Namco Museum DS Announced

April 11, 2007, 3:09 pm EDT
Total comments: 14

The eight game compilation includes a newer release: Pac-Man VS.

NAMCO BANDAI GAMES BRINGS SUMMER FUN TO THE NINTENDO DS WITH NAMCO MUSEUM™ DS

Gamers Will Experience a Namco Blast From the Past

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (April 10, 2007) – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that Namco MuseumTM DS is bringing its popular arcade games to the Nintendo DSTM this summer. Namco Museum DS introduces a new generation of gamers to an era of timeless games and non-stop entertainment.

Namco Museum DS allows gamers to experience a virtual arcade portal where they can choose from up to eight games: Pac-Man®, Pac-Man VS®, Galaga®, Xevious®, Dig Dug II®, Galaxian®, Mappy®, and The Tower of Druaga. Bringing back the meaning of family-fun, Namco Museum DS delivers excitement to gamers of all ages and offers entertainment all can enjoy.

“Namco Museum DS is a perfect way to bridge generation gaps between all people both old and young," Makoto Iwai , Executive Vice President and COO at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., said. “Older gamers will love the old school arcade feel, and new gamers will enjoy the addicting quality of the games on a handheld system."

Features that are unique to Namco Museum DS include a screen mode selection that allows the use of different screen combinations on the Nintendo DS. This will allow players the chance to fit their classic games specifically to the Nintendo DS or in the "stand-up" arcade style. Players can also enjoy wireless battles in Pac-Man VS, an addictive take on Pac-Man which was previously only available exclusively with the purchase or pre-order of previous games. This version of the game features downloadable play where up to four players can battle using only one Game Card.

Namco Museum DS Includes:

Pac-Man VS.

Originally released in 2003 – For the first time in the series, you and your friends now have the chance to be the famous Ghosts from Pac-Man! With one person playing as Pac-Man, and up to 3 people playing as Ghosts, this incredibly fun multiplayer game offers endless enjoyment with just one game card.

Dig Dug II

Originally released in 1987 – Equipped with only a drill and a pump, hit weak fault line points in an attempt to sink portions of an island sending your enemies deep into the sea!

Galaga

Originally released in 1981 – Pilot a space ship, fend off frantic swarms of bee-like aliens, try your luck with “Challenging Stages," and find the best way to deal with enemies’ powerful tractor beams!

Galaxian

Originally released in 1979 – A precursor to Galaga, destroy flying aliens as they move in from formation to attack you.

Mappy

Originally released in 1983 – Control Mappy, a police mouse. Bounce on trampolines and open or close doors to dodge chasing cats, all in an attempt to retrieve valuable items from the cats’ mansion

Pac-Man

Originally released in 1980 – Play the most popular arcade game of all time! Navigate the yellow fellow through the original Pac-Man maze, avoid ghosts while chomping pellets and fruit, and use power pellets to turn the ghosts blue and get some payback!

Xevious

Originally released in 1982 – Use a heavily armed fighter plane to destroy enemies and targets in the air and on the ground.

For more information about Namco Museum DS, please visit the official site at www.namcobandaigames.com Namco Museum DS will have a suggested retail price of $19.99 when it hits shelves this Summer.

Talkback

that Baby guyApril 11, 2007

I'm glad they did this, and it needs to be able to send a version to the Wii, for those of us with families that don't all have DSes.
Pac-Man Vs., I mean.

UltimatePartyBearApril 11, 2007

Pac-Man VS. with single card multiplayer! They're actually going to release it in a form that will get played by a lot more people. If they don't screw it up, this may be the first one of these silly classics compilations I buy.

What would really make this sweet would be online Pac-Man VS.

Ian SaneApril 11, 2007

Including Pac-Man Vs. is a great idea. On the Cube it just wasn't the right game. The hardware requirement was too high and by the expected console game standards at the time it was too "minor" of a title to sell on it's own. The DS is a better system for it. There's no extra hardware requirement and using multiple portables for multiplayer is expected. Plus here it's part of a compilation and "minor" titles like this are more common on portables.

TanookisuitApril 11, 2007

Awesome. Pacman Vs. is one of my favorite games of all time. Still, I'll probably play the Cube version more than this...

TJ SpykeApril 11, 2007

Pac-Man Vs. better be online, otherwise its useless to me since I don't know anyone else who has a DS. If it's not online, I won't get this since it offers nothing else that hasn't been on almost every Namco compilation game (including the GBA version).

