Another new and interesting fighter is soon going to come out in Japan known as Demon Bride and thanks to Aaron Auzins, here is an in-depth look at the upcoming game and the hardware it runs on known as the eX-BOARD. Andamiro has already brought one eXamu game to the states with Arcana Heart 2, so here’s hoping that they will keep it up with Demon Bride as well.
Here’s Aaron’s article, to which we thank him for the contribution!
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Examu has announced to Famitsu, its newest 2-D fighting product, Demon Bride, will be ready to hit arcades in Japan on July 16. If you’re scratching your head, Examu is the development muscle behind Arcana Heart and its recent sequel.
The fighting game takes on a holy vs. hell theme, but still maintains Arcana Heart’s four-button scheme of weak attack, strong attack, shooting (formerly the Arcana deity assist in the latter series) and dashing. For those intimidated by the fast-paced action, a simple mode can be activated for easier activation of moves.
Six specific arcades in Japan have received “early experience events.” It also appears prizes are being awarded through the course of the events and players can enter for a chance to win one of six prizes – entries will be taken through June 12 and five people will be chosen to receive a Demon Bride clear file case and felt coaster and one lucky winner will be sent a Demon Bride coffee mug.
Oddly, this announcement on Famitsu.com comes after three of the events have already been held. Regardless, here are the three remaining event locations:
June 6 & 7 – Osaka – Nanba Hills
June 13 & 14 – Aichi – Alice Gold Mine
June 20 & 21 – Tokyo – Store to be determined.
Demon Bride is actually one of six titles announced for the company’s touted eX-BOARD arcade hardware, which is essentially nothing more than a Win32 API application based on Windows XP Embedded. The hardware conforms to JAMMA standard and the software will come on carts, which are interchangeable. It seems the company is going toward an MVS-type route, creating a cheap, simple, accessible setup for arcade owners. By supplying their own monitor, cabinet and USB controls, an arcade owner has a setup on which he or she can swap games out much like carts are switched on a console system.
For all the tech buffs, here is the full rundown on the eX-BOARD:
CPU – Fanless Via C7 NanoBGA2
Chipset – Via CN700, VT8237R Plus
Memory – 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (with VRAM sharing)
Video – Integrated S3 UniChrome Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoding
acceleration
Audio – VIA VT1618Cidec 192KHz/32bit 8 channel AC’97
Network – RJ-45 10/100Mbps ethernet
Video I/O – JAMMA output; D-Sub 15-pin X 2/composite terminal/terminal
S-Video (able to connect simultaneously).
Sound I/O – JAMMA output/ left/right voice output terminal X 2
Input – Operators are able to add buttons with JAMMA input
USB – Two USB 2.0 ports
Power – JAMMA supply 12V 5A; or special power supply adaptor with
AC100-240V 50/60Hz 1.7A
Size – W317.8mm x D250mm x H104.2mm
Weight – 4kg
Operating System – Microsoft Windows XP Embedded
Flash Disk – 512MB/1GB/2GB
Sources: Famitsu | ex-BOARD stats | ex-Board line-up
