Hello coin-op user and welcome to another nail-biting edition of Newsbytes. This is a weekend curation of news from around the arcade & pinball world, that may not be long enough to warrant their own post on the site.
Quick note on my upcoming arcade trivia game for PC/mobile: I am almost ready to begin the testing phase, but there has been one major snag with the Unity asset store. I’ve been trying to buy an asset that will help me offer digital collectibles (kind of like achievements, I guess), but for some reason, no method of payment is working for me, so I have to wait for a response from Unity customer service on that. Hopefully that will be resolved soon, and we can move forward…best case scenario I’m seeing at this point is the game ready by the end of next month.
Here’s what’s been going on this week:
Sequel In The Works For The Famous “Gundam Pods”
Officially known as Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna, or “Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield,” most people here simply know this as “those awesome Gundam pods.” The pods have been around in Japan since 2007, serving as the face of advanced gaming tech that arcades there have long enjoyed. Now after 13 years, Bandai Namco is “earnestly” developing a sequel to the game, although it’s launch will depend greatly upon how the pandemic continues to unfold. I would be very surprised if this is the video game that Bandai Namco Amusement America was teasing a few months ago.
New Nitro Trucks Trailer
No new features are shown here, but it does serve as a reminder that Raw Thrills & Play Mechanix has a new driving game in town. It’s made as a sales trailer, so perhaps you could think of this as a modern version of an arcade flyer.
New Promo For Sega’s Tokyo Joypolis
Joypolis is open for business in Japan, and this video is focused on showing off some of their current attractions. This includes Zero Latency VR, the Ace Attorney room (IMHO, this one could really use some Disney-style animatronics instead of just kiosks and flat art), Sonic Olympics, an interactive Seaman photobooth/wall, Half-Pipe Tokyo, Transformers Human Alliance Special, Spicy Taxi, Attack on Titan, Sonic Carnival, House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn Special (this one is about 6:45 into the video) and plenty more. Near the end there is a multiplayer theater light-gun game called Pirate’s Plunder, which has a strong Deadstorm Pirates vibe to it…has that been there for a while and I overlooked it, or is this new? Could be an interesting stand-alone arcade game
No word on the Mission: Impossible attraction yet, although I imagine that has been delayed for a while.
Also: This post did have some news on new locations out there, but it’s looking like I might have enough to write about those in a Location Watch, so I’ll save those for Monday.
More Sega Astro City Mini Games Unveiled
You can’t have a proper mini-arcade without some games, and as the release date for the minature Sega Astro City arcade cabinet approaches, more games are being announced for it (gee, that’s sure an innovative idea, isn’t it Atari?). SegaBits has the run-down on the latest titles, which will also include Arabian Fight, Stack Columns and Ninja Princess.
Now, how about a full-sized Astro City release that operating arcades can get their hands on that could come with a 2p control panel, coin mechs and a few extra games? 😉
Insert Coin Showing On Sep. 3rd
The Insert Coin documentary, which covers the history of Midway from the people who were there, is slated to be an “Opening Night Film” for Docfest: 19th Annual San Francisco Documentary Festival. If IAAPA 2020 still goes forward (a final decision on that is apparently coming on Sep. 3rd), a screening of this would be welcome.
Full Playthrough On CastleVania: The Arcade
Not many remember this, but Konami did test the CastleVania arcade game in North American & Europe. I was never certain if it was actually available for sale (I think it was in Europe, briefly), but either way it’s a rarity. As such, finding gameplay for it isn’t something that pops up very often. Thanks to a stream from Mikado Arcade in Tokyo this week, now you can watch an impressive 1cc playthrough in all it’s glory:
Rarity Spotted: Chase H.Q. 2 Upright
Not many people are familiar with Taito’s Chase H.Q. 2, released in both the USA and Europe back in 2006/2007. Namco handled the US release, launching it in a typical sit-down design, although it would mark one of the last arcade machines to ship with a CRT. Even fewer will have seen the upright version of the game, since only 20 units were released, per AndyGeezerServices. Pretty sure those only saw action over in the EU market too; I’m not sure if the LCD was original to these uprights, or if it was added later, as due to the bezel shape, it looks like that’s how they shipped.
Maverick Pinball Gets Color
The latest from ColorDMD, on a pinball I’ve never come across. Looks like there is a lot of shading on this one:
High Score Docuseries On Netflix
I just finished up Season 2 of High Score Girl (anyone want me to review it?), and now there’s something else on Netflix that I’ll have to check out that people have been talking about – High Score. Here’s the trailer; Has anyone seen this and have any thoughts about it?
The History Of Atari’s Liberator
Despite being well-versed in Atari content growing up, I had never heard of Liberator until I grabbed the Atari Anthology for the original Xbox. What I found was a pretty enjoyable game in the vein of Missile Command, only hindered to a degree by the use of a thumbstick instead of the original trackball. I ended up liking it far more than MC, as I never took a strong liking to the latter – but MC was far more popular among gamers of the ’80s, so it also received various ports, whereas Liberator received none. So what is the history behind this pretty obscure Atari game? Find out from this mini-documentary about it by Vintage Arcade Gal:
The TurboGrafx-16 Cabinet
Found in the tweet below. I coveted the TG-16 when I was growing up, reading about it’s games in GamePro Magazine, but we could barely afford an Atari 2600 jr., much less other game consoles. I also didn’t know anyone on my block or at school that had one. Maybe if NEC had attempted to pull a Nintendo and made an arcade cabinet out of it like the PlayChoice, more gamers would’ve sought one out (that said, some TG-16 games did make the arcade leap, just as standalone games)
New arrival! #turbografx arcade cabinet created by @arcade816 pic.twitter.com/QaqKvVUCE9
— supergrafx (@super_grafx) August 21, 2020
Let’s end the day with another cursed image of an abominable cabinet conversion (although at least it’s another forgettable redemption game). Source.
That’s all for today, have a good weekend!