Happy Monday, fellow Arcaders – let’s start a new week, as well as a season of the year, with a brand new game launch. Raw Thrills & Play Mechanix have officially announced Angry Birds Boom!, their latest videmption piece. The game is making its industry debut this week at IAAPA Expo Europe 2024, but fortunately the company has also released a bunch of information on the title. Let’s see what this one is all about.
Angry Birds Boom!
At the end of last week, Raw Thrills put out a trailer teasing the imminent reveal of their next release, showing very little of it except a silhouette of the cabinet as usual. Regular readers of Arcade Heroes though will have quickly realised this teaser could’ve only been for Angry Birds Boom!, having been reported on by us whilst in testing earlier this year.
Now, the official trailer and press release for the game have released. We’ve got a deeper dive into media and some extra points featured in the latter below, but here’s that full trailer posted today by RT’s YouTube channel to watch first:
Also of note is that this is not the first time that Angry Birds has officially landed in arcades. Play Mechanix first made an Angry Birds videmption game with ICE back in 2015, and LAI Games released an AB coin pusher based on an original by Playmore called Sky Tower in 2021. There has been a couple other more basic redemption pieces using the licence too.
The Cabinet
The cabinet does not appear to have changed significantly from the test, which isn’t unheard of, but is a little unusual. Astute readers will notice similarities in the form factor to Raw Thrills’ NERF Arcade, but don’t assume that the games play the same. We’ll get into the software in a moment though.
Hardware wise, this comes with a 65″ 4K screen, two seats with surround sound, mounted guns similar to what Raw Thrills tends to use in games of this style, but, with new shells that have the red & yellow birds (Red & Chuck are their names) that you play in the game. While I wasn’t given a straight price, interested buyers can check with their preferred distributor. I would assume that the MSRP is within a range similar to where NERF Arcade was, but that can always vary.
The game will likely begin shipping in November, with full production kicking in some time at the end of October. If you happen to be at IAAPA Expo Europe this week and want to see it, you’ll find the game at the Bandai Namco Amusement Europe booth (more on that below). It will also be at IAAPA 2024, where I assume it will be a big focus for the company.
The Game
Play Mechanix has crafted an original Angry Birds experience, as opposed to re-painting a mobile game, although fans of the franchise won’t be alienated by what is in store here. It is still a physics-based game, where you fire off wrathful avians at the block structures to knock the pigs down and take them down – or to shoot the green pigs directly, since you fire off a lot of birds.
There are nine total scenes and two bosses that players will encounter, but how the scenes are presented is a little bit different from what you would expect with a gun game like Jurassic Park (which also had nine scenes to choose from). Every time the game is played, the game selects a set of three scenes + one boss. Once the game is continued, it will choose from a different set of three, so players won’t experience the same thing as they just did. Another continue and the same thing occurs. Which boss is encountered also gets switched up.
While this has been designed primarily for ticket redemption play, there is a non-ticket/Amusement mode available. Gameplay is no different here, as has been the case with several Raw Thrills videmption games in the past (Space Invaders Frenzy, Bust-A-Move Frenzy, Galaga Assault, etc.). How many venues might set it up as just a video arcade game though, we’ll have to wait and see.
You can find the press release announcing the game and its appearance at IAAPA Expo Europe 2024 below. Until we get an even better look at the game, what do you think of Angry Birds Boom! compared to other videmption offerings on the present market? How do you feel it compares versus the 2015 Angry Birds game that Play Mechanix and ICE did?
The Press Release
Bandai Namco and Raw Thrills launch immersive redemption game Angry Birds Boom!
Multi-player cabinet promises competitive twist on classic slingshot gameplay
23rd September 2024: Bandai Namco Amusement Europe has debuted its explosive take on the Angry Birds franchise with the launch of Angry Birds Boom!, by Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix, strengthening its expertise in curating major IPs.
The world-renowned gravity-defying heroes return to wreak havoc on the screen in this two-player video redemption game. Red and Chuck smash through destructible worlds overflowing with unsteady structures, green Bad Piggies characters and their evil leaders, King Pig and Foreman Pig.
Players must rack up points by causing maximum chaos and destruction, while collecting hidden rewards before the time’s up. The highest scorer who pops the most pigs is crowned champion and wins the majority of the tickets, in a head-to-head take on the iconic slingshot genre.
The pig-popping Angry Birds Boom! cabinet features custom Red- and Chuck-themed force-feedback launchers, an immersive 65-inch display with an interactive RGB LED border and colourful artwork of fan-favourite characters.
James Anderson, Commercial & Sales Director at Bandai Namco Amusement Europe, said: “We are delighted to collaborate again with Raw Thrills on the release of Angry Birds Boom! ahead of the Angry Birds franchise’s 15th anniversary in December.
“This timeless brand continues to resonate with families after many years and we are certain parents and children alike will enjoy unleashing mayhem with our latest game.”
Angry Birds Boom! will make its first public appearance on the Bandai Namco Amusement Europe booth (#8373) at IAAPA Expo Europe in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between September 24 and 26.
For more information on how Bandai Namco can support your business, please contact sales@bandainamco.co.uk or reach out to your local sales representative.
ENDS
