Welcome To The First Newsbytes of 2017. Let’s Start With VR
It’s been a busy week in tech with CES 2017 in full swing. Interestingly enough, while VR was trying to make a splash there, it hasn’t really done so. If you want to find something interesting for Virtual Reality, you have to look at the amusement industry but even here I am not hearing about operators really jumping on board either due to cost, liability or needing an attendant. That’s why I blew off the hype that VR was going to be the next ubiquitous tech like smartphones. It will have it’s niche but it is not going to replace the flat panel display. Curved or Super thin 4k displays on the other hand, I’d take more of that in the arcade industry (once the cost comes down, naturally).
The Stern Pinball Booth At CES 2017
This was far more elaborate than anything I’ve seen from them at various amusement trade shows. This certainly is a way to stop people in their tracks!
Stop by our booth at #CES2017 and play some #pinball! Booth #26424 pic.twitter.com/SqJZYeZh7I
— Stern Pinball (@sternpinball) January 5, 2017
Magfest 2017 Underway
CES isn’t the only January event to look forward to, it is once again time for MAGFest in National Harbor, MD. MAGFest stands for “Music And Gaming Festival” and each year they have featured an arcade – which just so happens to feature various new arcade machines amidst the classics. We’ll get into that with some of the other headlines but in case you needed a link, the official site is here.
Step Revolution’s Next Project Finally Unveiled, StepManiaX
For those who follow In The Groove and ReRave creator Kyle Ward on Facebook, then you know about this one already. You also know that it has been teased for quite a while now, where he also visited Konami in Japan as a part of the development. While we don’t have full details yet, I have spoken with him and confirmed that there will be a commercial/arcade application for the dance pads. What he stated is that “some of the hardware will be sold separately as a dropin replacement for dance pads to upgrade the sensor technology. It is compatible with vintage software as well as StepMania and our new software.” Stay tuned for more details as I get them; otherwise what is being shown at MAGFest is intended for home/private/gym use (thus the compact size).
And if it works, video of StepManiaX from Facebook:
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/bill.cronin.3150/videos/565103370363446/” bottom=”30″]
The World’s Fastest Drummer Also Makes A Showing At MAGFest
As the headline says here. Unit-E Technologies head Eric Yockey stated that this will “likely” begin shipping to arcades next month. You can already pre-order the game from certain arcade distributors…until then, we’ll keep an eye out for any location tests.
Here is WFD at MAGFest via Facebook…the plug-in here doesn’t always work so in the event that it doesn’t, you can watch my video of it from IAAPA 2016.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/boo.mcafee/videos/10209366955944417/” bottom=”30″]
Early Footage Of San Francisco Rush
Rush 2049 was one of my personal favorites…I never really spent much time on the first Rush game. If you enjoyed either one, you might like this early look at the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZKuSfSGdqc
New Redemption Games By Sega and UNIS: Hoopla (Sega) / Rodeo Race (UNIS)
I received some media emails this week regarding some new “carnival” style redemption games. As you know, we aren’t huge on redemption titles here but since it’s newsbytes, it doesn’t hurt to mention these. They are both simple as you would expect redemption to be.
First is one from Sega Amusements that will be appearing at EAG 2017 in just a couple of weeks. Called Hoopla, the player attempts to throw the rings onto the pegs. Get the rings onto all seven pegs and activate the bonus round with a moving peg.
Next up is one by UNIS called Rodeo Race. This is a rodeo/bull-themed game where you have two mounted water guns that are shaped like bull heads. Spray into the targets to get your bull (located on the backboard) to the finish line first. This one is already shipping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3UZE14N1ho
Name That Game #102b – No one gave the last NTG a guess so I’ll repost it as that saves me time 😛
OMG!! RUSH 2049 SE IS THE BEST ARCADE RACER EVER MADE!!! the graphics are awesome, the soundtrack is awesome but it had the best physics engine in an arcade game that make it so fun to play!! I totally wish they would make another racing game just like it, i’d pay thousands for that to happen!!! God bless Atari Games for their amazing masterpiece
They don’t just make em like that anymore, I would kill for a fresh, and similar experience, with modern technology!!!! or even proper emulation!!!!
Rush 2049 was also one of the very first arcade games to support online play. It was Rush 2049 The Rock Edition and had additional software to support a platform called Wavenet. There were maybe a dozen or so arcades online at its peak. I think that was back in about 99?
Close! It was 2000 (although I think Wavenet might have received some beta testing before that but I can’t recall the details off the top of my head)
http://system16.com/hardware.php?id=784&page=1#557
I am not sure about beta testing but there was also a wavenet version of Mortal Kombat 3 I think it was. There a few machines in the wild and at one point there was a photo on some online forum of the machine topper that said wavenet.
NTG-1 ballistics arcade 🙂
ah rush ! such a classic gem !