Article about the new Atari Asteroids Recharged arcade games. Has pictures and video

[Shaggy the Atarian]

10 minutes ago, ledzep said:

Donut Dodo Do!, I assume that's a translation of a Japanese game title?

In that case no (also with Kung Fu Vs. Karate Champ). Those are US-made indie titles adapted by exA-Arcadia (a Japanese company with several Americans on staff) for arcades. They are trying to do a similar thing to Alan-1 in bringing some more serious, skill-based games back to the arcade space. The two companies have a different way of going about it though (exa has conversion kits and more generic cabinets while Alan-1 does no kits and specialized cabinets with certain features).

 

From what they've told me, most of their shoot 'em up games sell extremely well in Japan - although it helps that they have adapted some big names in that space (such as CAVE and Touhou shmups). The fighting games they are putting out are gaining steam too, especially in Japan. 

[ledzep]

1 minute ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

In that case no (also with Kung Fu Vs. Karate Champ). Those are US-made indie titles adapted by exA-Arcadia (a Japanese company with several Americans on staff) for arcades. They are trying to do a similar thing to Alan-1 in bringing some more serious, skill-based games back to the arcade space. The two companies have a different way of going about it though (exa has conversion kits and more generic cabinets while Alan-1 does no kits and specialized cabinets with certain features).

 

Oh, that's funny, so then they were kind of mimicking how Japanese game names get translated to English?  I wonder what that game is called in Japanese.

 

2 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

From what they've told me, most of their shoot 'em up games sell extremely well in Japan - although it helps that they have adapted some big names in that space (such as CAVE and Touhou shmups). The fighting games they are putting out are gaining steam too, especially in Japan. 

 

So it's not hopeless, just mostly hopeless, got it, hahaahaha.

[Giles N]

1 hour ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Yeah that's what I mean - if you see them, play them.

… if… 

     …you see them…

 

… why bother to get super-good at a hard-as-nails-game you find, like 5 places on the face of the planet the next decade…?

 

…why not just pay for a ride and a show…?

 

Would you give your 10 year old son 40 bucks to really have a blast in an Arcade one single day, or buy him a new game he’d play several

times that year, one play-through being 50 hours long (…and you can only afford 250 bucks total to games for son number 2 that year…)? 
Why would son number 2 want to get super-good at a super-game which is also super-hard, only to hear he’s very, very unlikely to encounter it ever again…?

Edited March 25 by Giles N

[TampaBay]

 

2 hours ago, ledzep said:

 

That is probably the best, most accurate description of what those non-gamers are and how different they are from actual gamers along with what they're expecting in terms of "gaming" experience (since I agree, those aren't really games in the traditional sense of the slightly interactive movie you describe).  

 

Ya, that would be a tough reality to deal with as an arcade owner.  Or, more accurately, an "arcade" owner if those things are what's most popular.

 

I've never heard of that Transformers game (or seen it), but how does it compare to those Battletech Virtual World games?

 

I know those graphics would be considered miserable now, but the gameplay itself with the enclosed pods that make you feel like you're operating a walking tank, dodging bad guys' bullets and firing back as you say, how would that fly do you think with modern non-gamers?

 

Yeah the more we discuss it, the more I realize that my frame of mind needs to be that each of the two "genres" of arcades and related games is really a whole different beast.  I had to laugh, when I went to get the link to show you the Transformers game, even Sega couldn't bring themselves to call it an "arcade game".  They called it a "Video Attraction Game" at minute marker 2:20.  Nonetheless it's still fun and the YouTube video does not do justice to the experience.  It's not too similar to those Battletech games.  I imagine it's more in line with the types of games you're not a fan of.  I will say this though, it's not short like some of other games.  You can play for a while on your initial set of credits.  Speaking of not calling it "arcade" the primary place where I play these types of games is called Elev8, and they call themselves an "Amusement Center".  Because they also have laser tag and rock climbing, etc., they also call themselves an "Indoor Adventure Park".  So yeah, it's quite a departure from the classic arcades of my youth.

 

 

1 hour ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

 I was tempted to yank out the new hardware and throw in Sega's Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, but the screen image had to be specially masked to work with the projector effect. And trilogy looks pretty rough these days. don a headset that some sweaty guy just had on. 

 

Star Wars Trilogy is a very cool game to play at home.  I play it on Sega Model 3 "Supermodel" and it's probably my #1 favorite non-racing game to play at home.  It's absolutely spectacular on Supermodel.  I play it all the time!

Edited March 25 by TampaBay

[Shaggy the Atarian]

1 hour ago, Giles N said:

… if… 

     …you see them…

 

… why bother to get super-good at a hard-as-nails-game you find, like 5 places on the face of the planet the next decade…?

