Here are two arcade-related videos to share with you today, first off the highly anticipated TRON Legacy Limited Edition Pinball in action. Since hearing about the modifications like the light-tubes, we’ve been waiting to see how it would turn out. They also made the Recognizer toy move around so it’s more interesting. I wonder if they will be sticking to the 400 limited units or if there will be more due to demand, I’ve heard of a lot of TRON fans looking to get one of these. Thanks to Cameron Fugal for the tip!
In other Stern news, famous game designer George Gomez has been appointed VP of Game Development in the company, which should be interesting to see how that will changes things with Stern.
Next up is something that you might mistake for a console title but in fact, this is a coin-op arcade game for Japan called Steel Chronicle which we have discussed a little already although this is the first time it’s been seen in action. I have compared it to Sega’s Border Break meets Earth Defense Force 2017 (or perhaps the newer EDF although I haven’t had a chance to play it yet) and judging by this video, I think I’ll be sticking to that comparison. Kill off a ton of giant bugs with some assistance of your power armor. While free movement is allowed, it looks like they don’t let you wander off too far to get lost/disoriented. There are arcade games in the past which have allowed movement around a level in the same manner so that isn’t new (Slashout is the first game that came to my mind but there have been others). The game also has a built in chat system which they show briefly here when the purple icons pop-up.Via Konami’s Steel Chronicle page.
Ooh, that LE is one flashy pinball. If they decide they want more money and make more of them I’m in. The sad thing is that a lot of collectors seem to be in the same boat (wanting to see what’s actually in an LE and then not being able to get one by the time it’s out; and not seeing the appeal in getting a dumbed down ‘normal’ version for a still-high price when the LE is what the game should have been to begin with). I’m honestly not sure how this works as a business decision for them. Wouldn’t the many enthusiasts complaining that they want to buy an LE mean profits for Stern, especially with the higher price of the LE? I understand the ‘collector’ mentality of making things limited edition to promote sales, but it seems like there’s always been more than 400 customers laid out for this particular model and I doubt they’re concerned about resale value (which rises with limited editions, obviously) since they get nothing from it. I’m honestly baffled as to why they haven’t already made more or announced that they plan too.
I have a hunch that they will make more than 400 but who knows. As you say, it would make sense to do so – I mean demand for TRON, particularly LE seems to be much higher than any other pinball machine I’ve heard of since maybe LOTR. The game is certainly selling much better than Rolling Stones or Avatar.