One nice way to end the month is with some news on new games and content for the arcade business. Interestingly enough, all of these releases are sports-related. If you’d like to consume this news in video form, I’ve got you covered there too, but apparently since I don’t deliver the news in 5-second F-bombed filled soundbites, this is the worst video evar:
I suppose I did miss mentioning the various video basketball arcade machines out there where it turns the standard basketball experience into something more akin to a video game, but at the same time I’m also thinking more about your traditional arcade setups – can it be done anymore with certain sports?
Arcade Collection (Incredible Technologies)
First off is a game we’ve talked about before, Incredible Technologies’ Arcade Collection. This brings 3 of IT’s sports classics – Target Toss Pro, Silver Strike Bowling, and Powerputt Golf – and puts them into one cabinet. A distributor told me that pricing for the Home Edition of the game is $4495 (MSRP) but did not mention what the commercial version will go for; If it’s close to that, then it’s still pretty strong value since each of those games sold for around that much alone. It’s also available in a kit or showpiece cabinet – I have to assume that the price above is for the cabinet, thus putting a kit much lower. Here’s a pic:
If interested, you can find the game’s official page here, although note that the website hasn’t been updated yet to state that it’s available.
Football Frenzy by VRStudios
Following up on their Hoops Madness game that debuted at IAAPA 2021 in the Fury VR cabinet, Football Frenzy looks to capitalize on the lack of football games in today’s market. The last time we had a video-only game (as I can recall – not counting redemption/videmption) in the industry was GlobalVR’s Madden Season 2 from 2006, although that was a traditional arcade game and not a VR piece. 
The game puts the player into the role of a quarterback and challenges them to throw complete passes while avoiding opposing players as they try to tackle you. It isn’t clear if this supports linked play, as that isn’t mentioned in the press release – the Fury VR has two stations on it, so I imagine it’d feasible but that also depends on the game design. This one is not shipping quite yet, but pre-orders are open now.
If interested in the press release, you can download it here (PDF)
Bobblehead Baseball By Andamiro USA Has Shipped
I just noticed this in my inbox after hitting publish (of course) but Andamiro USA has just launched their own sports game to market, Bobblehead Baseball. From the email, the first production run is all sold out, so interested parties will want to get an order in for the next batch which is due to become available in November.
I filmed this one at Amusement Expo 2022, where it’s a simple baseball game that also uses MLBPA licensing for real players. It’s all videmption and has been available to Dave & Busters as a timed-exclusive (where it was released as a conversion kit for Adrenaline’s Spider-Man videmption game).
What are your thoughts on this? Are there any other sports you think are sorely lacking in today’s market?
