The Capcom Home Arcade will release next month on October 25th and pre-orders are still open to those who have money to burn.
Capcom has created a long list of iconic series including Street Fighter, Mega Man, Resident Evil, and Dino Crisis. Given the abundance of titles at their disposal, it came as no surprise when the company announced in April that it would be creating its own mini console. What was surprising about the announcement though was the fact that the company had chosen to use a working fighting stick as their console, giving it the appearance and feel of many old-style plug-and-plays.
Additionally, through an announcement trailer, it was revealed that the console would come pre-loaded with many of Capcom’s historic titles, though the price tag of $287.63 certainly had many consumers scratching their heads. With the official release a little over a month away, it appears Capcom hasn’t come close to running out of available consoles as pre-orders are still available.
While the decision by Capcom to release their own mini retro console is certainly understandable give the rise in popularity for such systems, the price tag doesn’t make a lot of sense. If the console fails to sell, we could see a price drop far greater than what was observed with the PlayStation Classic.
An overview of the Capcom Home Arcade can be found through an announcement trailer on Capcom’s official YouTube channel, where it is revealed that the console is built into a functional fighting stick. The fighting stick itself isn’t unlike others currently on the market, but it differs in its sheer size, being close to the traditional width and length of those found within any arcade.
The system will come with sixteen preloaded games including Ghouls N Ghosts, Street Fighter II, Mega Man: The Power Battle and Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness. Consumers will be able to hook the console up to any display with HDMI input, allowing for a greater amount of portability. The Capcom Home Arcade releases on October 25th at an extremely high price of $287.63.
It’s a bit troubling that Capcom hasn’t made any changes to the total number of games coming bundled with the system, especially given the negative feedback they have received related to its price. Though there are certainly good titles included, it’s hard to imagine that many consumers have pre-ordered the console given the cost of full arcade cabinets these days.
Capcom should have learned from Sony’s PlayStation Classic fiasco and, at the very least, offered more than sixteen games with the Capcom Home Arcade. There’s a good chance that the console will drop drastically in price within a few months after release - but even then, it might be too late.
