Hello and welcome to Newsbytes, a semi-regular weekend post that curates arcade & pinball news from around the world for your enjoyment. This one, in particular, is packed with videos, so if you’re in more of a watching mood than a reading one, this post is up your alley.
Cruis’n Blast Switch Review
If you follow me on YouTube then chances are that you saw this and my comparison between the arcade version; If not, then it just takes a second to subscribe 🙂 What do you think, agree or disagree with my assessment? Interestingly enough, the comparison video is getting a lot more attention than my review, probably because it’s different, whereas plenty of Switch sources have their own reviews. That said, some comparison footage is here too…
Also, I don’t want to make this post all about me, but I have been really busy with the interviews this week, but not all of them have been about Cruis’n Blast – just this one with GameXplain. I also gave a complete run-down on the exA-Arcadia system with Joe at Indie Arcade Wave (posted further below) and spoke with a local news station about Stern’s Insider Connected platform (although most of what I said had to be cut). Going back to GameXplain for a moment, they have posted quite a bit of stuff on Cruis’n, but they also did a great interview with Eugene Jarvis that was mainly focused on the new port.
RIP To These Arcade Heroes – Gene Lipkin; Frank Pellegrini
We have some sad news to report on the passing of two people who have long been involved in the arcade industry: Gene Lipkin and Frank Pellegrini.
Gene got his start working at Allied Leisure, but soon hopped on board Atari, where he eventually became the company president. After Atari, he stayed in the coin-op business; I remember meeting him briefly a few years ago when he was selling products for Wik, but I didn’t get to know him well as many others have in the biz. He was 74; more details over at Replay.
I also met and talked with Frank a few times, but it was also just limited to on-the-floor tradeshow talk. Frank had worked for Bally Midwest, Atari, Konami USA, Electronic Arts, and others; Most of his years in the biz were at Team Play Inc. That’s where I had met with him a few times. I didn’t realize that he was working a bit in the casino industry in recent times, doing a bit of licensing there, including licensing Fishbowl Frenzy out. Replay has more details; He was 65.
Rival Megagun XE Now Available
In happier news, Rival Megagun XE is a game first revealed all the way back in 2019, and as of last week (sorry, I’m a little late on this), the game is available for arcades everywhere to add to their line-up, only on the exA-Arcadia system. The gameplay is reminiscent of Twinkle Star Sprites, just less cute and you can become the boss that your opponent has to fight. One thing that has changed quite a bit on this compared to the existing PC game is the graphics, which have been completely redone. You can find the listing for the game kit here.
In other exA news, if you want a kit, then you need to order ASAP. Due to component shortages and prices, expect it to be more difficult and more expensive to grab this in the near future.
Here’s my discussion of the exA with Joe, where I go over the exA-Arcadia brochure that was handed out at AEI21.
New Redemption Game On Test: Disenchantment
H/T to Jdevy for this. Apart from the video, you can read up on this one on Reddit. The game is currently on test at Dave & Busters in West Nyack, NY. I’m not familiar with the show at all, but interesting to see Uniana’s name on it…they don’t show up too often these days.
How Did The Captain’s Warehouse Auction Go?
I didn’t bid on anything as I knew that things would get crazy, and I’m not in a spot right now to be spending, but a lot of stuff went for a good chunk of change. When people ask why I don’t have a Robotron 2084, it’s because they’ve been going for a couple thousand, but saw that one here went for $3500. That’s waaaay too high for putting a classic game into a business though – as I see with most of my classics, they don’t make all that much anymore. If you want to see the auction as streamed online from one of the times, here you go; If you’re interested in a spreadsheet showing how much everything sold for, then that can be found here.
One Last Goodbye To Sega Gigo In Tokyo
Another big arcade in Japan that’s closing 🙁
To balance that out, here’s Shaun Holley visiting Arcade Club in Bury, UK
Allied Tank Attack Resurfaces….Pirated?
I got an email from some Chinese manufacturer I’d never heard of about a “Tank Superiority” game, so decided to check out their YouTube link – lo and behold, they’ve brought InJoy Motion’s Allied Tank Attack back. Unfortunately, InJoy is no longer in business, and the one contact I had there hasn’t answered her emails or LinkedIn in recent times, so not sure what has gone on there and I couldn’t get an answer on this. My gut feeling is that this is pirated, as you can see that the software is exactly the same as InJoy’s version (to quote Kevin Flynn from TRON: “The slime didn’t even change the names man!”), so all that differs is the cabinet. It’s a striking cabinet design at least…
Freerunning The Red Bull Pinball Machine
This would take the cake for the world’s largest pinball machine…if it could flip the ball 😛
How To Improve Your Shmup Game
Not sure if it works in just seven days, but if you want to get better at this genre, here are some tips:
Headlines
I originally had a video and blurb on here about Sega’s ATV Slam SD, since they had posted a video, but they removed the video during the week.
Pac-Man’s Pixel Bash Is Finally Available In Europe
Black Emperor Arcade Is Back In Production
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade Pinball Gets ColorDMD Support
Twisted Quarter’s GoFundMe For Mike’s Arcade Has Been Refunded
Interview with Chuck E. Cheeses CEO David McKillips
A Visit To M2 (Japanese) – H/T Arcade Otaku
Remember Caine’s Arcade? Here’s the same idea on another level with Mario Kart
Mortal Kombat dev Ed Boon once proposed a Twisted Metal arcade game
Highlighting Dariusburst Another Chronicle 10 Years After I Got It
The TurboGrafx-16 Arcade Cabinet – Put together by a distributor back in the 90s
If you still care about the Billy Mitchell saga, here’s something you might be interested in
The Sad End For Equipment From The VOID VR
[Non-Arcade] Coming To Las Vegas – The World’s Largest Sphere
That’s all I’ve got for now, have a great weekend everyone, where ever you are!
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