Darts are one of those games that has long been a staple for out-of-home entertainment that we haven’t really covered on the blog here. Kind of like billiards, it is rare to hear about new innovations in the space for coin-op dartboards.
Now Sega is doing something that could certainly cause more interest in the classic game – bringing their iconic arcade zombie shooting franchise – The House of The Dead – to Darts Live 2. As of October 2nd, all Darts Live 2 boards feature the new Darts of the Dead game mode. It is a limited time offer however as this operates through Oct. 31st.
Darts Live
To back up a little bit, Darts Live is a part of Sega Sammy group. They operate separately from Sega Amusements. They started by offering their Darts Live system in Japan and have been expanding 
from there. One of the difficult things about selling dart machines was that they usually didn’t work with distributors, preferring to work directly with operators who obtain territorial exclusivity over the installation of particular machines. You also often come across restrictions where online enabled dart games are only allowed for commercial use and not private/residential operation.
Darts Live is Sega-Sammy’s entry into the wonderful world of online coin-op dart machines, now in it’s second iteration with Darts Live 2. Machines like this tend to offer multiple game styles that have been a part of darts for ages – these carry different rules for games like Cricket, X01, 501 and many more. With Darts Live 2, each board features an LCD marquee capable of showing animations, scoring, etc.
Darts Live 2 is actually easier to find than you might expect – according to their location tracker, there are currently 577 locations in the USA that has one installed. Most venues appear to be bars however, as opposed to arcades or FECs.
Darts of the Dead
Sega describes the DotD game mode as follows:
“DARTS OF THE DEAD” is a party game in which you beat zombies with your friends.
Have fun with your friends and get a limited edition DARTSLIVE THEME.[Translated from Japanese] – In this game, it is possible to play up to four people simultaneously, and it is a specification that is easy to clear the game by playing in cooperation with the companion. You can also enjoy the darts from beginner to advanced, because the average of the dart level of the entire member (team) is determined by the strength of the enemy.
From the screenshots, it looks like Darts of the Dead is more of atheme that can be applied to any rule of dart game (Cricket, 501 and so on). The official English page for the game is found here, where they also have a couple of videos:
What do you think of this current, but limited time, appearance of The House of the Dead into out-of-home entertainment?
Why do you do this to me Sega? ;_;
At least I’m happy to know the HoTD name isnt completely dead.
man sega cmon ffs – its been far too long the hotd name is in serious limbo !
Glad to see them trying new things, and also bringing back old franchises in SOME fashion, but only for a limited time? Sad!
So this is what I played the other day – Sweet! Thanks for the news bump!