Esports has become a very big business, with arcades serving an important role in public gaming & tournaments ever since the “Golden Age” era of the 1980s.
For over a decade now, certain games like Golden Tee and Big Buck Hunter have been at the forefront of esports-style gaming within the amusement space, and with the 11th annual Big Buck World Championships, they are pushing the esports angle stronger than ever. If you are aiming for the Championship, you should be able to participate on any commercial, online arcade machine for the next two weeks.
The trailer below has all of the information – although the video preview thumbnail sums it up too. The event takes place on Oct. 26-27th in Las Vegas; $20,000 is up for grabs to the #1 Big Buck Hunter of them all, while $100,000 will be at play between the different competitors and ladder events. With a venue like the Esports Arena, and the continued partnership with Twitch, the stands to raise Big Buck Hunter’s profile better than any World Championship before it.
Also in Big Buck Hunter news, fans of the game (or those who are always begging arcade developers to bring “x” game to consoles”) will now be able to enjoy a version of Big Buck HD at home on the Nintendo Switch. Launching Oct. 16th (just in time for the WC), operators won’t have to worry too much as this appears to be the 2012 version of the game that has been modified for console use. It doesn’t sound like it has the DLC animals like the Irish Elk or Buckzilla, nor does it come with the other mini-games like Duck Dynasty or Doe of the Dead. The giant gun on the screen is also quite the difference from a visual standpoint, although I would imagine that the game plays fine with it there, just like any FPS does.
One oddity about the screenshots that I’m noticing is a downgrade in the graphics. There’s something about them that makes this look not quite as vibrant on the color scale as the arcade build; the textures are certainly downgraded and the resolution of the screenshot is 720p (maybe they took them in portable mode, but I would think that the Switch could handle the game at 1080p like the arcade does). Perhaps “Game Mechanic Studios” is intentionally making it below arcade quality
To sort of compare, here’s a direct capture of the arcade build. I will have to dig out my capture device and see about maybe doing a proper comparison video between the two:
