Excepting the Nex Machina posting, it has been a fairly quiet week in arcade news. That said, we’ve got enough for this weekend to discuss. But first, an ad I hadn’t seen before from before Atari was a home gaming company:
https://twitter.com/OneSwitch/status/881073012895870976
Alien Covenant Appearing At Some Dave & Busters Locations – Here’s What That’s About
Earlier this week a couple of readers sent me pictures of a ‘new’ game that was popping up at some Dave & Busters locations, all from the NorthEastern US. As it turned out though, this is not a new arcade title but a reskin of Play Mechanix’s 2012 release, Aliens Armageddon. The software is exactly the same – what has changed includes both artwork and LED lighting, going from red to green. I personally find it odd that they left the red plastic shells on it instead of making those green but that likely would end up costing a lot more for a project like this. I’m curious to find out if it changes anything on the earnings of the game since the Covenant movie hasn’t done too well; I have a deluxe Armageddon and it continues to be among my top five games week-in, week-out.
Thanks to Federico Read for the photos above
Gamergreen Looking To Revolutionize Ticket Redemption With G-Tickets
No, we don't cover much about redemption here apart from videmption games but there is a new technology coming down the pipeline from a company called Gamergreen & Sugarloaf that could certainly affect how many operators and readers of the site handle tickets. Card Swipe systems have already changed some of the landscape thanks to Virtual Tickets - now "G-Tickets" may end up changing how prizes are given to consumers. This video from popular Youtuber Matt G gets into detail as he was invited to a meeting in Las Vegas where Bay Tek and Gamergreen was showing how the system will work. By how I understand it, the system will essentially replace the ticket redemption desk or one of those automated ticket-to-prize vending machines with an app and website where you will have your prizes shipped to you. Time will tell if this will be truly disruptive technology but it certainly is what I would expect to see from the evolution of the ticket side of things:
Grumpy Cat Photo Booth
Amusement game makers Team Play is expanding their selection of photo booths, now offering a booth based off of the popular "Grumpy Cat" meme. The booth lets you take pictures from 100 different scenes with Mr. Grumpy Cat. You then get a physical copy and can share them digitally via social media. Read more about it on Team Play's website
New Trailer For Cosmotrons - Make Arcades Great Again
The guys behind the upcoming indie arcade game Cosmotrons have released another trailer to promote the game, playing on last year's popular "MAGA" political slogan. Keeping in the 4th of July spirit, the trailer includes the Star-Spangled Banner in the background as you watch ships fly around levels and explode. The Cosmotrons Summer tour is launching next week with the week afterwards being the first chance I'll have to get some hands-on time with the game. Check out the trailer here:
Terminator 2 Gets Colorized
The pinball machine that is. Here's the latest color upgrade from ColorDMD:
Studio C Tackles Punch-Out
Ok, I am stretching it a little here as it is the NES version and not the arcade version but close enough for a laugh
Stay tuned next week for some new game news and have an awesome weekend!
That Grumpy Cat photo booth is trying way too hard to be relevant by using a meme that stopped being relevant many years ago. It’s a shame that many companies (in ALL sectors, not limited to amusement) can’t seem to grasp the concept of how incredibly limited the lifespan of Internet popularity is. It’s especially jarring considering that this thing probably cost thousands of dollars and needs to have a long lifespan itself. However, the website makes a good point–13 million social media followers is nothing to scoff at, so surely there’s some longterm market for this thing.