GoldenPhoenixApril 11, 2007

Dig Dug 2? I'M SOLD! That game is easily my favorite dig dug game and Pac Man vs is icing on the cake.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorApril 11, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
Including Pac-Man Vs. is a great idea. On the Cube it just wasn't the right game. The hardware requirement was too high and by the expected console game standards at the time it was too "minor" of a title to sell on it's own. The DS is a better system for it. There's no extra hardware requirement and using multiple portables for multiplayer is expected. Plus here it's part of a compilation and "minor" titles like this are more common on portables.

How exactly was the hardware requirement "too high". I'd expect a comment like this concerning Four Swords Adventures or FF:CC, but Pac-Man vs. simply required a GameCube (Of course, it was a GC game), a regular controller for every player (minus one, of course - but no big deal as most multi-player games require one controller per player), a single GBA/SP (which I would assume that just about 99.9% of GCN owners owned a Game Boy Advance of some kind). The only crazy hardware requirement was the $10 GBA/GCN Link Cable. (Which, mind you, were everywhere - and for cheaper than $10).

LouieturkeyApril 11, 2007

He means it does actually require extra hardware to play, including the GBA and the link cable. With this, everything needed to play is already in the package.
For Ian, if he has to buy one extra thing to play a game, even if it's only a $5 item, it would be too much.

Ian SaneApril 12, 2007

"How exactly was the hardware requirement 'too high'."

You were expected to own a whole other system that cost at least $100 just to play a game that was so "small" that Namco didn't even sell it as a standalone product. All GBA link cable games had a high hardware requirement. While the GBA is worth owning on its own, not everyone can afford more than one videogame system at a time. Imagine you're a parent and you drop a few hundred bucks to get your kids a game console and then they want to get a game that requires the purchase of a videogame portable which is another hundred bucks. The cost of the hardware requirement to play Pac-Man Vs. is higher than the average Cube game. On the DS it's as affordable as any other multiplayer DS game.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorApril 12, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"How exactly was the hardware requirement 'too high'."

You were expected to own a whole other system that cost at least $100 just to play a game that was so "small" that Namco didn't even sell it as a standalone product. All GBA link cable games had a high hardware requirement. While the GBA is worth owning on its own, not everyone can afford more than one videogame system at a time. Imagine you're a parent and you drop a few hundred bucks to get your kids a game console and then they want to get a game that requires the purchase of a videogame portable which is another hundred bucks. The cost of the hardware requirement to play Pac-Man Vs. is higher than the average Cube game. On the DS it's as affordable as any other multiplayer DS game.

By the time Pac Man vs. came out, the GBA was $80 - new. Much cheaper used.

My point, however, is how many people own a Game Cube and don't own a single GBA? The hardware requirement was far from being "too high."

Ian SaneApril 12, 2007

"My point, however, is how many people own a Game Cube and don't own a single GBA?"

Not as high as the amount of people who own a DS and nothing else because nothing else is needed. Is the DS NOT a better system for Pac-Man Vs. than the Cube was? That's my arguement. I think the DS is a better system for this game.

Would you rather I say that having a GBA and a link cable and getting four friends together was a little too hardcore of an effort required just to play freakin' Pac-Man?

GoldenPhoenixApril 12, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"My point, however, is how many people own a Game Cube and don't own a single GBA?"

Not as high as the amount of people who own a DS and nothing else because nothing else is needed. Is the DS NOT a better system for Pac-Man Vs. than the Cube was? That's my arguement. I think the DS is a better system for this game.

Would you rather I say that having a GBA and a link cable and getting four friends together was a little too hardcore of an effort required just to play freakin' Pac-Man?

I hate to say it but Ian is right, the GC version of Pacman Vs was way to cumbersome and complex (not to mention expensive) because of the required use of a GBA. The NDS version should be a PERFECT experience though, and I can't wait to play someone in it.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorApril 12, 2007

I'm not arguing that the DS version isn't better, I'm just saying that the GCN version wasn't massivly expensive or such. It required one game, two systems, three controllers and a cable. I could go out and buy everything I need for four players to play the GCN version right now for $240. Enough stuff for four players to play the DS version? $540.

KlapauciusApril 13, 2007

Pac-Man VS was made by Shigsy, wasn't it?

I don't think it ever got released here in the UK... even if it did, I didn't want Ridge Racer or whatever it was, and I'd only be able to play it when I got three friends round. Hmm...

Sounds good on DS, thoug.

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