Discuss: Augmented Reality in Arcades

Posted June 3, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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As a follow up to some discussion from a previous post about motion controlling in video games and how that might affect arcade gaming, let me throw something else out there to consider for coin-op arcade gaming – Augmented Reality or Augmented Virtuality (AR or AV), AR involving real world objects that are overlaid with virtual imagery. We have featured a couple of posts about AR being used in the coin-op sector before but it hasn’t seemed to gain a lot of attention so my question to you is – should it? Could AR or AV be the next step in providing a very unique experience to arcade (and even pinball) gaming or is it too much of a gimmick to have any lasting use?

To ignite the neurons, here are a couple of videos I have found which demonstrate some AR/AV uses. Where this generally has to make use of a webcam, that means that it is possible to do on console systems as well but I do not think that should mean that it not be tried anyways. But it also can be used with Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) which could bring us back to virtual reality applications. A good recent example of AV in the arcade industry recently was Sega’s Brick People and Chicago Coin’s Putt Championship Edition so there is some experimenting already going on with the concepts but how far will we see it go?

More example videos after the jump and there are plenty more examples to be found all over youtube.

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Ed Logg recounts how Asteroids was made

Posted June 3, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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A lot of classic games made their mark on our culture back in the 80’s but of those, Asteroids is certainly one of the top contenders for it’s reach and influence in gaming. I do not know how many arcades out there may still have one on location, but speaking for myself I have an Asteroids Deluxe at my place that gets played just about every day by the old and young alike. Asteroids was programmed by Ed Logg and EDGE Magazine has caught up with Ed to get his insight into how the game came about. There is some interesting information you can find in the article, including some concepts in what makes a great arcade game that I think are still applicable today, despite the gigantic leaps in technology that we have experienced since Asteroids came out. Hit the link below for the interview

[EDGE Magazine - The Making of: Asteroids] [Discuss on the Forums]

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Fans cheer on Steve Wiebe for his latest DK high score attempt at E3

Posted June 3, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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If you have seen the documentary “King of Kong” which portrays the ever lasting battle for getting the high score on a classic arcade title like Donkey Kong, then you know of the GoSteveGo_previewrivalry that exists between players when it comes to being the world record holder. In this particular case between Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell, people even take sides as to who they want to see win and while I have not picked a side in this particular competition (I’m probably the only arcade fan out there who has still missed out on seeing KoK), I figure that it’s become one of the more notable rivalries in recent memory and in case you had not heard, Mr. Wiebe took the stage at E3 earlier today to challenge the current high score that is held by Mr. Mitchell. I have not heard how that has come down and I am not sure how long it takes to reach this particular high score in DK but Wiebe fans are cheering him on and have even created a desktop wallpaper to show their support for his effort. I wonder now if Mitchell fans will do this as well (or take it to another level) but in case you want to cheer Wiebe on via your desktop, you can find the wallpapers at Just One More Game.

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Discuss: What effect/influence could Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s new motion controller have on arcades? (UPDATED)

Posted June 2, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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UPDATE: Sony has also announced another motion control scheme for the PS3 today, which combines a camera with handheld controllers, which brings the motion craze to all three consoles. So I could probably change the subject to “How might motion controls in the console industry influence or affect the arcade industry?”

In case you follow news of what is going on in the game console world then you know that this week is E3, when all sorts of announcements for console and PC games come along and give us a general idea of what to expect on that front later in the year. Arcades don’t get any love at E3 but that is due to the fact that we have several trade shows throughout the year (which sadly are ignored by most game media which begs the question – could arcade makers showing up at E3 improve coverage?)

If you are following the E3 news today then you also know that Microsoft has thrown the gauntlet down in the motion controller arena against the Wii with their Project Natal device, which seems to be a jump forward in what Sony has done with their Eye Toy device. So the question I pose here is if successful, could Natal have an effect on arcades down the line and will that be a good or a bad effect or do you think that it will be too negligible to notice?

The reason I bring this up is because we have seen Japanese arcade companies blame the Nintendo Wii for suffering sales in arcades there and I have heard the same thing before here in the US. I have also heard that services like Playstation Network/WiiWare/Xbox Live Arcade also hurt us too but it is difficult to prove what effect all this has had on arcades and some say that what goes on in the console world has little effect as to what sales are like in the arcade industry.

Motion sensing is not new to arcades of course – it’s been around in one form or another since at least 1991 with the SU1000 Virtuality rings which included some motion sensing via a vest that the player wore. Konami has released a number of motion controlled games with their MoCap series (including the recently announced Mocap Sports) and titles like Police Trainer 911. But AFAIK we have not seen anything like Natal in arcades since that uses a camera and so this has me wondering – will anyone jump in with Microsoft to incorporate this new device into a coin-op game or will it be ignored? Is there a potential here for it to further decrease the novelty gap that arcades can hold over consoles due to controls? Of course, this all remains to be seen as it could be another gimmick that few people care about in the long run, especially if it doesn’t live up to the hype that Microsoft has so far created for it.

What are your thoughts?

