Ever since Nintendo released the NES Classic Mini, a nostalgic ripple has spread throughout the games industry. We’ve since seen classic mini-consoles come out from almost all the major players from Atari to Sony. Some have been excellent, spurring budding DIY enthusiasts to build their own, while others like the PlayStation mini haven’t really caught the public’s imagination.
Now, a new retro console has been announced. This one, however, is a little different to the mini consoles we’ve become accustomed to. Capcom is entering the fray with its Capcom Home Arcade machine.
The Capcom Home Arcade Machine is housed in a dual joystick arcade machine setup and comes loaded with 16 classic Capcom games
Capcom’s foray into the mini-console market immediately stands out from the rest due to the size of the thing. OK, technically it is still a mini console if you’re comparing it to an arcade machine, but it dwarfs all other mini-consoles, coming it at 74 cm in length and 22 cm wide. As the tagline “Play, Compete, Cooperate” makes out, the machine is built for multiplayer use and these dimensions ensure two players will be able to stand side-by-side without bothering each other’s play.
This all makes sense when you consider that Capcom is trying to recreate the days spent down the arcade playing games on your feet. All the mini-Capcom needs to tap into those days is power via USB and an HDMI cable running into a TV. With larger HD screens being the norm these days, this could create an arcade-like experience on a much bigger screen than the games were originally played on.
Capcom is behind some stellar arcade games like Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting and Megaman: The Power Battle. Both come loaded on the mini-Capcom alongside 14 other titles spanning various different gaming genres. You can see the full list of all included games below:
The mini-Capcom also sports onboard Wi-Fi so your high scores will go directly into a “Worldwide High Score Leaderboard.” This means even if you can’t find anybody to play against at home you can still go up against players from around the world.
All of this makes the Capcom Home Arcade Machine a very attractive prospect. The only downside is the price and availability of the thing. The Capcom website says the machine will be available in Europe on October 25 and will cost around €230 (about $260), which it puts it in a considerably higher price bracket than other mini-retro consoles. On top of that, it is currently only available for pre-order via the Capcom website, although Capcom says other retailers will come on board soon, and as yet there is no news of a North American release date.
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