Back when I first learned about the development of Jurassic Park Arcade, I also heard that Raw Thrills Inc. was working on a new motorcycle racing game. Little was said about it apart from “everything is licensed – the game, the tracks, the racers, and the bikes.” I was left to guess what that license would be, and today I finally have enough information to share about the project and what it entails (my thanks to everyone that was sending in info about the game testing at different locations out there).
Called MotoGP, this will be coming to arcades the end of this year and the beginning of next. Developed primarily by Play Mechanix, the game as seen below sports a 42″ HD monitor, a swivel bike controller that features a keypad for creating a player account and storing progress both on the local machines and online; a camera for avatar usage in the game; online play up to 8 players; a fan for wind effects and more. This flyer lays out the info in a nicer format (click on it to enlarge) while showing the game in its glory:
In all of the chatter I have been hearing, one thing that keeps popping up are the high-end graphics. That is something that we have come to expect from Play Mechanix at this point, who have done a stellar job on titles like Big Buck HD and Aliens Armageddon, both of which we haven’t had to say are behind the times in an industry that used to be well-known for having the best graphics one could find. I don’t have direct screenshots of the game or direct video at this time but we should have those before too long.
I am surprised by the revelation on this flyer that they will be using a camera for avatars, which is something that Play Mechanix/Raw Thrills has not done before.
Among features that help this game stand out from the other motorcycle racing titles on the market is the use of the online “Coin-Up” network that has been used on their other titles including Terminator Salvation & Big Buck Wild. Like Big Buck HD/Wild, MotoGP features an online play mode where users will be able to compete against another user in a different arcade in real-time. This feature allows for up to 8 real players to compete against each other across certain territories.
To top it off, Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix are no strangers to licensed games, and in terms of a motorcycle racing game they had The Fast And The Furious Super Bikes in 2007. That was followed up by the non-licensed Super Bikes 2 in 2010 and then the licensed Winter X Games Snocross in 2012. MotoGP was in development by Namco way back in 2007 (no word on whether or not this is the same project in any way; seems unlikely) but that had disappeared and we have this effort now. One thing to note is that all of those games were all done in-house at Raw Thrills while Play Mechanix would tend to stick with light-gun developments. This is also the first time I’ve seen the companies do different colored cabinets like this, I imagine that if they stick with that (the design could change between now and the release), any buyer will have to specify what color they want when ordering.
I will share more info when I get it; the game is currently scheduled to show up at the IAAPA 2015 trade show where I will get some hands-on time with it then. What are your thoughts on this new development?
I think the cabinet design looks similar to Batman, minus the seat. I also like the approach back to more engaging online play, including players competing against each other like they did with Big Buck HD WILD, rather than merely showing scores of others across the country, which they had done with TS and Aliens.
All my yes! I will be happy to play this! also, whens Overtake gonna hit international arcades? I want one in US!
Overtake has been available for the US to pick up since last year but unfortunately I have no idea whether anyone has bought one or not…tracking that sort of thing is very difficult to do (and my understanding is there aren’t any in stock in the US so the arcade has to be willing to wait for containers to come from China; I have heard of places picking up Storm Racer G at least).
How can anyone not pick up Overtake immediately? That badass, state of the art driving game has the potential to draw major crowds because it looks so damn good and so fun.
AS usual, comes down to marketing and beyond IAAPA last year, there has been next to none being done by the manufacturer or the distributors :/ The having to wait for them to ship from China also hurts since a lot of venues don’t like waiting 8+ weeks to get a game (which is what kills a lot of sales of anything from Asia)
We have a set of Overtakes we bought at the Vegas show last Spring. Neat game, but has not done killer numbers. The sad part, they are 6 months old, and we have had one side of our twin down with a bad computer for a month now. Wahlap U.S. office does not seem to be able to provide much support. they are saying a computer is coming from China, but no idea when. What scares us we have ordered parts for Wahlaps earlier release, Storm Racer G, and have been waiting 6 months, still no parts. I hope Wahlap can get it together. Industry great Gene Lipkin is heading the U.S.office now, hoping things will improve.
Cool!
Awesome! I love how they added in online play, that means you can play with others even when you are the only one playing the game in the arcade. I told one of my Youtube buddies in Canada that live near Playdium (which has one of the first MotoGP arcade cabinets) to record this next time he goes so if he gets any footage of it, i’ll let you know 😀
I love the fact that they added a back tire to the cabinet. It’s the little things that make the cabinet more complete. I remember suggesting a back tire for Dead Heat Riders with chasing LED on the tire “grooves” to make it look like the tire was spinning. I also wanted a NOS bottle on the bike with an LED strip representing the connection hose that would light up when you pressed the NOS button. Oh well.
It is interesting how small things can make such a big difference in the overall appearance. I almost forgot to add to the post that the last time someone used a tire on the back was Atari’s Road Burners – I think just that alone helps any bike game but what we can do with LEDs now can certainly improve the look:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9333
Awesome Cabinet, id play it for that fact alone.
There has been reports of a Overtake, Power Truck S, and Monster Eye machine in Vegas, one of my buddies told me about it, and I went to go check it out, and I just can’t stop playing it, I loved it! Polster is right, this game IS SO MUCH FUN AND ADDICTING! I can barely get myself off of the machine cuz its so damn fun, this is coin-op racing games at its finest, quite better than the fast n furious games though I still enjoy them and everyone who is a fan of racing games should play it. Thank you so much Polster for making this game more aware, you are a godsend when it comes to rising awareness on how fun racing games are! I also played Power Truck S and Monster Eye, they are badass too!
Namco did a MotoGP arcade game in 1999/2000 – it’s called 500GP (IIRC) because that’s what they call MotoGP at the time.