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Followups – Some H2Overdrive news and media coverage on the Funspot tourney

Posted June 2, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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A couple of brief updates on a couple of stories that we have covered in the past little while.

First off, that Funspot World Championship event that I mentioned a few days ago has received some media coverage and with that you can find some video that accompanies the story that I cannot embed here. Via NECN. Thanks to The Stinger Report for that link

Second, H2Overdrive should begin shipping to arcades this month and with this big release, check back this week for an interview I have done with Steve Ranck of Specular Interactive. Hopefully that should whet your appetites for this upcoming release and for a teaser you can check my video preview of H2Overdrive that I did at ASI where I have added a couple of annotations that reveal a couple of new details on additions to the game that have been put in there since ASI.

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Capcom and Bandai Namco collborating on a Mario Party redemption game

Posted June 2, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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When economic circumstances around the world become tough, one thing you can generally expect to see are more companies partnering up for different efforts, combining their capital to make things go by a little more smoothly in troubled times. And sometimes those collaborations are somewhat unusual, as is the case with Capcom’s and Bandai Namco’s announcement today that they are going to be working together in the amusement business. Both companies are hoping that the partnership will lead to wider amusement game sales and as part of this new joint effort, they are  to create a Mario Party “medal game” (redemption) for Japan. Both companies have previously dabbled with bringing mario-party8-9-lNintendo properties to the amusement sector, Namco in bringing games like Mario Kart to arcades and Capcom creating arcade hardware based upon the Wii for use in games like Tatsunoko VS Capcom.

I am a little surprised that there is no word of a video title for this Mario game as it’s not like party style games are difficult to do in arcades – Namco knows this from games like Panic Park which featured a number of mini-games that players could get into.  The appeal of party games should be pretty obvious for arcades, especially in the wake of what we have seen with the Wii and honestly I am surprised that pretty much no one in the arcade sector has jumped on that bandwagon so far but if this medal game does well in Japan, who knows what the Capcom/Namco amusement partnership will do from there.

[Via Dengeki News]

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Speed Driver 2 lands in the UK

Posted May 30, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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It seems like London is a getting a lot of arcade love recently with different companies testing out games there. The latest game to show up is IGS’s Speed Driver 2, a 3D racing game that reminds me of Sega’s Initial D. I do like the cabinet design as it’s sleek and flashy – if you have had a chance to play it, comment on what you thought about it below. I know that the 3D stuff is still somewhat new for IGS as they have primarily focused on creating 2D games (including Oriental Legend 2, which I have played and it’s excellent).

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Article: A Brief History of Video Game Accessibility in the 1970’s

Posted May 28, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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[Thanks to Barrie at OneSwitchGaming for the tip]

When it comes down to what sets arcade games apart from video games in other areas of the spectrum, the controls certainly stand out as a key feature. Developers have come up with some revolutionary designs over the years and many times it’s the controls that bring the “true” arcade experience, even in classic gaming (take QBert for example – as simple as the footcontrolscontrols were for that, you never had a diagonal control quite like it at home). The controls are important to every single person who approaches the game and something to complex can turn some people away or it can even prevent them from playing, as might be the case with players who have a disability of some form. Arcades have been able to provide disabled players with the opportunity to experience gaming in many forms over the years and in case you are curious to know some of the history on that then below is a link to an article that discusses the history of video game accessibility in the 1970’s, which naturally includes a number of arcade games like Atari’s Touch Me or SteepleChase (the latter of which I will have at my new arcade location and it is an absolute blast to play, in part due to it’s simplicity). It is a very interesting article that also includes some non-arcade one-switch solutions but it only goes through the 70’s so perhaps we will have to wait to see what else they dig up beyond that.

[A Brief History of Video Game Accessibility in the 1970's - AbleGamers]

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These models of classic Sega arcade games are awesome

Posted May 28, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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A long time ago we posted about some nifty paper arcade models that anyone could print up and make their own little mock cabinets with. It was a cool idea but if you want something that is a little tougher than paper and you want something that is collectible, then this might be just what you are looking for – especially if you are a Sega fan. A company called Kaiyodo in Japan are the creators of these awesome and very detailed models but I have not been able to find a price for them although according to the translation they have been available since August although I think it means to say that they will be available in August. To get a closer look at them, click on the thumbnails below, images via Hobbymedia.it.

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Beatmania 17 Sirius to begin testing in Japan tomorrow

Posted May 27, 2009 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
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[thanks to Aaron Auzins for the tip]

Bemani fans have a lot to be happy about these days, with DDRX right around the corner and the news that Konami will being testing the 17th game in the Beatmania series starting tomorrow in Japan. Called Beatmania IIDX 17 Sirius (it always seems to be a mouthful with the Beatmanias), I do not have any information yet on what will make this BM game different from it’s predecessors other than that it follows a space theme but I imagine that we will be finding out that information very soon as Japanese players can play the game tomorrow at the Cat’s Eye Machida Arcade and also starting on the 29th until June 2nd at the Rundown Fukuoka Arcade.

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