Links for the weekend: New test for Metal Gear, Arcade Propaganda Posters + more

I am needing to catch up on some newsfeeds from the Stinger and in the interest of time I will combine what I can into one post.

Before that though AM.Net has some good links this morning, first with Famitsu’s pics from the most recent location test on Konami’s Metal Gear Arcade. They have modified the cabinets to include a set of 3D glasses on the back of the chair (like they did with Roadfighters 3D) so that someone standing by can see the effect as well. This version of the game had seven playable missions along with team play.

Also Game Watch has a report on the Pengo test by Sega. It sounds like the game really shines when there are eight people involved but it can hold it’s own as a one player game since it still follows the familiar Pengo formula of kicking ice blocks around to smash your enemies. What are your thoughts on them splitting the eight players up among four cabinets though? Would it be less feasible to build something like this?

Now for the Stinger feeds. Newsfeed 887 : Mount Rainier Man Sees Art in Restoring Old Arcade Games. In classic arcade fan circles there are a couple of different categories – those who collect, those who MAME, and those who restore. That many not be completely definitive but it’s close enough and this article discusses the latter of the three as they interview Joe Brewer, a man who began restoring cabinets after picking up a Ms. Pac-Man machine and has been restoring old games ever since.

Newsfeed 888: Arcade Propaganda Posters Calendar. I still want to pick up some of those great arcade game propaganda posters for my arcade but so are many other things on my to-do list. The artist behind the posters has complied his work into a calendar so you can enjoy a different one on a monthly basis, at least until 2011 is over.

UPDATE: I almost forgot to add that Sega’s latest earnings report has their amusement division up 24% over last year and making a profit. You can see info on that starting with page 5 of this report.

Pics from the AAMA 2010 Distributor Gala

Newsfeed 890 via

The AAMA (American Amusement Machine Association) held it’s 7th annual Distributor Gala this week, an event that generally gives us a sneak peek into what to expect in arcades in the fall. Replay Magazine was there and took plenty of pictures from the event, giving us a good look at these new games. You can see all of the pictures here on Replay’s Facebook page; click the link below to see the video arcade highlights, including the new Super Bikes 2, Dead Heat and AVATAR Pinball.

Namco unveils "Dead Heat" at the AAMA Distributor Gala

First look at Namco's Dead Heat (click to enlarge)

Way back in March, we found out that Namco was testing a new racing game that was called Dead Heat Street Racing. I found out a little on the game at Amusement Expo but since then we have been waiting to actually see the game. Namco had the slightly renamed Dead Heat title at the AAMA 2010 Distributor Gala and we also have a full run down on what players can expect from the game – which includes some innovative methods at getting players to come back for more. Click below for the details!

Namco unveils “Dead Heat” at the AAMA Distributor Gala

First look at Namco's Dead Heat (click to enlarge)

Way back in March, we found out that Namco was testing a new racing game that was called Dead Heat Street Racing. I found out a little on the game at Amusement Expo but since then we have been waiting to actually see the game. Namco had the slightly renamed Dead Heat title at the AAMA 2010 Distributor Gala and we also have a full run down on what players can expect from the game – which includes some innovative methods at getting players to come back for more. Click below for the details!

World's Fastest Drummer Arcade @ WAMO

The World’s Fastest Drummer Arcade is on it’s way to seeing a full release as the company behind the game, McAfee Enterprises Inc. (not to be confused with McAfee, makers of anti-virus software) has obtained a cabinet manufacturer to build the needed cabinets. While no final design has been seen for the game at the moment, the prototype version which had been tested a short time ago at the Game Galaxy Arcade in Tennessee was at a recent amusement event in Wisconsin called the Wisconsin Amusement and Music Operators (or WAMO) gathering. There the game was played 156 times, some of which you can see in the video below.

No word yet on when the game will be released but McAfee will be bringing the game to IAAPA this November.

