Welcome to another edition of Newsbytes, the posts on Arcade Heroes that curate small bits and bytes of news from around the arcade world. Unfortunately, this late Spring/beginning of Summer has been something of a drought in regards to major stories, but we’re remaining attentive to find anything we can that pertains to arcades and pinball. There has at least been numerous smaller things developing for them, so that’s where posts like these come in. This comes in on a Monday instead of a Saturday or Sunday as usual, but had to verify some last minute info before publishing.
Onto the news:
GiGO Expo 2026
GiGO, the chain of arcades in Japan that are operated by GENDA, has become big enough now that they are hosting their own yearly arcade expos to show off new games. Being held in Akihabara, one of the main attractions they have staged for 2026’s is their showcase of the next Jubeat from Konami, in its first appearance since last month’s Japanese location tests and PlayX4 in South Korea. Alongside that, there has also been some neat-looking mini models shown off of Konami’s other rhythm games, Beatmania IIDX and Sound Voltex.
As well as Jubeat‘s appearance, there has also been a few exhibition tournaments held there on existing games, such as Sega’s Initial D The Arcade and even Virtual On Force, which released to arcades well over 20 years ago, but continues to harbor a dedicated playerbase in Japan to the extent that GiGO still operate cabinets in a few of their locations (including one of the main Akihabara venues, where they held this part of the expo). This feels like a vestige of when many of them were under Sega’s ownership, so it’s cool that they are continuing to carry this torch:
It would be nice to see a chain out West (maybe Dave & Buster’s or Round1) do something similar to GiGO here, although there is the question of where it would be held. Tokyo is much better as a central gathering point for those interested in arcades; perhaps the best place for a similar US event would be Chicago, given its legacy of being home to numerous major manufacturers (and it already having lots of pinball shows thanks to that), or a return to Dallas, TX, as Amusement Expo has been in D&B’s (and LAI/Andamiro USA/ASI’s backyard).
Rhythm Game Updates
Jubeat’s appearance at GiGO Expo is not the only Japanese rhythm game news we have had this month, as in the past week there has also been announcements for two of the newest versions of mainstay titles in that genre. Konami have additionally been keeping themselves busy in working on their latest yearly edition of Beatmania IIDX, with this being the game’s imminent 34th update. Dubbed Zinrai, it is set to go on test twice over the coming couple of weeks; a release date has not been announced yet but that should come sometime closer to September, for both Asia and the US cabinets that are out there.
Then Sega have also thrown back the curtain on the next version of their touch slider rhythm game Chunithm, in the first full refresh for it since 2024’s Verse. This one is called Chunithm Mate, in a name that perhaps resonates most with British and Australian folk, as jokingly pointed out by some. Unfortunately the game still remains officially exclusive to Asia (where Japan gets first dibs on updates like these), though given the recent success of Maimai DX in the US, it’s now not so unlikely that this might come over some day. For now, it’s releasing July 2nd out in Japan, with a livestream to promote it in tow.
In other rhythm news on the dance game side of things, Pump It Up Phoenix 2 is soon to launch, with Andamiro releasing it everywhere unlike the above two games. StepManiaX content update #78 has also just dropped, with the SMX team promoting their game in Japan again, through a special gathering for it at the location that recently tested a deluxe cabinet. It’s awesome that they’re really putting in the effort there 🙂
Teases For Sonic The Hedgehog
Note: I will hold a livestream reaction of the content as it comes out tomorrow. Watch that, here
One place that hasn’t been too slow for news has been pinball, although a lot of the recent announcements have been aimed more at collectors than location operators. We’ll get into one of these here in a moment, but the big one that everyone has been talking about has been the imminent official arrival of Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog to the genre. While Jersey Jack Pinball were mainly coy about it for a while, they recently unveiled a timer and are throwing out some “spy shots” (close-up teasers shared across every pinball focused social media account & blog out there). Let’s start with a gif that popped up in an email; JJP has been great about putting together super high quality trailers for their games and this appears to be from one (as do their other teases put out there):
Below is several still glimpses of the game, compiled into one picture. Top left is what appears to be the game’s topper, although correct me if I’m wrong, JJP has done two types of toppers in the past (one for LE, another for CE). This seems to have a track that those toys move along, but we’ll have to wait and see to be sure. Top right comes from a very quick Instagram reel showing the pinball flying down a lane.
Bottom left shows what appears to be the CE version, with some holographic foil stickers and a cool shooter rod, whilst the bottom right is the first official glimpse we got, with a Sonic sticker for the start button. There was also an accidental email sent out from a distributor who mentioned that there would be three models, Arcade, Limited, & Collector’s Editions, but there weren’t any other details than that to share (like pricing). I have to assume that it will be on the high end as JJP tends to be, which makes it tough for operators to swallow.
