Namco Bandai adopts Cell for arcades, Tekken 6 to be guinea pig

by Joystiq Staff { Mar 26th 2007 at 2:53PM }

Not content with just three Sony exclusives, Namco Bandai has announced that the arcade version of Tekken 6 will utilize the Cell processor, making it the first commercial use for Cell outside of the PlayStation 3.

This isn't the first time that Namco has adopted PlayStation hardware for the arcade as both their System 11 and System 256 boards, for example, produced plenty of Playstation-based hits. What remains to be seen, however, is whether or not Namco Bandai will license out this technology for other developers to use. While they have done so in the past, they are currently undecided.

Tekken 6 is still slated for an arcade release later this year with no solid date as of yet.

Tags: Namco-Bandai, Tekken-6

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

hvnlysoldr @ Mar 26th 2007 3:01PM

What would be funny is if Namco uses the Cell in the Triforce arcades. Imagine a Mario Kart running on Cell.

Ken @ Mar 26th 2007 3:05PM

Yay. Another Tekken game... note my enthusiasm.

Original Arcade games plz, kthxbai.

sheppy @ Mar 26th 2007 3:51PM

In the official announcement over on gamasutra, they mention Tekken 6 is the first of many.

rfom @ Mar 26th 2007 4:29PM

Just curious..what is the processor they usually use these days in arcades? Never thought about it before.

Tracert @ Mar 26th 2007 4:29PM

Sorry to nitpick, but this definitely isn't the first commercial use of a Cell processor outside of PS3. Mercury makes a few products, including a blade server and accelerator board, based on the Cell Broadband Engine, and IBM announced their own CBE based blades earlier this year. Toshiba has also stated that they will eventually be using Cell's for their high end displays, although there has been no specific product announcement that I am aware of.

The article says that this is the first arcade game to use Cell, which is probably true. To say otherwise isn't right.

Geo @ Mar 26th 2007 4:33PM

It's good to hear that an arcade machine will be up to the home console standards.

JS Beckerist @ Mar 26th 2007 4:37PM

My friend and I were just talking today about the death of the arcade. Maybe there's a bit of life left after all!

lol. @ Mar 26th 2007 4:49PM

rfom,

If you're talking about Namco, then it kinda varies.
The system 256 runs Tekken 5 and such, as you can see in the link. I don't know if SC2 uses naomi series boards, but the first one did, if I'm not mistaken.

I'd like to see more Lindbergh cabinets, personally. Virtua Tennis 3, Virtua Fighter 5, and HoTD4 look amazing.

sheppy @ Mar 26th 2007 4:50PM

Not in the states there isn't. Now if arcades started taking on the community styles aspect of Japanese arcades, then yeah. But all the Namco Time-Outs, Tilts, and Chuck E Cheese's have officially raped the arcades of the old days, people crowded around the new machine, as arcade champs pound away on each other.

Ahhh, the good old days. Pepsi in the cup holder, tokens in a pile, Hand on each poystiq, and Sega's Virtual On logo flashing before my eager eyes.