Pictures from the AAMA Gala 2012: Cars Arcade, SnoCross, Swarm, X-Men pinball + more

We’ve been waiting for a while and finally we have some pictures from the 2012 AAMA Gala that took place about a month ago. Of course in the future the best way to resolve this problem is for one of us AH writers to get out there, which I would like to do. Of course there are many different events I would love to make it to but things don’t always work out that way. As I have mentioned, I will be at IAAPA 2012 to capture footage of the latest games there so at least there won’t be any waiting there.This will probably rehash a few things I went over a few days back when I saw some coverage of the event in the most recent Replay Magazine but with any extra details I can muster.

For the Gala, there aren’t a huge number of pictures to look at but they do offer the best views we have seen of some new titles so far.These pictures came our way from the AAMA through Kevin Williams of The Stinger Report, our thanks to both of them! Click on any image to enlarge.

Cars (Raw Thrills)

Originally intended to be out in time for the release of the Cars 2 movie last year, the arcade version was pushed back similar to how we saw Terminator Salvation wait to hit the market so improvements could be made.  It has been developed by the same company responsible for various Disney video game titles, Salt Lake City-based Avalanche Software. As seen here the game offers a 42″ display and cabinet lighting similar to Fast And Furious Super Cars. This was only shown as a single game for the show; most Raw Thrills racers allow for up to 8 units to link so I imagine that the final version of this will be similar. This is slated for a Western release this Winter and with Raw Thrills’ recent expansion into China, perhaps it will end up there as well although I could understand if licensing caused a delay in that regard.

Winter X Games SnoCross (Raw Thrills)

Also new to the scene is something that we could look at as a spiritual successor to Midway’s Arctic Thunder. This snowmobile racing game uses the Winter X Games license and comes in two versions, standard 32″ and deluxe 42″. The deluxe has a swivel seat like Super Bikes 2 and while it hasn’t been stated, I would venture to guess that there is a seat rumbler similar to what AT had. There are six racers, seven tracks to choose from and the game can handle up to 8 linked units. Perhaps the most unique feature about this one is the QR Code scoring system. When a score is obtained, the game presents a QR Code on the screen. Using a smartphone you can scan the code and post your score to just about any social media site out there (its not limited solely to Twitter/Facebook). The game itself actually does not connect to the internet – that is all done through the user’s phone. It’s not the very first game to use QR Codes in some manner (Transformers Pinball to access goodies and Big Buck HD to like the BBHD Facebook page or login to the game are a couple of examples of those that do) but I’ve not heard of it being used for scoring like this, making it a nice feature that eases the way to post scores to social media sites many people use. (Thanks to Nomax and Editor for pointing out Sega games from the early 00’s that used them)

The Swarm (GlobalVR)

This is GlobalVR’s first game in a year and also their first to offer a stereo 3D experience. The design uses the mounted gun layout that GVR has been using since they introduced a new kind of Aliens Extermination cabinet a couple of years ago, where the operator can get their own TV to fit the budget they can handle. Some deeper details as provided to us last month by GVR can be found here.

X-Men Pinball (Stern)

Having recently traded a prize redemption game I had for a Konami X-Men 6 player cabinet, the appeal of having that and a pinball together is certainly worth considering.

Virtua Tennis 4 Deluxe (Sega)

In case you weren’t sure if Sega was serious about supporting the latest Virtua Tennis in arcades (which has been available as a standard 32″ model since early this year), then this should answer the question. The cupholders are a new addition, showing that they hope to get it into bars where I imagine it could do well. The standard version sells for under $6000 so I wonder where they are going to put this one on the price scale.

Sonic Quad Air (Sega)

This is just like Barron Games’ Quad Air (as it was made by them)  but themed with Sonic the Hedgehog. In the background they also were showing off the Nintendo strategy of multi-colored games – those are Sega’s extremely popular KeyMaster prize merchandisers now in the various colors of the rainbow.

Bejeweled (Sega)

Which we saw last year at IAAPA 2012

Deadstorm Pirates Mini (Namco)

Same game, smaller package for the kids

Gold Standard Games (Formerly Shelti)

Here they had some games which are typically mechanical in nature, now fitted with LCD monitors for additional options and info. The Dartboard is called the Radikal, the air hockey table looks like it is called “The Table of Champions.”