EXAーARCADIA [New Arcade Platform/Publisher]

[Nomax]

They realize that if they crack the exA, there won't be any new joystick games released in arcades

Do we need new joystick games released in arcades, if the closest cabinet is 1100km away, though?

Sorry to hear that. Please note that this map is not complete. It's a community effort and all locations are not listed. Private initiatives aren't mentioned either; locally, we are bringing the latest exA games to conventions so visitors can play them. Hopefully, as it becomes more popular, it will come closer to your place. That's what's at stakes now, not only for exA, but for arcade games in general. People are becoming more and more lazy and stay home. That's why the outside world is less fun than before. We (arcade supporters) are trying to bring the fun back.

Moreover, if only console games exist, there won't be optimized versions of shmups anymore.

[Jeneki]

Unfortunately, getting a venue to invest in an Exa is only the first step. Next you need to convince them to pick up intimidating looking single-player shmups instead of other, more accessible games.

There's two Exa locations about 5 hours away from me. Yay! Oh wait, they only carry fighters and party games, so it would be a giant waste of time to make the trip.

[Nomax]

Indeed, all shmups are not suitable for all locations.

We have a Noir cabinet with 4 exA games in operation at a tourist location. Revenue wise, The Kung Fu Vs Karate Champ and Nippon Marathon Turbo outperform Dodonpachi Saidaioujou by a large margin.

Public tests of Psyvariar Delta AC, Cotton Rock'n'Roll and Vritra Hexa gave good results.

I think that the upcoming 4-player version of P-47 Aces will be popular among casual players.

In the West, Cave shmups are more for collectors and flat rate locations.

[Sumez]

I don't think the map is far off. Anyone setting up a public Exa within three countries from here is incredibly unrealistic, and that has nothing to do with Exa, but the states of arcades in general for well over 20 years by now. Sorry, but that's just how things are. It's way too late for this kind of stuff. If they can get their business going despite it, that's good for them and the people within reach of the games. It's irrelevant for the rest of the world though.

At least there's a resurgence in some sort of arcade culture recently that's focusing on the whole retro nostalgia thing. But that's hardly relevant in the context of new but expensive games the general public never heard of before.

[Zeether]

East coast US has none, lol

Starting to think 500+ locations globally is a made up figure

[m.sniffles.esq]

East coast US has none, lol

There's one in Greensboro, NC

[MrJBRPG]

There is one website that keeps track of locations having Exa Arcadia, but it is community reported and only reveals a fraction of the many other locations, which plenty are kept private or not yet discovered.

https://www.arcadebelgium.be/ab.php?r=loc&p=exa

[MrJBRPG]

Samurai Showdown location test in Japan

https://twitter.com/exaarcadiaceo/statu ... -faqiexkBw

[MidnightWolf]

Samurai Showdown location test in Japan

https://twitter.com/exaarcadiaceo/statu ... -faqiexkBw

Great!
Let's all fly half-way around the planet to play the next entry in a 30 year-old fighting game franchise, with mobile phone graphics on an overpriced Intel I3-9100.

The reason arcades were so special in the 1980's and 1990's, is because they had games you couldn't play at home, and the arcade machines outperformed current consoles graphically. Now, Exa-Arcadia is the exact opposite.... Crap looking games, on severely underpowered hardware with performance that can't match a modern mobile phone. The only gimmick of Exa-Arcadia games being the odd new character or colour palette swap as an "exclusive" feature.

Yeah, i'm really not impressed at all tbh.

Arcade owners love Exa-Arcadia because it's cheaper than a regular $10,000 cabinet and has a smaller footprint, but i honestly don't see anyone else getting excited or trying to push the thing. You can't even say that it's easier to replace parts than a regular cab, because of the current world situation, so being PC-based isn't a real benefit right now.

