Someone had a bad uWink experience (eegads!)

Posted November 15, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
Tags: ,

One of those things you have to deal with as a business operator is that many individuals may come and go to your place of business and haheader_bgve a pleasant experience but if one person has a bad experience, it can “hit the fan” in a manner of speaking, and when it hits the internet fan then it’s all over the place. Now it’s here too but I’m not quick to assume that because this blogger had a bad experience that everyone has as I have heard of many people having good experiences at the business in question, uWink (which is the new business created by the grandfather of coin-op video, Nolan Bushnell). I’m not calling this blogger a liar, obviously things did not work out like they should have and I woudn’t be surprised if Mr. Bushnell and his staff is looking into the problems the blogger had since I’ve seen this article show up on several gaming blogs already. But I have gone to places where it might have been good at one time and the next it wasn’t and I’m not going to go around saying “never go there again” unless it was a serious enough of a situation. The system crashing (which obviously had something to do with why their server never showed up) is probably not something I would use to say that as these things will happen with anything controlled by computers - unless of course it is a pervasive problem for customers that is not resolved quickly. Seeing how they now have two uWinks means that things worked out properly for enough people to warrant the expansion of their business and naturally they have to stay on top of problems to keep going. We’ll see how it pans out.

[Via MTV Multiplayer] [Discuss on the Forum]

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R-Tuned site reminds us that the game is coming soon

Posted November 15, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Gaming, New games, Sega
Tags: , , ,

2_shinjuku

It’s been a little while since we heard something about R-Tuned but Sega’s latest arcade racer that seeks to overcome what happened with RaceTV is almost out in Japan and the teaser site has been upgraded to prepare for the game’s full release next month. We’ll see if Sega plans on bringing this one to the US in a couple of days at IAAPA, I’m not sure if Europe is on the table for this release either. In case you don’t remember, R-Tuned features drift racing at night in Japanese cities and it runs on Lindbergh. It’s certainly much different than something like Sega Rally 3 (speaking of which, I wonder when Sega will begin rolling out more titles using the Europa hardware) but there are plenty of fans of both styles of racing. Hit the link below if you want to see more.

[Sega's R-Tuned Ultimate Street Racing] [Discuss on the Forum]

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25 years and still standing - the Asteroids High Score

Posted November 14, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games, Arcade Gaming, Retro Arcade Gaming
Tags: , , ,

atari2I’m sorry I missed this one yesterday but being a day late doesn’t hurt. Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of Scott Safran setting the still unbroken high score record on Atari’s Asteroids, setting the bar at the jaw dropping 41,336,440 points (it should be noted that Twin Galaxies lists the date as 1982 so I am not sure if that is a typo or not). How long did it take to hit that record? Three days, two nights. No pause button to hold the game, no comfy couch to get lazy on and I don’t know how he handled eating and the bathroom but if anyone deserves to be considered a video game champion, it would have to be Scott.

Of course there are other records much like that from early 80’s arcade games where it took a couple of days to set the high score. One I know of off the top of my head is Atari’s Star Wars where Robert Mruczek came in with an astounding 300,007,894 which also stands up today (that high score will hit 25 years unbroken on 1/22/2009 so get cracking if you think you have a chance). Of course you don’t really see this sort of thing in any game today, arcade, console or PC since everything “has” to have an ending.Maybe if a few games decided to be bold and drop the whole ending component in favor of the never-ending one found in many classic games we could see a few more very interesting games/ideas come around

[Via Kotaku via Wired] [Discuss on the Forums]

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New images from Stern’s CSI Pinball

Posted November 14, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: New games, Pinball, Stern
Tags: , , ,

[Thanks to IcePagoda for the tip]

Pinball News has the first images of the new CSI pinball machine by Stern and after looking at them I have to pin1say that I am far more interested in this game now then I thought I would be, not being a fan of the TV show. The table has been designed by Pat Lawlor and includes a number of very interesting objects, from a skull that will lock pinballs in the eye sockets (used for one multiball mode); a spinning centrifuge (used for a second multiball mode); a microscope with colored LEDs which unlocks a third multiball mode; a bullet scoop and several ramps. Overall this looks really cool so we will just have to see how the software goes, I was disappointed with Batman’s software at first although Stern is good about getting updates out the door fast.   I haven’t pin2heard of an exact release date for this yet but it is very soon, from the looks of it I would image that it will be out before the end of the year.

