Sega's new arcade board based on Xbox 360?

TOKYO--Recently, Sega staged a beta test in Tokyo for House of the Dead 4, the forthcoming light-gun shooter that uses the company's new "Lindbergh" arcade board. At the time, rumors began to circulate that the new board--which displays games in a 16:9 widescreen format--was based on the Xbox 360.

Today, new information emerged from arcade distributors in Japan that the Lindbergh does indeed use the 360's architecture. If true, it will mark the second time that a Microsoft home console has provided the basis for a Sega arcade machine. Sega's previous Chihiro board was based on the current-generation Xbox.

A 360-based Lindbergh would also mean that the next wave of Sega arcade games could easily be ported to Microsoft's next-generation console. If series such as Virtua Fighter also appear on the Lindbergh, it may help build up the 360's library with games of proven popularity in Japan. According to a recent survey, interest in the console remains low in the country, despite Microsoft's having hired some of Japan's most famous game designers for platform-exclusive projects.

That said, Sega has not disclosed any details or specifications on the Lindbergh yet. The only thing official is that House of the Dead 4 is currently slated to hit Japanese arcades in December.