The blog has been quiet for the past week since I’ve been away on vacation but news in the arcade world hasn’t stopped. Let’s see what’s come to light while I’ve been out ‘n about…
First off, we have a new game that’s available right now for operators to order. DSM Arcade previously hit the scene with their Switch ‘N’ Shoot indie game and now they have launched another indie piece to coin-op, the swordfighting platform game Nidhogg II. Released back in 2017 to PC/PS4, it’s a game that garnered great reviews as it built upon the gameplay of the successful original. Here’s the promo trailer; Here’s a link to the product page with more details.
As mentioned on that page, the game is available for order now at $5,999 plus freight. Joe at Indie Arcade Wave also sat down with Dan at DSM Arcade to discuss this project and how it came to be, check it out here:
The only thing I’m not sure about is how much the software might have been changed; It should allow for coin acceptance since it does have a coin door but otherwise it sounds like the main difference here is the cabinet and not the software. Still, if it takes coins and it’s in a cabinet, it’s an arcade game that can go into any location out there so it’s now on our release list. The cabinet art was designed by Nidhogg II’s lead artist, Toby Dixon and it looks quite eye-catching:
Next up, LAI Games tweeted out the earliest announcement among various manufacturers as to some new games that they will reveal at the IAAPA 2022 Expo in November. There are zero details on what they are but we know that there are three of them. LAI has been focused on releasing a variety of machines for operators to grab, be it redemption, sports or video games, so it could be any one of those.
For one very solid guess however, reader JDevy sent me this photo of a game of LAI’s that’s on test somewhere out there – a VR version of Asphalt 9 Legends Arcade DX. One interesting thing you can notice on the far right hand side of this image is the banner; It mentions the test but also provides a QR code for players to fill out a short survey to provide their feedback on the game. Note that as with any game on test, this is not a guarantee of a release; The final version could also change from what you see here:
As the software was designed by IGS, this would not be their nor LAI’s first rodeo when it comes to VR arcade gaming. LAI has their Virtual Rabbids: The Big Ride piece and IGS created Overtake VR(see it below). Given that the latter is a VR racing game, I have to imagine that there might be similarities between the two. One that’s apparent from the pic above is that you’ll be able to look around the cockpit to see it rendered in 3D…Overtake also features a virtual girlfriend you can interact with in the passenger seat (a nod to OutRun) so we’ll see if A9 also uses that idea or not.
Given what I know about LAI’s history, I would presume that this could be the only video title they reveal at IAAPA while the other two would likely be redemption based. I’ll be at IAAPA to see for sure.
Last but not least is a new kids videmption game that is launching here in the States via Amusement Source International called Zombie Bowling. While it’s not the first mini-bowling video game on the market, it does come up with a nice little twist by turning the bowling pins into zombies. The video won’t embed here but if you have access to LinkedIn you can check it out by clicking here.
What do you think about these three games?
Nidhog looks rather basic; I was expecting a full rendered sword fighting game with characters in amour… oh well.
Where did you go for your break if I may ask? Somewhere inside the US or did you make it out of the country? See anything new amusement-wise?
Regards