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

[Giles N]

9 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Once I can get a card system though, that will help me not only make more but also find ways to do special deals to make it more enticing to come in. 

Yeah, if you let visitors buy 1 year, 2 year, 3 year discount passes you’ll give them a reason to come back to you.

Decide that some cabinets will stay there for ‘next period’ (which you define), and have season passes and host tournaments (that are not precisely like the other xxx-cades out there host).

 

Perhaps.

 

I’m just a gamer, and the

details of game-design interest me more than the business-strategy part.

 

Edited March 26 by Giles N

[Shaggy the Atarian]

That would be possible to do with a card system, or if we had an entry fee, but not with tokens in a mall.

 

I a strong sense though, the better game design that you have for the games, the more that draws people in.

 

I shared a video of a racing game I have that was my number #1 game last year. As I write this post, it's being played by a group of friends who are taking turns, rotating out. This doesn't happen with any other game I have in the arcade at this point. I attribute it to the overall design for that one - it's got more to it than just racing - tons of cars, tons of levels based on real world locations, a 60 level story line, ghost battles, special challenges, user titles, unlockable paint jobs and car parts, stamps, and King of the Track crowns that shows who dominates at the location. If every game was designed like Maximum Tune, then that would be something else, although it's not entirely feasible to do (depends on the game genre). 

[+GoldLeader]

14 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I agree that it would be a turn off for that base, but the core gameplay would still be there, so I don´t think it would scare off as many as was scared off by Space Invaders Frenzy´s new gameplay. And Space Invaders Frenzy was a success, despite having worse gameplay than Missile Command Recharged. Space Invaders Frenzy is really dumb, though, so it has that going for it.

 

Asteroids should of course not have lightguns.

 

 

Just throwing it out there that (the one time I played it) I really enjoyed Space Invaders Frenzy!  Of course I didn't realize it was a "redemption game".  I finish playing then all of a sudden the thing starts spitting out tickets for me.  Beer in hand,  I turn to my friend, I was like, "Oh...OK...5000 more of these I can get that pencil eraser!"

[Giles N]

14 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

but not with tokens in a mall.

It’s been ages and ages since I used a physical arcade cabinet; how does these tokens work?

 

Can you have a ‘VIP customer-deal’ where they get 5 credit tokens, or am I just way off how things interact here…?

 

(Last time I used a physical Arcade was in 2009, - or ‘08 -, playing House of the Dead 2 or 3, and one still could just use cash ‘n coins)

 

Is there any ‘movable’ or ‘changable’ element to how to provide/sell tokens to customers?

[Giles N]

29 minutes ago, GoldLeader said:

Beer in hand,  I turn to my friend, I was like, "Oh...OK...5000 more of these I can get that pencil eraser!"

So you won a beer for a casual go, but had to get to the top of the high-score list for    a pencil eraser…?

Edited March 26 by Giles N

[Giles N]

39 minutes ago, GoldLeader said:

Space Invaders Frenzy! 

Anyway, what those spoilt kidz need now is a Space Gun Frenzy! 
 

After a 1 hour exhausting total space-bloodbath carnage - with lifelong-trauma guarantee, the cabinet rewards you   a package of 12 eggs.

Edited March 26 by Giles N

[Shaggy the Atarian]

8 minutes ago, Giles N said:

It’s been ages and ages since I used a physical arcade cabinet; how does these tokens work?

 

Can you have a ‘VIP customer-deal’ where they get 5 credit tokens, or am I just way off how things interact here…?

 

(Last time I used a physical Arcade was in 2009, - or ‘08 -, playing House of the Dead 2 or 3, and one still could just use cash ‘n coins)

 

Is there any ‘movable’ or ‘changable’ element to how to provide/sell tokens to customers?

Just like it was back in the day - My tokens are worth 25¢ each, just buy what you want and put them into the machines as per what the game requires (1,2,3,4 tokens per play). I do something unusual too in that we do refunds for tokens (mainly to help us retain the coins, as we have thousands that end up walking out the door; It's also beneficial on taxes to have refunds). 

 

People buy tokens in hand or from a change machine, pretty quick and simple process.

[Giles N]

8 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

My tokens are worth 25¢ each,

Your tokens?

Does each —cade have their own set of tokens used for their machines, or can any token be used on any Arcade machine anywhere?

