Hello gentle reader, and welcome to another exciting edition of Newsbytes. Let’s take a quick journey down the road of brief arcade news items to get your weekend into high gear:
New Sighting For The World’s Largest Frogger
We haven’t heard anything about the World’s Largest Frogger since it was first found on test back in June, but thanks to Jdevy, here’s a new look at the game that was posted to Instagram 5 weeks ago. Oddly, the marquee is different from the first version, but the control panel still has World’s Largest Pac-Man on it (it is harder to swap out CP art than the marquee). As you can see from this new image, the player made it to Round 5, where instead of vehicles on the road, it’s nothing but snakes. My guess is that each round is different than the last, as we saw with Space Invaders Frenzy. This also indicates that the game is set to amusement mode instead of Redemption mode (the latter is only 1 round + jackpot chance).
Stern Premieres Jurassic Park Pinball At Replay FX 2019
While I ordered my Jurassic Park pinball machine a couple of weeks ago, there’s been a hold-up on the taxes, so it hasn’t shipped yet. Fortunately for other buyers, I’ve seen many locations adding one already, so if you’ve been chomping at the bit to play this one, chances are good that you can find it this weekend at your local pinball parlor. Stern also release new code for the game this week, so if you have one, make sure to get the latest software:
Speaking of pinball, ColorDMD just announced their latest colorization project, Williams’ Hurricane:
Also, Jersey Jack Pinball has released new code for Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, bringing that one up to v1.13.
Brian Colin’s Arcade History Tour
Game designer Brian Colin has been a busy guy over the past little while, and there is no indication that he’ll be letting up soon. I need to see about getting him out here to Utah in 2020, but anyways, here’s a slideshow of his many events that he went to last year:
Today In Arcade-Related Merchandise
We have a couple of things via the the excellent website Shut Up And Take My Yen (just a word of warning if you have a problem in spending money on nerd stuff 😀 )
Heat Reactive Space Invaders Mugs
Pac-Man Ghost Salt & Pepper Shakers
And I saw this at the store while browsing the board game section. I was kicking around some ideas for an Arcade Heroes board game (yes, really!), but in looking at this and doing some research into the current board game market, it seems a bit oversaturated for niche content at the moment. Then again, if readers really demanded it…
I wasn't aware of the new Pac-Man board game until now. Almost overwhelming to see how many board games are out there these days, so having a name like that helps. pic.twitter.com/YjtbHT9pS3
— Arcade Heroes – The Saviors of Coin-op Newsblog (@arcadeheroes) August 23, 2019
Promo Link: Arcade Heroes On Teepublic
Today in 3D Printed Arcade Parts: Suzo Happ PSU Fused Switch
It’s a great little idea to make the process of dealing with the power supplies typically used in most arcade machines out there a little easier. A little safer too (although I’ve never shocked myself working on the wiring with one of these).
Here’s a preview of another 3d printed design I’ve been working on: full shell Suzo Happ PSU cover with an integrated fused switch. It uses a regular 3 prong cord. It still needs some work, I’ll release it when it’s ready! #arcade pic.twitter.com/Ailgz1gFef
— Matt Joly (@QcRetro) August 23, 2019
NeoGeo: A Visual History Lands In Japan
H/T to Kevin Williams. Released to the West back in 2017, the NeoGeo: A Visual History was released to strong acclaim. Now, SNK fans in Japan get to enjoy it as the book finally received a release in the land of the Rising Sun.
Movie Stars At The Olympics
A meme for your consideration
Review: Faster, Harder, More Challenging Q*Bert
Let’s end with a review from our friends over at Arcade Hunters:
Ok, that’s all for now. I need to go work on my 2019/2020 Almanac and get it done before the year is over…