 

…why not just pay for a ride and a show…?

 

Would you give your 10 year old son 40 bucks to really have a blast in an Arcade one single day, or buy him a new game he’d play several

times that year, one play-through being 50 hours long (…and you can only afford 250 bucks total to games for son number 2 that year…)? 
Why would son number 2 want to get super-good at a super-game which is also super-hard, only to hear he’s very, very unlikely to encounter it ever again…?

In part my advice is for all of the hardcore gamers out there who lament that "arcades are dead" - gaming like you knew it will never make a comeback if everyone ignores the opportunity to play something good when they come across it. But yes, what will most do - the easy thing.

 

Now there is one other aspect I haven't touched on that arcades have too, something that Nintendo constantly gets at with a focus on "couch gaming" - social atmosphere gaming. Aside from multiplayer games earning better (each player station builds on that potential), the experience of playing with someone else or a group at an arcade is different than at home. Part of that is the wildcard of strangers - unlike the internet, playing with a rando in public generally means people are respectful to each other and sometimes you can make new friends when you both play a game you enjoy. 

 

Then there's the aspect of showing off. It doesn't happen as much as it used to but when you have a player who is really good at a game, that draws attention. If you're that player, that's something else of showing off in public. I suppose you could call it performance art - although not every game is conducive to this sort of thing:

 

This is one reason why rhythm games have a strong community around them. Not only are the games challenging, it lets people show off (and it can be fun to watch):

 

 

Speaking of Star Wars Trilogy, once I remember playing the game while on break (at an arcade I worked at as a teen). I'd become really good at the game at that point and could clear the whole thing out on 1 credit, usually without getting hit. While I was playing this particular day, I was in the zone and ignoring everything around me - until there was a moment where the screen faded to black as a scene transition and I noticed a group of people standing around watching me play. While that made me conscious of them watching all of the sudden, it stood out to me as an experience I could never get at home by playing online or my phone.

Edited March 25 by Shaggy the Atarian

[Giles N]

3 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

that arcades have too, something that Nintendo constantly gets at with a focus on "couch gaming" - social atmosphere gaming. Aside from multiplayer games earning better (each player station builds on that potential), the experience of playing with someone else or a group at an arcade is different than at home. Part of that is the wildcard of strangers - unlike the internet, playing with a rando in public generally means people are respectful to each other and sometimes you can make new friends when you both play a game you enjoy. 

Yes, it could be cool to see a new, Recharged or Re-something version of Warlords - a software version that could be used both on normal up-standing screens, but also be put on flat-lying (table) screens - with four-player option of course.

On the table-screen version the players could stand at their respective corners using some direction-button like the one used on Capcoms Forgotten Worlds Arcade machine, to swipe whatever shield or line-up of shields and protective/deflective things gotten back and forth.

 

The screen could be roughly a bit bigger than a typical Pool table, with crisp graphics, lots nice upbeat medievalistic-styled rock music, voices announcing and commenting whats going-on Gauntlet-style… 

(…ok, I could go on with tons of ideas for such Re-something version of Warlords, but point is its social with 4 player.)

[Giles N]

Have anyone ever made an Arcade game, where the player swings a plastic sword in the air in front of the game screen to hack at incoming monsters, - like a wii-mote, just with attached fake-‘blade’ (harmless materials of course), and use a movable plastic-shield to protect against attacks monsters are performing against the player on the game-screen. That is, instead of a light-gun, a sword and shield which interacts with the graphics on the screen.?

Edited March 25 by Giles N

[Shaggy the Atarian]

10 minutes ago, Giles N said:

Yes, it could be cool to see a new, Recharged or Re-something version of Warlords - a software version that could be used both on normal up-standing screens, but also be put on flat-lying (table) screens - with four-player option of course.

On the table-screen version the players could stand at their respective corners using some direction-button like the one used on Capcoms Forgotten Worlds Arcade machine, to swipe whatever shield or line-up of shields and protective/deflective things gotten back and forth.

 

The screen could be roughly a bit bigger than a typical Pool table, with crisp graphics, lots nice upbeat medievalistic-styled rock music, voices announcing and commenting whats going-on Gauntlet-style… 

(…ok, I could go on with tons of ideas for such Re-something version of Warlords, but point is its social with 4 player.)