 

Edited March 26 by Giles N

[Giles N]

59 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

 

That would be possible to do with a card system, or if we had an entry fee, but not with tokens in a mall.

 

What about a Club for your Arcade (totally optional, usual customers can come and go freely)

Membership costs this or that sum - the longer you sign up into the future, the more you get back: free tokens, tournament deals? 
 

Edited March 26 by Giles N

[Shaggy the Atarian]

8 minutes ago, Giles N said:

Your tokens?

Does each —cade have their own set of tokens used for their machines, or can any token be used on any Arcade machine anywhere?

 

Most arcades use RFID cards now - there are several companies out there that offer such a service of setting you up with branded cards, per machine readers, a router, a kiosk, a POS,etc. They allow you to do great deals and since no one really knows how many points they have on the card, they tend to overspend and you can't get a refund. They drive earnings up about 20-25% at a location, but they do have problems. If the server handling the requests goes down, none of your games can take a payment. This has recently been a huge issue with a company called Intercard, where their servers keep crashing and lots of locations can't make any money.

 

For those that still do tokens, you can get generic designs or a customized design on one or both sides. Depending on how much customization is done plus the material (zinc/copper, brass, nickel plated, plastic) will determine how much it costs. 

[Giles N]

19 minutes ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

For those that still do tokens, you can get generic designs or a customized design on one or both sides. Depending on how much customization is done plus the material (zinc/copper, brass, nickel plated, plastic) will determine how much it costs. 

And could you do a club-deal: if they sign up for your club paying $50 for 1 year, $90 for 2, $115 for 3, they could get an annual 1 token with 25 credits (or whatever is meaningful as to competition and what customers would really like)
Even if they could use it elsewhere, they would get at your Club-deal…?

Anything you could offer them through a club deal, that wouldn’t be useable at other Arcades? (guess, exclusives is the word here)

Edited March 26 by Giles N
my math was off, typos, content

[+GoldLeader]

6 hours ago, Giles N said:

So you won a beer for a casual go, but had to get to the top of the high-score list for    a pencil eraser…?

 

Haaa...No we were in a "barcade"...Had to buy our beers.  This particular one used to be cheap enough, as in games took quarters, although their upkeep of games was terrible,  (You saw things like an Atari Video Pinball but half the UV lights were down, a Red Baron Sit-down cab, but soon it just broke,  Every time something broke,  it just disappeared,  though they did have an ad looking for a repairman (probably still need one) ...But then they converted to cards and now a simple game of pinball (and only 3 balls) is $1.50!  So I almost never go there...Plus I have a friend who has games and pinballs in another location (No beer though but they are priced correctly not set to rip off mode...

 

PS:  The same people had (or maybe still have) an arcade in the mall,  and there's all these cool old school games in the window,  but they are all the broken ones,...Most working games inside are newer...

[Lord Mushroom]

10 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

As you mention, selling off a bunch of the poorer stuff like retro and pins can help there, however, the debt is such and the pricing of good earning redemption games (regular and videmption) are so high that I wouldn't get very far.

You could just sell the worst performing stuff (if you still have any unpopular stuff left), keep the best of the retro and pins, get a videmption game or two and a small selection of prizes. You could have a gradual transformation to offering videmption as the financial situation allows it. You seem to be slowly moving in the direction of being an all-out modern arcade anyway.

 

You could also get someone to invest in your arcade if you don´t have the funds to make necessary changes (I don´t think that is the case, though). You are making money even though there is a lot of room for financial improvement (switch to cards and change to more profitable machines, even if it is not the optimal machines), so investors should be interested. Maybe a friend of family member.

 

10 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

I already cut out the poorest performers, usually only keep them around for a year, two tops, unless there's a reason I need filled space. But its always good to analyze things in a more recent sense and look at what needs to go.

Yes, keeping a game that does poorly for a year or two sounds too long. Obviously, some of the games will be the worst performer even if all games are doing well to varying degrees. In which case it could make sense to keep them around for a bit. But if a game is doing $5 per week or something, it is a waste of space.

 

10 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

One problem with videmption is that most of those games start off really strong, then six months later, most are no where to be found.

If they don´t lose much value, you could change videmption machines frequently. Or if they drop quickly in value, you could buy them used. They won´t make as much, but they would be cheaper, and better performing than what you would have had instead (ruling out ticket redemption).

 

11 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

YOr, move out of the mall and start over somewhere else. 

That sounds like a good idea. You are facing very tough competition at your current location.

