Simpsons Arcade on XBLA this Friday [Joystiq]

[DP ServBot]

PlayStation Plus users are getting Konami's 1991 classic, The Simpsons Arcade Game, for free, while XBLA users get it a few days early on February 3, according to Game Informer. The side-scrolling beat-em-up will set you back a cool 800 Microsoft Points ($9.99) and will also include new modes, the (rumored) Japanese version of the game, as well as four-player online co-op and bonus promotional material from the game's original release.

The last time we played this game, it was in the back of a Circle K next to the ICEE machine and a Street Fighter 2 cabinet. We'll be trying our best to recreate that experience by covering every surface of the office with a thin, sticky film. Mmmm, nostalgia.Simpsons Arcade on XBLA this Friday originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[PapaStu]

About.fucking.time.

[wallydawg]

About.fucking.time.

This, and a million times more. I remember playing this just once when I was younger and I'm too stupid for MAME so I'm definitely stoked to finally be able to play this again.

[drthielegood]

Good game. Glad to see it released. A couple of things.



PSN+ = Sony's Pay Service = Members get it for free.
Xbox Live = MS's Pay Service = $10

I have LOVED my 360 for years but I am getting sick of being treated like I'm in an abusive relationship that I keep, stupidly, returning to.

Really Microsoft.....Really?



Bob

[Bojay1997]

Good game. Glad to see it released. A couple of things.



PSN+ = Sony's Pay Service = Members get it for free.
Xbox Live = MS's Pay Service = $10

I have LOVED my 360 for years but I am getting sick of being treated like I'm in an abusive relationship that I keep, stupidly, returning to.

Really Microsoft.....Really?



Bob

Not exactly a fair comparison. If you don't have PSN+ which is basically a paid game rental service where you don't necessarily choose what games you get to play free at any given time, it's $10 and you don't need a Xbox Live Gold (i.e. paid) membership to buy the game for $10 on Xbox Live. Also, if you cancel PSN+, you no longer have access to the game. So, it's nice if you are already a PSN+ member, but it's not like Microsoft is being any more unreasonable than Sony in this situation.

[Kitsune Sniper]

So this is why the views on my Simpsons playthrough soared.

[drthielegood]

Not exactly a fair comparison. If you don't have PSN+ which is basically a paid game rental service where you don't necessarily choose what games you get to play free at any given time, it's $10 and you don't need a Xbox Live Gold (i.e. paid) membership to buy the game for $10 on Xbox Live. Also, if you cancel PSN+, you no longer have access to the game. So, it's nice if you are already a PSN+ member, but it's not like Microsoft is being any more unreasonable than Sony in this situation.

Fair enough...but its getting harder and harder to justify my Gold subscription. From the ads, to the most recent dashboard update (which I'm not a fan of) to this sort of thing. I've probably bought more games for my 360 than I have for any system I've owned since the NES. This just makes me questions whether or not I'm going to stick with MS in the next gen.


Bob

[Bojay1997]

Fair enough...but its getting harder and harder to justify my Gold subscription. From the ads, to the most recent dashboard update (which I'm not a fan of) to this sort of thing. I've probably bought more games for my 360 than I have for any system I've owned since the NES. This just makes me questions whether or not I'm going to stick with MS in the next gen.


Bob

Sure, but the reality is that in the next console generation, Sony will likely require a paid subscription model as well, especially in light of their massive loss reported today. I actually don't have either XBL Gold or PSN+ anymore as I just don't like playing on-line very much, but I still buy plenty of download titles from both services.

[kupomogli]

Not exactly a fair comparison. If you don't have PSN+ which is basically a paid game rental service where you don't necessarily choose what games you get to play free at any given time, it's $10 and you don't need a Xbox Live Gold (i.e. paid) membership to buy the game for $10 on Xbox Live. Also, if you cancel PSN+, you no longer have access to the game. So, it's nice if you are already a PSN+ member, but it's not like Microsoft is being any more unreasonable than Sony in this situation.

