‘Tis the season of classic arcade remakes or sequels, or at least it seems that way. We have the excitement of a new four-player Pac-Man game, a new Darius and now we have another classic returning to arcades with Pengo. I never have played the arcade version of the original Pengo but I remember playing a port on the Atari 8-bit computer as a kid. Pengo may not carry with it strong name recognition like some other Sega games but perhaps that will change with the new version. The original had you pushing ice blocks around, trying to squish the Sno-Bees, who are chasing you. From the pictures it looks like the new Pengo will stick to the same basic formula but support for up to eight players. Judging from the picture above it doesn’t look like they are going to push the graphics envelope at all, relying upon the multiplayer aspect to carry it through. We have been talking a little bit lately about four player co-op so this certainly ups the ante – eight-players-on-one-cabinet games in the arcade sector aren’t new but they haven’t been done in quite a while as far as I know and with the right game, they can not only be a lot of fun, they can hold great earning potential as well. Will that work out with classic graphics though?

Sega will find that out as the game is testing at Club Sega Akihabara right now.

Exit question: In your opinion, what other classic games would work using a multiplayer update?

Via: AM. Net.jp Source: “Today’s dinner (with fish) blog”

(Thanks to ECM for the tip)

While I wasn’t expecting anything on this until tomorrow morning, it appears that all of the info already out on the new has pushed Taito to reveal more on the Darius title early, even though the countdown still has 14 hours left. You can visit the official Darius Site here – the only new reveal is the cabinet image you see above. That’s quite an impressive cabinet – there is some sort of force feedback in the seat and the screen configuration hearkens back to the original Darius from 1986. Fortunately it is when cabinets take this approach that make any future console ports have less impact on the arcade market as you would loose the extra wide view unless you are willing to setup two identical flat panels next to each other.

Hopefully we’ll have videos of this one in action very soon. I also hope that it gets a release outside of Japan. At the moment there is no indication of such a thing but Elevator Action: Death Parade was that way as well. As long as the price tag on this is far below the EADP then it would be even more feasible. The new Darius will be released in Japan this winter.

Source: ACE

-AAMA Distributor Gala

-Other new and recent game developments

-AVATAR Pinball

-Co-op play

-Konami retrospective

The time flew by as Kevin and I were talking and this one clocks in at nearly 2 hours. On our end the audio disparity between Kevin and myself sounded like it was fixed. Thanks for listening.

Download the podcast here!

To further celebrate their milestone we have received more information on IT’s flagship title, Golden Tee LIVE 2011. 5 new courses have been revealed for the 2011 edition, which are always important for GT players but for operators, IT has three new features they have put into the game to help generate extra revenue. These include: Golden Tees (allows the player to move their tee shot anywhere in the tee box; players can purchase bags of Golden Tees for .50¢, $1 or $2 and the operator gets half of that); Anytime/Anywhere Youtube shots (builds on the previous Youtube uploading feature but allows any shot to be uploaded – costs .50¢ if the player wants, operator keeps half); New Balls and Club Sets (players can purchase a wide range of clubs, if they wish. Again operator keeps half). Microtransactions aren’t new in the arcade industry but as far as such features go I haven’t seen them work quite like this before. As long as they keep stuff like this optional for players then it should remain as a nice way to enhance revenue from the game.

Golden Tee 2011 ships the last week of September 2010. As with other IT games we expect a low, competitive price on this (GT2010 can be purchased for around $3500 right now) and kits are available on top of that. More details, including screenshots, can be found in the press release after the break.

1st press release:

IT owners Elaine and Richard Hodgson

Incredible Technologies Named One of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For

(July 26, 2010 – Arlington Heights, IL) For the third consecutive year Incredible Technologies (IT), the country’s largest manufacturer of coin-operated video games, was named one of Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR).

Incredible Technologies earned the award based on a range of criteria that includes diversity, work-life balance, compensation and benefits, employee education, retention, and community initiative. Best and Brightest winners are selected by an independent market research company and an independent panel of judges.

IT is the maker of Golden Tee Golf, the most successful coin-operated video game in entertainment history. Recently IT has diversified into the development of mobile entertainment such as iPhone apps, home video games for the Wii console system, and casino gaming, namely its new line of Magic Touch® video slot, poker, and keno games.

Incredible Technologies, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, employees 140 people. According to Cory Christensen, IT’s director of human resources, winning the award for three years straight reflects the company’s core philosophy: namely, that an employee-friendly atmosphere fosters success in every facet of business.

“A productive, satisfied, invested employee is the best kind to have,” she said. “Our three-peat indicates that our owners have been successful in making sure every employee knows the value that both their job and person bring to our company.”

IT has recently received other awards as well. Although still in testing at various casinos, Magic Touch has already received an industry award for its innovative technology. And president/CEO Elaine Hodgson—a former NASA scientist turned video game designer/entrepreneur—was recently honored with a “Great Women of Gaming” award by a leading gaming industry trade publication.

IT will formally accept its Best and Brightest award at NABR’s August 2nd ceremony, to be held at the Oak Brook Marriot.

