Surprise! Space Invaders Frenzy Coming To Arcades In 2017/2018

arcadehero October 5, 2016 5
Surprise! Space Invaders Frenzy Coming To Arcades In 2017/2018

(Thanks to Jerry for the tip)

It’s hard to believe but many arcade classics that we all know and love are approaching the ripe old age of 40. Taito’s Space Invaders is one of those iconic titles, having launched in 1978. The history of Space Invaders needs no introduction as it changed everything about arcades. The series has also reappeared in the sector numerous times. Now thanks to Raw Thrills and Taito, it looks like the beloved series is coming back home just in time to celebrate the big 4-0.

Space Invaders Frenzy

I need to stress that this is VERY EARLY info. Because it is so early plus leaked, anything here can change without notice. It is very unusual for us to even hear about new games more than a few months in advance. Only in Japan do these things tend to leak out about a year before they are released.

Here is a photo of the new Space Invaders Frenzy that is on test somewhere out there in the USA:

sifrenzy

The few details that were passed along about it:

*The game is being tested as a videmption title. With Galaga Assault having an Amusement Mode, that might happen here but it’s only a guess at this point.

*It is officially licensed by Taito as the Taito logo appears in attract mode.

*As you can see, it uses the same display technology and screen that was used in Raw Thrills’/Bandai Namco’s World’s Largest Pac-Man. That is an 8′ screen. What I personally wonder if, how would an old school vector game like Major Havoc look on one of these screens…

*The mounted light-guns seen here are the same used in Jurassic Park Arcade. Interestingly enough, this appears to be using the same motion base that Jurassic Park MDX also used.

*The game is about “defending the Earth by mowing down increasing waves of invaders. Quite a few are thrown at you but it is different and a lot of fun.”

*I heard about this game from a “whisper” at the AAMA Gala from a source where they indicated that this is intended for a release around IAAPA 2017/Q1 2018 and not for early 2017.

*This very likely is not the final design that will be used for production. RT has a thing about testing concepts in completely different cabinets (see: Cruis’n Blast as a recent example).

So there you have it, another new game on the horizon. It will be interesting to see what else is in the works out there. What do you think of this concept so far?

5 Comments »

  1. Arcades4ever October 5, 2016 at 3:32 pm - Reply

    Very unusual, especially as it’s not due out until a year later at least which is if it’s proven successful. It seems rather strange having mounted guns rather than somehow manover the ship left to right as it feels like it may be straying away from the original concept. Guess it remains to be seen I guess.

  2. Jdevy October 5, 2016 at 3:49 pm - Reply

    Welp, time to contact some people I know in TX to see if their Main Event locations have this.

  3. asdf October 6, 2016 at 4:52 pm - Reply

    Super cool. Would love to play 16-bit tate shooters on that screen!

  4. Eric B March 15, 2017 at 1:00 pm - Reply

    Never even knew about this, but just stumbled across the Demo version at Chinatown Fair, Chinatown, NYC! Cool!

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