We have a couple of new arcade games different companies to discuss here, although stay tuned for more – I have a couple of items from Raw Thrills on the backburner, just waiting for an a-ok and some additional assets to come through prior to posting.
All of the games discussed will be making an appearance at the IAAPA 2023 trade show in Orlando, FL, which starts exactly a month from today (well, the education seminars start on the 13th, the show floor with products starts on the 14th). Let’s take a look at today’s news:
Lane Master Xtreme (UNIS)
If you’ve been to an FEC in the past few years, there’s a chance you’ve come across an alley bowler/video game hybrid (think Skeeball with a video screen) known as Lane Master. Launched by UNIS back in 2016, the game did get some major software updates after its initial release. Now, it is getting a full sequel in Xtreme, where per the gameplay description below, it’s not about taking your time to knock pins down but to keep knocking as many out as you can before the time limit runs out. Here’s that info:
Lane Master Extreme is all about speed and precision. The game is designed to be fast-paced and reward players for throwing balls rapidly. Each game is divided into “waves,” with an increasing number of pins appearing in each successive wave. The goal is to try to hit as many pins as possible within the time limit. The digital pins are reset immediately after each throw, so you can keep the action going without any interruptions.
Another interesting twist on this are the “Power Balls” – not the lottery kind but a dispensed ball that when scanned, works like a power-up – think of the Amiibo concept applied to this game. This hopper+scanner piece is optional; I’m just not sure what happens if someone tries to roll the smaller power balls down the lane and into the game:
Power Balls are physical balls that are dispensed with QR codes on them. Players can scan the ball at the start of a game to unlock special skills that can enhance and boost performance (e.g. multiply ball impact to knock down more pins).
Sega Bringing Hyper Cross & Zombie Ready, Deady, Go! To IAAPA 2023
I’m not separating this out into its own post as I don’t have much to go on yet – Jdevy caught an IAAPA exhibitor profile update to Sega Amusements where they mention that Hyper Cross (which has been seen on test in the UK earlier this year) and a new ” thrilling ball-rolling, derby-style experience Zombies Ready, Deady, Go!” will be there. Sega’s site doesn’t feature either game at this moment, although from that description, perhaps ZRDG will be competing with Lane Master Xtreme. Hopefully it has some House of the Dead zombies there.
Here’s the Hyper Cross trailer, in case you haven’t seen it already:
