'XBLA Wednesdays' looks to keep rolling, Konami leading the charge [update 1]

by James Ransom-Wiley { Aug 7th 2006 at 3:15PM }

~~Club Skill reports that~~ OXM has published the list of Xbox Live Arcade titles scheduled for release on Wednesdays through September 6:

Aug. 16: Texas Hold 'em
Aug. 23: Time Pilot
Aug. 30: Scramble
Sept 6: Lumines Live!

I gotta admit, I have a soft spot for Konami's Time Pilot. Back in the early 80s, that joint was in heavy rotation on my older brother's ColecoVision. But I digress ...

With Frogger out, and Time Pilot & Scramble on the horizon, the Konami classics are starting to make their mark on XBLA. So where's Contra? And what's this about Symphony of the Night? What up with those Turtles!

[Update: redirected link to OXM directly.]

Tags: Lumines Live, LuminesLive, Scramble, Texas Hold 'em, TexasHold'em, Time Pilot, TimePilot, Xbox Live Arcade, XboxLiveArcade

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

cringer8 @ Aug 7th 2006 3:24PM

HELL YEAH!!! Time Pilot was the best game!! Now we need some more Colecovision titles. I need me some Sub-Roc, Zaxxon, Arctic Adventure, Tarzan, Venture, Spy Hunter.....

Whoo Hoo, Time Pilot!

ihavenoideawhatisgoingon @ Aug 7th 2006 3:24PM

I can't wait for sept. 6!!! WOOHOO!!! Lumines is awesome.

Erik @ Aug 7th 2006 3:25PM

Everybody loves those Turtles.

Jboy001 @ Aug 7th 2006 3:28PM

I looked up Time Pilot, looks pretty fun, Lumines will be great but I hope it's not overpriced.
Time Pilot makes me think of Sky Kid for some reason (probably just the screen on wiki)

Sky Kid might be a good game for XBLA, I wouldn't mind buying it for a few hundred points

cubs-bears-bulls-rule-4life @ Aug 7th 2006 3:29PM

i love xbox live arcade and i will love nintendos version but not ps3 cuz there poop

Sam @ Aug 7th 2006 3:40PM

Yes! I have been waiting for Lumines Live!

Cabrill @ Aug 7th 2006 3:42PM

Hey, Jboy001, I'm pretty sure it was already announced that Lumines Live will cost 1600 points, AKA $20 US earth dollars. I personally don't consider that overpriced as I spent almost double that on the PSP version and felt I could easily justify half again THAT price.

I'm torn between celebrating some of my favorites coming to XBLA and cursing that it's all old content I've seen a hundred times before. But then, I really didn't enjoy Cloning Clyde, whereas I can't stop playing SFII. But...I love Wik: Fable of Souls...hmm...old or new. Oh well, I'm hoping Lumines will be a frankenstein of old AND new.

heavyness @ Aug 7th 2006 4:00PM

"...Lumines will be great but I hope it's not overpriced."

i'm sure it's going to be cheaper then the PSP version, plus online mode! plus, you don't have to waste $199 on a handheld system that has 1 good game [Lumines].

Ian @ Aug 7th 2006 4:04PM

So is poker free?

epobirs @ Aug 7th 2006 4:16PM

The Turtles are more likely to appear on the Wii under emulation than on XBLA. Since the existing contracts should allow for ongoing publication of the existing code bases for the NES and SNES, there are less legal entanglements to handle. An XBLA version with the expected niceties, would be a new code base and almost certainly require a new agreement with whoever handles TMNT licensing these days.

bounchfx @ Aug 7th 2006 4:17PM

omfg I can't wait till lumines live I've been going through withdrawl trying to get it for my cellphone (but its not available for some gay reason since it says it is for my phone), and even contemplated buying a psp again just to play it till live came out, but its only a month away i think i can make it

xMDKx x36Ox @ Aug 7th 2006 4:17PM

is poker free do we know yet because that is very important to me

TC @ Aug 7th 2006 4:33PM

"Back in the early 80s, that joint was in heavy rotation on my older brother's ColecoVision."

James Ransom-Wiley = Tim Westwood ???? Not sure I can read his other posts without getting all BIG in the place

WaltJay @ Aug 7th 2006 4:38PM

I thought the poker game was going to be free because some on-line casino was going to sponsor it. But, lately I haven't read anything about it being sponsored.