[SuperPang]

Arcade owners love Exa-Arcadia because it's cheaper than a regular $10,000 cabinet

Yes that's the point love.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Someone who hasn't been to an active arcade wouldn't understand the social appeal that arcades have. There's a strong arcade culture in Japan which thrives in part thanks to its population density as well as its accessibility due to Japan's public transit infrastructure that simply doesn't seem to exist elsewhere. The social aspect is the thing that the "I can play it at home!" argument has always missed.

I don't know enough about the hardware complaints to refute it competently but someone more familiar with Exa's innards like trap15 would be able to do so.

[Sengoku Strider]

Samurai Showdown location test in Japan

https://twitter.com/exaarcadiaceo/statu ... -faqiexkBw

>_>

...this might actually be cheaper than an AES copy of V Special these days.

<_<

...how much do I hate my bank account?

>_>

...

[Zeether]

So is this just another version of V Special like that "Perfect" version from the Digital Eclipse collection? Hard pass.

[MidnightWolf]

Arcade owners love Exa-Arcadia because it's cheaper than a regular $10,000 cabinet

Yes that's the point love.

Actually no, that is not the point.

It may benefit the actual arcade owner, but nothing about Exa-Arcadia benefits the paying customer. This is why half of the people outside Japan are not excited about Exa-Arcadia, and the other half have never even heard of the thing.

Someone who hasn't been to an active arcade wouldn't understand the social appeal that arcades have.

Last time I went to an arcade was around 2001, because the whole scene has been dead here for over 20 years, so maybe my memory is hazy outside of 8-player Daytona, chewing gum sticking your feet to the worn-out maroon carpets and a fog of cigarette smoke.

It will take more than Exa-Arcadia to fix the arcade scene here though.

[jehu]

I have twin nieces - about two years old - who only recently learned to speak. One of the girls is intensely possessive when she sees her sister with something that she'd like to play with. But she's smart enough to know that demanding "Give it to me!" is only going to provoke a rebuke from her mother.

So instead she adopts the language of altruism. "Share! Share!" she yells, thinking that she's sophisticated enough to mask the true intent of the demand. We all smile, though, because we know what she hopes we don't. In a two year old, it's quite cute.

[Gamer707b]

Arcade owners love Exa-Arcadia because it's cheaper than a regular $10,000 cabinet

Yes that's the point love.

Actually no, that is not the point.

It may benefit the actual arcade owner, but nothing about Exa-Arcadia benefits the paying customer. This is why half of the people outside Japan are not excited about Exa-Arcadia, and the other half have never even heard of the thing.

Someone who hasn't been to an active arcade wouldn't understand the social appeal that arcades have.

Last time I went to an arcade was around 2001, because the whole scene has been dead here for over 20 years, so maybe my memory is hazy outside of 8-player Daytona, chewing gum sticking your feet to the worn-out maroon carpets and a fog of cigarette smoke.

It will take more than Exa-Arcadia to fix the arcade scene here though.

As someone who grew up in the heyday of arcades back in the 80s and 90s, I'll gladly take the smoke, gum and occasional annoying arcade goer. Something special indeed about the ambiance of the whole arcade thing, that only those that have experienced it, will understand it. And as BareKnuckeRoo has mentioned, the social aspect of it all make it all the more awesome. I found a sorta local arcade to me that opened for a few years. Too bad it didn't last very long, but for that short time, it was awesome. Played SF 4, Blaz Blue and a few other games there with other players and that reminded me of what arcade gaming was all about. If someone or something were to make a push for arcades, I would gladly support it. Online gaming just doesn't have the same soul.

[Udderdude]

Samurai Showdown location test in Japan

https://twitter.com/exaarcadiaceo/statu ... -faqiexkBw

>_>

...this might actually be cheaper than an AES copy of V Special these days.

<_<

...how much do I hate my bank account?

>_>

...

RIP your wallet.

