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Arcade Archives

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Arcade Archives[a] is a series of emulated arcade games developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called ACA Neo Geo[b] focuses on re-releasing SNK's Neo Geo titles in their original MVS arcade format, unlike many services that attempt to emulate the console versions. Individual games are released in a weekly format.

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History

Hamster Corporation was formed in 1999 by alumni of the video game division of Toshiba EMI. The company previously released a similar series, Oretachi Gēsen Zoku, which was released only in Japan for the PlayStation 2, while acquiring the rights to the intellectual property of various defunct video game developers, such as Nichibutsu in March 2014,[1] UPL in May 2016,[2] NMK in June 2017,[3] Video System in March 2018,[4] Allumer in February 2023,[5] and Athena in September 2023.[6] Development is handled at Hamster's various offices, with emulators being developed by a group of Hudson Soft alumni at Sapporo, Hokkaido.[7]

Despite forming a working relationship with Nintendo by providing games for their Virtual Console service, Nintendo surprised Hamster by agreeing to license their arcade games for the service, on the condition they remain exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.[8] This included Sky Skipper, which was never released formally outside Japan save for a licensed Atari 2600 release by Parker Brothers; Hamster was granted permission to copy the ROM image of the game from the only surviving unmodified boardset archived at Nintendo of America.[9]

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Release

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Arcade Archives was first released for the PlayStation 4 on May 15, 2014 on the PlayStation Network; Nippon Ichi Software supported development of the series during its earliest years.[10] The Nintendo Switch version was also launched on the Nintendo eShop on March 3, 2017,[11] initially focusing on Neo Geo games before adding other arcade games, including titles from Nintendo. It supports various system-specific features, allowing players to share screenshots and videos and compete with others for online rankings.

The Xbox One version of the service, which only includes Neo Geo games, launched on February 23, 2017 on the Xbox Games Store. The Windows version of the service was launched on December 15, 2017, through the Microsoft Store and, like the Xbox One version, only includes Neo Geo games.[12] ACA Neo Geo games were released on iOS (via the App Store) and Android (via Google Play) by SNK on November 30, 2021.[13]

In May 2024, Hamster announced ACA 2 Neo Geo[c] for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Main features of standard ACA 2 Neo Geo games include Time Attack and Network (online play) modes.[14] Users who previously purchased ACA Neo Geo titles on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One receive a discount on the purchase of ACA 2 Neo Geo titles.[15] ACA 2 Neo Geo debuted on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S starting February 27, 2025, with The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest being the debut title.

During the Nintendo Direct for the Nintendo Switch 2, Hamster announced Arcade Archives 2, with the debut title, Ridge Racer, released alongside the system on launch day.[16] Hamster confirmed on subsequent days that Arcade Archives 2 would also be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, also featuring Ridge Racer as a debut title; alongside a Nintendo Switch plus PlayStation 4 versions of the game confirmed as part of the original Arcade Archives. Users who bought previous titles released for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch will receive a discount for the Arcade Archives 2 versions on the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. Its titles are released monthly, instead of the original's weekly format.

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Games

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There are currently 373 games on the original Arcade Archives list and 108 games on the ACA Neo Geo list below.[d]

Arcade Archives

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Arcade Archives 2

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ACA Neo Geo

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ACA 2 Neo Geo

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Embedded compilations

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These are the arcade game compilations that use the core emulators used on the Arcade Archives series, generally going under the "Powered by Arcade Archives" remark.

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See also

Notes

  1. Japanese: アーケードアーカイブス, Hepburn: Ākēdo Ākaibusu
  2. Japanese: アケアカ Neo Geo, Hepburn: Akeaka Neojio
  3. Japanese: アケアカ 2 Neo Geo, Hepburn: Akeaka 2 Neojio
  4. These numbers are always up to date by this script.
  5. Unavailable in the United States, but available in Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
  6. Available in Switzerland and South Africa only.
  7. The Japanese version of the game, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (熱血硬派くにおくん) was released in Japan on Jul 24, 2014 and in Asia on May 28, 2015. The Western version, Renegade was released in North America on Jun 2, 2015, Europe on Jun 30, and Japan on Dec 22.
  8. This game was mistakenly listed on the North American Nintendo eShop and on Nintendo.com from Apr 4, 2019, and was removed the next day.[21][22]
  9. Marketed as Neo Turf Masters in English territory until Aug 2019.
  10. These ACA Neo Geo games were quietly removed from all digital stores at the end of Aug 2020 due to issues regarding the Republic of China.[25]
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References

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