Welcome once again to Newsbytes, the series of posts on Arcade Heroes that goes over byte-sized pieces of news from around the arcade and pinball worlds. There is a lot to get through from over the course of June, so let’s jump straight into it all with a preview for Bowl Expo 2025:
Bowl Expo 2025 Preview
Summer is a relatively fallow period for arcade trade shows before Fall brings forth the big ones, but there is always one or two smaller examples happening in-between. Chief among those is Bowl Expo, which is getting underway in Washington from June 29th to July 3rd (with the main show part on the 1st and 2nd); we do typically have more coverage up for this, but as well as it often featuring very few new-new titles, the show’s current insistence on being held so close to July 4th has lost it some support, so this will serve as a brief preview. A post covering it and likely the next IAAPA Expo Asia happening in Shanghai at the same time will be up once both shows are over, and we have media from our sources to work with.
In terms of site sponsors appearing at Bowl Expo 2025, you will have already seen TouchMagix’s preview mentioning their slate of existing games (Pop It, Pudgy Penguins, Crazy Prize) up at the top of the site. I would imagine Minions Bullseye Mania will similarly be part of that, unless there simply isn’t enough space to bring it. Also offering their range of current major releases like Godzilla, Wizard of Oz and Top Gun Maverick will be Raw Thrills, as usual forming the main basis of Betson’s booth. It’s possible one or both of them might have a surprise in store, but given Bowl Expo’s smaller status it wouldn’t be anything huge.
As for a confirmed new reveal happening, the main one that is already known to us is coming from Andamiro USA. Given their recent test of Star Wars Death Star Assault you might’ve thought that would be appearing, but their preview instead teases something entirely different in shape. After some detective work on their Summer 2025 catalog by Jdevy, it turns out that this is Marksman, a shooting range game by the Chinese company Superwing (of Ice Man and Smash DX fame). This has shown up once or twice before, including on test at Round1USA and at IAAPA Europe last year, but not a US trade show until now.
From the looks of things, this is simply another shooting gallery piece in the vein of Quick Shot. However, it is a slight surprise; it’s not unheard of for Andamiro to carry other developers’ games, but they haven’t done it in a little while. Elsewhere, Sega Amusements have also posted a preview of their lineup, and though it is not mentioned there is a possibility that they will have a new Standard model of Apex Rebels. Mention of this popped up on a shipping data website back in March, and more recently it has been spotted on test in the UK (although a good photo has not appeared yet), so we’ll just have to wait and see on that one.
AVS Companies will also bring titles from a few names not attending the show directly, including Alan-1 and Bandai Namco. Of those, Soda Slam will be there, and GoldStorm Pirates is looking likely. LAI Games and Smart Industries have additionally shared previews, though theirs mostly revolve around redemption (LAI will have NASCAR Pitstop for the first time after it missed Amusement Expo). Lastly, JET Games USA will show off a new redemption game called Unlock Mania, and are bringing Talking Tom GoldRush back.
The full list of Bowl Expo 2025 exhibitors can be found here; other names include Adrenaline Amusements, though there is no indication they will have anything new like Hot Wheels. Speaking of that game…
Dave & Buster’s Leaderboard
Now that most of their new arcade games have rolled out, the folks at Dave & Busters have been busy adding something else to shore up more engagement with them. Implemented over the past month, the Leaderboard system consists of a cross-chain set of card readers for a nationwide high score table. These have been added to a selection of games, including several new additions and a few existing titles. Alongside showing up on the official D&B website, players who use it can be in with a chance of winning big prizes, including a Lamborghini (which ties into Hot Wheels and Fast & Furious Arcade being featured).
This system also interestingly uses Play Mechanix’s little-known Arcade Link technology as a base. That has been a going concern for them since at least 2021 when the name was first trademarked by the company, but hasn’t been utilized much (or mentioned on the site at all) until now. Whether other locations will gain access to it at some point in the future is unknown… but it would be cool to see.
Maimai DX Heads To Anime Expo
More event news now, as just after Bowl Expo wraps up it will be Anime Expo over in LA. Normally this doesn’t get mentioned on here, as in years gone by it has had only a small selection of arcade games, but thanks to certain companies making waves out West that is changing. Back in 2023 we saw Taiko no Tatsujin make an appearance there via Bandai Namco, and now with Maimai DX also officially releasing in North America very soon, it’s now Sega’s turn to bring the arcade fun. The Japanese arm of the company will have it and some UFO Catchers on their own booth, separate from the Western consumer side’s space for things like Yakuza. Fans attending can grab some exclusive gloves, as well as cards from Round1USA.
It’s cool to see Sega be so proactive in engaging with the fans, following their approach at Amusement Expo where several were recruited. Also, in case you missed it, Sega Amusements have put up a new trailer for it on their channel in advance of their North American release of the game, featuring footage of the aforementioned players at that show. From what was previously said to us, this should still be coming sometime around the start of Fall, with most of the initial wave of cabinets going to Round1.
Konami Looks To The West Again
Shortly after the post on Dance Dance Revolution Stomp Arrows went up (which garnered a ton of interest), one of the most heavily-rumored movements in the arcade sphere in recent times was finally announced: Konami are set to return to the wider US arcade market outside of Round1. After word started to spread like wildfire about it, Ikigai Arcade were the first to confirm, being one of the first beneficiaries of the strategy (they and a few other indie arcades are set to receive games from them around late 2025/early 2026).
Normally major news like this would be shouted more from the rooftops on here, but there’s a big reason why it isn’t (for now). Konami currently want this kept low-key – as mentioned, they have already inked special deals with a few indie arcades to sell directly to them, and in the meantime are still sorting things out on how to get into the market more widely. They have been interfacing with some distributors, but not all; one was looking into adding a page for DDR, but was expressly told not to at the moment.
