Namco 5 Game Classics "Controller"

[Achika]

For those of you who are interested, I noticed on Gamestop.com today that Jakks Pacific is coming out with a Namco "game controller" like the Atari one they did just before Christmas and the Activision one that was done before that. It's coming out in mid-august. Atleast, if that's the actual joystick that ships, it looks cool.

Five games are supposed to be on it:

* Pac-Man

* Bosconian

* Rally-X

* DigDug

* Galaxian

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

That's actually kinda cool...any "ambidextrous" options for flipping the controller so the fire button is on the right-hand side?

[davidbrit2]

That looks sort of neat. If it weren't for Rally X, I'd just suspect it of being a Famicom clone. Hopefully the translations will be accurate.

[ManekiNeko]

That's super sweet! I just hope the emulation is better than in past Jakks and Namco collections...
FYI, DavidBrit, there was a conversion of Rally X available for the NES, although it was designed in Hong Kong by a company unrelated to Namco. You can find the ROM here:

http://www.theredeye.net/shinwei/games.html

JR

[digitpress Jim]

I have seen acutal footage of this new Namco tv games arcade joystick with the games built in.I saw all the games playing on it,and I can tell you they all look just like the original arcade versions.The controller it's self looks to be a little less than half the size of the mini arcade machines Coleco put out in the 80's and the joystick is about the actual size of an arcade joystick.It runs on 4 AA batteries and comes with rca plugs that plug right into your T.V.and has a reset button on it.

[Raccoon Lad]

Someone had this at work today, and I must say, it's quite good.

the games seem to play slightly faster than in the arcade, which is sort of a good thing, but otherwise, they're spot on. and the joystick is nice, it's a 4 way microwsitch stick with a nice arcade feel.

[Achika]

Well, looks like they moved it up a month, as we got a shipment in at work as were able to sell them. Very cool...the plastic feels kinda cheap...but I guess that's just how things are made these days.

[davidbrit2]

Aside from the plastic, have you gotten a chance to see how the games play?

And you'll bring one for us to fiddle with at Pinball Pete's, right? :-)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

My big question on this is: what is the display like for Pac-Man?

I've always been intensely annoyed by the Namco Museum treatment of Pac, Ms. Pac and Super Pac - you get a tiny, crunched display with their bezel art, or nothing - unless you want to use vertical mode and lay on your side whilst playing. Which is what I usually do.

If it was more like the Tengen NES Pac-Man, on the other hand...that would be a deal-breaker, I'd definitely buy one.

[davidbrit2]

Hmm, you've got a point... Those are all vertical monitor games. Someone get us some screen shots.

[Achika]

Hmm, you've got a point... Those are all vertical monitor games. Someone get us some screen shots.

I'll try to get to it tomorrow. I decided to work on my site and it was up on the photo block tonight, so I didn't actually test it out. Will test out and get some shots tomorrow. Um, I'll bring it but are you bringing the TV? :P

[Raccoon Lad]

yeah, it's like the nes's screen layout with the game on the left and all the info on the right.

[davidbrit2]

Hmm, you've got a point... Those are all vertical monitor games. Someone get us some screen shots.

I'll try to get to it tomorrow. I decided to work on my site and it was up on the photo block tonight, so I didn't actually test it out. Will test out and get some shots tomorrow. Um, I'll bring it but are you bringing the TV? :P ;)

Well, I've got a 9" with stereo A/V inputs, a DVD player, and AC or DC power. Will that do? Heh. And you haven't lived until you've played Guitar Freaks on a 9" TV in a hotel room. :-D

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

yeah, it's like the nes's screen layout with the game on the left and all the info on the right.

YES!!!

I'm buyin' one.

[l_lamb]

I bought one last night and can say that the emulation is pretty good. All the games seem to play slightly faster than the originals and the graphics and sound are slightly different. Dig Dug's screen is pushed up and the flowers that mark the level number are not shown. Galaxian and Pac-Man run with the full-size game on the left side of the screen and all the information on the right side. Bosconian runs full-screen as does Rally-X. The stick is really good for the price of the unit ($19.99 at Target, $24.99 at Gamestop). Definitely worth the money, even though it only runs on "AA" batteries.