CheapyD (cheapassgamer.com) brought up a good point on a past podcast that there could there be some legal or PR issues with an on-line gambling site sponsoring a XBLA game.

j. @ Aug 7th 2006 4:40PM

So they're starting to release some Coleco games... If they release Mousetrap, or Venture, or even the basebal game with some new upgraded controllers with the infamous wheel, I'm running to the store to get myself a 360!
OK, maybe not the basebal game, but I still miss the spinning wheel.

Mark D. @ Aug 7th 2006 4:44PM

Hey Cabrill, you're wrong about Lumines pricing. No one's ever said 1600 points, but a lot of people have said 1200 points, including Greg Canessa. So unless something changes, 1200 points it'll be.

Abbas @ Aug 7th 2006 4:54PM

Best news I've heard all day!

epobirs @ Aug 7th 2006 5:17PM

Before people get too excited about Coleco games, remember the Coleco just had a license on a Konami arcade game. If we want things like Venture, it's the current holders of the Exidy IP who must be dealt with, not the heirs of the Coleco holdings.

I'd sure like to see some of the Universal titles revived, too. Mr. Do!, Space Panic, Lady Bug, etc.

Alkaiser @ Aug 7th 2006 5:19PM

Time Pilot. Man. That'll be fun. An old-school shooter that hasn't been done to death.

I remember the Coleco version had a bug. If you flew at the upper-left corner of the screen nothing could ever hit you. The parachuters also all jumped from that area, so you would just pick up infinite points.

Now we need some Jumpman Jr. with user maps!

fat boy @ Aug 7th 2006 5:21PM

XBLA seems like it will be a great revenue source for Microsoft. What I don't get, though, is why they don't drop like a hundred games at once instead of this dribs and drabs business.

Licensing issues, maybe? Either that or it's more difficult than you would think to get Scramble and Galaga to run on the 360.

Geist @ Aug 7th 2006 5:24PM

So Nintendo has their VC, then Microsoft has this stuff (honestly, I haven't heard of half of this, but then I'm 21.)

How ironic. It seems that retro gamers will be getting their fix on next-gen systems that run old-gen content. Ancient-gen content. I'm sure this says something about the current state of the industry, but I'm too tired to figure it out at the moment.

Jellodyne @ Aug 7th 2006 5:29PM

I heard in Time Pilot, instead of flying saucers in the space level, you do battle with delicious Burger King Whopper sandwiches. I'm not saying it's thru, you know, it's just what I heard. :P

epobirs @ Aug 7th 2006 5:36PM

#20

From what various Microsoft people have said, it was difficult early on convincing companies it was worth putting their material on XBLA. Now that they've established it as a viable low-cost platform there remains the issues of managing it. Throw up too much material all at once and most of it gets ignored in favor of the stuff with big name recognition. Thats fine if you're the owner of a big arcade hit from the past, but very bad news if you're a small developers doing an original product for XBLA.

Recreating 25 year old arcade games with some feature updates isn't a big deal. They've all been endlessly cloned at high quality on lesser platforms. Flooding the channel is a bigger issue. If it were an all you can eat subscription model like GameTap, that would be different. It's always possible such an alternate access method could be added as an additional fee to a Xbox Live Gold subscription. But then there is the issue of how the owners of the non-Microsoft XBLA stuff get paid. You need a whole added infrastructure for measuring usage by title and a new compensation model.

It's doable but it gets a lot more complicated. If I were in Microsoft's position I'd hold off on that until the XBLA library is a lot bigger and more capable of sustaining that approach.

Richard Mitchell @ Aug 7th 2006 5:36PM

" ... why they don't drop like a hundred games at once instead of this dribs and drabs business."

Read this, it pretty much explains that:
http://tinyurl.com/ebgf5

The long and short of it is this: Microsoft want a real portfolio of games, not just some cesspool where any developer can put whatever crap they want on there. And it does take a while to get it certified 6-9 months minimum if I recall.

Not only that, tons of games at once would force smaller, less well known games to the bottom of the pile. That's it in a nutshell, more or less.

Richard Mitchell
Xbox 360 Fanboy

epobirs @ Aug 7th 2006 5:42PM

#21

It's just the game industry learning what the film industry has known since home video became a major revenue source for them. Good IP never dies. It just gets a bit of work once in awhile to keep it available on the latest platform of choice.

How many movies sold on HD-DVD or Blu-ray will predate the rise of the VCR? A lot. I remember when a much younger than myself friend got excited about the DVD release of 'Animal House.' The movie predated his birth but was a big favorite of his and his peers.

