why are Seibu Kaihatsu's games protected?

[VicViper_Mk2]

an even better add-on with much more in-dept reason. thank you.

[JoshF]

The reason i want a good story is i get a sense of accomplishment as the hero who saves the world, and a good story can bring it out in a spectacular way. I'm sorry if you don't understand or agree to it, and i won't force you to. it is after all, my opinion, which can be debated on its true or false, but ultimately it doesn't matter.

Text are cutscenes are overrated. Grab a joystick and make your own story.

Plus, a lot of shooting games have cool stories, but the developers are smart enough not to put them in the game. Games are for playing.

[nZero]

The reason for the question is because seibu's games, most notably Raiden is protected, while games like thunderforce AC, aero fighters, etc are not

What? Raiden was barely protected at all. That's probably why it got massively bootlegged.

Thunderforce AC and most of the other System C games are protected. Just not well enough to prevent bootleggers and MAMEdev from figuring it out.

Maybe your real question is what's so special about the protection used for Raiden II, et. al. that it remains uncracked to this day.

Seibu SPI is not encrypted, just ridiculous to emulate.

Sprites are encrypted, remember the early MAME driver?

[VicViper_Mk2]

i guess you could say it like that. FYI, i didn't know the whole back history of Raiden, that it wasn't protected before and because of so many bootlegging seibu came up with the encryption. back then i just know that Raiden is encrypted and no one seems to be able to decrypt them.

now, i guess either no one cares to decrypt it anymore, or they still haven't figured out yet. either way, i'll just get a PS copy of Raiden project.

[worstplayer]

Why bother emulating it when there's PC version anyway?

[moozooh]

PC versions of games aren't as flexibly configurable as MAME, by far.

[BBH]

Haha, this thread is awesome.

Also, I am pissed Seibu put that protection on Zero Team. One of the only beat em ups i'm yet to play!

I've only ever seen one Zero Team USA cabinet in my life, and that was at the Luxor in Las Vegas over a decade ago. All I remember about it is that the sprites are small and the female character had a nice ass. I don't think you're missing out on too much.

[doctorx0079]

now, i guess either no one cares to decrypt it anymore, or they still haven't figured out yet. either way, i'll just get a PS copy of Raiden project.

BINGO.

Give that man a cookie.

[Fighter17]

Haha, this thread is awesome.

Also, I am pissed Seibu put that protection on Zero Team. One of the only beat em ups i'm yet to play!

I've only ever seen one Zero Team USA cabinet in my life, and that was at the Luxor in Las Vegas over a decade ago. All I remember about it is that the sprites are small and the female character had a nice ass. I don't think you're missing out on too much.

They also did Dynamite Duke.

[Ganelon]

I don't see why it would matter that Raiden was among the more bootlegged games or that it was supposedly "not good enough." You shouldn't even be playing the games by law and ought to be extremely grateful that more knowledgeable folks have invested their time and energy into giving us these powerful tools. You're even luckier that the PS ports are excellent ones.

Capcom protected all of their games mid-CPSI onwards to the annoyance of everybody else and so what? It was their right and it did the job. Everything on the Neo Geo was also encrypted, but without using nearly as much effort, and now nobody cares because it was cracked like a sledgehammer to an egg early on. Hmm, one of these 2 arcade systems contributed to the parent company's bankruptcy, eh?

Ooh, who do these companies think they are, taking time to protect their assets, some of which aren't even any good, because they think the profit loss outweighs the extra development effort. It's great that Seibu was so successful using its own encryption scheme, which it presumably duplicated for all the rest of its games to cut costs. And what's next? Complaining that the ~100 arcade games using discrete logic aren't playable in MAME yet even though they're ancient and don't "deserve" to be unemulated? Go ahead, learn circuitry, and contribute your efforts if you care so much.

Basically, I think there are a lot of things you're taking for granted right now that you don't really deserve and that's why people don't like this topic. Each game emulated in MAME should be an unexpected pleasure. Even having a board to vent your thoughts and know that like people will respond to them is a great privilege. If you're thankful for what you have but don't deserve, every addition can be seen as an added bonus. The main message is that nobody owes you anything, esp. not a business whose livelihood at the time depended on selling their product while fending off piracy, so just be patient and hope for the best.

Haha, this thread is awesome.

Also, I am pissed Seibu put that protection on Zero Team. One of the only beat em ups i'm yet to play!

I've only ever seen one Zero Team USA cabinet in my life, and that was at the Luxor in Las Vegas over a decade ago. All I remember about it is that the sprites are small and the female character had a nice ass. I don't think you're missing out on too much.

I have New Zero Team (the enhanced version w/o the suicide battery but still heavily encrypted, gotta love Seibu). Honestly, it's a simple beat-em-up more akin to those from the late 80s. A bit too dull and repetitive for me. I might consider selling it if you're really interested, Macaw.

[Master O]

On a semi-related note, I wonder if it's a great source of pride at Seibu Kaihatsu that they've managed to basically thwart all-comers with their encryption scheme.

[Twiddle]

Considering they tanked after releasing Raiden Fighters Jet and a porn mahjong game company owns the brand now, I'm not so sure.

[Macaw]

I might consider selling it if you're really interested, Macaw.

Thanks for the offer, but unfortunately i'm still trying to get a cab...