Newsbytes: Nutting Associates History; Big Buck; Pac-Man Battle Casino; Daytona; Skycurser; & More

Welcome to another weekend – the last for September 2017. As a reminder, a new arcade game did launch this week, Golden Tee 2018. Next week should see an up-tick in posts from the site thanks to the AAMA Gala then IAAPA in November. We should have several new games to talk about soon 😉

On to the news!

Nutting Associates Materials Donated To The Strong Museum Of Play

For those of us interested in arcade & video game history, an intriguing story hit the wires this week of a cache of materials being donated to the Strong Museum of Play in New York. These donated items involve the developments of Nutting Associates, most famous for being the company that mass produced the Nolan Bushnell / Ted Dabney video arcade game Computer Space in 1971. The company never found that mega-hit that would keep them alive into the “Golden Age”, closing up in 1977. Most of their titles would end up being clones of other popular concepts that Atari would be making, with notable exceptions like Watergate Caper and Missile Radar. The problem is that I’ve found little to no information on those games as well as anything else the company might have been working on. I’d love to read through the materials for a couple of reasons but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if they are digitized and made public any time soon.

Big Buck World Installed At The Department Of The Interior Cafeteria

I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter from friends in the distribution side of the business that they’ve been receiving a lot of inquiries from US Federal Government entities as of late as they look for arcade machines. This isn’t exactly a new thing – back when I sold machines part-time, I occasionally received such requests from a variety of government clients, usually military bases looking to add something to a game room (generally things like pool tables and the like, not video games so often).

I recently received a tip on Twitter about the installment of a Big Buck World machine at the Department of the Interior building in Washington D.C. I’m not sure how many video arcades are installed in Federal buildings but I imagine it’s a fairly small number. This Big Buck game will be there for a month while being used to foster competition among the staff. From the story linked above, it does seem to be quite popular so far Maybe afterwards they can trade it in for a more permanent and newer Big Buck HD game 😉

Pac-Man Battle Casino Is A Real Thing

New hit the wires yesterday that Bandai Namco is jumping into the expanding ‘skill gaming’ (i.e. gambling) space as more states have opened up to such an idea. Their first effort takes the popular Pac-Man Battle Royale concept and turns it into Battle Casino. Players put down minimum bets on the game instead of paying coins/tokens (bets range between $2-$20) and is meant for two to four players to enjoy. Units should start finding their way out there soon. Thanks to Replay Magazine for the tip.

New Trailer For Daytona Championship USA

I shared this on Twitter as Sega Amusements continues to promote Daytona Championship USA online. This could be seen as a general trailer instead of a teaser but either way, I think it’s a positive thing that they are promoting one of their video games beyond a single trailer around launch time. This also mentions the optional 4-position shifter that was mentioned by Sega staff at both trade shows I went to with the game. What do you think about this one?

Alien Pinball V1.02 Software

With all of the behind-the-scenes changes going on at Heighway Pinball this year, their YT channel has been fairly quiet – until this week. While it lacks the ‘guided tour’ style that most of their other videos feature, it does let you see how the game operates using the latest software.

NPR Looks At The Resurgence Of Interest In Coin-Op Arcade Games

I’m almost two weeks late on sharing this one but in case you missed it, NPR.org recently ran an article that looked into the somewhat recent surge in interest behind arcades. They talk with Doc Mack of the Galloping Ghost Arcade along with several of their patrons as well as Christopher Cruz, artist for the indie-made arcade game Skycurser. Read all about it here.

Along those same lines, I caught this thread on the KLOV Forums that Wendys is offering “8-Bit Arcades” as the toy in their Kids’ Meals. Might be time to stop by there while they still have them…

Skycurser Receives New Update

Speaking of Skycurser, connected units received a free software update this week. Per the email that was sent out earlier this week:

The update “17.10.01” is designed to address issues and bug reports provided by our clients, including but not limited to:

– Software reset issues during gameplay
– Attract mode audio control via operator menu
– Game-breaking code errors

If you don’t (yet) own the game, make sure to spread the word that there’s an update available. We’re pumped to show off the latest build and want everyone to play it.

Check your inbox and update, if you haven’t already!

The #SKYCURSER team is excited to share that update 17.10.01 is ready for download. Clients check your inbox for details! #arcade pic.twitter.com/7NhzwfXJKR

— SKYCURSER dev team (@skycurser) September 27, 2017

Now That’s A Headstone – A Pac-Man Headstone

I’m sure this cost a pretty penny as such items tend to be but it is a fitting tribute to a man who spent a good chunk of his life working with and selling arcade machines. I wonder how much it would cost to make a sculpture of a Dariusburst cab?…

https://twitter.com/CatDeSpira/status/911308857007259649

That’s all I’ve been able to collect for this occasion – go out and play some arcade games this weekend!