Andriasang reports that Taito announced its NESiCAxLive digital distribution system for arcades at the AMOU show in Japan today. The first title to utilize the system will be BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II. The new game can download balance patches and other additional content from the Internet directly to the arcade machine. This allows games to be patched and maintained in an arcade setting just as they are on modern consoles. Operators won't have to buy an entire new board every time a new revision of a game is released. Additionally, the system allows for entire games to be downloaded to an arcade machine. Operators can choose from a catalog of titles to install at any time, based on user demand.
The process of maintaining an arcade with fresh software has just become easier and cheaper than ever. Technology like this could have possibly saved the American arcade scene from collapse, had it been available in the 90's. Imagine cheaply replacing languishing titles with fresh updates or fan-favorite classics. The future is here for arcades, but unfortunately it will have little affect outside of Japan.
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