Fri Aug 12, 2011 10:32 AM, said:

Mario Kart got an arcade port. F-Zero GX, too.

I've always wanted to play that, just so I could race as Pac-Man.

[onmode-ky]

Carla Minensky worked on the 2600 version of Warlords prior to the arcade version. Not sure if that counts.

Also, the arcade title DariusBurst Another Chronicle could be considered a large expansion of the PSP's DariusBurst, though certainly not a direct port.

onmode-ky

[save2600]

Surprised no one's mentioned Tetris yet

[Shaggy the Atarian]

Tempest, on Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:01 AM, said:

Shaggy the Atarian, on Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:15 AM, said:

I actually wonder how big of a modification the Max-A-Flex was and how hard it would be to convert other A8 games over to it

My understanding is that it's just a regular Atari 600XL with an RGB adapter on it to display on a monitor and some coin mech hooked up to it. The cartridges are the same as the home versions I believe.

Shaggy the Atarian, on Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:15 AM, said:

Also before Cosmic Chasm had been ported to arcades, Sega decided to "borrow" Atari's DodgeEm and made an arcade version of that called Head On

I think Head On came first. There's a Dodge Em prototype floating around that says Head On on it (who has that BTW?).

Tempest

That makes sense. I guess it ran on a timer then? that's why I ask if the games were modified, to recognize coins going in or if there was some other way, since usually the software has to be modified for that purpose. I also am curious how they hooked up the coin mech to it, probably through the serial port with their own kind of I/O board.

You're right about Head On, I was looking at the wrong dates. I've actually been doing some research into arcade games from the 70's lately, unfortunately the info is way off sometimes with dates. I've had little luck figuring out when Sega produced a boxing game called Heavyweight Champion.

In the realm of prototypes there also were a few PC-to-Arcade ports in the works. Doom 2 and Quake come to mind; Lemmings was in the works at one point as well.

[Tempest]

Shaggy the Atarian, on Mon Aug 15, 2011 1:29 PM, said:

Makes sense. I guess it ran on a timer then? that's why I ask if the games were modified, to recognize coins going in or if there was some other way, since usually the software has to be modified for that purpose. I also am curious how they hooked up the coin mech to it, probably through the serial port with their own kind of I/O board.

I'm not sure, but I think someone here has the hardware. Maybe they can answer the question?

Tempest

[rxd]

This is an Atari forum and nobody mentions Blaster?

[carmel_andrews]

Thx for the person that said Tetris, I guess you can include the tetris clones/variants like block out and columns (and similar to columns/block out)

Was puyo puyo out on console first before coin op...i ask because mame emulates it

[Austin]

carmel_andrews, on Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:57 AM, said:

Was puyo puyo out on console first before coin op...i ask because mame emulates it

Yes, it looks like Puyo Puyo originated on various home platforms before its first arcade release.

(thank you, Wikipedia)

Edited by Austin, Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:56 PM.

[VectrexMad!]

carmel_andrews, on Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:34 AM, said:

Like it says on the tin, were there any coin of or arcade games that were ported from computer or console games

I am purposefully not counting coin op systems designed around existing computer or console hardware (only systems i am aware of are coin op systems based on amiga, sega MD/genesis, A8, ST and NES as well as the various Neo Geo systems)

does the Vectrex Mini-Cade count ?

http://vectrexmuseum...rexminicade.php

[carmel_andrews]

Add one more to the list

Broderbunds 'Spelunker' (at least i think it was broderbund, who did the computer versions), according to mame

Apparently there was a sequel or follow up, unoriginally called 'spelunker II', also emulated in mame

[NightSprinter]

When Sega released "Fantasy Zone Collection" in Japan, they did a complete arcade REMAKE of "Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa". Tough-as-nails still, and three endings despite how you play through the game.