It's a paid rental service, yes, but it's a paid rental service that you get each and every item you've ever downloaded through. Even if your PSN+ ends and you later restore it, you can still redownload and play anything that you've previously had downloaded through PSN+.

Final Fantasy 5, Far Cry 2, Simpsons, and others are free this month. Spyro, Crash, and Syphon Filter series have all been free the last few months, as have Back to the Future episodes, Tomb Raider, Marvel Pinball, etc. I'm not a fan of digital download, but $50 for a year of free content, despite being rental only is a damn good deal.

What do you get with XBOX Live Gold? Deal of the week, cross game chat, the ability to play games online, and use Netflix(as long as you also have the subscription.) Microsoft is making bank on what you should already be getting for free.

[Bojay1997]

It's a paid rental service, yes, but it's a paid rental service that you get each and every item you've ever downloaded through. Even if your PSN+ ends and you later restore it, you can still redownload and play anything that you've previously had downloaded through PSN+.

Final Fantasy 5, Far Cry 2, Simpsons, and others are free this month. Spyro, Crash, and Syphon Filter series have all been free the last few months, as have Back to the Future episodes, Tomb Raider, Marvel Pinball, etc. I'm not a fan of digital download, but $50 for a year of free content, despite being rental only is a damn good deal.

What do you get with XBOX Live Gold? Deal of the week, cross game chat, the ability to play games online, and use Netflix(as long as you also have the subscription.) Microsoft is making bank on what you should already be getting for free.

With PSN+ you only get to use the games for as long as you are subscribed. So, yes, if you quit and then pay to join again, you get access to those previously downloaded games, but again, you can only play the downloads if you are current on your subscription. The only exception to this is games you purchase with the PSN+ discount which you keep regardless of your later subscription status. I just think that buying a subscription plan to a game rental service where I don't even get a choice of what I can rent seems really silly.

Microsoft didn't trick anyone into buying their console on the premise that on-line services would be free. In fact, they were very upfront about the fact that it would not be free. The reality is that servers and the support and development work that goes in to an effective on-line service cost money. Sony knows this and yet decided that they would cover those costs to gain some kind of competitve advantage over Microsoft. At least in the United States their gamble failed.

You can applaud Sony all you want, but without a viable financial model for video gaming, they will not be able to provide anything to anyone. They are planning on a $2.9 billion loss this year. This is the fourth year they have had massive losses. According to their financial disclosures, a significant contributor to those losses was cutting the price of the PS3 to $250. Those kinds of losses aren't sustainable and you can bet on the fact that the PS4 will have a pay on-line component just like the next Xbox will. Sony can't and won't keep losing money and if they can't find a way to become profitable, there will be no more Sony consoles and possibly no more Sony down the line.

[frogofdeath]

Well I know what I am playing this weekend!

[The 1 2 P]

PSN+ = Sony's Pay Service = Members get it for free.
Xbox Live = MS's Pay Service = $10

Well if you cancel PSN+ you can no longer play it. But if you buy it on XBL and cancel your gold membership you will still own this game and can play it anytime you want. As for the price, $10 isn't bad but if you don't feel like paying that much then wait alittle bit as there will definitely be a sale eventually. Last year a few months after X-Men: Arcade came out on XBL(also for $10/800 MP) it went on sale for around 75% off($2/160 MP I think). If you're patient the deals will come.

Fair enough...but its getting harder and harder to justify my Gold subscription. From the ads

You know you can turn those off right?

I must be the only core gamer that never played The Simpsons Arcade back in the day. I played all the other 4 and 6 player games but not this one. I suppose it didn't help that I also haven't liked the Simpsons since the first season of the show. But I will still pick this up once it hits a nice sale, if only for the Japanese version.

