Newsbytes: JAEPO 2019 Approaching; Arcade Teaser Videos; Arcade Phone Booths & More

This was a slow week for news, although I was plenty busy with my new route location. Unfortunately, the technical issues there have been a bit of a time consuming headache, coupled with several games at my arcade breaking down (when it rains, it pours). That means I’ve had my head inside machines most of the week, but here’s a breather to collect some of the quick news for you to chew on this weekend.

JAEPO 2019 Preview

Next week – particularly the end of the week – is going to be very busy for arcade news, as Japan is throwing their annual JAEPO event starting on Friday. I don’t recall it ever happening this early in the year before, usually it’s in February, but we’ll not complain.

In the run up to such trade shows, Japanese companies love to preview much of what they plan on bringing to the show. This is done on specific JAEPO websites, which you can find a few here:

• Official JAEPO 2019 website (English)
• Sega’s JAEPO site
• Bandai Namco’s JAEPO site
• Taito’s JAEPO site
• Konami’s JAEPO site

It is also important to note that Exa-Arcadia will be making big moves next week, with around 20 new announcements on content and plans. They do not have a JAEPO specific page that I am aware of, but their official website now showcases a few of the initial launch titles. We’ll certainly be gathering and sharing as much news as we can from them. The system itself will not be released at the Expo, but it will be this year (and worldwide).

Much of the news to leak so far doesn’t pertain to any games that appear to be destined for the West, with most of these games going to see most action in Japan. That said, they never reveal everything before the big show, and there are always a few games that show up that are destined for international shores. Some other things to note:

• The International release of Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 6 is coming, and as a part of the update, they’ll be offering 4-player ghost battles (instead of 1v1).
• Taito has unveiled a few pieces that might come our way, as they are hosting Halo: Fireteam Raven 2p, ICE’s Super Chexx, and the Atari Pong tables, which indicates that they’ve been talking to someone in the USA. They have already unveiled two smaller versions of Go!!! by Train (the big version was at IAAPA 2018) and Space Invaders Pinball Jam will be there.
• Konami will have the 20th Anniversary Edition of DDR as a showcase piece, so that’ll make for a few headlines. That said, Konami hasn’t made any indication that they’ll treat this version any differently than DDR A (so expect it to show up at Round1USA and maybe a D&B here and there and nowhere else).
• Bandai Namco has been testing Super Panic Ball, so perhaps that is one game we might see in the US/EU down the road.
• I know it’s useless to speculate (always fun though!), but I imagine that if Sega is working on an OutRun 3, an event like this would be a good time to pull the curtain back on it. That said, I’d expect it to be more for the end of this year – again, if it’s happening.
• The exception to the rule on what is coming our way will be exA-Arcadia. As they indicated in the past, their system is intended for a worldwide release, even though many of the games are aiming more at the hardcore segment of the market than the casual one. With around 20 announcements, don’t be surprised if at least one of them will make some big waves 😉

What do you hope to see out of JAEPO? Sound off below!

IGS Launches A Monster Eye 2 Teaser

I’m not sure why IGS has done this when they have a full trailer out there, but either way, it gives us something to share. I filmed this at IAAPA 2018, in case you missed it.

UNIS Posts A Teaser For Their Atari Pong Tables

Speaking of quickies, UNIS now has this brief trailer to quickly showcase the three different models of the Atari Pong Table. The Cocktail and Arcade models have coin-op to them and sites that have ordered them should start getting them around March.

The Unit-e Technologies Office Tour

Unit-e has been grabbing a bit of attention with their upcoming PC Classic home mini-console as of late, something that certainly has interested an ol’ PC junkie like myself. But, they still have plenty to do with arcade machines and supporting tech, which gets the spotlight in this video below:

Reconfigured Phone Booths As Arcade Games

While phone booths are completely erased from the public consciousness (I know of two still in my area), most kids these days wouldn’t have a clue as to what they are. Apparently in Queens, NY, the enclosures for many phone booths are still out on the street, but lack the phone hardware to be useful. Since the city isn’t removing the full things, someone has taken to “converting” them into arcade games – at least on appearance. Clever. Find more at this post on Attract Mode.

Update On John Trudeau

I almost missed this, but in case you were wondering what the latest was on former pinball table designer John Trudeau, he has struck a plea deal with the court. According to PinballNews.com, he has not plead guilty to all charges, but has issued two “stipulation of facts guilty pleas which means that he accepts the truth of the facts presented without directly admitting guilt.” I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not sure what that all means in the grand scheme of things, but later in the story it does mention some penalties he’s facing with this deal in place. We’ll have to wait and see what happens from there.

That’s all I’ve got for this weekend, but do note I’m working on compiling the next locations post. Hopefully there is enough to do that soon; I’m also hoping to soon do an “unboxing” on The Spectre Files: Deathstalker, a super-rare arcade machine designed by Game Refuge and Galloping Ghost – that’ll be done as soon as it gets here. Have a great weekend!