Welcome to Newsbytes, our series of posts at AH that curates some quick news stories from around the world of arcades & pinball. News output continues to be a little slow; these have tended to be only once monthly of late, where we usually try to get two or three out, but given enough time, we accumulate sufficient stories for a new post. Read on for details on a new cabinet for Mission Impossible, Dave & Busters introducing bets, Taiko No Tatsujin USA, and much more…
Mission Impossible Sitdown Spotted
Sega Amusements’ Mission: Impossible Arcade has already been out in stand-up SDLX and DLX forms since 2021/22, and now it looks like the game will be also sold in a sit-down, closed booth ‘environmental’ version similar to other shooters. This was spotted at a couple of UK locations recently (thanks to Ted on the heads up), but has not been officially announced, so this photo posted by the official Facebook page of one of those places will have to suffice here. Though not a full shot, from this it can already gleaned that the base design of Transformers Shadows Rising (coincidentally seen in the background) is being used… would be nice to think that may mean it will be offered as a conversion kit, despite their rarity nowadays.
This version might still disappear too – we have conversely seen interesting stand-up iterations of both the aforementioned Transformers sequel and HOTD Scarlet Dawn pop up on test, then drop off the radar. So SAI may yet decide against giving this a wider release. In the case that it does make it to market, this would also mean three cabinet options available for Mission Impossible. Though good to have more choice on one game, it’d be even better to see those two titles and others receive that benefit as well, even if belatedly… either way, we will likely find out on whether this will be going to other locations at one or two of the upcoming Fall trade shows (e.g. IAAPA). Stay tuned for posts about those coming soon on the site.
Japan Arcade Updates
Every so often we check back in on what is happening over in the land of the rising sun’s arcades, and with the recent heightened interest in them via recent US tests for the likes of Maimai DX, now is as good a time as ever to do so. In terms of rhythm games, Konami’s long-running Pop’n Music series continues on over there, with its 28th instalment, Jam & Fizz, recently announced to be launching soon. Though it is not quite one of their flagship BEMANI titles these days (Round1USA still don’t have newer cabinets, for instance), its longevity is clearly pretty decent thanks to the dedicated fans in Japan. The initial teaser for this one did additionally throw off some people who thought it would be Las Vegas-themed…
For other new game updates there this month, Street Fighter 6 Type Arcade (which is available via R1USA) added Vega to its character roster, whilst Bandai Namco’s Mobile Suit Gundam card battler Arsenal Base has entered its fourth season with UNITRIBE. That one has caused a little controversy though… at the last minute, it got postponed after a discovery that a sub-contracted artist had plagarized another piece in their card artwork. Operators subsequently had to refuse new card shipments, which some weren’t too happy about from the sounds of things. At least the game remains one of Japan’s bigger earners in video… although Marvelous’ new Pokemon Frienda seems to be doing very well now too.
Lastly, we have mentioned these before, but elsewhere in trading card games there has been some further recent location test action for Bandai Namco’s Idolmaster Tours and Dragon Ball Super Divers, as well as Konami’s Monster Retsuden Oreca Battle 2. The interest in them seems fairly strong from a cursory glance at posts online, so expect those to be Japan’s next major arcade releases.
Dave & Busters Bets On Playce It
After all that pushback regarding Dave & Busters’ plan to roll out betting on arcade games, things grew so quiet on the subject that I’d seen comments wondering if D&B was going to move forward with the plan. Well, wonder no longer as the company has launched “Playce It” for locations in Texas, Georgia, Missouri, & California. I’m surprised that Nevada isn’t on that list, but I’m no expert on gambling laws and the hurdles one has to overcome to launch a service like this. I’m quite sure it’ll never fly in my home state (Utah, which bans all forms of gambling including the lottery), but depending on how it goes in these first locations and additional legal issues, you might see it become available in other parts of the country here soon.
Blue Brothers Pinball
Homepin, creators of the Thunderbirds & This Is Spinal Tap pinball machines are prepping their next game for release, Blues Brothers. First nonchalantly announced on their Facebook page in July, this is a “budget release” that is based upon the film of the same name. It will have some licensed music, but due to budget restrictions, only three songs from the original soundtrack will be included with each game. Oddly enough, Homepin doesn’t keep their website updated very well, so it looks like the best place to get information for now is their Facebook page, or a distributor. Knapp Arcade also has a piece. Here’s a look at the prototype:
More On Taiko No Tatsujin USA
Yes, this is now the second consecutive Newsbytes with a piece about Taiko No Tatsujin’s USA release… but with all the strong interest and further media coverage, it’s hard not to acknowledge it somewhere. Bandai Namco Amusement America have been mostly quiet again since the launch announcement back in July, but their superiors in the East have been busy getting some good press off its back.
