Newsbag: Sega UK’s Virtua Tennis 4 Sale; Ace Attorney Attraction Returns; New Mario Kart GP DX video

Here’s a few news stories about arcades to discuss, which have appeared

With British tennis player Andy Murray winning the Wimbeldon tournament and bringing the prize home to England after a 77 year drought, Sega Amusements UK is deciding to celebrate by putting the upright standard model of Virtua Tennis 4 on a massive sale. While I’m not 100% sure what the price was previously, it was selling in the US for close to $6000; now its on sale (while supplies last this Summer) for £1995 (a little over $2500USD). That’s a pretty amazing deal, if they offer it elsewhere I would not be surprised if the game sells out fast. The arcade version of it hasn’t garnered a lot of attention from what I have seen but it really is a full featured game, going beyond the single and multiplayer matches to including an extensive player roster and mini-games to add a little extra replay value. It’s also one of the few Ringedge powered games released out West and graphically looks quite nice. [Source: Sega Amusement’s Facebook]

It’s been a while since we heard of the Ace Attorney Amusement attraction in Japan. The first (and last) time we heard it in the news, was back in 2011. It’s in the news again as the park gears up for an update to the attraction based upon the newer Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies for the Nintendo 3DS. This new phase of the attraction will run from July 27th – September 1st. Of course the only way to enjoy this simulation type experience is to visit the Tokyo Joypolis in Yomohama. [Source: Animenewsnetwork; Link shared via The Stinger Report]

Here’s a crappy but recent video showing some footage from Namco’s Mario Kart GP DX. The loading you’ll see is from the recorded video and is not a problem with your connection; same with the 240p resolution. The game is being released soon by late August in Japan; we’ll know by November if there are plans for a release out West when IAAPA 2013 hits. (HT: ECM)

Speaking of Namco, they are testing out a “pay-per-time” model with their arcade locations in Japan. It appears to be due to some rising consumption taxes being put in place in Japan so they are trying to adapt with such a model. Depending upon how it turns out, perhaps they will roll it out in other locations where it makes sense [HT: Adam Coate, Source: SankeiBiz]

UPDATE: Here’s another link I almost forgot to share in this batch. Liberty Games has a timeline of Shoot ‘Em Ups. You can check it out here. It’s a Work-In-Progress but is a great start that began as some “office favorites”.