January is pretty much half way over if you think about it. This week had the big news of the Nintendo Switch unveil (it is getting some Neo Geo MVS titles) but as expected, there isn’t anything for arcades to worry about since we can have consoles and arcades in harmony and all that jazz. Also: no Cruis’n Blast announcement, which does not surprise me in the least. Besides, the Switch will have racing games and the arcade needs its exclusives.
Here are some quick arcade news items from around the web:
Make Believe Family Fun Center Opens In Parma, OH
Sporting 27,000 sq. ft. of entertainment, this new facility in suburban Cleveland opened their doors last month. The arcade they setup features 60 games, most of it redemption from the looks of it but there some video games in the mix. The few I was able to notice from browsing pictures: Blazing Angels (2 units); Jurassic Park and Storm Riders. They also have a rope course built directly above a portion of the arcade, something I am seeing happen in more FECs. You can check out the Make Believe Family Fun Center official site here or check out the story via the tweet below:
https://twitter.com/ryancravens/status/819549654778056705
Make Believe Family Fun Center Tweet
MagFEST 2017 Follow-Up
Last week we mentioned the MagFEST 2017 event that took place in Maryland as they had an arcade there with old and new games to play. Here is an arcade walkthrough I found on Youtube if you are interested:
Thanks to the following from Blake Faucette that is also regarding MagFEST. Here is more footage from the event with some arcade goodness thrown in to the mix. As the videos do focus more on cosplay I’ll just share the 2nd part here below; part 1 is here. If you’re looking just for photos, you can check them out on Facebook.
Heighway Pinball Model Comparison Chart
Because everyone making a pinball machine these days has different models with varied features, comparison charts come in handy. Here is such a chart for UK-based Heighway Pinball, comparing models for both Full Throttle and Alien Pinball:
We are often asked what the differences are between our Standard Edition and Limited Edition models.
Here's our comparison chart… pic.twitter.com/BRTpUYOV09
— HeighwayPinball (@HeighwayPinball) January 13, 2017
Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 Announced
As usual I would be more excited if the console build wasn’t guaranteed and that we would actually see it over here but in case you are into Guilty Gear, you can read about the latest arcade version here.
Pump It Up Prime 2 2017 The First Update
We haven’t received word that it is officially shipping yet (although we are hearing about some locations out there getting their hands on PIUP2) but there is already an update available for it. I suppose we could look at this as Day One Updates like console gaming gets to ‘enjoy’ 😛
MaiMai Pink Plus At Puente Hills
For a limited time. I wonder how the official testing of MaiMai has been doing…I suppose if it is a success then we’ll maybe know by Amusement Expo in March
New arcade rhythm game maimai Pink Plus is available now at only Puente Hills Mall store for a limited time! pic.twitter.com/YMJN0C2UbR
— Round1 USA (@Round1USA) January 14, 2017
New At Novelty Automation: Is It Art?
I’ve always been fascinated by Tim Hunkin’s EM arcade game designs that he operates in the UK. He has debuted a new humorous game, Is It Art?
We are open today! Present any object to the expert and he will tell you authoratively whether it is art or not. https://t.co/tblRdlwLTY pic.twitter.com/w7OjV9Agbt
— Novelty Automation (@NovAutomation) January 14, 2017
Skycurser Update Podcast + Preview
If you are looking for more info on Skycurser then the developers are not shy at providing it. They have a podcast up to enjoy and they also have been showing more of the next update (this tweet below).
One more #SKYCURSER hitter for #screenshotsaturday! A brand new arcade-exclusive #shmup! #arcade #retrogaming pic.twitter.com/3Oy9n3CClI
— SKYCURSER dev team (@skycurser) January 14, 2017
Flyer Of The Week: Bionic Commando
This is a preview of the next retro-view article that will look at games turning 30 this year. While Capcom had made a name for themselves in the arcade space prior to 1987, they did so through conversion kits. With Bionic Commando, the company felt confident enough to make it their first dedicated game in the United States. They would continue to make both kits and dedicated games in the West until 2001 (after that, their focus has mainly stayed on Japan). Here is one flyer for the game; It was known as Top Secret in Japan. More can be seen over at Flyer Fever.
Have a great week everyone! We may finally get another podcast out this week, games turning 30 and I am hoping to do a video book review on The Art of Atari. Stay tuned!
