KOF 98 to return to arcades

KOF 98 is the generally considered the best in the ‘King of Fighters’ series, defining what makes a 1-on-1 arcade fighter great. I happen to agree with the statements discussing how awesome KOF ’98 is, in fact I have the game sitting in my garage.

Fans of the game may be pleased to hear that SNK Playmore is planning ontaking the update that will be released on the PS2 called KOF ’98: Ultimate Match and will apply that to arcades as well, just in time for the games’ 10th anniversary. It is unknown what hardware it will run on and what, if any, enhancements it will offer over the PS2 version. The arcade version of the game is expected to see a release in the Spring of 2008.

[Via Gemaga via Insert Credit] [Discuss on the Forum]

Tekken 6 Officially Released In Japan

 At last Namco has announced the start of the availability of Tekken 6. I’m impressed with how quickly this has come a long and also the ammount of videos of the location tests that having been popping up on You Tube. And thanks to the beady eyes of Arcade Renaissance we bring you the final one, so to speak.

So read on for a spoiler-tastic video of Eddy vs. The Final Boss!

[Discuss on the Forum]

Want in on The Act?

I have received word from Cecropia that a full cabinet as well as a kit are up on eBay for their cancelled coin-op title The Act. You have probably already seen the footage I’ve taken of the game and you probably know as well that these things are super rare. With only ten kits going up for sale and knowing that a few have already been sold demonstrates that there are only a few left. Getting the cabinet would be nice since it sports a unique design and a large LCD monitor but that will likely command a high price but that remains to be seen. Either way I have felt that the kit is worth it and I should be installing mine into a cabinet this next month. I’ll have to document that and post it for fun.
[The Act Cabinet Auction] [The Act Kit Auction] [Discuss on the Forum]

Dream Arcades launches their DreamCade Vision 120

Hot on the heels of the Voyager Arcade news comes this press release about Dream Arcades’ new DreamCade Vision 120 which packs 145 classic games onto a MAME PC along with a pre-built control panel that also includes a projector that produces a 120″ screen and includes hookups for your favorite game console as well (they go out of their way to mention that it includes special support for the Wii, including a sensor bar). Seeing how this unit is intended solely for home use, it’s safe to say that they probably don’t have to worry about any lawsuits coming their way. The Dreamcade Vision 120 is selling for a mere $4000 and will begin shipping in 4 weeks. Photoshopped Christmas tree not included (see pic to the left) 😛

Personally I’d like to see these entrepreneurs take the incentive to go to the next level with these ideas and get someone to create some original content for their cabinets that they could resell to operators. That or work out a deal with Microsoft to bring certain titles that show up on XBLA to a real cabinet that anyone could play at an arcade.

[Dream Arcades DreamCade Vision 120] [Discuss on the Forum]

Namco getting ready to sue the pants off Voyager Arcade

See this cabinet above? It probably won’t be around much longer. If you are into arcades at all, you can’t surf the internet without running into one of these MAME-enabled cabinets that someone decided to put together in what is sometimes an authentic cabinet to resell off to anyone for a few thousand dollars/pounds. Some say it’s an easy way to collect all of the great classics in one cabinet so you don’t have to worry about the hassle of all that money and space it takes to put together a game room with all the same games. A company called Voyager Arcade felt that way and they are soon going to regret it.

We’ve received word from our good friends at The Stinger Report that Namco is planning to take legal action over this Voyager Arcade – it seems as though that it may not be the only case either with other companies beginning to take interest in these unauthorized cabinets. Looks like the days of the MAME cabinet reselling business are numbered. One just has to wonder though, why have the companies who properties has been violated all this time only taking action now? When you look at Voyager Arcades Multicade page it makes you feel a little bad knowing that their days are numbered like this as they use these heart-warming testimonials to show you how nice it is to have one of these things. Ah well, I guess they should have thought of that before illegally reselling such cabs.

UPDATE: Thanks to Editor’s clarification, it’s not the fact that it’s just a MAME type cabinet, but it’s being sold for use in an amusement environment with a coin-box and all. Also it isn’t supposedly isn’t running MAME but using a PCB with the ROMs built-in (thanks to RyanDG for pointing that out)

 [Voyager Arcade]    [Discuss on the Forum]

Asteroids blasting its way to XBLA Wednesday

 

(click to enlarge)

We don’t mention arcade remakes coming to XBLA that often but I felt that this one is worth mentioning as it’s Asteroids. That’s right, Atari mighty classic makes it way to XBox Live Arcade this Wednesday, both the original and Asteroids Deluxe (which was an excellent game that gave the idea a greater challenge). The originals and the ‘evolved’ versions of the game will be available for a mere 400 points and if it is like the revamped version of Centipede then it should be good. Even if it wasn’t, the original versions of the game are worth it for that price even though they aren’t running on a vector set.

