Welcome to another exciting edition of Newsbytes, a quick tour through the arcade & pinball news items to fill up your weekend. It’s Father’s Day in the States this Sunday so if you have a good dad, be sure to let him know – or spend some time with him at the arcade.
Coastal Amusements Bringing Bullseye Crack Shot To The States
Bowl Expo is happening next week and that means many arcade manufacturers are headed to Orlando to show off their current products. Some companies aren’t showing anything we haven’t seen before, but Coastal Amusements is bringing something that we heard about recently from the Park Avenue Open Day in the UK – a China-made game by the name of Bullseye Crack Shot:
Developed by Ace Amusement, it mingles a few shooting gallery scenarios with some action-oriented ones in a twin cabinet format. I am not headed to Bowl Expo so I won’t be there to check it out, but I’ll see if I can have someone send me some info.
In case you are wondering whether or not it will actually see a release here is a good question – Coastal has shown off several games before that they ended up passing on, like Bridge Man, Bumper or Slide Up. That said, RePlay is reporting on this, so that’s something – perhaps they’re just seeing what, if any, orders they get from the show before deciding on carrying it or not.
iiRcade Files For Bankruptcy
I don’t get into these part-size home arcade products very often, but one of the main competitors to Arcade 1up, iiRcade, has sent out an email to supporters stating that they are declaring bankruptcy and that the online store will cease operations on the 21st. As of this writing though, the announcement has not been mentioned nor addressed on their website & social media – with a store shutdown happening so soon, I think you owe it to your customers to be a little more forthcoming than that, although I suppose they are hoping for a last-minute buyout to keep them afloat. That said, they’re now allegedly encouraging how to load illegal ROMs onto the system, which is not the way you should finish. </facepalm>
A few years ago I was asked if I would operate one of these systems in my arcade and I had to politely decline, for similar reasons I would never put a typical Arcade 1up in my place. Apart from the hardware being nowhere near up-to-snuff for an arcade environment, these kinds of setups just don’t make money for my situation. Granted, from what I’m reading, iiRcade did have better build quality than Arcade 1up does, but in a product like this you need more than that to generate revenue. A pronounceable, sensible name would help too.
Did you grab an iiRcade? Did you like it or find it lacking?
Bandai Namco Updates: Bike Dash Delivery & A New Videmption Game
Thanks to Ted for finding these – we now have a little preview of what Bandai Namco Amusement is up to in Japan, beyond GoldStorm Pirates. First is a trademark filing for an arcade game called Bike Dash Delivery. As a trademark filing, there are no other details beyond the name and that it is for arcades, but we can go wild with assumptions based on the name alone. A mash-up between Gaelco’s Radikal Bikers and Namco’s own Prop Cycle, perhaps? A successor to Downhill Bikers? Or something less exciting like a top-down endless runner game with a bike and Uber Eats theme?
Also on the Bamco front is this video from Aries Game Room that shows a new ball toss game by them on test in Japan. Called Irodori Kassen Nagemakuru, I’m not sure what that translates to but I could easily see this one making its way West as a localized videmption title, possibly with a licence of some sort attached. Another tweet with pics can be found here.
ロケテスト中のバンダイナムコ『イロドリ合戦ナゲマクール』デモ映像です。遊び方等、簡単な説明の映像です。 pic.twitter.com/L70aTteqtK
— アリエス@ロケテサイトアリエスの小部屋管理人 (@ariesukobeya) June 10, 2023
Speaking of Namco, the American arm (Bandai Namco Amusement America) also launched the Online Champion Match for Maximum Tune 5DX+ games this week. Qualifiers go through July 8th, with some cool looking exclusive name plates up for grabs. Participate at any on-location MT5 machine, although you’ll need an account with a BANAPASSPORT card to do so.
Final Vendetta Available For Pre-Order On The Neo Geo MVS
Here’s a late update – Bitmap Bureau might sound familiar, as they have previously released a new Neo Geo MVS title called Xeno Crisis (although that was released on some other retro consoles). Now, they’re doing it again with a beat ’em up called Final Vendetta. While you can pick this up on any modern console, if you really want to experience it in an arcade, where it feels like it was meant to be, then grabbing a cart for the MVS would be the way to go. Order it here.
House of the Gundead Update
More locations have been receiving their Enter The Gungeon: House of the Gundead cabinets and where I ordered one, I’ve been anticipating being one of those who would join the fray. I did receive an email update this week, where I can expect it to ship by the 17th of July. One reason for some delay is that the game has been going through some testing at the earliest locations, where changes and improvements have been implemented in both the hardware and the software.
Once I have one in hand, you’ll know. 🙂
New Storm Rider 2 Operator Promo
Gone are the days of flyers, here are the days of the video promo. If you are not an arcade operator though, this might seem strange, but it’s how the arcade business works – manufacturers like Sega Amusements and Wahlap have to promote the game to operators for the game to get out there for players to enjoy:
Valo Motion Launches New Game For Valo Climb: Short Circuit
I’ve mentioned this Mixed Reality product company before – they have a few unique products that aren’t arcade games but they are attractions that you could find in an FEC – or a gym, as they all involve physical activity (“exergaming,” if you will). One of those is Valo Climb, a climbing wall with projection mapping. Here’s a new game for that platform called Short Circuit – no Johnny 5 robot seems to make an appearance though.
New Arcade Game Show Coming Soon: Arcade Animals
The video explains it all:
Bay Tek Updates Big Bass & Ticket Monster
I guess these have been out for big FECs to grab for some time now, but it was only last week where I caught mention of new LED upgrade kits for BayTek’s power earners, Big Bass Wheel and Ticket Monster. This was posted to LinkedIn, while the listings for each game on their website have already been updated:
Space Invaders Turns 45
June 16th was the day where one of the most iconic and beloved arcade franchises celebrated 45 years of existence – which Space Invaders arcade release is your favorite?
Headlines
Galloping Ghost To Expand Further
Is The JJ Robot Crane The Next Big Thing? – Anecdotally, users claim there was always a line to play it
The VipeR VR Ride Was At IAAPA Expo Asia In Singapore This Week
Zero Latency VR Coming To New York As A Part Of A New Axe Throwing Venue
New Code For Halloween Pinball as well as Ultraman; Stern has also sent out emails about Foo Fighters and Godzilla code
Dave & Busters Unveil Plans For World Dominance – Well, market dominance 😛
Inowize Announces QBIX Installation In New York
Games On Sega’s APM3 Are Finally Starting To Take Input Lag Seriously
So Taito Used To Operate Hot Dog Stands
A 1980 Sega Samurai Found And Restored – I never had seen a cabinet of this until this story; I’d figured the game was only released as a kit
The Galaxian 3 Official Materials Book Has Been Uploaded To The Internet
Taito’s Land Maker From 1998 Gets An English (Fan) Translation
Checking Out The Super Rare Video/Pinball Hybrid Varkon