SIDEBAR

Incredible Technologies recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala party held at Arlington International Racecourse. The employees surprised owners Elaine Hodgson and Richard Ditton with individual mementoes as well as a 25th anniversary poster signed by all the employees.

After receiving their gifts, Elaine and Richard thanked their employees for their hard work, creativity and dedication.

END

2nd Press release:

Just What the Doctor Ordered – Golden Tee LIVE 2011

New Courses to Give Industry Much-needed Booster Shot

Update Scheduled to Ship at End of September

Incredible Technologies has a sure-fire remedy for ailing cashboxes: the Golden Tee LIVE 2011 new courses update. And the geniuses at IT aren’t just applying a temporary bandage – they’re curing the disease, not just the symptoms.

“We have the cure!” proclaimed Don Pesceone, senior vice-president of sales. “It’s a tried and true formula for success that works every time. Just install the 2011 GT update and you’ll start feeling better immediately. It’s an amazing wonder drug that’s been around for over 20 years and it just keeps on working.”

Any Time Is Tee Time!

The Golden Tee 2011 theme “Any Time Is Tee Time” addresses how Golden Tee players incorporate the game into their lifestyles.

Weekdays or weekends. Day or night. Rain or shine.

There’s always time for Golden Tee.

Golden Tee players are loyal and passionate about their favorite game,” Pesceone said. “Operators are fortunate that they can count on an immediate up tick in game play as soon as the courses are installed. In most cases the ROI for updates is just a matter of weeks, and when one factors in our 12-month, no interest payment plan, this is just the prescription for success that the doctor ordered.”

5 New Courses

The new courses are always the update’s top attraction and this year is no exception. The 2010 courses were the most popular since the debut of Golden Tee LIVE and IT wants to keep the momentum going with 2011. According to Pesceone the 2011 courses promise the same recipe of incredible graphics, compelling game play and scintillating gimmicks that have defined Golden Tee since 1989 – and that keep players returning to the game.

“We continue to provide players with an entertainment experience that they can’t get at home,” he said. “And the beneficiaries of this unique and addictive play are our operators and their locations. 2011 will be huge.”

Alpine Run – Set in the shadow of the Swiss Alps with the Matterhorn looming in the distance, Alpine Run features majestic mountain lakes, stunning waterfalls, towering trees and smushy snow. Breath taking elevation changes will make this course one that Golden Tee fans will never forget.

Falcon Sands – Play golf among the ruins of ancient Egypt! The pyramids aren’t only there for decoration purposes – they’re part of the course itself!

Besides the pyramids, Falcon Sands features monuments, statues, camels and, of course, the biggest sand trap in the history of Golden Tee!

Grizzly Flats – This links-style course is not completely devoid of trees, but the rolling fairways and deep bunkers will have players thinking more of the Scottish moors than the foothills of the Colorado Rockies.

Laurel Park – Set in the Bois de Boulogne near the Eiffel Tower, no one has ever played golf in Paris like this! Players who attempt to shave strokes by navigating the many shortcuts of this challenging layout will encounter water hazards and intricately cut sand traps. A Golden Tee player’s dream course!

Timber Bay – The Pacific Ocean is the backdrop for this amazing course set near the coastal cliffs of Cape Arago Oregon. The pines are thick and plentiful and the ocean views will have players coming back to this course over and over.

New Revenue for Operators

The Golden Tee design team views the annual new courses update as an opportunity to increase revenue for operators – and not just through increased game play. Hole ‘n’ Win, live tournament play, closest-to-the-pin contests and custom balls and clubs were all developed with the goal of providing operators with new sources of revenue.

This year is no exception. Here are 3 new ways operators will profit from Golden Tee LIVE 2011:

Golden Tees – Players can now customize their tee shots by buying special Golden Tees. When using a Golden Tee, a player can move his tee shot anywhere within the tee box and he can tee it higher or lower. These tees will be very important for navigating tee shots based on obstacles and hazards that may come into play. Bags of tees are available for $ .50, $1.00 and $2.00 and operators will share in half of the revenue.

Anytime/Anywhere YouTube Shots – Now there’s no need for players to wait until they hit a great shot to have it uploaded to YouTube. This new features allows players to upload and share any shot they hit! And they will pay $ .50 for the privilege. Operators will receive half the revenue from this exciting new feature!

New Balls and Club Sets – In the past only the newest sets of clubs and balls were available for purchase by players. With Golden Tee LIVE 2011, players will have the option of buying any of the previously released sets of clubs and balls as well as the new sets for 2011. New players will find this feature especially valuable and operators will share in this revenue 50/50.

“Operators will be very pleased with these new revenue-producing features,” said Pesceone. “The Golden Tee design team, led by Brian Jandula and award-winning designer Jim Zielinski, has really outdone themselves. These features are new, different and just what Golden Tee players want in their game. Order your updates today!”

Shipping Information

Golden Tee LIVE 2011 is scheduled to ship the last week of September. Operators are urged to contact their sales representative or the IT Sales Hotline at 800.262.0323 x 106 to make sure they’re order is included in the first shipment.

