TOKYO--Japanese game manufacturer Aruze announced that it has created a new arcade board named AP-3, which will be the first arcade board to operate on the Linux operating system. The company expects the adoption of Linux to cut development costs for software developers, since the open-source software is available for free under the GPL (General Public License) agreement. Aruze also cited the system's high versatility and consistent updates as other factors in its decision.

The AP-3 will incorporate hardware based on PC components, which will allow arcade operators to update both the OS and the machine when required. Aruze plans to release 20 games for the AP-3 by the end of March 2005, and it aims to persuade third-party publishers to develop games for the board as well.

In June, Taito announced a similar PC-based arcade board named Type-X. In contrast to Aruze's AP-3, however, Taito's board uses a special edition of Microsoft Windows XP.