There has also already been confirmation that their releases will come with revenue share on top of e-Amusement. That will be a tough pill to swallow for some operators, but offline DDR apparently is also going to be offered… albeit at a higher upfront cost, much like in Europe with Electrocoin.
(On another Konami note, as of writing this post they just yesterday announced a vague location test for something new in the Pop’n Music series. Speculation and a convenient recent survey says it may be a brand new cabinet design… but all will be revealed on the test itself.)
Harry Potter Pinball And The AI Art Controversy
Now to a topic that is beginning to rear its head in pinball and arcades too – AI artwork. Any active pinball forum has been discussing this, ever since a user by the name of Bumpergeist alleged that the artwork in Jersey Jack Pinball’s new Harry Potter game is AI generated. Not all of the discussion on forums about this game has been useful or insightful, but overall it has been boiling enough that an employee at JJP involved in the artwork (Jesper) did respond to the allegations in this now locked thread. There was no direct response to the various individual examples that were provided in the allegations however.
Of course, that didn’t settle the issue, as per this quote from Jesper:
To be transparent, we did use AI tools sparingly and intentionally, as a way to support the visual blending of certain elements and create harmony between complex assets. Every instance of AI use was guided by my own artistic vision and layered onto hand-crafted designs. It was never about replacing the human element it was about enhancing it.
First off, what does “sparingly” mean here? Many of the examples do seem to be more AI and less handcrafted. Given that pinball has always been about handcrafted art, and this particular game was advertised as using that as opposed to AI, it has understandably been a disappointment. I don’t know if that is making anyone not buy or play one, but I would suggest to future pinball artists that you want to avoid using such tools, or if they are used, show the process from the ground up so that users can see for themselves if it was all AI, or if it was used for simple tasks (e.g. upscaling).
It is an interesting question though – would you actively avoid a video arcade game or pinball machine that uses AI-generated art on the cabinet or playfield? What about the video portions? We have seen some AI art used by a few smaller Chinese manufacturers on the cabinets, so it’s out there…
Also, in what should be non-controversial, Retro Ralph did stream playing the game.
Some Lessons I’ve Learned In Running an Arcade For 17 Years
I’ll let myself do the talking here, but for paying members, I also have posted a much more in-depth video that deals with business planning. I’ll be making more of those videos for members here in the future.
Headlines
Sega Amusements Have A New Official Facebook Page – This is going up top just to give it some traction. They had one for over a decade until last year, when it suddenly disappeared whilst their other pages stayed up… but there is a new one now. Give it a like and follow!
Sega Amusements Celebrate Sonic’s 34th Birthday – Over in Japan, Tokyo Joypolis also had one of their big birthday bashes for him
Sega Marks 65 Years With Daytonaaa… – We didn’t get a post up for it unfortunately, so have this older one for the 60th
40 Years Of The UFO Catcher – This got lots of media coverage, one post even dubbed it “King of Japan’s arcades”
June 27th Was Atari Day – Commemorations came in from Alan-1 as well as the current incarnation of the company
Awesome Artwork To Commemorate 70 Years Of Namco – Many big anniversaries of late… though you sadly didn’t see Bandai Namco themselves shouting about this one, given the merger (and their bigger emphasis on Pac-Man’s birthday just beforehand)
NBA Superstars Is Now Being Tested At A Round1 Over In Japan – This is a surprise… wonder who will distribute it there
exA-Arcadia Hiring North American Regional Sales Manager Role – Want to sell exA games and hardware? Here’s your chance
Win A Missile Command Recharged Arcade Cabinet At CAX 2025
Bandai Namco Sunsets Their Wincha Online Crane After 2 Years
Bandai Namco Amusement Europe Crowns The Arcade Champion
Brad Pitt Plays Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 6RR+ In Japan
Taito Holds Tournament On Densha De Go Despite It Going Offline
Arcade Games Using Unreal Engine 5 Need No Royalty Payments
3MindWave Attend CICAF 2025 To Show Off Alpha Ops VR Strike – As Ted pointed out, this oddly has Jet Blaster amongst their games, even though that was released as a Wahlap work. However, 3MW do have a number of former Wahlap personnel in their ranks, and prior to its eventual release as a traditional experience arcade game, that title was originally shown off by Wahlap as a VR piece in 2016 just before they broke off to set up 3MW, so there must be some connection in all this
Stern Pinball Releases New 0.95 Code For John Wick + 1.02.0 For Metallica Remastered – Also New Expression Lighting Toppers… At A Cost
More New Footage Of PREDATOR From Pinball Brothers
The History Of Sega Pinball: Part 1 Covers Japan Roots
They Create Worlds Podcast Tackles Coin-Op Legends Of Japan
RIP Reggie Moultrie, Ex-VP Of D&B, Skee-Ball And More
[Home Headlines]
Sony Reportedly Interested In Warner Bros. Games’ Assets – This includes the old Midway IP of course… though whether anything other than Mortal Kombat would be utilized in such a deal is anyone’s guess.
The Commodore Brand Has New Ownership – and is looking to release new “retro future” hardware
The Sega Venus Would Have Been A Portable Version Of The Saturn – Essentially a new version of the Nomad, and it even worked…
The Final Nail In The Coffin Of Half-Life 3 Happening Anytime Soon
The Donkey Kong Bananza Direct, If You Missed It
That’s it for this Newsbytes; which of the above stories (e.g. the Bowl Expo 2025 preview) interested you most?