It would be nice to get a collection of these enhanced titles out into arcades as official releases. I think they would be appreciated even more running in a cabinet with authentic controls and an HD monitor to impress. I’d buy that over any of those ‘multi-cade’ MAME cabinets like Ultracade any day.

[Asteroids Landing on XBLA this week – Kotaku] [Discuss on the Forum]

What Have We Been Playing This Week….

Shaggy has gone back to the Wii classic Wii Sports and I have been playing, among other things, Sonic and Mario at the Olympic, which some are dubbing Wii Sports 2.

Shaggy 

-Warlords (Arcade)
-Rock Band (Xbox 360)
-Orange Box: Portal (Xbox 360)
-Orange Box: Team Fortress 2 (Xbox 360)
-BattleZone 2000 (Atari Lynx)
-Wii Sports (Wii)

Twisted Supreme 

-COD4 (360)
-Mario Galaxy (Wii)
-Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
-Street Fighter 2 (XBLA)
-Bomberman Live (XBLA)
-Silver Strike Bowling (Arcade)

[Discuss on the Forum]

Super Mickey Mouse Brothers Crane

[Thanks to The Stinger Report] 

From what I gather Nintendo and Disney don’t take kindly to thier IP’s being ripped off, so I’m thinking who ever came up with this bizarre combo of Mario and Mickey for a crane game could have a whole heap of trouble coming thier way!

[via BBPS.com]

My friend Spencer of Siliconera has been maxin’ and relaxin’ in the Land of the Rising Sun and spied this strange crane game. Last time I checked Disney and Nintendo hadn’t teamed up. Naturally this little job is off the cuff and under the radar, but gave me a chuckle all the same!

[Discuss on the Forum]

Mega 3D Theatre

This one flew under the radar for me, but our good friends at Sega Nerds were kind enough to point out this piece in Edge about it.

After a bit more digging around we have found a bundle more info in this crazy 360 Theatre. Highway Games have mentioned it the thier recent IAAPA report. Also this 360 degree theatre has it’s own website; MEGA 3D 360. According to thier website this piece was shown at JAMMA too. The creators of the theatre are System Pro, and not Sega as Edge states. However Sega are the distributors of the product and I’d put money on them owning some shares in System Pro. Below are the specs of the MEGA 3D 360 from thier website.

-Diameter 6.5m
-Height 3.8m
-25 seats
-Dedicated 3D screens for a full 360-degree view
-Twin-projector configuration
-Original 3D image and 3D sound control program
-6.1 surround system and bass amplification system embedded in the floor
-High-precision contents created with HDTV 3D computer graphics
-Quick hardware set-up for permanent or temporary installation
-Air puffers give audience highly realistic sensations

So by the sounds of it, it’s like the IMAX theatres, but with a full 3D 360 degree screen and audience interaction. Some of the titles we can look forward to are Mushi King, Horror Scape and Dinosaur Safari.

Nope that’s not really doing it for me. How about a Saving Private Ryan experience. Now that would be intenese!

[Discuss on the Forum]

Location Review: Voyager Entertainment – Stansted Airport

Now it’s always a bonus when you come across an arcade at the airport. Firstly it’s a great way to kill time and secondly stops me drinking too much at the airport bar and getting to drunk to get on a plane! So it great when I came across this arcade at Stansted Airport, a few weeks ago, when I was flying out to Italy.

Well it would have been if some of the machines were actually functioning properly. The first port of call for my friend and I was Virtua Tennis 2. Unfortunately my normal shot button wouldn’t work so I was left playing with slice shots, suffice to say I lost. Next up was Crazy Taxi which played fine, until you stopped to pick up a passenger and then accelerate the car would not move?! Other games at the arcade that did actually work were; Star Wars: Pod Racer, Battle Gear 3, ATV, Le Mans 24 and Virtua Striker 3. Also on offer were the usual fruit machines, air hockey, a pusher and a crane.

Too be fair, all in all, the arcade was pretty good. It was just a shame that two of my favourite games were suffering from a lack of TLC. But you have to admit it is a bit cheeky that these machines are left to be played in a poor working order. It’s not like you can get your money back either because there’s never an attendant about at these type of locations. (Excuse my negativity, it is Monday morning after all!)

[Dicuss on the Forum]