[spmbx]

Arcades were polular because they offered something better than home. Exa may advertise their core i3 system as a PS5 killer, but everyone except the few fanboys will just laugh at that kind of bullshit. Times have changed. Exa is exciting for a certain clique who like to spend a few grand to feel part of a small circle of elitist gamers and thats where the appeal stops. The rest of us simply doesnt care, or at best calls out the bullshit it is.

Samurai Shodown? As a player there is nothing stopping you playing it for a few quid. Like to spend a few grand to see the cardboard Exa box sitting on your shelf? Yes, you can.

I guess it's good there is a choice, but i'm not sure if i have to laugh or feel sorry for this really.

[BrianC]

I was not thrilled to hear Arcana Heart III Love Max Six Stars Extend announced for Exa given the current state of the Steam version. The update forced widescreen in a way that often causes graphical glitches.

[MidnightWolf]

I was not thrilled to hear Arcana Heart III Love Max Six Stars Extend announced for Exa given the current state of the Steam version. The update forced widescreen in a way that often causes graphical glitches.

There is a good chance that AH3 will be cancelled on Exa-Arcadia since Examu went bankrupt.

Arc System Works / H2 Interactive have not lifted a finger to help the remaining Team Arcana employees, probably because they don't want the game to compete with Guilty Gear Strive for floor space in arcades.... It's one less fighting game to worry about in their eyes, same reason Blazblue isn't coming back.

The remaining Team Arcana employees break more things than they fix with each new Steam patch, adding various graphics glitches and other new bugs. They clearly do not have the staff and funding to complete the project, so any arcade port release is going to be a broken mess unless they can get serious help.

Shame really, as Arcana Heart was a bloody good series.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Arcades were polular because they offered something better than home.

As someone who grew up in the heyday of arcades back in the 80s and 90s, I'll gladly take the smoke, gum and occasional annoying arcade goer. Something special indeed about the ambiance of the whole arcade thing, that only those that have experienced it, will understand it. And as BareKnuckeRoo has mentioned, the social aspect of it all make it all the more awesome.

[MrJBRPG]

Machine translation indicated Exa Arcadia is going hardcore with optimizing input to display time even further.

That “mythical” less than 1 frame delay is supposedly achieved.

https://twitter.com/exaarcadiaceo/statu ... tZWvLWhjDw

[parodius]

Touhou Dengenkei (aka Touhou Perfect Sakura Fantasica) is going to have a location test at Hey Akihabara May 19-25.
https://twitter.com/exaarcadia/status/1 ... 9106221057

[MrJBRPG]

Finally got myself an Exa Arcadia motherboard as a piece of curiosity. Made sure to ask questions about the components, including the Ethernet plug, and the CEO did confirm that the machine is designed to be standalone and offline, rendering any networking, online and LAN, useless. Makes sense to have such games always playable and future proof, especially for arcade operation without internet access, much like pre-internet days.

I am interested in operating an Exa Arcadia with a local business one day, but finding one to partner with, like restaurants and entertainment hubs, is difficult. Additionally, cannot yet fit a cabinet base in my current little spaced home. I do prefer multiplayer games rather than single player only: multiplayer brings people together.

[Ddshot]

Finally got myself an Exa Arcadia motherboard as a piece of curiosity. Made sure to ask questions about the components, including the Ethernet plug, and the CEO did confirm that the machine is designed to be standalone and offline, rendering any networking, online and LAN, useless. Makes sense to have such games always playable and future proof, especially for arcade operation without internet access, much like pre-internet days.

I am interested in operating an Exa Arcadia with a local business one day, but finding one to partner with, like restaurants and entertainment hubs, is difficult. Additionally, cannot yet fit a cabinet base in my current little spaced home. I do prefer multiplayer games rather than single player only: multiplayer brings people together.

