When I started selling arcade machines back in 2011, I would often get requests for arcade basketball machines – not just from businesses, but often from residential customers. They would almost always call the machines “Pop-A-Shots,” which I learned was the brand to initially come up with the idea of coin-operated arcade basketballs machines like we’ve seen them from a number of producers until today. They were sort of like Skeeball in creating alley bowlers. There’s a bunch more history about basketball in arcades, but that’s not why we’re here today. As the headline denotes, there’s a new Pop-A-Shot coming to town, and it will debut at Amusement Expo 2025. Read on:
The Pop-A-Shot Elite
Recently, the Pop-A-Shot company brought on industry vet Ryan Cravens to steer their new Arcade division. The debut product for this part of the company is the Pop-A-Shot Elite, a return to pay-per-play arcade basketball that is looking to compete with what companies like ICE, Sega, and UNIS have to offer in that regard.
The Pop-A-Shot Elite follows a similar pattern to other games in its commercial category, using a wood ramp instead of fabric like the home model. It’s slightly smaller than the average basketball machine, coming in at 96x96x30″. The game page for it mentions that it’s priced lower than competing machines, although an MSRP hasn’t been published yet.
So what else does it have? It has a 49″ video screen, which has become more common among such machines that we’ve seen. It’s not the first to do so, although from the teaser video below, it looks to have some higher-than-usual quality video than we typically see. There is also mention of “custom gameplay and graphics,” although it isn’t clear yet what that means (possibly different game modes that you can set up remotely, add in your company logo, etc.). That’s not all though, as you’ll see after the trailer:
One addition that the Elite uses that I’ve not seen on an AC bball machine before is a QR code system that appears to work like Stern’s Insider Connected app. Users get a QR code on their phone and scan it into the machine to track their progress locally, regionally, and even nationally in Pop-A-Shot sponsored tournaments. Each machine is WiFi-enabled, which also might be a first for this class of games.
As mentioned, the game will make it’s grand debut at Amusement Expo 2025, just under a month from now. You can find them at a 10×20′ booth, #2149. Other details such as distribution, pricing, and availability are forthcoming, which I’ll add to this post once available.
What are your thoughts on this return of Pop-A-Shot to the industry?
