TV Plug & Play Games

[The Dames]

I'm a HUGE fan of Ms. Pac Man. Always have been and always will be. Every time I see a machine, I must put in a quarter and top the high score...and I almost always do. I've always wanted to purchase one of the original Ms. Pac Man machines and I do hope to have one in the future...

 

But I got the TV Plug & Play Ms. Pac Man for Xmas. You know the one...you put the A/V cables into the TV and there you are, you're playing.

 

So far...here's the positives.

 

1. It's Ms. Pac Man.

2. It comes with 5 games total, including Galaga & Pole Position.

 

Here's the negatives.

 

1. The joystick is an unresponsive piece of shit that can't move up or down whenever necessary.

 

2. It's not an EXACT replica of the Ms. Pac Man arcade game. As a lover of said game, there are a few noticable differences which irk me.

 

3. Due to the joystick's poor control, you can't help but fucking die. It's frustrating at a game that you know you're really good at.

 

....So, am I the only person who's noticed this or is my "console" a defective one?

 

Dames

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Actually people across the country have been complaining about this. Evidently a company named POS(don't know what its supposed to stand for, but if those are the letters I wouldn't buy anything from them) manafactured these and they were sold in Malls. There was a big thing on the local news about it, how on average 10 people a day were returning these things. Simon malls and the customers are supposedly making a large group to sue this company.

 

Dames, I'd return it before the place in the mall where your's was picked up high-tails it outta there like many others have. If you still have the chance.

[GreatWhiteNope]

Actually people across the country have been complaining about this. Evidently a company named POS(don't know what its supposed to stand for, but if those are the letters I wouldn't buy anything from them) manafactured these and they were sold in Malls. There was a big thing on the local news about it, how on average 10 people a day were returning these things. Simon malls and the customers are supposedly making a large group to sue this company.

 

Dames, I'd return it before the place in the mall where your's was picked up high-tails it outta there like many others have. If you still have the chance.

What are you talking about?

 

These are officially released by Namco.

 

I have the original Pac-Man controller and I still play it once in a while.

 

The emulation is a bit off, but still quite good. Controller only goes in 4 directions, which makes Bosconian hard as hell to play.

 

Still, for 15-20 bucks you could do worse.

[The Dames]

I wish I could, but it was an Xmas gift. Considering this was the only thing I got for Xmas that I actually liked (before I played it), I'd feel bad telling the person that got it for me that it sucks and I want to return it.

 

Dames

[Guest Failed Mascot]

What the fuck are you talking about?

 

These are officially released by Namco.

 

I have the original Pac-Man controller and I still play it once in a while.

 

The emulation is a bit off, but still quite good. Controller only goes in 4 directions, which makes Bosconian hard as hell to play.

 

Still, for 15-20 bucks you could do worse.

The one he's talking about may not be. There's a plug and play thing and they showed it on TV that everybody is returning. The controller looks similiar to that of the N-64.

[The Dames]

Still, for 15-20 bucks you could do worse.

How about playing the original game with a MAME emulator for free? I've got Ms. Pac Man already. The whole point of this TV plug & play is that you can play it...on your TV. So, if it's going to cost 15-20 bucks for a shitty version of what you have just so you can play it on your TV screen, I'd say you can do a hell of a lot better.

 

Dames

[GreatWhiteNope]

Still, for 15-20 bucks you could do worse.

How about playing the original game with a MAME emulator for free? I've got Ms. Pac Man already. The whole point of this TV plug & play is that you can play it...on your TV. So, if it's going to cost 15-20 bucks for a shitty version of what you have just so you can play it on your TV screen, I'd say you can do a hell of a lot better.

 

Dames

I have an old Pentium II PC dedicated to MAME. Good stuff.

 

And I also received my Namco controller as a gift.

 

I know a family friend whose father bought the Ms. Pac-Man one off QVC for $34.99 last month. I tried not to laugh.

 

But you have to realize the older generation is keen for practicality. I've tried to explain emulation to people over the age of 40. They don't get it.

[GreatWhiteNope]

What the fuck are you talking about?

 

These are officially released by Namco.

 

I have the original Pac-Man controller and I still play it once in a while.

