I have to apologize here, as I let myself get sidetracked with other items of business, and forgot to follow-up with Kevin Williams of The Stinger Report in regards to IAAPA Europe 2019. The expo took place a couple of weeks ago, but I heard next to nothing about it, so just foolishly assumed that there wasn’t any new reveals there and didn’t follow-up on what really went down at the show. Better late than never, but still, my bad for slacking on that.
To note, thanks to Kevin Williams of The Stinger Report for providing details on the game below. Please keep in mind that this is discussing a game that is still in it’s development phase and could change or be cancelled without notice.
We have known that Sega Amusements has a new version of their Mario & Sonic Olympic games title in the works for arcades for a while now, but it was unknown whether or not that game would be seeing a release outside of Japan. It was a safe assumption to make that it would be, given that Mario & Sonic At The Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition was released all over the world.
At the IAAPA Expo Europe in Paris, France, confirmation was received as Sega quietly featured the game on their booth. There were no press releases or social media posts that mentioned it; there was a release about IAAPA Expo Europe from the company, but the only new games mentioned were redemption and crane equipment.
Here’s a full shot of the game packed booth; note that the title of the game as on the screen is Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games Arcade Edition. I think they removed the “Tokyo 2020” part to help keep interest in this one high after the Tokyo Olympics have come and gone. It also shortens the title just a little, so that it’s not such a mouthful. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics logo is still on the game, it’s just not a part of the title. This could change by launch however:
For this version, they appear to be using a modified 2-player version of MASRIO2016. Gone are the joysticks (often seen as the biggest maintenance headache for operators – such a shame, as they gave the game a unique feel, but a moot point if the stick gets busted by overeager players before you), which have been replaced with buttons. Fortunately, the game still has the foot mat, which is used for running events.
With this, I am expecting to see this at Sega’s IAAPA 2019 booth. Whether or not it will be in a more elaborate 4-player design (as MASRIO2016 was, with a giant overhead marquee and extra monitors) remains to be seen. I also imagine that it will be launching in Q1/Q2 2020, given Sega’s normal launch schedules with equipment. While it would be nice for existing owners to grab a conversion kit, I would be mildly surprised if Sega has such a thing in store for those. I say “mildly” as they have done conversion kits in recent times, although they are rare – Dream Raiders to Let’s Go Island is the most recent one.
I’ve asked Kevin if there was anything else at IAAPA Expo Europe ’19 worth noting, and will add to the website accordingly. I do have a story on a game that was at the AAMA Gala last month ready to go, I just need one piece of essential media (new image of the cabinet) and we’ll also talk about that one.
What do you think about this latest outing for Mario & Sonic to arcades?
