JAEPO 2018 Preview: Upcoming Titles From Sega, Namco, Taito, Konami & More

It’s trade show week and that means that we’ve got JAEPO 2018, the big Japanese arcade expo, approaching fast.

Fortunately, many Japanese companies like to create special webpages that tout the games that will appear at these events. So let’s take a quick look at what various arcade game makers in Japan are looking to bring to the market either this year or next.

This will not cover everything that will be at the show this weekend as the companies do tend to hold a few surprises in store; just showing what they have decided to preview so far.

Sega

Sega is making a big splash this year with several major new titles, possibly the most they’ve had all at once at a JAEPO for some time. I haven’t seen their dedicated site for it yet though, so this summary from a few sources will have to suffice.

House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn – We’ve discussed this one extensively; the return of House Of The Dead to arcades is something that many gamers are holding with high anticipation. We’ll see if there are any differences in the cabinet/software here and maybe find out when this one is destined for a release.

Sega World Drivers Championship – Sega’s new driving game may or may not be headed our way but it is launching in Japan this March, so a near final version of the game should be playable at JAEPO.

Fate/Grand Order Arcade – This anime-based RPG battle game will be at the show and will have a big live event to promote it. I wouldn’t count on this one (or any of Sega’s other RPG style arcade titles) getting a Western arcade release.

Soul Reverse – This AM2 developed action fantasy game was unveiled back at the end of 2016 and was just released this past week in Japan. Since it’s still pretty fresh, it will make an appearance at the event once again along with some live events starring a number of celebrities.

Ongeki – A new cutesty rhythm game from the department also behind Maimai and Chunithm, that has you controlling an anime girl band.

Let’s Go Fishing – While Sega made a name for themselves in the 90s with titles like Sega Bass Fishing, the modern trend of overhead fishing redemption games has been hard to ignore. Now the company is putting their own twist on the concept with Let’s Go Fishing. While I’m not sure what the ‘hook’ is to this one yet, it is unusual to see an enclosure over the screens on these games, which are usually just large table cabinets.

Sega will also be showcasing some VR although I imagine that this is a joint effort with Zero Latency as the two companies have been bringing VR to Joypolis in Tokyo. That said, I’ve not seen much else in the way of VR from other companies in terms of this tech so we’ll see if that’s supposed to be part of the surprises.

Bandai Namco

Their JAEPO page can be found here; most of what Namco are doing in video is updates but there are a few new electromechanical curiousities.

Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 6 – Namco’s latest WMMT game will be playable at the show, where I also expect we’ll hear more details than we already were given in the teaser. We do know that it will launch in July but that’s for Japan; still no word on a Western release for this one but we’ll be sure to share once we know.

Taiko No Tatsujin Blue Ver. – Everyone’s favorite drumming game will be there, showing a preview before the Japanese release of the title in March.

Shoot Away Pro – We covered this one with a specific post the other day so suffice it to say, the clay pigeon shooting game is coming back and probably coming out to the West.

CosmoGangs – That’s not the only game making a comeback as Namco is also reviving a redemption classic from 1990. The new version will support similar gameplay but with modern electronics and is destined for a release here in the West. I also can’t be the only one amused that they used a Windows splash screen for the background of the product image 😛

Nice Pingpong – Want to play ping pong/table pong against a robot? That’s what this one holds in store, allowing locations to operate a ping pong table without an attendant.

Namco is also bringing along older titles like World’s Largest Pac-Man, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, their Gundam game and some other merchandiser type products.

Taito/Square Enix

The situation with Taito and Square Enix is odd, where thanks to the latter buying them out, SE have been starting to assert their brand in the arcade space more and use Taito’s assets for their own titles. Taito still have one or two original things going on though, even if not at the shame level as before…

Starwing Paradox – Also previewed on the site the other day, Square Enix will be giving players a chance to enjoy this upcoming action title at the event.

Space Invaders Frenzy – Raw Thrills is once again going to have a presence at the show (last year was The Walking Dead), thanks to their joint effort with Taito on Space Invaders but also some other games as covered below. This version defaults to the amusement/ticketless mode and does not function as a redemption game.

Densha De GO!! – The latest version of Taito’s train conductor simulator will be available, as it was last year.

Groove Coaster 4: Starlight Road – Fans of Taito’s Groove Coaster series should be pleased that #4 of Taito’s game that started out as a mobile title will debut at the show.

Ocean Monster – This one is a little bit of a surprise to see, given that Taito generally hasn’t dealt with this kind of fishing game. But then, Sega hadn’t either until now. It looks pretty standard as far as these games go as opposed to Taito putting their own twist on i t.

Konami

Konami will also be holding their 7th KAC (Konami Arcade Championship) tournament on various Bemani games including DDR A, GITADORA Matixx Guitar Freaks & DrumMania, Jubeat Clan, Sound Voltex IV and some others.

DanceRush Stardom – This game was mentioned on the site recently, combining the likes of Sega’s Chunithm with Konami’s own Dance Evolution.

Bombergirl – First shown last year, Konami did put this concept through testing but not much had been said about it until now. Perhaps the close to final edition will be what is shown

Bomberman The Medal Game – Konami will also be focusing on their own “medal game” version of BM that is setup like more of a traditional Bomberman game to win coins. This would probably work just fine out West as a standard multiplayer video game or videmption title.

Baseball Collection – Other than the obvious connotation from the name, not really sure how this one works yet.

The company will also have some of their other popular medal games on hand for attendees to enjoy.

Exa-Arcadia

I will get into more detail on this newcomer in a separate post (it’s exciting and deserves more than just a sentence preview) but if you are at the show, look for them at the Safari Games booth where you can find Aka To Blue Type R and more!

Marvelous

I hadn’t heard of this company before but they have a JAEPO page that showcases two titles – a Pokemon Gá-ole (which has been seen before) and a new concept in instant prize redemption called Trypod:

Raw Thrills

You are likely quite familiar with Raw Thrills but as an American company, Japanese shows haven’t always been their thing. They were at JAEPO last year as mentioned but they will are beefing up their presence beyond Space Invaders Frenzy as mentioned above. Attendees can also expect to find Snow Boarder, The Walking Dead, Jurassic Park and possibly another game.

The most notable absentee I’ve seen so far is Capcom. They had a pretty decent presence at JAEPO 2017 from what I recall but not a word from them this time around.

So that is all I’ve been able to gather together – if there is anything missed, let us know! We won’t be attending JAEPO 2018 but I should have some contacts that will so we’ll certainly be paying close attention to what goes on there.