Welcome to the ‘dog days’ of Summer as August is on its way out and September is at our doors. This week was very slow for news up until the other day. If you didn’t read our article about forgotten arcade mascots, check it out here! Arcade news generally begins to pick up as we get into the Fall with many manufacturers unveiling new content. Here is what we’ve gathered up today:
Aliens Pinball Reveal Coming October 13th – Heighway Pinball has been hard at work on their 2nd game, Alien Pinball. Originally they were hoping to unveil it this month but that has been pushed back slightly. However we do have a set date for it now – October 13th. Stay tuned! (via Pinheadz Pinball)
Speaking of Heighway, they just launched this video that gives you a tutorial on how to play their first major release, Full Throttle Pinball
Namco Bringing A Limited Number of Maximum Tune 5 Units To the USA –
UPDATE: Bandai Namco has stated the following on our Facebook page:
I am thrilled that this “source” chose to talk about Maxi Tune. However, I would have been more thrilled if the info, numbers, dates and photos that the “source” chose distribute were correct.
I reached out to them for more details but they only responded with a request to wait for a press release. That at the very least seems to indicate that it is coming to the US. As for the photo used below, that is only a stock photo we had, Namco did not provide anything more recent.
As for my source, they were not some random internet person but someone I’ve met personally several times. Their information has never proven to be incorrect in the past. That said, Namco can certainly change their mind on pricing or quantity without notice or the distribution source to them could have had incomplete info. We will correct anything as we receive new information. All things to keep in mind.
Original Post: I have just learned from a source based in the in US that Bandai Namco is indeed bringing their technical racer, Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 5 to the United States. This was initially told to me by a high ranking Namco rep at last year’s IAAPA event and this source has confirmed that it is happening soon. He did not say if it will be standard WMMT5 or the newer 5DX. There are a couple of conditions with the details that operators will need to know however.
First, they are stating that it is a limited release of 100 units. The other catch is that there is a minimum purchase required of four units. He quoted a price suggesting that they are $10k each so that is a $40k investment for the operator. To help ease the blow, these quad units will “come with a cool topper sign” and to be honest, four units together becomes a miniature attraction to any location. Just look at how nice a set looks below. 😛 WMMT also has proven to be a great earner thanks to its dedicated fan base. I would be interested to hear what you fans out there think of this news.
Round1USA Opens New Location In Concord, CA – As shown in this tweet by Bemanistyle. Looks quote spacious and heavy on the prize games. You can check out their Facebook page here although it doesn’t have a lot of info on the location yet, apart from some pictures of the sleek bowling lanes.
Round 1 Concord (Sunvalley Mall – Concord, CA) opens today at noon pst! pic.twitter.com/GRLZBi3oJa
— bemanistyle (@bemanistyle) August 27, 2016
Chuck E. Cheeses Dropping Tokens In Favor of RFID Technology – Tokens have been an iconic
psuedo-mascot of arcades for decades. That has particularly been true for popular arcade/restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheeses, whose bronze tokens went as far as having the year produced stamped on them. For other arcades in the area of a CEC, you would likely end up with them inside of your machines if you happened to use the same size. Well, that will come to an end before too long as the company has announced a partnership with India-based Semnox to roll out RFID technology to replace tokens with. The system allows users to have a general account card, letting them use the same card and its points at different CEC locations. It also lets them roll out daily deals. So far 100 locations have converted over with more to come. As they were one of the last chain hold outs on tokens, this is big news for the industry…what do you think of this news? (Via Intergame)
Sega’s Hidden Morse Code Message – I don’t care much for instant prize redemption machines. It’s mostly personal taste as I’ve just never been into them or redemption gaming in general. I do have a couple in my arcade but they don’t earn as well as many operators I talk to swear by. They also generate a lot of headaches from players who get overtly emotional when they don’t win an iPad after a few plays (or in the case of some players…spending $100 on something to not win).
Apparently my pain is felt elsewhere and in Japan, Sega owned arcades have been printing a clever message in morse code on their bags which hit at the idea that instant prize games = vending machines. It’s really just common sense – if a KeyMaster was vending an iPad for $1, that’s unsustainable. If there’s some magic way of making a living off of Winner Every Time play on expensive electronics, I’d love to see it. Personally, I’ll stick with video games and pinball. Less hassle and at my location, more profitable. 😛
Vid Kidz 35th Anniversary Robotron Challenge– 2017 marks 35 years since the ‘greatest year in video games’, 1982. That also marks 35 years since the introduction of Robotron 2084 onto the market. To celebrate, Robotron fans are putting together a “Gauntlet Challenge” on the game where the goal is to hit the 100 Million point mark. If you’re interested in participating, check out the details here.
The Wooden Desktop Retrocade Multi-Game: From what I’ve seen on social media, this story of a retro looking custom arcade cabinet has been getting most of the arcade attention this week. Story via Gizmodo (thanks to Stingray for the tip)
Duck Tron Commercial – This is a few years old so I’ve probably shared it before but with a few thousand posts over the past several years, I can’t remember 😛 Still entertaining:
Name That Game #93 – NTG 100 is approaching fast. Here are the answers for last week:
#1 – Water Match by Sega
#2 – Gold Medalist by SNK
#3 – Silver Millennium by Para
For this week:
The first name that game photo is “Daytona USA.”
Is this maximum tune limited release a test to see if they all sell for a larger release?
Also any word if the cabs are local with card or internet enabled?
#2 is Bang Bead
That’s great that wmmt is coming to the west at long last but what about the UK? I do hope that the game proves so popular that it will roll out into other parts of the world. Why just release 100 units? Are they seeing how quick the game sells out?
Lasso is the 3rd game