There is one company currently working on a new version of a cocktail Warlords. They are called Retro Arcade Remakes, although as far as I am aware, they are looking at simply putting the original arcade version into a modern cabinet:

 

Then to your point about larger multiplayer experiences, those have been more and more popular. Killer Queen Arcade offers up to 10 players; Bandai Namco somewhat recently did this 8-player Pac-Man Battle Royale Chompionship, which does have the pool table/air hockey size thing going on. I'm surprised more companies haven't chased this idea, as I think the market is ripe for them, particularly the bar/arcade market:

 

 

[Shaggy the Atarian]

1 minute ago, Giles N said:

Have anyone ever made an Arcade game, where the player swings a plastic sword in the air in front of the game screen to hack at incoming monsters, - like a wii-mote, just with attached fake-‘blade’ (harmless materisls of course), and use a movable plastic-shield to protect against attackes monsters are performing against the player on the game-screen. That is, instead of a light-gun, a sword and shield which interacts with the graphics on the screen.?

Yes - in fact this is the kind of tech that inspired the Wii, instead of it being the other way around  Konami in particular pioneered this tech, but others like Namco also had some games ;like this one below (sorry for the potato quality but most videos on this only show the game being played in emulation and not on a real machine like this):

 

 

[Giles N]

1 minute ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

There is one company currently working on a new version of a cocktail Warlords. They are called Retro Arcade Remakes, although as far as I am aware, they are looking at simply putting the original arcade version into a modern cabinet:

To reach the younger generations, they’d need a version updated on every front, in every area: graphics, sound, much, much more to collect, build, expand and use. 

[Giles N]

2 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Yes - in fact this is the kind of tech that inspired the Wii, instead of it being the other way around  Konami in particular pioneered this tech, but others like Namco also had some games

And… was it popular? Do you see it being used in ways that caters to the crowds…?

 

It’s like - Star Wars or Lord of the Rings with this given crisp and clear-cut gameplay and some spectacular graphics could be really wow!

[Giles N]

13 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

does have the pool table/air hockey size thing going on(…) I think the market is ripe for them,

 

 

Yes - precisely; such a thing, and crisp, chuncky graphics and sound, with responsive intuitive controllers - fun for entire families or gangs of friends hanging out…!

Edited March 25 by Giles N

[TampaBay]

50 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

 

While that made me conscious of them watching all of the sudden, it stood out to me as an experience I could never get at home by playing online or my phone.

 

That's awesome.   

 

You're totally right about Nintendo and their couch gaming.   From their simple competitive sports games to games like Super Mario Party (we play all the mini games in that title), they're a ton of fun. 

[TampaBay]

16 minutes ago, Giles N said:

Yes - precisely; such a thing, and crisp, chuncky graphics and sound, with responsive intuitive controllers - fun for entire families or gangs of friends hanging out…!

I play that pool table Pac-Man all the time and it's great.   A Warlords version on a similar screen as you describe would be incredible.  

[Shaggy the Atarian]

19 minutes ago, Giles N said:

And… was it popular? Do you see it being used in ways that caters to the crowds…?

 

It’s like - Star Wars or Lord of the Rings with this given crisp and clear-cut gameplay and some spectacular graphics could be really wow!

Where they could be found they were popular, but most of Konami & Namco's motion sensing stuff came out around the time of the last arcade market crash, which happened around '99-'04. Some of them did come out of Japan; Konami also pioneered the tech that would become Microsoft's Kinect with games like MoCap Boxing

 

 

[Giles N]

8 minutes ago, TampaBay said:

I play that pool table Pac-Man all the time and it's great.   A Warlords version on a similar screen as you describe would be incredible.  

Perhaps Alan-1 and Atari could work out something…? 
I like the way SneakyBox / Adamvision often recharges the gameplay and sound, but as to visuals and the music (in Trailer A.K.) 1, I feel that Avian Knights (A.K.) feels much more ‘right’ as a style for a new Warlords.

Edited March 25 by Giles N

[Giles N]

6 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Where they could be found they were popular, but most of Konami & Namco's motion sensing stuff came out around the time of the last arcade market crash,

And Arcades now are in what state… rebuilding, adapting, being a niche thing, or still found within gamer-circles and/or Amusement Parks…?

[TampaBay]

@Shaggy the Atarian By the way, I really laughed at your comment earlier about the VR but I forgot to reply.  Yeah I want to try them out but I just can't see myself wearing those sweaty goggles that someone just took off.  Ha.  I was just trying to remember on the original classic Battlezone if you pressed your face on the periscope.  Either way I've played that game a million times.  😀

[Shaggy the Atarian]

6 minutes ago, Giles N said:

And Arcades now are in what state… rebuilding, adapting, being a niche thing, or still found within gamer-circles and/or Amusement Parks…?

Right before the pandemic, Eugene Jarvis had said he felt things were like in the mid-90s (from his perspective, that was when Midway was on top with the likes of Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, Cruis'n USA, etc.). While that did damage the industry, it's been able to bounce back. Right now, there are a lot of bar/arcades out there, but most money has been flowing into FECs (Family Entertainment Centers). Companies like Dave & Busters, Round1USA and Chuck E. Cheeses keep expanding. It is in a good place but I personally see the main issue being that it's really tough for a newcomer with a small budget to break into the market. Most games are being developed for those FECs that have a lot of money, and so both the prices and sizes of the games keeps going up (along with inflation pressures which haven't abated). 

