Raw Thrills Signs Specular Interactive for New Arcade Game

SKOKIE, IL – November 9, 2007 – Raw Thrills, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of coin-operated arcade videogames, announced an agreement with premier development studio Specular Interactive, Inc. to create a premium coin-operated videogame for arcade.

“Like Raw Thrills, Specular Interactive, led by arcade game design legend Steve Ranck, has a proven team of veteran arcade developers with a solid track record and an impressive talent for developing great games,” said Eugene Jarvis, president of Raw Thrills and the genius behind such legendary arcade hits as Defender, Robotron: 2084, Smash TV, and the Cruis’n series. “We’re very excited about working with Specular Interactive. And let me say yes, the rumors are true. This project will blow away gamers and operators alike.”

Under the development agreement, Specular Interactive will design and develop the arcade game and Raw Thrills will publish and manufacture the game worldwide, while offering design input along the way.

“The opportunity of working with a company of the caliber of Raw Thrills and alongside the genius of Eugene Jarvis doesn’t come along very often,” said Steven Ranck, president and founder of Specular Interactive. “We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with Eugene and Raw Thrills on this exciting arcade game project.”

Details about the game have not been released at this time.

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Pictures from the Sega Private Fall Show 2007

(Click on any image to enlarge, pictures via Dengeki Online)

For as private as this is supposed to be, with the internet nothing is hidden really but that is good for us so we can catch a glimpse of the Sega Private Fall Show 2007 in Japan. Dengeki Online has a number of pictures of the event today so let’s take a look at what was offered:

Derby Owners Club 2008 – slated for Q1 2008

Sanguozhi War 3

MJ4 (Networked Mahjong) – Slated for February 2008

Sega Network Gaming Club – slated for February 2008

UNO – slated for April 2008

[Via The Stinger Report and Dengeki Online] [Discuss on the Forum]

Pac-Man Sofa

I’ve always wanted one of the massive corner sofas for my place, but forget that! I want one of these awesome Pac-Man inspired sofas.

[via Level Select]

Apparently this original bed design is a sophisticated and innovative answer to the demand for combining the sofa function with the bed function. Just looks like somebody ripped off Pac-Man to me, maybe we could have Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde as occasional tables.

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Arcade Manager arrested & charged for stealing from arcade change machines

As an operator, you have to be wary of who you put into management as they will have access to your only incoming cash on a daily basis. It’s no secret that most theft that occurs in a business is done by employees and as this latest news breaks of an arcade manager stealing from the arcade he was working for, this just serves as a reminder of how careful you need to be. It’s terrible to see this sort of behavior although not unexpected as arcades begin to become quite profitable again. It also shows that theives really are idiots – the change machines will show how much money it has received and with a simple check against the books and the operator knows if someone has been stealing from them.

As for the ex-arcade manager, a 30 year old man working for an arcade in Utica, NY called “Fun on the Run”, he stole more than $1,500 from the arcade he managed over a two week period. He was caught of course and is now being charged with fourth-degree grand larceny. It would be interesting to see some pics of this arcade actually so if anyone is familiar with it, send us a review so we can add it to our location report.

[Man charged with stealing from an arcade - UticaOD.com] [Discuss on the Forum]