Bloo @ Aug 7th 2006 7:18PM

"The Turtles are more likely to appear on the Wii under emulation than on XBLA. Since the existing contracts should allow for ongoing publication of the existing code bases for the NES and SNES, there are less legal entanglements to handle. An XBLA version with the expected niceties, would be a new code base and almost certainly require a new agreement with whoever handles TMNT licensing these days."

The above makes no sense assuming people are referring to the arcade TMNT which of course IS what people are referring to. The Wii might feature the SNES version which of course would be less desirable. I think people's fond arcade memories of TMNT will quickly go away once they play it and realize that, without fear of losing a quarter, the game is as boring as they come. I say this based on certain games that have been played by four players on my MAME machine like TMNT, Gauntlet etc. Other games hold up MUCH better like NBA JAM.

illuminate @ Aug 7th 2006 7:22PM

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=24876894&sid=6155374

Gamespot has said this list is false. Damn OXM.

hey alex @ Aug 7th 2006 7:45PM

If I recall, Centuri released the US arcade version of Time Pilot back in 1982, although Konami developed the game. There was a sequel, Time Pilot 84 that was also fun, but little seen.

From the few glimpses of the XBLA version, it seems the graphics are different. I wonder if you'll be able to play the classic version, or if it's an update ala' Frogger. Since Frogger is also Konami, I'm assuming it's an update.

Although I loved Time Pilot, I'm thinking I'm looking more forward to Lumines Live! and Texas Hold 'em

Robotic House Plant @ Aug 7th 2006 7:58PM

Microsoft accidentally announced on xbox.com that Texas Hold'em was coming August 23rd, but they've since removed that date.

I think it was only up for a day about a month ago.

The ZeroCorpse @ Aug 7th 2006 11:01PM

I'd love it if they'd get away from old arcade games, and looked into old games from home computers, like the Commodore 64. Just porting updated versions of Epyx, Br0derbund or EA's library of games for the Commodore 64 to XBLA would be a worthwhile purchase for me.

Games like Archon (I & II), Mail Order Monsters, Impossible Mission, Law of the West, Way of the Exploding Fist, Bruce Lee, Jumpman, Jumpman Jr., Castle Wolfenstein, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Raid on Bungling Bay, Karateka, Blasterball, Racing Destruction Set, Adventure Construction Set, Spy vs Spy, Forbidden Forest, Dark Castle, Mighty Bombjack, MULE, Castles of Doctor Creep, Montezuma's Revenge, and on and on- All these would ROCK if the graphics were updated and they played from XBLA's hard drive with multiplayer support.

I mean, Frogger and Street Fighter are cool, but lets get some stuff up here that most people haven't had the chance to try. Archon would be a HUGE hit, as would an updated version of Mail Order Monsters.

Even early PC games would be great. D&D Fantasy Empires, Warlords II Deluxe, Rogue, etc...

Use your imagination guys! Gamers like games that are fun!!! The old days brought us a lot of fun games... Just update the look and you're golden.

I'd pay 1200 points for a decent multiplayer version of Mail Order Monsters. I'd pay 800 for a clean HD version of Castles of Doctor Creep. I'd pay 800-1200 points for a graphically-updated version of Archon.

Just do it.

The ZeroCorpse @ Aug 7th 2006 11:05PM

Oh... And a MUST for XBLA is a graphically updated version of Privateer.

...and Gazillionaire would sell very well, too.

diskoboy @ Aug 7th 2006 11:44PM

Scramble f-ing rules.

And by the way people - since this is an article about Konami classics, they're not talking about TMNT, they're referring to Konami's 1981 pac-man-esque game "Turtles". Like the game that was on the Odyssey 2.

Surprisingly - There were video games before 1988... Including ones that had turtles as the main character.

Watership @ Aug 8th 2006 12:03AM

Time Pilot was an ARCADE game. It was PORTED to Colecovision. Kids, get your facts straight.

tiremfej @ Aug 8th 2006 1:01AM

ZeroCorpse...you brought a tear to my eye. You did leave out the "Games" series from Epyx, also you forgot one very important game: One of the best EA games ever..."Racing Destruction set", four player live online...user created tracks...oh man, I wouldn't leave my chair. How about an old school RPG like "Wasteland" THE greatest RPG ever created IMHO, which was EA's second best game ever created. Also, "Seven Cities of Gold", a little "Legacy of the Ancients" the golden era of EA, when they actually put out "games" and not rehashed crap!