Taito Brings Half-Life 2 to Arcades
Arcade port of Half-Life 2 in Japan.
Taito has announced that it will be releasing an arcade port of Valve's upcoming PC first-person shooter Half-Life 2 in Japan. The game will be released on Taito's Type X arcade hardware.
The decision to release a PC game in arcades might initially seem strange, but the Type X specifications explain a lot - Taito's new arcade hardware is essentially a Windows PC.
The base Type X system consists of a 2.5GHz Celeron processor, an Intel 865G chipset and a 128MB ATi Radeon 9200SE video card and runs Windows XP Embedded. It is not known whether the hardware running the arcade version of Half-Life 2 will be upgraded from these base specs.
Several game modes are planned, including a story-based campaign that can be tackled in singleplayer or co-operative multiplayer and online modes where people can take each other on from any networked cabinet in Japan. User profiles will be stored on Taito's own servers and can be accessed from anywhere on the network.
Aesthetically, the cabinet will feature the requisite hardware to make Valve's shooter shine. In addition to a widescreen display, the cabinet will be come equipped with full 5.1 surround sound. There's no word yet on exactly how the game will be controlled.
Half-Life 2 will be released during spring 2005 in Japan with a worldwide release to follow thereafter.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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