 

11 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Another thing that will give us a giant boost is getting off of tokens and switching to a card system. Those tend to cause any locations earnings to go up by 20-25%. Unfortunately, the cheapest system I can find starts at $25k and goes up from there and as mentioned, I can't bring on new debt at the exact moment. Some of that will be paid off this year though, so once it is, I'll take a look at what is most pressing.  

I know that for housing, banks will allow you to get a bigger loan if you rent out a part of it, as opposed to using the whole home yourself. This is of course due to the increased ability to repay the loan. The same could be the case for your situation. The 20-25% expected increase in revenue, and more than that in increased profits, could persuade the bank to give you a loan for this at acceptable terms.

 

11 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Another thing I should add at some point is Skeeball. That destroys pinball no matter which location you find it in. My sports games like basketball machines also do very well.

I hear the machines that measure how hard you can punch are popular in bars. Maybe one of those would work in your place too.

[Giles N]

9 hours ago, GoldLeader said:

Haaa...No we were in a "barcade"...Had to buy our beers. 

Am just trying to out-compete myself in writing out ultra-dry humor.

- - -

In my mind the image of a line-up of redemption games - most of them innocently delivering toys and teddys to nice gamers. But among them; one Machine, simply called ‘You Will Come Back’ - a huge, massive thing with a overfriendly smiling face, staring at you from a screen above ’, - giving out many unique prizes, the simplest starting at beer, then liquor, then spirits, then  prizes are only getting stronger in contents the higher the gamble, the more you put in, or the longer you go for the ride. And The Machine just casually standing there side by side with the other teddy & toy machines, innocently smiling down at customers from the neutral-to-friendly face on the screen. As customers pass by, a very gentle voice, - almost a bit too soothing in intonation - invites ‘Come and Play….’ …casually using the full real names of the bypassers, occasionally throwing in friendly advice like ‘you know your Boss didn’t like it you quit work an hour too early yesterday. Relax. Come and Play so I won’t need to tell.’ [produced by a company called - Arcade-HAL 9]

 

 

 

Edited March 26 by Giles N

[Giles N]

Sorry, can’t help it, but noticing now that a new Atari arcade game will actually, indeed feature picture and video is really reassuring…
 

 

😅

[MrBeefy]

I was going to multiquote but there were too many. 

 

1) Junior Beefy would love that SW battle pod game.

 

2) I find calling modern arcade games shallow funny as I think many modern gamers would feel that way about old arcade games.

 

3) I don't feel like using a light gun and spraying the screen is much different than playing Galaga and randomly shooting. 

 

4) Junior Beef loves the Jurassic Park gun game, but you do require some skill. Just praying amd spraying will not go far especially in later levels. So in order for us to last as long as possible we have to play co-op.

 

5) In my area there have been a few tiny arcades pop up to where there are more or as many now as there were when I was a wee lad. One has more old games. Two have modern games and redemption stuff. The one with older games is empty everytime I go to it which is sad because that's where junior Beef and I get our Godzilla pinball on. But the older one has no atmosphere either.

 

6) there was a point about older gamers liking score chasers while younger modern gamers liking games with endings. Don't remember my point exactly but that could be why you see a difference in types of games in an Arcade.

 

Also I dislike the rfid cards. But Jr. Beef and I had a blast blowing over $30 to beat Jurassic Park. We even had a random young kid show up to cheer us on at one point.

 

 

[ledzep]

45 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

I was going to multiquote but there were too many. 

 

1) Junior Beefy would love that SW battle pod game.

 

I assume you're talking about your kid but when I read it "the other way" it cracks me up so hard I can't see, hahaahahaa.

 

46 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

Also I dislike the rfid cards. But Jr. Beef and I had a blast blowing over $30 to beat Jurassic Park. We even had a random young kid show up to cheer us on at one point.

 

That's the kicker right there, hahaahahaha.

[MrBeefy]

27 minutes ago, ledzep said:

 

I assume you're talking about your kid but when I read it "the other way" it cracks me up so hard I can't see, hahaahahaa.

 

 

That's the kicker right there, hahaahahaha.

Yes my kid 🤪

https://youtube.com/@BeefyBites?si=0IXgp6xQcEmbaPlV

[Shaggy the Atarian]

14 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

Yes, keeping a game that does poorly for a year or two sounds too long. Obviously, some of the games will be the worst performer even if all games are doing well to varying degrees. In which case it could make sense to keep them around for a bit. But if a game is doing $5 per week or something, it is a waste of space.

