Hello kind readers, and welcome to another edition of Newsbytes. This is a weekend post where I gather some quick news items together to discuss so you have something to read over said weekend.
IAAPA Expo 2019 – Final Edition
Per usual, I’ve been sidetracked on getting all of this finished in a timely manner, but here are my final thoughts on IAAPA this year; I will try and shoot a video where I do a full summary, but before I post that I will be sharing the results of the Game of the Decade poll.
A strong line-up of games were on display at this IAAPA, which included some variety from the norm. Overall, this was one of the best IAAPA’s that I’ve been to. There was a lot of energy and excitement, and more than enough to do (like usual, I missed a few things, despite running around the show like a madman most of the time). It indicates that from a product/game perspective, we’ve got plenty of good stuff coming our way in 2020. There were some disappointments – I miss seeing Namco give us a new video game, and it was too bad that a lot of the products we’ve heard about on test weren’t ready or were canned completely. But what we will get provides a lot of options for venues to pick up. I also enjoyed surprises like Super Firing, or being able to play games I’d read about like Mission: Impossible Arcade, Outnumbered, Nitro Trucks and others. Now, that’s just my opinion – I did talk with a couple of people who were on the same page as myself, and a couple who were the complete opposite.
Here are the remaining videos I’ve posted from the event; you can likewise check out the IAAPA2019 playlist in case there’s something you missed.
I’ll start with the VR supercut…I missed a few things from this genre, including a VR scuba diving setup. It would be nice if all/most VR had it’s own section so that things weren’t all over the place. If you need more details, I’d suggest reading Kevin Williams’ write-up over at VRFocus.
Standard version of Centipede Chaos. This isn’t on the ICE website yet so I’m not sure if/when it might come along, but for a venue like mine, I like having these more affordable options that maintain the same feel as the deluxe.
Big Buck Hunter Reloaded was not around in the new cabinet, but the software was there in all of it’s glory. I did capture all of Monsters of Lost Island, but there was a business conversation going on the entire time that my mic picked up, so I will probably just wait for this to roll out to BBHD cabinets and do a direct capture. It’s a sequel to Doe of the Dead, but it’s kind of weird.
Houdini: Master of Mystery. I enjoyed this one, as it had a lot to it (felt like there was more to discover than in Elvira). I also like the details in the toys. The video mode I did unlock (the card toss) needs some tweaking to play smoother, but overall this was a fine game for American’s first foray into the genre.
I did post a couple of additional videos from IAAPA that shows you more of a couple of particular games (Speed Driver 5 and Nitro Trucks), and we have this one from Arcadeaholics, the indie game Cosmotrons. I own this game and have discussed it several times in the past, but if you have a bar/arcade or retrocade-style venue, then it’s a great piece to add to your game mix.
Star Wars Battle Pod Review
Given the hype (or hate), for is happening with Star Wars right now, I wanted to review something for the blog, so here’s a review and full playthrough of Star Wars Battle Pod by Bandai Namco Amusements. I sold this game and it will be shipping out on Monday, so I also wanted to do this before it was too late. One thing I forgot to mention is that the LEDs on the outside do react to what is happening inside the game, which is another great touch for the cabinet side of things. And no, I did not use an emulator to capture; I used a Hauppauge capture card connected to my laptop for the footage.
Speaking of Star Wars, Stern launched this promo for their Home Style Star Wars pin this week, along with a ton of “Game Objectives” videos that show you how to play their various titles.
The Coin Game – Play Redemption Games At Home
Thanks to Toby for pointing this out. If you really love redemption games, but don’t want to spend all of your time playing them at the arcade, now you can experience similar thrills for tickets with The Coin Game on Steam. It reminds me a tiny bit of Arcadecraft, which was also trying to simulate part of the arcade experience, albeit from an operator’s perspective.
Do you Love Virtua On? Probably Not As Much As This Guy…
Thanks to Oga-Shi for sending this my way. A hotel by the name of Ryokan Mokujin, located in Nagano, has launched a crowdfunding campaign through a site called Campfire that seeks to do something a little different – they are wanting to build an arcade arena & museum dedicated entirely to Sega’s Virtua On. To make it happen, they are seeking 50 million yen (approx. $450,000USD), where they will be the ultimate venue for playing and experiencing Sega’s fast paced mech battle experience. They’re raised 5m so far, and have 76 days left…would be pretty awesome to see it happen.
Speaking of Japanese arcades, Arcade Belgium shared this story at otaquest.com where they interview the owner of the Mikado Game Center in Tokyo. Well worth a read.
Industry Legends Come Together For The Galloping Ghost Swap Meet
Per this post on Facebook, from game designer Brian Colin, several gaming legends were on hand at the Galloping Ghost Arcade this past Sunday for their swap meet. In this photo, you see Brian Smolik (currently at Team Play), Scott Pikulski (currently at Play Mechanix), Jack Haeger (ex-Midway, has also worked with Game Refuge & Team Play); Jeffery Lee (ex-Gottlieb), Brian F. Colin (ex-Midway, Game Refuge CEO) and Paul E. Niemeyer (ex-Midway – if I got any of the companies wrong, please let me know). Speaking of Jack and this “Coogle” group, Scott P. if you see this, send me a message, as I’ve lost your email…
That’s all I’ve managed to find for now – have a great weekend everyone!
Only just got round to watching these! Found the Mission Impossible video especially interesting.
Also thanks for the shoutout lol