 

The emulation is a bit off, but still quite good.  Controller only goes in 4 directions, which makes Bosconian hard as hell to play.

 

Still, for 15-20 bucks you could do worse.

The one he's talking about may not be. There's a plug and play thing and they showed it on TV that everybody is returning. The controller looks similiar to that of the N-64.

...and that emulates NES games.

[The Dames]

Hey GreatWhiteNope, that avatar you have, is that a shot of Jerry O'Connell from Scream 2, about to sing in the lunchroom to Sydney?

 

If so, I can't believe that I fucking guessed that.

 

Dames

[GreatWhiteNope]

Bingo.

[The Dames]

But you have to realize the older generation is keen for practicality. I've tried to explain emulation to people over the age of 40. They don't get it.

Practicality is fine, I get that. My point is...with the technology we have today, this should NOT be a piece of shit. It should be the REAL Ms. Pac Man with a decent joystick. I'd sacrifice the other 4 games for it. Joysticks aren't that expensive today and other than the license, price shouldn't be an issue.

 

Dames

[AndrewTS]

The Super Joy is the pirate NES emulation thing, not the Plug n' Play.

 

It's lame to hear that the official Namco products are worthless pieces of crap, though.

 

Come on, Namco, quit milking it--give us a PS2 Ultimate Namco Museum with all of the Namco Museum series games all on one disc, including the Japan-only one (Encore) with Rolling Thunder.

[The Man in Blak]

My point is...with the technology we have today, this should NOT be a piece of shit.

If the game companies have an option of using a control contact with 90% response time for three dollars, and a control contact with 70% response time for sixty-five cents, then they're going to use the latter.

 

Technology has nothing to do with it. Namco just figured that the increased income from having more responsive controls wouldn't match or exceed the cost of putting said super-responsive controls in...so they went cheap.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Oh well, at least your friend/family member's heart was in the right place. I have Ms. Pac Man for the PS2 and play it every now and then...

[Matt Young]

Dames- Do you have a Sega Genesis? If so, there's a Ms. Pac-Man for that system. There's probably a version for a lot of others as well, but I mentioned the Genesis because I have a copy for that system. I enjoy the game, but I rarely play it and will gladly give it to you if you want it. Hell, I'd offer you the Genesis also (if you don't have one) but only one of my 2 units is functional.

 

EDIT: Oops. I somehow missed KKK mentioning the existence of a PS2 version. I had no idea that Namco had released the game for newer systems unless it was part of a compilation. Yeah, I think it was.

 

EDIT 2: Sorry guys. I am just out of it tonight. Sleep deprivation is a bitch. Anyway, it seems that you want to be able to play the game with a joystick, thus making my offer of the Genesis game meaningless (assuming I understood correctly, which is far from guaranteed at this moment). However, the offer is still good.

Edited January 2, 2005 by Matt Young

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Yeah, it's on a Namco "best of" disc. Also has regular Pac-Man, Dig-Dug and a few of those Galaga-type games, both older and newer versions. I'm probably missing a few titles, but I haven't played that disc in a while.

 

And the Ms. Pac-Man game is based on the "slow" gameplay rather than the "fast," if you know what I'm talking about.

 

EDIT: Oops. I somehow missed KKK mentioning the existence of a PS2 version.

 

Wow, someone not reading my posts -- I'm shocked beyond all belief...

[USC Wuz Robbed!]

You always slip in the backdoor, KKK.

[The Dames]

Yeah, that's another thing that I completely neglected to mention. When I play it in the arcades, I prefer the super fast version of the game. If it's too slow, it's just frustrating.

 

Dames

[Guest wildpegasus]

Yeah, that's another thing that I completely neglected to mention. When I play it in the arcades, I prefer the super fast version of the game. If it's too slow, it's just frustrating.

 

Dames

Good to have you back Dames.

 

 

I was in pretty deep with my second time around playing Ms Pac Man back around 14 or 15 years ago on the Atari 2600. I also snuck in a few games in the arcade a few months ago. Still $.25! For anyone who's played the 2600 version what do you think of it? Is it the same as the arcade, slower, faster, worse or better?

[Rendclaw]

The fearless leader returns once again! How have you been doing, Dames?

