iPhone game of the day: Capcom Arcade

Game: Capcom Arcade
Price: Free
Size: 166MB
Buy it now from the iTunes Store: US/UK

Depending on the way you look at things, Capcom Arcade is either a rather clever business model, or an evil scheme of the capitalist machine. We're going with the former as opposed to the latter, just in case you were wondering.

Capcom Arcade is, as you may expect, an arcade in which you play Capcom games. Street Fighter II, Ghouls n' Ghosts, 1942 and Commando are all available in their entirety, and other games are available to download. They're all free to play, too ... well, kind of.

You get three "tickets" a day which can be inserted into the virtual arcade machines, which is a cute way of determining that you get three free play sessions. Once those tickets are spent, you need to wait another day. Of course, if you don't feel you've had enough, you can purchase more tickets, or buy an arcade cabinet outright for $2.99 to play whatever you like.

Many iTunes users dislike Capcom Arcade, mainly because they don't seem to understand why the game is ad-supported despite the fact that it boasts a technical free-to-play model. If you are angered by a little bit of ad text at the top of the screen then sure, avoid it. If, however, you want to play Ghouls n' Ghosts for free thrice a day, then check it out.

Nov 16, 2010