The dirty secret is unfortunately that pinball is really not that great of an earner in 90% of the venues where it’s placed. Yes, there can be exceptions, like Stern’s Godzilla, and I’ve heard good reports from operators about both Pokémon and JJP’s Toy Story 4. But $10k pin games have become more difficult than ever to justify when you could buy a bunch of crane machines and make bank in a few weeks or months. That doesn’t diminish their value for collectors at all, and that’s the market that continues to drive many (if not most) sales. If we could get more pins that satisfy that earnings ceiling though, then there would be value for more than just collectors to think about.
Could Sonic be a game that joins the exceptions on location? Time will tell. I think there’s a good chance, as Sonic is another IP like Pokémon with a strong, multi-generational fanbase, and the IP hasn’t turned off most of their fans as many old IPs have managed to do in recent times. Either way, the game is set to be fully revealed tomorrow on June 23rd, so keep your eyes peeled for a post and a livestream dedicated to it.
Pedretti Launches Tales of the Arabian Nights Remake
On the tails of Sonic (pun intended!), Pedretti Pinball announced their latest release this week, an official remake for Williams’ 1996 game, Tales of the Arabian Nights. I had thought about doing a post on this earlier in the week, but as I read into the details, it became clear that this is one of those releases targeted more at collectors. That’s fine, and the company has already sold out of their 399 unit 30th Anniversary Edition. Chances of finding one of those, or a Legacy Edition Remake out in the wild may be a challenge though, which is unfortunate.
Pedretti announced the game on their Facebook page, first with some details in press release style, then with several follow-up posts that included photos and details. The main takeaway from the extra details is that you can pick between playing 1.0 software (that still includes some bug fixes and improvements to the original + the overall improved tech & visuals), or the new 1.5 software that expands on the game, adding more goals to the “tales” and such that should be a fan pleaser. Per the press release, there are also these lighting improvements that they bill as “immersive lighting”:
- RGB lighting integrated into the Magic Lamp
- Internal RGB lighting inside the Genie
- GameSync RGB sidebars interacting dynamically with gameplay events
- A fully integrated illuminated playfield back panel designed to create an even deeper and more immersive gameplay atmosphere
As an operator though, what stung me was the $11k price to start. I do understand associated costs, (licensing, development, production and so on), but like I mentioned up above, this can’t be justified unless your location over-performs the average with pins, but then this has no appeal to an audience outside of pinball fans. Even there, I’ve rarely heard it requested on location. All that aside, are you a collector who is aiming to get one of these (or you’ve already ordered)?
South Carolina Officially Makes Pinball Legal
Finally, whilst this is more of a headline, its amusing enough to put with the main stories. Way back in 1959, the state of South Carolina joined the likes of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and the entire nation of Canada in banning pinball, albeit with the difference that it was only prohibited for minors. Thus, locations could still own and operate the game, they just had to police the youths – which, quite frankly, who wants to be calling the police over anyone handing you money on something that innocuous?
As such, it’s been one of those weird “blue laws” that no one has appeared to enforce. Fortunately, the government of South Carolina finally made the recent move to remove the silly ban, so now your kids can play pinball in SC, guilt-free. Is there anywhere else where pinball is illegal and some city or state is holding to it?
Arcade & Pinball Releases Q1 2026
Here’s a handy video guide to several of the biggest arcade and pinball releases for the first quarter of this year. If you are a manufacturer who has a new game shipping now (there were supposed to be a few this month, but there’s still no word on them), please let us know; we are also continuing the offer for new advertisers.
Headlines
Happy 48th Anniversary To Taito’s Space Invaders – I wonder if they’ll do anything arcade-related for the 50th in a couple years’ time?
Stern Pinball Celebrates 40 Years On The Scene – This marks when they bought the assets of the failed Chicago Coin/Chicago Dynamics
RePlay Magazine Podcast Talks Eugene Jarvis – Hopefully we’ll have a nice history post about Raw Thrills up soon, if he gets back to us
12 Hours Of The Golden Tee 2026 World Championship
Big Buck Hunter’s Undisputed King Of Content Trailer
Konami Releasing Demon Slayer In Japan On July 9th
Monster Eye 3 Plus Promo With Quick Interviews
Dave & Buster’s Sees Drop In Revenues for Q1 2026 – Glad I’m not the only one seeing a terrible year
Pokémon Pinball Accessories Unveiled + V0.83 Gameplay
American Pinball Is Hiring For A Jr. Pinball Designer
Amusement Connect Gets A Private Equity Investor
Starcade Posts Their First Episode, Featuring Time Pilot, Tutankham, Swimmer, & Burgertime
[Home Headlines]
Game Musician Bobby Prince, Who Created Music For iD, 3D Realms & Apogee Games, Passes Away At 81
Ubisoft Co-Founder Claude Guillemot Killed In Small Plane Crash
Crazy Taxi World Tour Is Unveiled By Sega
Square Enix Reveals Kingdom Hearts IV
ROKR Dinosaur Lab Pinball Kickstarter
In Case You Missed The Recent Nintendo Direct Announcement
Now Available On Arcade Archives: Space Cyclone + Rack ‘Em Up
That’s it for this Newsbytes; which of today’s stories (e.g. GiGO Expo 2026) interest you most?
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