[Gamereviewgod]

As much as I love the license, the sprite work, and jokes from the show, the collision is deplorable. Enemies hit you whenever they want and combos don't even exist. I never found this to be one of the best beat-em-ups of the era then, and now, it's a mess from a gameplay standpoint.

That said, I still bought the damn thing just support more Konami beat-em-ups in the future. Vendetta please!

[Kitsune Sniper]

As much as I love the license, the sprite work, and jokes from the show, the collision is deplorable. Enemies hit you whenever they want and combos don't even exist. I never found this to be one of the best beat-em-ups of the era then, and now, it's a mess from a gameplay standpoint.

That said, I still bought the damn thing just support more Konami beat-em-ups in the future. Vendetta please!

Are you talking about the new port or the original? Because the original DID have combos, you just can't expect to hit them all the time. You can usually sneak in two hits before the CPU tries to counterattack. This is how all Konami beat-em ups worked in my experience.

At least it's not like TMNT II on the NES... now that was a mess.

[Gamereviewgod]

Are you talking about the new port or the original? Because the original DID have combos, you just can't expect to hit them all the time. You can usually sneak in two hits before the CPU tries to counterattack. This is how all Konami beat-em ups worked in my experience.

At least it's not like TMNT II on the NES... now that was a mess.

The original and the port. They're one in the same as far as I can tell (anyone spot any differences by the way?). And yeah, there are combos in the animation, but they're so loosely defined it doesn't really matter. Most Konami licensed titles do it, you're right, but you can see it clearing up as years passed. X-Men doesn't share the issue to the degree. The SNES port of Turtles in Time really nailed it too.

And no, it's not TMNT II NES bad.

[Nirvana]

Finally! I remember downloading the River City Ransom NES port on the Wii, and I said to my friends, "I wish they put out the Simpsons beat em up game for download." I found myself saying this when they re-released Final Fight (XBLA), TMNT Turtles in Time, the X-men Arcade fame, and the original Ninja Turtles Arcade game. I always wanted them to release the Simpsons Arcade game, and now they finally have. I'm totally beating this with my friends sometime soon. I loved playing this as a little kid, although I was never able to get too far.

[donkeypunch360]

The Simpsons arcade game is actually a free game that can be played at Nickel City, but its not worth the trip or the DUI. XBL it is.

[Gameguy]

As much as I love the license, the sprite work, and jokes from the show, the collision is deplorable. Enemies hit you whenever they want and combos don't even exist. I never found this to be one of the best beat-em-ups of the era then, and now, it's a mess from a gameplay standpoint.

Compared to every other Simpsons game made it's pure gold plated in platinum and covered in diamonds.

I almost beat this in the arcade once, I made it to the final boss and died. The continue screen was counting down but I had to get more tokens. I got more and as I put in a token to continue the counter reached zero and the game reset to the beginning, I didn't feel like starting again so I left. I must have used at least $20 in tokens to get that far.

[Gamereviewgod]

Compared to every other Simpsons game made it's pure gold plated in platinum and covered in diamonds.

I'll almost sign on the dotted line if Hit and Run isn't included.

[Lothars]

You can applaud Sony all you want, but without a viable financial model for video gaming, they will not be able to provide anything to anyone. They are planning on a $2.9 billion loss this year. This is the fourth year they have had massive losses. According to their financial disclosures, a significant contributor to those losses was cutting the price of the PS3 to $250. Those kinds of losses aren't sustainable and you can bet on the fact that the PS4 will have a pay on-line component just like the next Xbox will. Sony can't and won't keep losing money and if they can't find a way to become profitable, there will be no more Sony consoles and possibly no more Sony down the line.

If you actually look at what cost Sony to take a loss this last quarter it was the TV market, it had nothing to do with gaming. You are right though Sony will have a paid service next generation I can only hope that it's not for online playing and it's for other stuff heck Live is not worth the price and hasn't been for many years but If I wanna play online I have to have it. It's the thing I could see changing because It's not something I suspect users will keep going with next gen.