UPDATE: Stern has sent out a press release stating that the game is available now. That was quick!

[CSI @ Pinball News] [Discuss on the Forum]

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Worried about the economy? Advertise

Posted November 14, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade business
Tags: , , ,

The AAMA has created a very interesting document that is of value to arcade operators and soon-to-be aamaoperators alike - something that deals with making money during a recession. Can such a thing be done? Absolutely, as there are people who make fortunes in recessions.And one thing that the AAMA recommends is marketing. They take a look at certain recessions since 1970 and come to the conclusion that companies that maintain an aggressive marketing posture can also maintain profitablity through and after the recession, so they recommend not cutting back on your marketing budget, if you have one. If you don’t have one then make one! Relying solely on word of mouth where you cannot control the message about your business is a poor way to get people through the door on a day-to-day basis.

You can read the AAMA’s article (PDF format) by clicking here. (Link found on this page)

The article does offer some suggestions abotu marketing, such as monitoring competitors and their marketing, avoid gimmicks, stress benefits and spend carefully (i.e. efficiently) but some of the venues I suggest you consider for getting the message out include: direct mailing (usually coupon deals), phone book ads, flyers, street signs (like political signs but with your message on them), Facebook, Myspace or other social networking sites, online ads with a local news station website, press releases for major events (hold tournaments), your own website, newspaper ads (some are getting desparate as revenues fall, they might offer good deals) and of course if you have the money, radio and TV advertising. You can also consider doing something with other local businesses - trading flyers, coupons, whatever. I have something like that going on with two game stores in the mall I am located at and it has helped.

Personally I think that part of it is having ‘nerves of steel’ - if you panic every time you hear the news media talk about recession then the stress will damage your health. I find it better to not pay much attention to them, I think of the quote/joke that “the media has correctly predicted two out of the last ninety-seven recessions” meaning that they always overhype and exagerate conditions that aren’t necessarily a recession. Of course right now the indicators seem to be pointing that direction but I’ve been hearing the recession drum beat since early 2007 as though some people have been begging for one so I’m always a little skeptic until results of the GDP are in. Either way, I think that the AAMA has given some good advice on the subject and I personally understand that it can be difficult to come up with cash if you are struggling but as they say, you have to spend money to make money.

[Discuss on the Forum]

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A look at the Game Galaxy Arcade, Tennessee

Posted November 13, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Games
Tags: , ,

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It’s always great to keep the arcade reviews coming, and today we have a look at the Game Galaxy Arcade in Antioch, Tennessee. The Game Galaxy is located in a mall and is another arcade you can throw on the list of those who eschew redemption games in favor of something else, which in this case is game consoles. They hold competitions on the consoles regularly too and they also have a number of arcade fighters there, including Tekken 6. They also have The Grid, which is a game I’d like to get my hands on one day; and 6 pinball machines on site as well. We’ve added the Game Galaxy to our location reviews section and you can see more by clicking below.

[A look at the Game Galaxy] [Discuss on the Forum]

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The Pac-Man Christmas Ornament

Posted November 12, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Fun, Retro Arcade Gaming
Tags: , , ,

It’s that time of year, where stores start jumping the gun for the Christmas holiday and begin rolling out thepacornament merchandise well before the month of December rolls around. It’s a little easy to get worn out early on since where I live several radio stations got it into their heads that it would be fun to start playing all Christmas music all the time starting on Halloween (I just avoid those stations but it is still irritating) but that’s all part of the game these days.

Whether you have already purchased your Christmas tree or you are deciding to wait until December, this ornament is the perfect addition to any gamer’s tree - the Pac-Man arcade cabinet tree ornament. It even lights up and plays sounds from the game so it’s one of those few things that could probably work as a decoration on something other than a tree, in case you don’t celebrate the holiday or you just need arcade decorations for some reason. The ornament is only available in Hallmark stores and it’s running for $18.50 but it is available now. I might get two, one for the store and one for home. ;) Next they should do games like Sinistar, Berzerk or Gorf - anything that had voice in the game to taunt the player, you could have a bit of fun with that.

