It’s been a few days since my last update but I have been busy, busy, busy with post-IAAPA ‘stuff’. There is so much that came around from this show to talk about that I plan on doing a VLOG to summarize it all up – once the dust settles. As it is, I’m still editing videos together and I have a bit more to do. It’s not a complaint as I feel like this was the best IAAPA I’ve ever been to. There was much more risk-taking going on than I’ve seen before with fresh products that it was a lot of fun to go around and check everything out while catching up with friends.
Let’s get a few things out of the way for now that have been posted online – don’t forget that you can follow AH’s updates on either Youtube or BitChute.
Family Guy Bowling (Team Play)
We’ve been talking about his game for a little while now since it showed up on test a few months ago but this was the first time I got to see it in action. At its heart, it’s a bowling arcade game, something that anyone who has played such games in the past will be familiar with as soon as they approach the game. The Family Guy license is a bonus for fans but you don’t have to watch the show to enjoy the game (I’m sure that fans will appreciate it more, however). This is certainly the nicest looking bowling game on the market now, older titles like Simpsons Bowling, Rockin’ Bowl-O-Rama, and Silver Strike are showing their age. This is in 1080p and cel-shades the graphics with clean lines. Clips from the show play at the beginning and end of the games with operators being able to turn off the “adult mode” in case their venues aren’t catering to a mature crowd.
This is the only video I’ve made a voice-over for so far…mainly because I found a chance to record something but haven’t had that luxury of a quiet space otherwise 😉
Super Chexx Pro (ICE)
The first arcade I worked at had a Super Chexx “bubble hockey” game but unfortunately, the tech on the location never gave it much attention to keep going. It was an older used model that was usually shoved into a corner. If you’ve never come across one, think foosball/table soccer but for ice hockey. ICE themselves introduced the concept way back in ’82 and now they are finally giving the product a modern take with this new Pro edition. The game still plays the same but now you have modernized electronics and an LCD ‘jumbotron’ scoreboard on both sides. It really looks nice in person, especially with a brand new model where the paint on the figurines looks like it had been applied the day prior. I haven’t gotten around to uploading this one to Youtube yet but I will try and do so later today.
Tap That (Barron Games)
This is another game that has been mentioned on the site a few times, having started out earlier this year as Catch The Light Frenzy. This was literally the centerpiece of the Barron booth and fortunately, they had a canopy to block out the overhead lights. While it does work for single player, this is a game that should be played with at least one more person; best with four. It will work without ticket redemption if the location wants it but you can see the appeal for having this operate as videmption in high foot traffic locations:
Maximum Tune 5 (Bandai Namco)
I’m not sure if you should call Maximum Tune 5 or Mario Kart Arcade GP DX their current “flagship” racer but either way, both games were at the booth to enjoy. Namco has made it easier for locations to get MT5 by introducing a 2-player model. This is two single units linked together along with a Wangan Terminal; it has everything you would want from the 4-player model including the card dispensing and online play. Namco has also begun holding nationwide tournaments for the game, more of which are coming in 2018. As mentioned in the video, no news about software updates (also I’ve not heard anything on European sales for this one) but we will be hearing about software updates for the game probably about a year from now 😉
That’s all I’ve got for now but stay tuned for more! Yes, there is much more to discuss from IAAPA – UNIS’s light-gun game, several videmption games, World’s Fastest Drummer, VR, holographic tech, etc. No rest on Thanksgiving for me this year 😛
