We’ve already heard from Sega and Konami so it was only a short time before Namco threw their hat into the ring of what to expect from them at ATEI.
From the press release it is obvious that redemption is quite important to Namco, and they will be showing off a number of new redemption titles including games with titles like ‘Barber Cut’, ‘Battle Forge’, ‘Hollywood Reels’, ‘NFL 2 minute challenge’, ‘3-in-a-row’, and ‘Crazy Typhoon’. From the looks of it, the redemption titles will outnumber the video selection but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be little to look forward to on that front.
Namco will of course be showing off the popular Maximum Tune 3, Time Crisis 4 and the highly anticipated Tekken 6 (which when I was talking with my local distributor today apparently still has no set release date here in the States). But Raw Thrills’ will finally be demonstrating one of their new 2008 titles – ‘Safari’ which is “an African-themed shooting game modelled on the proven Big Buck Hunter phenomenon.” This is the first time Raw Thrills’ will be debuting a title outside of the US. Whether this is one of the titles that Specular Interactive was working on or not remains to be seen but at least it’s not another Fast and Furious game. There is no word in the press release if they will be showing off Wacky Races but we’ll know soon enough.
[Via CoinOPToday.com] [Discuss on the Forum]
Hit the break for the press release.
Namco Bandai Games ‘power portfolio’ gets 2008 boost
On the eve of ATEI 2008, Namco Bandai Games has announced a number of new additions to its Fun Factory line-up with over a dozen new products making their world or European debuts at the London show on stands U2340/U2334.
The European distributor – which holds key exclusive distribution rights for some of the best marques in the business including Namco Bandai Games, Benchmark Games, Betson, Fantasy Entertainment, ICE, IMotion!, PopNoggins, Raw Thrills, Universal Space, Yubis and 5 Star Redemption, as well as its own collection of Brent Sales-branded games – is aiming to build on huge successes recorded across several product sectors over the past 12 months.
Prize merchandising is one of the company’s key growth areas with skill-based vending games and ticket redemption being spearheaded by the well received introductions of Clena-Flex, Japan’s current leader in the prize vending field, Sweet Land Premia and Deal or No Deal. Joining them for the first time at ATEI are: Barber Cut, a two-player prize vendor of crane-sized proportions; Battle Forge, a redemption game that turns coin/token firing into a virtual video world; Hollywood Reels, a new coin roll-down redemption game; NFL 2 minute challenge, an American football-themed adaptation of ICE’s popular basketball redemption game NBA Hoops; 3-in-a-row, a new spin on the traditional alley roller; and Tickets to Prizes, an all-in solution designed to help operators introduce redemption into their estates. Crazy Typhoon makes its world debut at ATEI. This single-player game, themed on coins spiralling down a funnel to land on prize areas, has been designed specifically for the European market by Namco Bandai’s Japanese development team and is available in both coin-in/coin-out and ticket redemption formats throughout Europe.
The company’s line of photo-imaging booths, which currently includes Fantasy Entertainment’s Foto Cube and Portrait to Anywhere, is being expanded to incorporate the brand new Pop Noggins, a booth which places photographed faces onto singing and dancing cartoon characters – all dispensed to the customer via DVD.
Videogames, remain the company’s hallmark as Namco Bandai Games’ Maximum Tune 3 continues its reign as the highest income earning driver and Time Crisis 4 heads the field in video shooting cash box whilst Raw Thrills enjoys its current status as the world’s biggest selling brand of coin-op video. New for 2008 is BNG’s Tekken 6, the latest instalment in the ultra popular combat video series, and Raw Thrills’ Safari, an African-themed shooting game modelled on the proven Big Buck Hunter phenomenon. The Illinois-based games developers have combined with Namco Bandai Games to stage its launch at ATEI 2008, marking the first time a Raw Thrills game has made its debut outside of the United States.
Highlighting its ‘Fun Factory’ status as a total supplier of family entertainment games, the company will also feature a brand new range of kiddie rides on its ATEI stand.