[WFD The Arcade Game website]

World’s Fastest Drummer Arcade @ WAMO

The World’s Fastest Drummer Arcade is on it’s way to seeing a full release as the company behind the game, McAfee Enterprises Inc. (not to be confused with McAfee, makers of anti-virus software) has obtained a cabinet manufacturer to build the needed cabinets. While no final design has been seen for the game at the moment, the prototype version which had been tested a short time ago at the Game Galaxy Arcade in Tennessee was at a recent amusement event in Wisconsin called the Wisconsin Amusement and Music Operators (or WAMO) gathering. There the game was played 156 times, some of which you can see in the video below.

No word yet on when the game will be released but McAfee will be bringing the game to IAAPA this November.

[WFD The Arcade Game website]

Screenshots for the new Darius and Pengo

Darius Burst Another Chronicle – sweet mother of awesome (click to enlarge, via Game Watch):

Pengo. I thought this was going to be eight players on one cabinet but that doesn’t seem to be the case, at least for the moment. The location test connected four two player stations together.I know an 8-player cabinet would still be large but it would require a little less hardware to invest in. Famitsu has more pictures and a video of the game in action.

Sources: AM.Net

Pengo returning to arcades, supports up to 8 players

‘Tis the season of classic arcade remakes or sequels, or at least it seems that way. We have the excitement of a new four-player Pac-Man game, a new Darius and now we have another classic returning to arcades with Pengo. I never have played the arcade version of the original Pengo but I remember playing a port on the Atari 8-bit computer as a kid. Pengo may not carry with it strong name recognition like some other Sega games but perhaps that will change with the new version. The original had you pushing ice blocks around, trying to squish the Sno-Bees, who are chasing you. From the pictures it looks like the new Pengo will stick to the same basic formula but support for up to eight players. Judging from the picture above it doesn’t look like they are going to push the graphics envelope at all, relying upon the multiplayer aspect to carry it through. We have been talking a little bit lately about four player co-op so this certainly ups the ante – eight-players-on-one-cabinet games in the arcade sector aren’t new but they haven’t been done in quite a while as far as I know and with the right game, they can not only be a lot of fun, they can hold great earning potential as well. Will that work out with classic graphics though?

Sega will find that out as the game is testing at Club Sega Akihabara right now.

Exit question: In your opinion, what other classic games would work using a multiplayer update?

Via: AM. Net.jp Source: “Today’s dinner (with fish) blog”

Darius Burst Another Chronicle cabinet revealed

(Thanks to ECM for the tip)

While I wasn’t expecting anything on this until tomorrow morning, it appears that all of the info already out on the new has pushed Taito to reveal more on the Darius title early, even though the countdown still has 14 hours left. You can visit the official Darius Site here – the only new reveal is the cabinet image you see above. That’s quite an impressive cabinet – there is some sort of force feedback in the seat and the screen configuration hearkens back to the original Darius from 1986. Fortunately it is when cabinets take this approach that make any future console ports have less impact on the arcade market as you would loose the extra wide view unless you are willing to setup two identical flat panels next to each other.

Hopefully we’ll have videos of this one in action very soon. I also hope that it gets a release outside of Japan. At the moment there is no indication of such a thing but Elevator Action: Death Parade was that way as well. As long as the price tag on this is far below the EADP then it would be even more feasible. The new Darius will be released in Japan this winter.

Source: ACE

Arcade Heroes Podcast #16

With July coming to a close it’s a perfect time to review what went on since our last podcast and discuss some recent things (including the new Darius which gets it’s big reveal tomorrow, we hope). Beyond Darius we also talk about:

-AAMA Distributor Gala

-Other new and recent game developments

-AVATAR Pinball

-Co-op play

-Konami retrospective

The time flew by as Kevin and I were talking and this one clocks in at nearly 2 hours. On our end the audio disparity between Kevin and myself sounded like it was fixed. Thanks for listening.

Download the podcast here!