Newsbag: NJ Boardwalk Fire, Groove Coaster in Hong Kong; Knotts Berry Farm ’91; A couple of Game Funding Campaigns

Last week was quite a punch for arcade news, especially after a relatively slow summer. Sometimes a lot of the big stuff hits all at once then leaves us wanting for a few days but in the meantime a few quick stories have been piling up. Also do stay tuned  for an interview with Steve Ranck of Specular Interactive about the new Batman Arcade game. We will have some exclusive info on that game very soon.

First off there was the fire disaster on the shores of New Jersey last week, which made international headlines. It started around a custard stand and grew from there, one report said arson was suspected but so far no arrests have been made at this time of writing and various articles say they aren’t entirely sure yet what caused the fire. The area hit was the Seaside Park Boardwalk and while I have read some conflicting reports, just over 40 businesses were destroyed/damaged. Several of the businesses damaged or destroyed were arcades/amusement centers but they were not alone in suffering the destruction. So far this list at NJ.com is the best I’ve found – in addition to the list there is a map of the businesses affected. Rebuilding efforts are already underway but it is not clear if all who had a business will continue on after the double whammy of this and Superstorm Sandy that took place last year. For those that do one of the best things you can do if you are ever near the area is go support them with your dollars.

Onto more pleasant news, Taito has already begun testing their next arcade title Groove Coaster outside of Japan, first stop – Hong Kong. The dual cabinet setup seen below managed to attract a crowd of players. This doesn’t mean we will see it out West quite yet but the chances are good thanks to exposure from the iOS version that is available now. [Via Twipple]

A lot of memories have been created at the Boardwalks in NJ but on the other side of the country here is a video showing the Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park from 1991. Skip to about 13:30 in for the arcade part. Hat Tip to Idahofarmer who started the KLOV thread about it.

Finally there are a couple of funding campaign’s taking place for some items that have something arcade-related to them. A short time ago I interviewed Brian Colin of Game Refuge about some Midway prototype games – they have decided to create a sequel to their General Chaos game that was released on the Sega Genesis and are looking for funding through Kickstarter. In case you are wondering how it is arcade related, in addition to the company having a lot of experience on past arcade projects, they are going to have Galloping Ghost produce a dual screen arcade cabinet for one of the donation goals. So in that sense it could get an arcade release, albeit an extremely limited one.

You probably recall NG:DEV.TEAM, a small group in Germany that has made a name for themselves by producing some new games for the NEOGEO MVS arcade system. The latest of that batch will be NEO XYX but their last release was something discussed here on AH a few times, the Turrican-meets-Shadow of The Beast style game Gunlord. They are looking to expand the platforms it is available on, beyond the MVS and sega Dreamcast to modern platforms like the 3DS and WiiU. They are seeking funding through Indiegogo.