 

If they don´t lose much value, you could change videmption machines frequently. Or if they drop quickly in value, you could buy them used. They won´t make as much, but they would be cheaper, and better performing than what you would have had instead (ruling out ticket redemption).

 

For some added context, I did operate a second location from 2020-2022 in a city about 45 min. north of my original one; That did allow me to test out games but it's a long story...suffice it to say, I swapped where I could and did testing; I also have another location where we cycle games out (a private break room). That is where some heavy debt has accumulated, however. I opened the 2nd location as a "Plan B" to the FEC here, and everything seemed to be much better (better, more upscale mall - I was even next door to Victoria's Secret, no competition in the region). Failing there, does give me pause for moving out the mall and trying it out elsewhere - at least in this present condition and debt.

 

On keeping games, there's one other aspect that's a little odd - moving them around and seeing if things change. I've seen a game here and there make a huge jump in earnings by just moving it a few feet. Of course, you can't move them around every week. But in part, keeping certain games around for a while is to give them a chance. But, I have sold off quite a few games, did a video about that one. 

 

The trade off of picking cheap used videmption games is that they tend to not be good earners to begin with. You can get lucky here and there, but in the process of operating multiple locations in the past, cycling games in and out is not as easy in practice as it is on paper.

 

Quote

I hear the machines that measure how hard you can punch are popular in bars. Maybe one of those would work in your place too.

Yeah, I have been looking into those - boxers, skeeball, kiddie games, certain merchandizers are all good ways to bolster business. At where things are at now, I probably won't be able to make some major changes until next year.

[Giles N]

23 hours ago, Shaggy the Atarian said:

On keeping games, there's one other aspect that's a little odd - moving them around and seeing if things change. I've seen a game here and there make a huge jump in earnings by just moving it a few feet.

What about new games?

 

Are ‘new arcades’ attracting people?

 

Does it matter what people see first when they enter?

 

Any plans for where you’ll put the Asteroids:Racharged cabinet?

What sort of impression do you think that game and cabinet will make? Attract kids, oldschoolers, families [parent(s) + kid(s)]?  Have you already made space for it in your plans, or will you just how it fares…?

 

- - -

 

As to changing Arcades, do you need to sell off cabinet and all, or just get a compatible curcuit board and sell or store the other (unpopular, less popular board)?

 

Perhaps, if you got some stuff that takes up quite a lot of space, but doesn’t make enough money - if its not super-expensive or rare  - use it as prize in a one-year long competition (you set up, define and ‘host’) where the people who plsy for it, must at least partake in 35-50 rounds of something at your place over a year. They don’t need to show up every time at exactly same day per week, but must at least partake in 35 out of 52 x 2 ‘competition-hours’ - lets say, held Friday and Saturday evening 20:00 during a year.

 

Of course, this is just an idea from the top of my head. You know how things work in real life, and my description was just elements for some concept that could keep

some people coming back to your place, and at the same time provide something to watch for bystanders - who may or may not care for Arcade gaming, but likes to watch some ‘who wins this or that’ local event thing.

[ledzep]

On 3/19/2024 at 1:18 PM, Jimmy Wicker said:

What other ideas do you have?  Let's brainstorm here.  Help us make this a successful venture by making the best version of Asteroids Recharged that works for this medium (a physical arcade cabinet.)

 

Ok, having seen more video the game being played, 2 things that stand out as boring if they never change is all the asteroids moving at the same speed, and the saucers moving only as fast (slow) as the asteroids.  Hopefully you add a Hard or Competition level that can be selected so that the smaller asteroids move faster and the saucers start being hard to shoot.  Otherwise, pretty good so far.

[Shaggy the Atarian]

On 3/27/2024 at 9:02 PM, Giles N said:

What about new games?

 

Are ‘new arcades’ attracting people?

 

Does it matter what people see first when they enter?

 

Yes, yes, and yes

 

As I posted a few pages back, new games pay my bills. Retro just works as indirect, supplemental income. 

 

The best brand new games are the ones that pay themselves off so fast that they end up helping pay for lesser performing games. As an example, my Cruis'n Blast (which cost a little above $14k as I bought two of them), paid itself off in 5 1/2 months. Brand new pinball machines however, can take 7-10 years to pay themselves off 😪 

 

For those giant FECs out there, they'll have professionals figure out the best/most optimal layout for the equipment they've purchased. This also has to be combined with the electrical layout, as the bigger and fancier the machine gets, the more power it'll draw.