You won’t regret it,it’s a awesome bit of kit,sdoj is awsome,reading this thread on shmups forum you would think every one hates exa mostly because a lot of people on here use mame or mister and would never buy a pcb never mind a full system,why would they when they get it all for free!exa gets alot of love from arcade operators,collectors and on arcade forums

[Bassa-Bassa]

You won’t regret it,it’s a awesome bit of kit,sdoj is awsome,reading this thread on shmups forum you would think every one hates exa mostly because a lot of people on here use mame or mister and would never buy a pcb never mind a full system,why would they when they get it all for free!exa gets alot of love from arcade operators,collectors and on arcade forums

I think the Exarcadia hate? has more to do with the quality of its games and with the fact that it's in the end a Windows-based PC. For $1500 a game you'd expect something else than a recycled product. Then there's the thing that they're making some forthcoming low-profile-but-interesting-at-$30 games which were promised for Windows exclusive for a platform that 99% of the people just don't have access to.

[Sumez]

How many games do you need to own to be considered one of these "arcade collectors"?
As much as I want to be supportive of "arcade" stuff happening, it's pretty hard to back up a concept which is entirely based around making video games less accessible to me. I have TGM pcbs at home, and I love them, but there's never been a point where I didn't wish for more accessible official home ports of those games to exist as well.
While you can argue that arcades have always been about the business, and you'd be right, it feels incredibly front and center when it comes to Exa (and probably also many other modern arcade offerings that we don't see any traces of in the west). Nobody liked it back when Ketsui was an elusive Japanese arcade exclusive either, but were merely accepting the situation as it never felt like anyone made a forced decision to restrict access to the game.

The "exa hate" has less to do with people wanting to emulate games for free (I haven't personally done so for upwards of 20 years now), but more to do with how anti-consumer the whole concept is - and if they didn't force platform exclusivity, people would have no reason to care and thus be a lot more forgiving of it.
Wake me up when Gimmick Exact Mix comes out on a platform I can actually realistically play.

[Ddshot]

You won’t regret it,it’s a awesome bit of kit,sdoj is awsome,reading this thread on shmups forum you would think every one hates exa mostly because a lot of people on here use mame or mister and would never buy a pcb never mind a full system,why would they when they get it all for free!exa gets alot of love from arcade operators,collectors and on arcade forums

I think the Exarcadia hate? has more to do with the quality of its games and with the fact that it's in the end a Windows-based PC. For $1500 a game you'd expect something else than a recycled product. Then there's the thing that they're making some forthcoming low-profile-but-interesting-at-$30 games which were promised for Windows exclusive for a platform that 99% of the people just don't have access to.

I don’t get the argument that it just a pc,pretty much all arcade hardware from the mid 2000s is pc based one way or the other the like of taito and sega charged huge prices for there hardware/software then they continued cashing in from operators taking a share of profits.let’s not forget before pc based there was also hardware based on consoles like ps1,Saturn etc.i do agree they need some hard hitting titles,the games aren’t just straight steam ports that’s a misconception a lot of work goes into them before release.
Isn’t exclusivity the whole piont of a arcade platform?

[Ddshot]

Let’s not forget some of the greatest shmups were born from the the arcade!most of the shmups are still being played today some games over 30yrs old!There’s some great Indy shmups and I enjoy and support them but none really get close to a arcade classic from cave,raizing,irem etc!hopfully exa can do the same or at least get close,if it gets popular enough maybe more developers will sign up

[Sumez]

I don’t get the argument that it just a pc,pretty much all arcade hardware from the mid 2000s is pc based one way or the other the like of taito and sega charged huge prices for there hardware/software then they continued cashing in from operators taking a share of profits.

I'd argue that the same goes for all previous PC based arcade platforms though. Most people I know with an interest in "classic" arcade games and hardware have absolutely zero interest in Type X, since it's essentially just an overprised Windows XP computer. Meanwhile, Cave's modern Jamma PCBs are universally super coveted.

In defense of Exa though, it's at least a lot more sleek than a Type X. If you're into this style of dedicated gamer PCs, Exa is one of the coolest ones you can get. I don't have a problem with that - my only issue is that I find it incredibly stupid that people would expect me to celebrate the existance of games that I have no realistic opportunity to ever play.