For that, this report saw it praised by American college students in Japan… and then, the arcade version’s producer Katsunori Kimizu was interviewed by ITmedia on its upcoming launch over here. The interview has only been put out in Japanese, but translating it reveals interesting insight on the experiences they have had in bringing TNT over (e.g. despite their rising popularity being a reason for them in the first place, apparently even BNA were surprised by how many anime and J-Pop songs were played on the tests…).
However, the most notable point raised by the interview is that Bandai Namco plan to bring Taiko up to 10,000 cabinets around the world via this expansion here and potentially elsewhere. There are at least 4.7k already running in Japan, and a further 900 across the rest of Asia and Oceania, but another 5.5k is still a highly ambitious aim. That can be both a good and bad thing – it’s cool that Bandai Namco still have that energy, and Taiko is a very strong title to focus it onto… but despite it possibly being a chance to turn things around, they may want to temper expectations somewhat, considering the harsh reality of the below topic:
Talking Business – When Things Get Tough
I get into full detail with this video, but there is no getting around the fact that, for me and many of my fellow arcade operators, business is down – and it has been for a while. I discuss that and some potential ways to help things in this video below, which I hope will aid at least one or two who watch it. But I would also love to do a more involved livestream about this in the next week. Perhaps if we can find a good time and some other operators out there want to get together on a livestream call, we could have a proper in-depth group discussion about what you’ve been seeing; what has helped business, and what hasn’t.
Headlines
Golden Tee 2025 Revealed To Launch Next Month – This brings its regular yearly updates back to where they usually used to be, before they were disrupted for one reason or another. Will have to get a bigger post about it up closer to launch on the 9th, lots of course previews have already been posted by Incredible Technologies on YT and some details are out there on other additions
Barron Games Lives On Via Zooom Studios – Barron’s supposed closure back in Spring went under the radar on AH, as the situation was fluid, with certain parties bidding for their products & parts. Now, that has been settled by the newcomers Zooom Studios giving them a new lease of life. New employees have been hired and a new air hockey table called Open Ice is coming to IAAPA 2024
Stop Giving Pinball Start-Ups Money – Strong language, but a good rant about a serious problem that is plaguing pinball. One part of it is collectors who apparently don’t care about throwing money away, but in doing so, that incentivizes the problem. If a start-up can’t raise capital through traditional means to build their games, then they possibly shouldn’t be in business in the first place
Retro Ralph Mods His John Wick – This is another problem with pinball – modders shouldn’t really have to put stuff into the game that should be there by default given the license theme. John Wick without guns is like JAWS without a shark. Stern have at least been doing some new things with the latter though, as…
Stern Updates JAWS, New Retro-Inspired Game Mode Added – The original movie was more ’70s of course (and even featured early Sega electro-mechanical game Killer Shark in one scene), so 8-bit style graphics are not the most fitting addition, but still nice to see that added effort from them on this one.
Konami To Distribute Minecraft Dungeons Arcade In Japan – This is a bit of a curveball, as alongside it being the Wahlap-manufactured edition, only Taito and Bandai Namco tended to sell RT product over there… until now. Konami have of course got history with them too though, just in the States instead
Toho And Bandai Namco Enter Multi-Billion Yen Capital Alliance
Sonic And Pac-Man Also Collaborate… On A New T-Shirt Design
Insert Coin: The Midway Arcade Revolution Museum Exhibition
Straight Out Of Mainland China… Clone Racing Genesis!
A Hololive Collaboration Is Coming To Round1USA
Mr. Do! Gets A Fan Encyclopaedia Book
The 2024 Air Hockey World Championships Have Crowned New Winners
Sega Prize International Releases Official Tetris Plush Toy Range
Taito Releases Promotional Video For Godzilla Kaiju Drop Pusher
Sega Japan Testing Out Their Newest Monopoly Pusher Again
[Console Headlines]
Atari Announces The Atari 7800+ Revival Console – Plays original Atari 2600 & 7800 cartridges, but they are also releasing some new games for it
Egret II Mini: Arcade Memories Vol. 3 Coming On Dec. 19th
Under Defeat Headed To Consoles Again This December
A Sixteen Player LAN of Game Boys Running Faceball 2000 Will Be At The Portland Retro Gaming Expo
Genki Reveals New Tokyo Xtreme Racer Game For Steam
Brits Getting Another ZX Spectrum Remake In November
The Evercade EXP-R Has Been Delayed
Sega Arcade Legends Spotted At Gamescom
Meta’s Apple Vision Pro Killer Gets The Axe – Meanwhile, The AVP Is “Stuck in neutral” – I have to laugh at this last one, given how many posts I saw claiming that the AVP would replace laptops and all that jazz
That’s all for this Newsbytes. If you have any arcades near to you, be sure to support them! Which story covered here (e.g. Mission Impossible sit-down, D&B betting, Taiko US) interested you most?
