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:
https://twitter.com/zyure/status/936552644650217472
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:
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voltz
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.