 

I'm glad to hear feedback on this, because I was thinking about buying one. To play Bosconian correctly you *have* to have an eight-way joystick, especially in the harder levels.

 

I'm happy with my MAME and my Namco Museum, and rolling over to Pinball Pete's and playing the actual arcade console if I need to, but the high score is usually up around 600,000. I guess thats what happens when the arcade is smack-dab in the middle of Collegetown, USA.

[Guest CronoT]

Actually people across the country have been complaining about this. Evidently a company named POS(don't know what its supposed to stand for, but if those are the letters I wouldn't buy anything from them) manafactured these and they were sold in Malls. There was a big thing on the local news about it, how on average 10 people a day were returning these things. Simon malls and the customers are supposedly making a large group to sue this company.

 

Dames, I'd return it before the place in the mall where your's was picked up high-tails it outta there like many others have. If you still have the chance.

He's talking about this:

 

 

And yes, the company has since been served a Federal Injunction by a Federal Judge because of lawsuits filed by Nintendo and Sammy, who now own the rights to Sega's stuff.

 

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/...reach+St.+Louis

 

Here's the links to their pirated systems:

 

http://www.powerplayergames.com/

http://www.powerplayerusa.com/

 

Also, these are sponsored links on Google.com, which could get Google into some real deep shit.

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Power...G=Google+Search

[Paul Stanley]

Actually people across the country have been complaining about this. Evidently a company named POS(don't know what its supposed to stand for, but if those are the letters I wouldn't buy anything from them) manafactured these and they were sold in Malls. There was a big thing on the local news about it, how on average 10 people a day were returning these things. Simon malls and the customers are supposedly making a large group to sue this company.

 

Dames, I'd return it before the place in the mall where your's was picked up high-tails it outta there like many others have. If you still have the chance.

He's talking about this:

 

 

And yes, the company has since been served a Federal Injunction by a Federal Judge because of lawsuits filed by Nintendo and Sammy, who now own the rights to Sega's stuff.

 

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/...reach+St.+Louis

 

Here's the links to their pirated systems:

 

http://www.powerplayergames.com/

http://www.powerplayerusa.com/

 

Also, these are sponsored links on Google.com, which could get Google into some real deep shit.

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Power...G=Google+Search

We had 4 carts(kiosks) selling these at the Mall of America. They were all removed 2 weeks ago. All the foreigners were also deported.

[Dogbert]

I bought one of those.

 

I wondered why it was $40, reduced from $90.

[Guest Smues]

I bought one for $35, fully knowing it'd be shitty. It's such a piece of shit it's great. Lots of entertainment to be had seeing all the games that don't work.

[Matt Young]

I was going to get one of those as a novelty item for my game collection since some guy had a cart with demos set up in the Moreno Valley Mall, but I went there last week and the cart was gone.

 

I figured he just packed up and left, but now I know the truth.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Next time I visit Westmoreland Mall, I'll have to see if those people are still there selling those games.

 

You always slip in the backdoor, KKK.

 

Bah. I haven't had anal in at least a year. Wait a second...

[starvenger]

....So, am I the only person who's noticed this or is my "console" a defective one?

 

Dames

I guess by now you know you're not the only one

 

2.  It comes with 5 games total, including Galaga & Pole Position.

I think Galaga is the money game for most people. Mappy sucked in the arcade, and (shockingly) it still sucks now.

 

1.  The joystick is an unresponsive piece of shit that can't move up or down whenever necessary. 

I've noticed that. I think I found the best method was to add slight downward pressure to the joystick.

[Dogbert]

I bought one for $35, fully knowing it'd be shitty. It's such a piece of shit it's great. Lots of entertainment to be had seeing all the games that don't work.

Really? That's weird. I've tried all the games on mine, and they work fine, apart from slight changes to the background music.

[Eclipse]

I remember about 5 years ago, these things started to surface. My friend had one that looked JUST like a Sony Playstation.

 

The other day, I was at Bryant Park in NYC, and there was some stand, that had toys and games. They had one, called Fun Time. The controller was a half assed job of an N64 controller. It had about 70 NES games, including Super Mario Bros, Excitebike, DK2, etc.