 

In the last decade ('10-19), the average cost of a new game was $7500. Now, it's more like $14,000. 😕

 

14 minutes ago, TampaBay said:

@Shaggy the Atarian By the way, I really laughed at your comment earlier about the VR but I forgot to reply.  Yeah I want to try them out but I just can't see myself wearing those sweaty goggles that someone just took off.  Ha.  I was just trying to remember on the original classic Battlezone if you pressed your face on the periscope.  Either way I've played that game a million times.  😀

 

For extra VR fun, there's this old incident I caught by accident:

 

 

 

[Giles N]

25 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

 For extra VR fun, there's this old incident I caught by accident:

 

Lols - horrible, horrible… on the brink to being moderatly a evil prank… 

😅

Edited March 25 by Giles N

[TampaBay]

6 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Right before the pandemic, Eugene Jarvis had said he felt things were like in the mid-90s (from his perspective, that was when Midway was on top with the likes of Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, Cruis'n USA, etc.). While that did damage the industry, it's been able to bounce back. Right now, there are a lot of bar/arcades out there, but most money has been flowing into FECs (Family Entertainment Centers). Companies like Dave & Busters, Round1USA and Chuck E. Cheeses keep expanding. It is in a good place but I personally see the main issue being that it's really tough for a newcomer with a small budget to break into the market. Most games are being developed for those FECs that have a lot of money, and so both the prices and sizes of the games keeps going up (along with inflation pressures which haven't abated). 

 

In the last decade ('10-19), the average cost of a new game was $7500. Now, it's more like $14,000. 😕

 

 

For extra VR fun, there's this old incident I caught by accident:

 

 

 

Ha!  I thought it was a bad idea that there were no gates to close off the platform... then I saw the PLANK!!

[Giles N]

19 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

In the last decade ('10-19), the average cost of a new game was $7500. Now, it's more like $14,000. 😕

How does classics from 80ies and 90ies hold up?

 

Do they still attract some types of gamers, - are they super niche, or have some moved to Mario-like fame - being played by new gamers also just because their franchises become so fameous…? (I mean other than Pac Man)

 

And, - just a question out of personal curiousity:do you know if Taito is into making Arcades still…?

Edited March 25 by Giles N

[Shaggy the Atarian]

1 minute ago, Giles N said:

How does classics from 80ies and 90ies hold up?

 

Do they still attract some types of gamers, - are they super niche, or have some moved to Mario-like fame - being played by new gamers also judt because its so fameous…? (I mean other than Pac Msn?)

There are a lot of "retrocades" out there which use a free play model - they charge an entry fee at the door, then all the games inside are free (except for pinball and skeeball). Many seem to be successful, although many struggle and a few close. Generally you need a lot of games to be a success, but the more old games you have, the more problems you'll have for maintenance. 

 

It's tough because people have been playing these games for 30/40 years and they just don't want to come out and play them every day; Or, they have Pac-Man on their phone or console and don't feel the need to go out and find an arcade machine to play. I get into more detail on these videos though:

 

[Giles N]

Arcades I’d love to see being made:

 

Space Gun (2) - call it whatever, but a new Space Gun game with ultra advanced graphics, massive cinematic sound blasted out - 80-100 inch screen, 4 player co-op, possibility for each gamers to ‘dodge’ (left/right) with their game-character using pedals, selectable routes very often: first to shoot left/middle/right - moves the team onwards, 45-60 mins to complete game. Same atmosphere and feel and music as the original; just more of everything, be it aliens or guns or bombs - everything is bigger and badder.

 

Pole Position 3 (official, not quasi):

The Sit-down racer to out-do everything other sit-down racer, - 8 player vs, 64 tracks around every location in the world, - whats important is that it’s varied and looks spectacular, not that its realistic or official + crashes that sends your car flying over the stadion, horizon spinning and pieces flying (reset 5 sec later) graphics 260 fps on 60-inch screen per player, 8K and detail level that is 4 times that of Forza Horizon 5. 
 

(dream, dream)

Edited March 25 by Giles N

[Shaggy the Atarian]

I'd love a new Space Gun, I think it would do really well. Sadly, while Taito exists, they kind of just coast along in the Japanese market now.

 

Pole Position is weird in that PP3 was a game they called Final Lap, then Final Lap morphed into Ridge Racer, then RR morphed into Maximum Tune... MT has nothing to do with PP, aside from being a racing game.