Alan-1 has announced that they have begun shipping their third title, the enhanced version of DSM Arcade’s Perfect Pour, known as Soda Slam! Let’s take a look at what this is as units may start showing up soon at an FEC near you this summer.
Soda Slam! – The Game
Retro gamers will likely think of Midway’s Tapper when they see this, but I don’t think that it’s an apples to apples kind of comparison to be made here. Soda Slam!, like Perfect Pour, is focused on the actual drink pouring as opposed to the customer management that Tapper required (sliding drinks, nabbing returned glasses, grabbing tips, managing tables, etc.). While the number of customers can get hectic in both games, Soda Slam! is more of a skill-based twitch experience, pouring the drinks as perfectly as is possible without underfilling them too much or spilling. “Perfect Pours” can be chained for a bonus multiplier to get a ton of points, but like chaining combos on ramp shots in a pinball machine, that’s easier said than accomplished.
While originally based on DSM Arcade’s Perfect Pour, a lot of changes have been made to Soda Slam!, which in essence makes it more of a sequel than just an upgrade. Part of that has been the shifted focus to redemption play, however, the game can be played just for points. Also, the graphics have received numerous upgrades and changes from what you see in the video above, but I haven’t personally seen them in action yet.
As a note, I am looking at testing one out at my arcade here soon. The game has been on test at two FECs in Utah for the past few weeks, where it’s been posting some strong numbers, where Alan-1 said they calculate a “6-9 month ROI based on these numbers.” Top that off with one of the test locations has already ordered a second one to send up two one of their other facilities. I’m curious to see how this will play out in a venue like mine, where I’ll be featuring it just for points play and not tickets.
Soda Slam! – The Cabinet
There are currently two cabinet models, although I would note that they looking into doing more. For now, the models are the Super Deluxe (with cans), and Deluxe (w/o cans) – referring to the giant fiberglass can props. The software is the same on both. These use a 2-way joystick with leaf switches and custom tap handles; each is tied to an RGB LED led that simulates liquid flowing through the tube when the handle is pulled. The game also uses a 70″ 4K screen.
The price for both models does vary, with the no cans model coming in a bit under the cans one (approx. 16K vs. $18k), but Alan-1 has several distributors on board now, so you can shop around if desired.
A media kit for the game can be found here; the official announcement for it is here.
As a note, Alan-1 is an Arcade Heroes advertiser and I’ve been doing some consultancy work for them, but this post was not specifically paid for by the company outside of those items.
