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?
Discover more from Arcade Heroes
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Federico Read
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.