Disney Interactive Studios To Release Discs Of TRON On Xbox Live Arcade
Disney Interactive Studios will apparently be releasing the arcade classic Discs of TRON for the Xbox 360, on Xbox Live Arcade.
While this is a commendable move and I wish DI the best of success with this release . . . why anyone would want to pay for Discs of TRON when they can play it for free on any one of the various ports of MAME, I really couldn't tell you. Of course, obtaining the ROM files for the game without actually owning the arcade machine is technically illegal. But do any of you honestly believe that the vast majority of people playing DOT on MAME, actually own the machine?
Discs of TRON is also available as an unlockable on TRON 2.0: Killer App for the Gameboy Advance, and is a decent (if not incredible) emulation of the game. A used GBA and Killer App cartridge could probably be picked up at a reasonable enough price, to be another compelling alternative to the release on Xbox Live Arcade. Especially due to the fact that you'd be getting multiple games in one. (If you can find the cart, that is.)
It's possible the game may be updated with new gameplay or graphics for Live Arcade, but I highly suspect it will just be a straight port with minimal enhancements (if any). We'll see, I guess.
Thanks to MChilds for the tip!
While this is a commendable move and I wish DI the best of success with this release . . . why anyone would want to pay for Discs of TRON when they can play it for free on any one of the various ports of MAME, I really couldn't tell you. Of course, obtaining the ROM files for the game without actually owning the arcade machine is technically illegal. But do any of you honestly believe that the vast majority of people playing DOT on MAME, actually own the machine?
Discs of TRON is also available as an unlockable on TRON 2.0: Killer App for the Gameboy Advance, and is a decent (if not incredible) emulation of the game. A used GBA and Killer App cartridge could probably be picked up at a reasonable enough price, to be another compelling alternative to the release on Xbox Live Arcade. Especially due to the fact that you'd be getting multiple games in one. (If you can find the cart, that is.)
It's possible the game may be updated with new gameplay or graphics for Live Arcade, but I highly suspect it will just be a straight port with minimal enhancements (if any). We'll see, I guess.
Thanks to MChilds for the tip!
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Why should we pay for it? The easy answer is to support Tron and show Disney that the fanbase still exists and isn't just looking for whatever is free.
As you say, the vast majority of people playing DOT on MAME do not likely own the machine. Therefore they are breaking the law.
It's like saying "why should anyone pay for a loaf of bread when they can just take one?"
I agree with you completely. For the sake of TRON, I really hope the game does well and succeeds.
That being said, I have no interest in purchasing an Xbox 360 just to play this game. I've already been down that road before with TRON 2.0: Killer App on the Xbox, and I'm not going to repeat it.
If they release a version of it for when Games for Windows Live goes, well . . . live, then I would consider purchasing it (despite my well known misgivings about DI). I will continue to support the PC platform for my gaming needs, and I'm tired of console exclusives.
(In the interests of honesty: it's not that I'm particularly PRO-PlayStation or anything. I'm just anti-XBox.)
I mean, it's not like the technology for cross-platform games doesn't exist, or anything.
Xbox live works with an original Xbox, But you still need a subscription.
Troff: "Why do they choose to licence it only to XBox?"
You can't assume that this is a matter of choice. It could be somewhere way up high in the Disney infrastructure there is a deal with Microsoft that prohibits this particular department from seeking alternatives, or it could be that neither Sony or Nintendo has any interest in pursuing a cross platform license.
It could be somewhere way up high in the Disney infrastructure there is a deal with Microsoft that prohibits this particular department from seeking alternatives
And it's these kinds of policies that need to be abolished.
We're not talking about a Disney specific policy here. It's just the way Corporate America works. I mean seriously, the same type of policy is what protects me in regards to the comic. I'd sure be pretty pissed off if someone else produced their own licensed Tron comic while I was still producing mine.
Ultimately, it comes down to money. If anyone is really interested in doing anything with Tron, all they have to do is pay. That's what I did. And one of the things you pay for is exclusive rights.
I don't think a direct comparison can be drawn between the two situations. It's apples and oranges.
Why? Because no matter who would publish a printed version of the comic, it would still essentially be a completely identical product. Same form factor, same price, and accessible to everyone. You don't need any special equipment other than your eyes, to read a comic. (Though perhaps that could be debated? Not everyone has the same equipment upstairs, I guess. ;)
So, of course, if another company printed a TRON comic simultaneously with yours, they would directly compete with each other and each would claw into the others' sales. It definitely wouldn't be fair to you, and an exclusivity policy makes perfect sense.
But when it comes to games: you need specific platforms to play each version on, and not everyone is going to have every platform or will be willing to buy them all. So the amount of overlap and the chances of one version's sales hurting another's, is significantly reduced. People are almost certain to buy whatever version works with their platform, and unlikely to buy another platform when a game only supports the one they don't own.
In that situation, platform exclusivity ticks many people off and really only benefits the publishers who then receive kickbacks for the exclusivity, with Sony and Microsoft being the main two culprits.
Of course, that is the publishers' choice and they have the right to do what they want. But while exclusivity may be "forced" (*cough*) on them, they should think twice because they aren't going to make as many loyal fans of their products that way.
I'm not even going to touch the "cost and complexity of making various ports" vs. "would the extra earnings be worth it" argument. That's another whole discussion. :)