While I discussed some of Sega Amusements’ revelations for IAAPA 2021 in a post last week, today Sega posted a surprise that we’ll dig into here.
Now, where I got my information on Sega’s booth previously came from their IAAPA 2021 booth summary, where they specifically mention Men In Black and Jumanji. Interestingly enough, those games are not mentioned in their blog post today about the show, but there is a mention of a “major Hollywood blockbuster IP” that they will reveal later on. Overall, we have a lot more to get into today.
First, Sega is really expanding their options in terms of model choices, something that they have done in the past, but it was becoming less of a “thing” by 2019 when the Family Entertainment Center (FEC) market was red hot. Those arcades wanted bigger and more spectacular machines, but unfortunately this wasn’t great for smaller operations. This is especially true post-pandemic, where most surviving locations have preferred to purchase used as opposed to brand new.
If you’re unfamiliar with how the arcade industry has worked in more recent times, you tend to have three, maybe four model options: Standard, Cocktail, Deluxe, and Super Deluxe. Back in 2019, standard and cocktail cabinets were almost unheard of – manufacturers were focused on producing super deluxes first, then deluxes, if at all. As a note, Super Deluxe cabs tend to be above $25,000 in cost, while Deluxe cabinets, if produced for a game, might be in the realm of $8-18k (really depends on the game; this mainly applies to light-gun games, while racing games usually only have one deluxe model). “Standard” cabinets can fall in the $3-10k range, depending.
It’s clear from today’s release that Sega is focused on providing options across the board. Sure, a Deluxe or Super Deluxe cab comes with the spectacle that makes it a more memorable experience and they tend to earn better, but with the right cabinet and game design, standards can reach parity with their bigger cousins in terms of earnings. That already is the case with pinball, where sometimes I’ve seen Pros out earn Premiums, but that’s a different ball game really.
Anyways, enough of that, onto the news:
Mission: Impossible Arcade Deluxe
Let’s start with the one that I’ve been hoping to see since Sega first announced the Super Deluxe version of Mission: Impossible Arcade. Having played the SDX version, it really is a great game, especially when you’re competing against two other players. This version of the game does lose that 2v2 play (no linking is mentioned on the product page), but it maintains the Team Beta and Team Reco dynamic, thus pitting each player against the other. The rest of the gameplay is likely the same, along with the unique mounted pistol controllers, a 55″ HD screen, and they have brought back something many of you will remember from Sega’s 90s light-gun games like L.A. Machineguns – a force feedback floor.
VR Agent
This one has been mentioned a few times, but now we have a look at Sega’s version of this game – one of their first fully released forays into Virtual Reality. Another surprising thing about this, if you hadn’t seen it already, is that this is bringing a first-person shooter to arcades, a genre that’s huge on PCs & consoles, yet it’s always had a hard time finding footing in arcades. Granted, most arcadified VR titles have been FPS games of some kind, although so many are tied to a multi-game platform like Hologate or Omni Arena, as opposed to a stand-alone effort like this. Here’s the trailer, then a cabinet shot, where it comes with two stations, which can link up to another for 4-player fun. Looking at the cover of the video though, it makes me wonder if this could be tied in some way to 2Spicy or OutTrigger (probably not, but those games come to mind :P)
The product page for VR Agent is here.
ATV Slam Standard
Now for ATV Slam. This game has been out for a bit now, and while Sega had teased that it would be at IAAPA EU 2021, it appears that they changed their minds on that and instead just focused on Jet Blaster. Now they are promising that it will be at IAAPA 2021 – same game, but no motion base platform.
The product page for ATV Slam SD is here; I’ve played this one and filmed it before which you can see here. It’s a fun game that looks fantastic but does require a bit more skill to play than something like Cruis’n Blast does.
Then, of course, they will have the new Jet Blaster watercraft racing game from Wahlap, Mario & Sonic At The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Arcade, some new merchandiser and redemption equipment, and possibly Men In Black and Jumanji too (I’m just checking on those).
What do you think about all of these extra cabinet options by Sega, and VR Agent?
2 Comments »