UPDATE: This article has been updated since it’s initial publication.
One of the big surprises, and more popular games, at IAAPA 2019 was Taito’s OnPoint (at the time called “Gun Arena”). Located at the UNIS booth to represent the new partnership between the two companies, this turned heads due to the unique idea of combining a real airsoft pistol with a video game. This in turn did raise some concerns over the quality of the safety system, which UNIS addressed in a recent video that they posted to YouTube.
After a few months and some changes, the game is now available to purchase through UNIS-authorized distributors.UPDATE: I received a correction this morning from UNIS stating that the information that they sent out yesterday was a promotional blitz, but not a launch. They are doing a limited released in March, with a full roll out in April. My apologies for the error.
As a part of this marketing push, the company sent out a nice presentation today with plenty of details, a link to a new promo video, and a new cabinet image.
Here’s the promo video, which shows the reception of the game at CES 2020, where it also found a lot of attention:
For the new cabinet, it hasn’t changed much, but did add something that Steve at UNIS told me would be a part of the final deal – a partial safety enclosure on the sides. This image here is near final we’ll have the corrected one in hand when the release arrives around March/April.
For the facts sheet I received, it lays out that this game is a collaborative effort between four companies: Taito, Natsume Atari, UNIS and YoungBae. The latter is a Korean company, where there has often been a trend of medium-scale airsoft rifle attractions; this solution just found a way to combine it into something more compact for arcades to enjoy. I think that it would be safe to call this a Mixed Reality game, since it mixes physical play with virtual targets.
It also mentions that there are 8 total stages to play – 4 for single player (Steel Shot, Crusher, Score Attack & Bullseye) and 4 for multiplayer mode (Mission Fight; Game 301; Game 501 & Cricket). Each level has a leaderboard, and the game employs online features, which UNIS touts as being able to start up an eSports community around this game(namely the Score Attack & Crusher levels, which have received a bulk of the competitive focus in Japan). Players can also take turns on cabinets, each unit tracking scores for up to 4 people per match. UNIS plans on organizing tournaments for this and holding special events to drive additional play to the game.
My experience with OnPoint as seen at IAAPA 2019
Beyond that, it also explains the loading system better. I had thought that it involved a system to reintroduce spent BBs into the gun, but it appears that the funnel under the screen just holds them. Operators will have to pull that and refresh the hopper in the control panel. Fortunately, it’s not something that operators will have to do daily – the hopper holds up to 25,000 BBs, with an average of 50 BBs spent per game (by that math, it’ll take 500 games to run out).
With that, what do you think about OnPoint?
