Being late January, we all know what that means for the arcade sector – new Japanese arcade titles are approaching fast! February is the time when a big game expo takes place in Tokyo, called JAEPO and in anticipation of that event comes new teasers and unveils.
UPDATE: More is coming along so I will place it here at the top
Luigi Mansion Arcade – This game is going to be on test in Japan over this weekend and according to the translation from the loctest page, they confirm that it is based upon Luigi’s Mansion 2. Not sure why they are removing the “‘s” from the title here but there you go.
Pokken Tournament – As mentioned below, there was an unveil for Pokken Tournament on NicoNico. This is the only trailer which I have seen of it yet which is low quality but you can tell that it is along the lines of Tekken with Pokémon fighters (surprising no one given the name and the developer). I am very curious to know, whether you are a gamer or an operator, do you want to see this game in the West? NOTE: About 12 min in they show an odd console like controller. Hopefully that is just a weird prototype for the event but not using proper joystick/button arcade controllers is a very odd decision (although not completely out of place for Japan – they did that with Left 4 Dead Survivors). This also will fuel the WiiU speculation for it but I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want to promote superior arcade controls.
First video is the entire stream, second is just a match.
Chunithm & Maimai Orange– Sega has begun to unveil their items which will be at JAEPO. They always start off with a few items and build it up from there. Two of their new rhythm games will be on hand, Chunithm (covered on AH previously) and the latest version of MaiMai; they will also have that interesting sandbox game for kids on hand. There is a chance they could show of Western items like Showdown but anything from the West always gets low-key attention at JAEPO.
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First off is a game by Taito that I have been seeing some chatter about on Japanese news services, the follow-up to their most recent venture into rhythm gaming which they are calling Groove Coaster 2: Heavenly Festival. The game cabinet looks the same as the first so far; other than that we can expect more songs added to the roster and Japanese players can expect more online features via Taito’s NESiCA network.
Speaking of Taito, they release schedule is pretty sparse these days compared to where they were a few years ago. They only release about two major games a year now under that label, with some occasional additions to the NESiCA network although I have not heard much activity for that lately. Being owned by Square Enix has changed that as SE has been producing more games under their label than before. Among those is the major releases Gunslinger Stratos 1 & 2. They have something new in the works which will be unveiled a week from today. For now a teaser site has appeared with four coat of arms symbols floating in the background and if you click on the “BGM ON” button, some song we can safely assume is the theme title for the game. Four different symbols would seem to indicate factions or teams but from there it is anyone’s guess.
If you are interested in teaser sites then Examu has also launched one for their upcoming fighting game Nitro Plus Blasterz Heroines Infinite Duel.
Wonderland Wars – Sega unveiled this game about a year ago and with it launching in February they have collaborated with the music group M.S.S. Project to promote it. Interestingly enough, Taito did a similar collaboration last year to promote their Left 4 Dead Arcade game.
Pokkén Tournament – Last but not least for now is the upcoming Pokkén Tournament arcade title. The game is going to get some coverage on this NicoNico stream tomorrow. I’ve read that some users are still very confused over this, not understanding that no console version has been announced for the game as of this time so it is ARCADE ONLY. I know there isn’t a lot of promotion of arcade exclusives in the industry, excepting this video I did recently 😛 however it is always assumed that all fighters will end up on a home console platform at some point given the history. Given that Tekken 7 is not coming to Europe/US arcades it seems unlikely that Pokkén will (Bandai Namco has remained quiet about it) however I have seen some operators talk about importing one regardless and that includes operators who are not into fighters anymore but they believe in the power of the Pokémon license. We should know for sure by Amusement Expo in March, unless some beans are spilled previously.
I imagine more will be along soon with JAEPO just a few weeks away. I will be sure to bring it up!
Given that pokemon and luigi are house hold names I really hope that they should at least promote these games here in the UK and the rest of the world. Everyone is familiar with those characters and the games so I see no reason why we should miss out especially as they are arcade exclusive.
Someone just needs to pick these games up for distribution like namco, sega or rawthrill even.
I think a wii u port of pokken is highly likely since the first trailer was uploaded on the english official pokemon youtube account
I think those games in JAEPO are better than games that they’re showing in American and European trade shows are both have Korean and Chinese developed games.
Pokken is a Tekken alternative on Wii U for Tekken 7. It will launch, but after 1 year on Arcades just like other Tekkens.
There has not been any confirmation of that yet as Namco has wanted to focus on the arcade. Everyone is assuming what you have stated above as it is likely, just no confirmation yet.
Maybe since the yen is weak at the moment they might try promote the arcade versions of tekken 7 and pokemon tournament 🙂