 

Generally speaking, you'd be crazy top put all of your old, non-flashy stuff at the front and shove your brand new machine that you just paid $25k for in the back or lowest foot traffic area of the space. Some like to think the "build it and they will come" thing works, but not in a facility where you've got tons of games all vying for your attention. 

 

Quote

Any plans for where you’ll put the Asteroids:Racharged cabinet?

What sort of impression do you think that game and cabinet will make? Attract kids, oldschoolers, families [parent(s) + kid(s)]?  Have you already made space for it in your plans, or will you just how it fares…?

At the moment my space is limited but I have a good idea of where it and Avian Knights will go. I'll be testing out the smaller 2-player cabs which will be easier to squeeze in, but I'll probably be placing them within the front "island" I have that's in front of my desk - at least to start. It also would make sense to place them at the front of my Classic Corner area and see how it goes. 

 

I personally like how the games look but what will my customers think of them? I can only guess for now. It'll be interesting to observe though, and get feedback. Otherwise, my expectation is that oldschoolers, the few that I get, will be drawn to give them a play. What is most telling though is - will they give it a second, and a third play? That's the ultimate test for any game you have in a space.  

 

Quote

As to changing Arcades, do you need to sell off cabinet and all, or just get a compatible curcuit board and sell or store the other (unpopular, less popular board)?

It depends - I regularly do rotate things out. I'll only sell off a solid game if it's a crazy good deal that I'm able to get for it. Otherwise, when I get people asking to buy my Addams Family pinball, I have to decline as even though it's not this giant money maker, it is consistent and it's the best earning pin I have, so no point in selling that off. 

Quote

Perhaps, if you got some stuff that takes up quite a lot of space, but doesn’t make enough money - if its not super-expensive or rare  - use it as prize in a one-year long competition (you set up, define and ‘host’) where the people who plsy for it, must at least partake in 35-50 rounds of something at your place over a year. They don’t need to show up every time at exactly same day per week, but must at least partake in 35 out of 52 x 2 ‘competition-hours’ - lets say, held Friday and Saturday evening 20:00 during a year.

Way ahead of you there  

 

Here's the pinball tournament we have going on right now as I write this. It's not being well-attended due to Easter weekend, but usually we can get 20-25 people around. Local pinball fans organize and run it, I just give them a place to play. I really appreciate that they do that, since they have a built in player base.

 

I've learned that trying to organize my own tournament is not easy though. We've had limited success doing so, as most of the people that follow me on social media are not locals. Many customers who come in day-in, day-out, are just in the mall for something else and have a little time to kill, so they don't care about tournaments (unless I was able to offer up some giant prize, but I can't afford to do that yet).

[Giles N]

On 3/30/2024 at 9:16 PM, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Some like to think the "build it and they will come"

Did this ever work besides the C64 and Amiga500…? Just askin’ 

 

On 3/30/2024 at 9:16 PM, Shaggy the Atarian said:

Way ahead of you there  

 

Here's the pinball tournament we have going on right now as I write this.

Well, not being in the profession, I’m satisfied I wasn’t completely off..,

 

On 3/30/2024 at 9:16 PM, Shaggy the Atarian said:

I've learned that trying to organize my own tournament is not easy though. We've had limited success doing so, as most of the people that follow me on social media are not locals. Many customers who come in day-in, day-out, are just in the mall for something else and have a little time to kill, so they don't care about tournaments (unless I was able to offer up some giant prize, but I can't afford to do that yet).

Well, if you have a Club-deal, you can have several benefits for members: 25-50 credit special token a year. As for ‘giant prize’ - I’m not sure you need that if it provides/generates local-live e-sport emotions. Just make sure it may be possible for bystanders to watch some of it; have a screen with winner-names 1st, 2nd, 3rd displayed until next event. Invite interested people to co-host. Prizes don’t need to be enormous sums or rare cabinets - perhaps some physical

home-console games, pethaps 1, 2 or 3 free-play days during year (3 days for Gold, 2 for Silver, 1 for Bronze). I cannot see that that will ruin a years worth of business (unless you host 365 tournaments in the Club deal of course, but that wasn’t my idea).

