It’s been a little while since we had a proper newsbytes post but it is normal that arcade news not related to IAAPA is quite slow around the end of November/beginning of December.
Here’s what I’ve been able to scrounge together for today. Have a great weekend and visit a local arcade if you can!
Konami Testing Dance Rush In Japan
Fans of Bemani & rhythm gaming have been excited about Konami’s latest dance arcade game that is getting location tested in Japan. Called Dance Rush, this seems to combine elements of DDR with Dance Evolution to create something that allows more freestyle dancing with the spectacle of the shimmering LED floor. I do wonder about how the floor will stand up to dance use over time but Konami does tend to take that sort of thing into account. The game has a camera that can record the player and blur out the faces of people that aren’t the player:
Here’s what it looks like from the other side:
身内用。RTお控え下さい。 pic.twitter.com/wtlDUFsDrz
— skol (@zyure) December 1, 2017
SoulCalibur Coming Back But With No Arcade Edition – I’m not surprised that Namco’s SC won’t be gracing arcades since 4 and 5 also skipped it. But never say never…
The Restoration Of Tim Stryker’s Aztarac
Aztarac is not a name that generally pops up in classic arcade discussions (despite some innovations with vector tech, it came out during the crash period and only had 200 made) but as it happens, the history behind it as well as the discovery & restoration of the late programmer’s original cabinet is fascinating and worth a read(link to Arcade Blogger). Also enjoy the reveal of the game at Free Play Florida this past month:
Jackpot Jumpin’ Getting A Sequel
I might have mentioned this but one new item at IAAPA from Bandai Namco is the sequel to Namco’s very popular arcade fixture, Jackpot Jumpin’. While that previous version wasn’t what we could consider ‘videmption’, the new Jumbo Jumpin’ has a video screen which technically makes it videmption, although the screen isn’t necessary to play the game. The IAAPA version is a prototype, with a more finalized version likely coming around Amusement Expo in March:
The Making Of Star Wars Pinball
Stern is back with another behind-the-scenes style video, showing how they made one of their latest games, Star Wars:
Tom Petit, Formerly Of Atari & Sega Arcade Divisions Passes Away
Earlier this week, reports hit the newswires that former Atari & Sega exec Tom Petit passed away. He spent 28 years in the arcade industry, starting at Atari and eventually becoming the head of Sega’s US arcade division. Segabits dug up some more details; RIP Tom
(Image via Replay; Tom is on the right, pictured with the late Don Osbourne, VP of Atari’s arcade division)
Let’s end with a heavily modded OutRun arcade cabinet:
One of the strangest things I have ever seen is this modded deluxe OutRun in the lobby of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland Paris.
Idk if its still there and the pics aren't mine but when I went not too long back and I saw this, I had to do a double take… absolutely crazy pic.twitter.com/8WCOCoxNT2
— ted (@ted90909) December 5, 2017
I’m sorry to hear about Tom passing away. I don’t know of all the things he made contributions to, but I am certainly most grateful for them.
Now on SoulCalibur, this doesn’t surprise me as only Tekken is their flagship title. We’ve actually had this problem since 3 was originally a console only release until fans made enough demands to have the arcade version. Beyond that this was clearly an indicator of where the series was heading.
RIP to Tom petit
Dance rush looks like something that would fit in well in western arcades as it does seem to combine elements of DDR and also a bit of sega chunythm almost, but I guess the problem would be if the operator was willing to invest in having two linkable units. It would be a big shame if konami didn’t decide to bring it over as I miss the days of the DDR here in the uk.
I’m surprised namco is doing away with an arcade version of the latest soul caliber game. I expect this from capcom with street fighter even though that got an arcade version for the arcades in Japan but not namco. They seem to have gone down hill badly since 2015. Hope namco exhibits a new game like sega is doing at EAG this coming January
RIP Tom
The Dance game looks like a lot of fun. I would be scared to let someone my size try it out.
The modded game looks amazing. I feel weird, because I want hte original to last, but also think the mod would be fun to do.
DanceRush actually looks like a ton of fun to me! I’m a HUGE rhythm game fan, so it couldn’t hurt to try a new one.