[Pac-Man Ornament @ Hallmark] [Discuss on the Forum]

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Jerad’s Choice BBH Online Tourney

Posted November 12, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Competition, Arcade Fun, Arcade Gaming, Big Buck Hunter, Competition, Online play, Play Mechanix, Raw Thrills
Tags: , , , ,

Sorry about the lack of updates the past few days - I’ve been busy, busy ,busy with the arcade and other things in life. It seems like when one machine breaks down they all decide to take a trip with it. I can just say at least most machines carry a 1 year warranty. Those that don’t deserve harsh criticism (90 days, are you flippin’ kidding me?) but that’s a fun subject for a later time.

Right now, BBH Online players have another tournament to look forward to, called Jerad’s Choice. Jerad Berg jerad_screenis the winner of the recent BBH World Championship and he has picked his own tourney to hold for November. Like usual, all you need to do is find a BBH Online machine and give it a ’shot’ (har har) in the online tournament mode and you have a chance at winning $500, with additional payouts in smaller amounts going out to the other 99 placers. So your chance of winning something at the very least is quite good! Hit the post break for more information on the tourney from the press release. In the meantime, I know that we can expect to hear about Big Buck Safari Online tournaments shortly, so stay tuned.

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DJ Max Technica coming to the US

Posted November 8, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Coverage, Arcade Games, New games
Tags: , , ,

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(Thanks to Phil on the forums for the tip!)

We first talked about DJ MAx Technica a few months ago but we had not heard anything about it since so I wasn’t sure what was going on with the game. But surprisingly, game blog site Joystiq (not well known for their arcade coverage, so much that they muse about American arcades being dead, like we haven’t heard that one before) got the scoop on DJ Max Technica coming to the States by a company called PM Studios and it’s coming next month. This might be their response to Konami bringing uBeat to the States since both games share the similarity of providing a bemani experience controlled with touching a screen. The US version is supposed to support internet connectivity (leaderboards) and even IC cards which is a plus and soon they will reveal some location tests for the US version within the next few days.

I’m glad to see another gaming blog (Kotaku is usually good about posting arcade stuff) that generally focuses on consoles covering this information but they really need to get with the times as there is this ‘little’ event called IAAPA in the next few weeks where quite a handful of new arcade titles are going to be showing up and perhaps if more game news outlets started covering arcades again, these things wouldn’t be such a surprise. That and it doesn’t help those of us actually running an arcade in the US for media people to constantly beat the “arcades are dead” drum, like that is supposed to help us increase sales somehow.  I’m just saying…

[DJ Max Technica coming to the US - Joystiq] [Discuss on the Forum]

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9 year old drives familiy car after some practice on an arcade racer

Posted November 8, 2008 by Shaggy
Categories: Arcade Fun
Tags: ,

stinger11

Are racers more realistic in the arcade than at home? Usually, thanks to the built in steering wheels and kidcarpedals that are far more realistic and less clumsy to handle then you generally see with home setups. But any of us that drives a vehicle and plays arcade racers can confidently say that playing a game is quite a way off from the real thing. That didn’t stop a 9 year old boy from taking his family car for a spin after “watching dad and playing at the video arcade”. Fortunately the boy wasn’t hurt and he didn’t hurt anyone else, which is quite a feat considering that his height didn’t give him any advantage in driving. Strangely, the police warned the parents to “look after their car more carefully in the future” (emphasis mine) - I would think that they would say that about the kid since it’s not like it was the car that decided to take the boy for a spin!

This did make me think about my own son though - he is two and he absolutely loves cars and he especially enjoys arcade racers. Every time I bring him to the store, he wants to play our Tokyo Drift racer and makes me throw in a couple of dozen credits so he can race. He also gets mad if he sees someone else sit down to play the game when he isn’t playing and has even thrown a fit or two when someone is playing “his game.” It’s a hoot but I know it will be fun making sure that he understands that he can’t take the wheel until he is old enough to drive.

[Via Mainichi Daily News] [Discuss on the Forum]

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