[TampaBay]

So I had to circle back to this thread after recently playing an Atari game I've never played before.

 

In the comments above, we were all talking about the new Asteroids and whether or not they had gone "far enough" adding new gameplay / features while still keeping inspiration from the original.  That topic is certainly debatable.  I personally would have liked to have seen it show some more modern game features but still be faithful to the original idea.

 

Recently I started playing games from the Atari Jaguar console, and I came across Missile Command 3D.  Keep in mind this "new" version of Missile Command is nearly 30 years old, having been published in 1995.  I think it's a fantastic game, featuring 3D gameplay, power-ups, boss battles, etc., but it's still totally Missile Command.  There are actually two different versions included, both are 3D, but the first game is in a 3rd person perspective, and you shoot missiles that explode in front of the enemies like in the orginal, while the second version of the game is from a 1st person perspective (you are sitting inside the bunkers) and you shoot a laser beam directly at the incoming enemies.  Both games are super fun, bring completely new visuals and originality to Missile Command, while still keeping the general idea of the game intact.

 

Here's a YouTube video of the gameplay.  The first half of the video is Version 1 of the game (3rd person perspective with missiles), the second half of the video is Version 2 (1st person perspective with lasers).

 

 

[ledzep]

19 minutes ago, TampaBay said:

So I had to circle back to this thread after recently playing an Atari game I've never played before.

 

In the comments above, we were all talking about the new Asteroids and whether or not they had gone "far enough" adding new gameplay / features while still keeping inspiration from the original.  That topic is certainly debatable.  I personally would have liked to have seen it show some more modern game features but still be faithful to the original idea.

 

Recently I started playing games from the Atari Jaguar console, and I came across Missile Command 3D.  Keep in mind this "new" version of Missile Command is nearly 30 years old, having been published in 1995.  I think it's a fantastic game, featuring 3D gameplay, power-ups, boss battles, etc., but it's still totally Missile Command.  There are actually two different versions included, both are 3D, but the first game is in a 3rd person perspective, and you shoot missiles that explode in front of the enemies like in the orginal, while the second version of the game is from a 1st person perspective (you are sitting inside the bunkers) and you shoot a laser beam directly at the incoming enemies.  Both games are super fun, bring completely new visuals and originality to Missile Command, while still keeping the general idea of the game intact.

 

Here's a YouTube video of the gameplay.  The first half of the video is Version 1 of the game (3rd person perspective with missiles), the second half of the video is Version 2 (1st person perspective with lasers).

 

 

 

Interesting, I may actually have that game (in a box somewhere).

 

I like the idea of that first version.  The graphics suck (the missiles look like colored blobs) but that could be fixed in a modern arcade version (much higher resolution now).  I cannot stand those giant mountains or whatever they're supposed to be (they feel like Easter Island statues), makes the cities you're defending look like stacks of oil drums, but I suppose they're there to keep you oriented to what direction you're looking in (along with the lens flare) so I'm not sure what they could be replaced by.  I think if they made the mountains look more like mountains and changed the shooter's perspective to be lower to the ground then the mountains wouldn't have to be so tall (some skyscrapers could do the job) and the cities would appear larger and more like actual cities.  There could also be a grid or other indicators superimposed on the sky (there are already targeting pips superimposed) to keep you oriented.

 

The second version is crap.  That's not Missile Command anymore, it's Laser Command.  Might be a fun game but it loses the anticipation and strategy of the original, now it's just instantly shoot everything that moves (feels more like Star Raiders).  Part of what made Missile Command hard and fun (anathema to modern gamers, I know) was having to time the missiles to reach the targets at the right time, which ABM base to use.  I cannot stand these modern floaty animations, it's like watching the Disneyland Peoplemover up in the sky.  I'm not sure what this obsession is with lasers for everything, missiles are great for this game theme.

 

Lose the goddamn music.  The actual missile sounds are way cooler when playing a game like that, and having the perspective with stereo speakers could give you hints about where off-screen missiles are coming down from (left or right).  Seriously, a modern arcade is going to be saturated with music already, either from the in-house speakers or every other weak game nearby, no need to add more bland notes.

 

I mean, just listen to the original game, all the sounds have a purpose so that you know what's going on even if you're not looking at the specific area -

 

 

Can't tell why modern gamers don't like sound effects and prefer neverending music instead.  There could be sounds for power-ups as well, just a quick tone or something to alert the player.