Welcome to Newsbytes, a post that curates news from around the world of video arcades, pinball, and maybe something redemption related here and there. Today’s post has a lot to do with tournaments (particularly some big ones for Big Buck Hunter) but that’s not all, so scroll down and check it out!
Big Buck Hunter World Championships XVI
The first day of the 16th annual Big Buck Hunter World Championships has come and gone, as 128 individuals from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand compete for the $25,000 grand prize and title of Big Buck World Champion. Here’s a video of yesterday’s event:
And here’s today’s livestream:
UPDATE: You 2023 Big Buck Hunter World Champion is…Canadian Adam Holms! Congrats Adam!
During yesterday’s event, Raw Thrills unveiled the next package of content that is coming to the game, which includes new bonus games and a new animal (Caribou), which are being featured in the competition. Part of that content update however is the inclusion of The Walking Dead. All we have to go off of at the moment is this tweet below; Perhaps during today’s stream they’ll have a trailer discussing this in more detail. As for what to expect from the addition of TWD, it will be like the Terminator Salvation: Delta Mission which has been a part of BBHR for a while now; Hang tight for more details.
https://twitter.com/bigbuckhunter/status/1715530754753458475
Other Live Tournaments
Virtual hunting isn’t the only arcade tournament going on right now, as one can also enjoy these rhythm gaming tournaments taking place and being livecast:
Dancerush Stardom Tournament (Not live but happened yesterday)
Pinball Expo 2023
Today is the last day for Pinball Expo 2023 and there are quite a few videos out there showing the silverball goodness to be found at the show. Embedding all of them doesn’t make a lot of sense but I can link to a bunch I’ve found – perhaps something here fits your fancy:
Live Show Floor Tour [Retro Ralph]
Pinball Expo 2023 Part One [TNT Amusements]
Elton John Pinball Launch [PinballNews]
Elton John Play Vertical Style [LoserKid Pinball]
Pinball Expo 2023 Day 2 Livestream [Retro Ralph]
The Making Of Pulp Fiction Pinball [PinballNews]
The Making Of Venom [PinballNews]
Galactic Tank Force Panel [PinballNews]
Rare Pinball Machines At Expo [TNT Amusements]
Token Taverns Q&A Feat. Retro Ralph [PinballNews]
Marketing To New Audiences [PinballNews]
How To Become A Pinball Operator [PinballNews]
Brian Colin [PinballNews] – For those looking to get into some video arcade history, as Brian is the creator of Rampage, Arch Rivals, etc.
Todd Tuckey Takes Over [Retro Ralph]
Also of note, Bandai Namco Amusements is there, despite not having any pinball machines in their repertoire. Barrels of Fun also held a pizza party to celebrate the arrival of their Labyrinth game.
Alien Pinball – Ellen Ripley Edition
Also just in time for Pinball Expo, the Pinball Brothers have revealed Alien: Ellen Ripley Version. At $7995, it includes:
[…] new Cabinet Art, a loader battle Translite and an upgraded Software Package 4.0, which includes a bunch of film clips you have never seen in Alien Pinball before!
Also included is a hand-sculpted Mini-Screen, a hand-painted Xeno-Head and a beautifully designed apron; Also in planning is a gorgeous interactive Topper which we hope to include in our Expo presentation.On top of that, we also have more tech gadget add-ons in preparation, like Mini-Beacons and Flasher Kit. They will all be integrated into gameplay via future software updates
The game will begin shipping next month and the topper looks wicked cool.
Naruto Arcade Test Info
Thanks to reader S1ckH4nds for the info on this one.
As mentioned earlier in the week, Marvelous is testing out an arcade “card battle” game based upon the popular Naruto anime & manga series at a couple of locations. The reader got a chance to play although at publication time he hadn’t shared his thoughts, but he did share some pics of the “Shinobi Plates” that one can grab from the game.
If you want to see it in action, here’s 11 minutes of the game being played:
Pac-Man Pop-Up Event In NYC
Also thanks to S1ckH4nds, we have a look at the Pac-Man Pop-Up Event that just took place in NYC. Bandai Namco Amusements America was supporting the event, thus several PM games were around to play. Per SH on our Discord:
The Pac-Man pop up event was small but pretty cool. They had a couple of photo booths, a photo op with the Pac-Man mascot, free slushees in four flavors (themed to each of the ghosts) as well cans of Pac-Man GFuel, and a live DJ for most of the event except for when they had a mega mix of music from the CEDX series.
Game wise there were 5 Arcade 1up cabs, 3 upright Pixel Bash cabs, 5 cocktail Pixel Bash cabs, 1 Worlds Largest Pac-Man, a Pac-Man air hockey table (sadly not Pac-Man Smash, just regular air hockey), and the ball throwing redemption game Pac-Man Power Pellets. They also had 4 consoles linked up showing off a beta version of the new Pac-Man Chomp Champs that’s coming to all the major consoles in Q1 next year. Not bad as a replacement for Pac-Man 99, played very similarly to the Chompionship Deluxe that’s out at D&Bs now.
Sadly they didn’t have any limited merch drops available there but they did give away free bracelets, fanny packs for quarters, and small plastic cups for the slushees. Not bad for a free event honestly, we all had a lot of fun!
Here’s a quick video:
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Headlines
Betson Held Their 12th Annual Northwest Amusement Showcase In Oregon
Valo Motion Launches New Game: Mine Time
S&B Toys’ Marty Luepker Passed Away Unexpectedly On Sep. 25th
Build Your Own 3D Pinball Machine Out Of Wood – Looks like they’re on sale at the moment
JET’s Big Shot Is Rather Impressive With That 85″ Screen
Update On Greyfox Books’ Coin-Op The Arcade Guide
The Portland Retro Gaming Expo (Indie Arcade Wave video)
Want A Mini DDR Machine? They Exist And They Are For Sale
Previously Unreleased Footage Of Mortal Kombat 3’s Development
Behind The Scenes Photos From Midway’s NHL Open Ice
The Madness Of Sega’s Arcade Super Circuit
[Console] The 6th Installment Of The Greatest Game Series Involving Ants Is Coming Next Year
[Console] Irem Collection Vol. 3 Available For Pre-Order
[Console] Atari Launches Neo Sprint; Berzerk Recharged Coming Soon
[Console] Alpha Footage Of The Metal Slug-like Game, Black Finger JET
[Console] VR Dev Sues Meta Over Cancellation Of His Game
[Retro Gaming] Sega Of America Required 50+ Changes To Dynamite Heady
That’s all for this edition of Newsbytes – stay tuned to the site this week as much more arcade news is coming your way as we approach IAAPA 2023! For now, which stories of these including the main Big Buck Hunter news most interested you?
