Like I said in the other topic, given FB's history of "jokes" and "rumors" that turn out to be made real (Narita = Tatari? ), I wouldn't dismiss such statements as mere jest.
For now, for what it seems... bluff seems accurate. A number of things with UNIB's announcement doesn't single a change in development platform... the biggest being that it was announced at a Sega event. But that could mean little... again questions that only September can answer.
After all, while the market for X2 is indeed a crowded one, it's also the hardware that's got guaranteed installation at most arcades, which is surely something that is relevant to FB's interests. I mean, what else is making a case for operated to have a few Ring Edges, beyond "Border Break" that's already been in arcades?
That is based on the assumption that Taito
is the market, arcade wise, and that is BAD...VERY BAD. Taito would more or less be able to hold the industry hostage, since it holds all the users. At that point, the arcade's twilight to death will be in full swing.... and Taito will not stop it with that kind of holding power.
I would like the Japan game industry to avoid something like that.... since it would cause a nasty shrink in development. Plus, Sega is large, it would be hard to have them ignored on the market completely.
That said, you do know that Melty Blood on the Ringwide isn't really pushing the system. I would not be all that shocked if UNIB was released on the same (as it turns out, the Ringwide has the same resolution to RingEdge... the two big differences in the systems are that Edge has dual-core cpu and much more VRAM) hardware as Control Code, simply due to familiarity... and both are tied to ALL.net for distribution... but again, things that the JAMMA showcase will answer.
So, we'll see, most definitely.
Fun times, this gen.... fun times.
Hell, I would love to see the indie/doujin scene do more to get some love. Of course, I don't really see such a thing happening until the Japanese side of the equation either a) gets in on the Steam bandwagon or b) develops their own answer to such. Among the main things that's holding the industry back, especially on the indy-level, it's still the usual publisher-developer relationship. The sooner that much is undermined and circumvented, the better everything else will be, I believe.
Which is why Nascaxlive and ALL.net are rather interesting.... that is point B right there... The question is, will they gain traction? Nascaxlive seems likely, but the fact that it's on the TypeX^2 could be a problem. It's not a low-end system by any stretch of the imagination.
The publisher model needed to change of a long time. I will not say that they need to be completely out of the question, but at this point... distribution needs to be simpler. Publishers will either help with that (and marketing) or be in the way... Publishers need to understand that they have to get product to market quicker, in the most unobtrusive manner possible or be render completely irrelevant by the consumer and the developer... since it's a matter of resources that they give developers to get to consumers.