It’s already the second week of January, and we have some more game launch news to share with you. This includes not just one title but three, all released by LAI Games. With that spread, they have a little something for everyone; Also note that all of these games are exclusive to arcades. Let’s dive in.
Asphalt Moto Blitz DX
Let’s start off with the fourth arcade entry into the Asphalt racing series. This follows Asphalt Legends 9 Arcade in its Premium, DX, and VR forms.
The game was first released in Asia last September via original developer Wahlap, and it appears to have kept most everything about that release intact – aside from the translation, of course. Players hop onto a realistic motorbike controller and select a game mode (Tournament, Classic, Curfew, and 1-on-1) then choose from one of fourteen licensed superbikes, including those from Ducati, Honda, KTM, and Yamaha. There are five tracks which span across world locations.
In addition to the swivel bike it has a 3-axis motion base and ships as a twin model unit. I was told by a distributor that the price on this is in the neighborhood of $28~30,000, it could certainly be less than that, depending upon which distributor you ask.
Air Strike
Next up is this aerial combat game from Ace Amusement that functions as either a redemption or amusement-only game. Also sold in a twin format like Asphalt Moto, Air Strike uses a yoke controller to guide your plane, and it employs a swivel seat for the motion. Each monitor is 40″ in size (confirmed).
While it is primarily about shooting down enemies and obstacles, there is also a racing element to it, as you must reach the end/victory line before the timer runs out.
I only got to play it once at IAAPA but it felt like it could use a way to control your speed. I would note that the graphics on this look better in person than I’ve seen in some of the promo videos for it online, which oddly use a choppy frame rate (the game itself was not laggy from what I played/observed). The swivel seat was also a nice touch and added a little zest to the experience. I wouldn’t mind seeing this one sell as single, linkable cabinets at some point (same with Asphalt Moto).
This one is selling for $15~17,000, depending upon your distributor – again, perhaps even less.
Dragon’s Bane
Last but not least is another Wahlap piece, a coin pusher videmption game – one that I played the least of these three. Dragon’s Bane features three player stations, where the goal is to push the button to launch a coin at the laterally moving loot bag target near the back. If you can land a coin into said bag (which just has a hole, so the coins fall to the pusher platform below), it triggers action on the screen. This is where you can play mini-games using the button, collecting gems to earn bigger ticket rewards. The game also pushes marbles – if either coins or marbles fall over the edge, you earn tickets.
Note that their other coin pusher game, Cosmic Tower by Playmore, will begin shipping in February. Pricing on this one is in the neighborhood of $23~25,000, depending on your distributor.
I will try to update this post with more pricing from LAI Games once I have it. Which of these titles would you like to see show up at an arcade near you?