END

(Thanks for the tip IcePagoda)

Via Pinballnews.com – the first shot of the new AVATAR pinball playfield. The pic speaks for itself – it looks like there is plenty to do in the back of the playfield and it shouldn’t be too long before we see some close-up shots from the board. This isn’t the final version as you can see that there are a few things missing when you look closely, such as a sticker on the spinner device that’s northwest of the center in the image above. But other than that this should be pretty close to the production design.

Prototype rendering of Super Bikes 2

Newsfeed 885 via

A short time ago when I heard about the creation of a new, smaller cabinet for Terminator Salvation (which we still haven’t been able to obtain any photos of) I also heard that Raw Thrills’ was updating their Super Bikes game (originally released in 2007) with a new cabinet and a major update to the software. What I wasn’t told is that the update was actually a full sequel to their wildly successful motorbike game(a game that sold over 9000 units worldwide, the source which originally told me about the new cabinet suggested).

As for Super Bikes 2, the first obvious upgrade from the original we see is the addition of a 42″ LCD screen (same thing Namco’s Nirin uses). The graphics will be getting an upgrade, there will be more tracks than the original had I am told, but for now that is all we know. I imagine that they will maintain the aspect of pulling off stunts in mid-air but we will need to wait and see. Super Bikes 2 is scheduled for a release in September.

Source: Highway Games

Memory lane - Darius Gaiden from 1994

Newsfeed 884 via

It’s been a little over a week now since we learned that Taito had placed a new countdown webpage on the arcade side of their Japanese site, a countdown which at the time of this writing is set to expire in 2 days and 16 hours from now. But why wait for the countdown when the cat has already been let out of the bag so to speak. Versus City is reporting that in an upcoming issue of Arcadia Magazine, they reveal that the new game is in fact a return to the Darius series, one of Taito’s popular horizontal shooters(popular enough that fans have made a Darius Wiki even). The last Darius in arcades was G Darius, which was released back in 1997. The only thing known about the game at this point is that the cabinet will feature dual screens but at least we can expect to find out more in just two days.

UPDATE: AM.Net and Versus City are both now confirming features for the new Darius. Apparently both of them have an advance copy of Arcadia Magazine where they are pulling the source from. Through the google translator AM. NET says the name is “Daraiasubasutoanazakuronikuru”, which Versus City helps us understand with “Darius Burst Another Chronicle”.  As for the new features, these include:

-four players(!)

-Monitors are 32″ in size and sit next to each other for a double wide cabinet (like X-Men)

-headphone jacks (that is something I’d like to see more machines support out of the box)

-three button layout

-NESYS Support

-Type X2 hardware

-August location test with a Winter 2010 release

While this sounds great, I wonder how open Taito would be to giving the game an international release. That probably depends upon the price tag as it’s not like players are unfamiliar with Darius. I also think that the four player support could go a long way with this one – as an operator in a small space I pay extra close attention to such cabinets as I think that they are a way for me to get some extra bang for the buck.

UPDATE #2: Cabinet can be seen here

If you are unfamiliar with the first Darius Burst, it was a title on the PSP. Here is the trailer for that game below, the new arcade version will probably be similar to this but with those extra features mentioned (and shinier graphics).

Plenty of Street Fighter news has come along. First, videos showing Super Street Fighter IV Arcade are online (via Versuscity). Andriasang also has a pic showing some extra character slots on the arcade version indicating more characters to be revealed soon. In further Street Fighter related news, I am sure that you have heard by now that Street Fighter X Tekken has been announced, with a Tekken X Street Fighter coming down the road – unfortunately there is no indication of an arcade version in the works for either game at this time. But who knows, maybe with Namco getting in on this, they will get around to doing the same thing with that rumored Virtua Fighter X Tekken game and maybe we’ll get an arcade version there. It stinks that arcade exclusive fighters have become incredibly rare but that’s the nature of the market we live in today. At least we know that the upcoming Dark Presence should be hanging out just in arcades for a while, we should have more on that shortly.

(Thanks to AH reader ECM for the tip)

We last heard about Sega’s development of kids arcade titles based upon the Transformers Animated license in March and now those games have been made available in Japan. Along with smaller cabinet sizes and a card-collecting system in place, they appear to not being worrying much how the games look graphically as it looks like something that could have been done early in the last generation of game consoles, maybe before (although they seem to have a nice 60 fps rate going on). That’s OK though, looks aren’t everything especially with the target audience here. It probably saved them a bundle in development costs as well. Sega has two games on the table, Transformers Animated The Chase and The Shooting. The Chase is a Chase H.Q.-like game with two steering wheels where you chase down and knock out Deception cars; the Shooting is a mounted dual light-gun title where you blast the Deceptions instead.  These concepts are likely to stick around in Japan but if you’re interested in seeing more, you can check out the official Transformers Animated Arcade site.

Via Andriasang.com

Interested in seeing CAVE’s new shooter Akai Katana? Then here are some of the first videos of the game in action, as seen recently on location test. I’m used to seeing CAVE use vertical perspectives in their games so this is a little different (like DeathSmiles) but if you are comfortable with bullet hell, then they have plenty of that to dish out in Red Sword.

Videos found embedded @ the2bears.com