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Apple may be spending 'hundreds of millions' to land games for Arcade
You know by now that Apple is pushing for as many high-profile games as it can get for its upcoming Arcade service, but how far is it willing to go? Quite far, apparently. Financial Times sources claim Apple is spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars, "likely" over $500 million in total, to secure games for the subscription offering. It's reportedly spending "several" million dollars per game, and is offering perks if developers grant temporary exclusives that keep titles off Android or even console subscriptions like the Xbox Game Pass.
'TimeSplitters' is coming back
British console game TimeSplitters saw massive popularity in the 2000s. Its humor, artistic style and cheeky pop culture references earned the three-game series a passionate fan base, but despite its success, the title subsequently lay dormant. Until now. Maybe. The series has been bought by Koch Media -- which has built an entire business out of buying and reviving old franchises like this -- and it sounds like they're planning to do something with it.
The latest ‘BlazBlue’ reminds me how impenetrable fighting games can be
Fighting games aren't for the faint-hearted. There's no relaxation or light entertainment in the breakneck world of kill-or-be-killed beat 'em ups. Long before home consoles and internet connections, these kind of games fostered serious competitive scenes around arcade cabinets. The term eSports is now common parlance, and yet the biggest fighting game franchises are struggling, only really appealing to their loyal fanbases. But for the developers behind these titles, it's a catch-22. It's after playing BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle -- which has only recently come to the PC, PS4 and Switch in Europe -- that I'm reminded why. Fighting games can be extremely rewarding, but only as a result of being fundamentally difficult and alienating to begin with.
The Mario Kart VR experience is coming to London
Last year, Engadget Senior Editor Richard Lai tried out the Bandai Namco VR arcade in Japan, and he had great things to say. But the experience was limited to Tokyo -- that is, until now. Today, Bandai Namco announced that the company will bring its Mario Kart VR arcade experience to London.
Here's a $20 arcade cabinet made of cardboard and a Switch
Where Nintendo goes, others follow. Off the back of Nintendo's popular Labo cardboard kits, accessory maker Nyko has concocted its own cardboard creation -- the PixelQuest Arcade Kit. Like Labo, it comes flat-packed as cardboard sheets. Where it differs is that the Arcade Kit doesn't come with any software. It's instead meant to act as a miniature arcade cabinet for games that support play on a single Joy-Con. That's a lot of games -- including major titles like Mario Kart 8 -- but the PixelQuest Arcade Kit is going to be at its best when paired with something like Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection or Metal Slug 3.
HTC brings multiplayer VR games to Dave & Busters this month
Playing games in virtual reality can feel kinda anti-social, even when your buddies are in the same room. You're probably locked into a world only you can see properly, and you'll likely be wearing headphones for true immersion. But, if you want to jump into a virtual experience with your buddies in the same place, you'll get to do so at Dave & Buster's arcades very soon.
'Halo: Fireteam Raven' brings its co-op action to the arcade
The next new Halo game isn't for Xbox One or PC -- instead Halo: Fireteam Raven is an arcade machine built for four-player cooperative play. A 130-inch 4K screen lets all the players take aim on a rail shooter experience in the environment of the first Halo game. You won't play as Master Chief, however, as players take the role of ODST troops fighting Covenant aliens for control of the ringworld alongside the series star and other familiar characters. The setup will debut this summer at Dave & Buster's locations in the US and Canada, and it links up to your Halo experience on other platforms via waypoint and a scannable QR code to track high scores online.
'Pac-Man' on Amazon's Alexa isn't at all like 'Pac-Man'
Pac-Man might never have left the public eye, but with Wreck-it Ralph, Pixels and Ready Player One, the iconic elder statesman of gaming is now in front of people that may have never touched an arcade joystick. To that extent, Pac-Man's latest 'game' makes sense — it's arriving on Amazon's Alexa as a skill today.
Arcade classic '10-Yard Fight' is the Switch's first football game
Nintendo has been keen to capitalize on nostalgia, however, its latest attempt has us scratching our heads. Next week the Switch will have a football game to call its own, but rather than, say, a classic Madden, Mutant League Football from EA or Tecmo Bowl, we're getting 10-Yard Fight for $7.99. The game originally appeared on the NES back in 1985, a two-year delay after its arcade debut.
'Starcraft II' finally gets a store for player-made maps
Newer Blizzard titles like Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm are free to play, but they do offer as many paid extras as you can shake a stick at. That's normal these days, of course, but StarCraft II was first released in 2010 -- a simpler time when you tended to just buy a video game and play it. There have been many paid expansions and cosmetics added over the years, but Blizzard originally promised a marketplace through which the community could sell custom-made maps and take a cut of the revenue. This feature was first mentioned way back in 2009, before StarCraft II even launched, and nine years later it's finally debuting in the impending 4.3.0 update.
Guinness strips Billy 'King of Kong' Mitchell's world records
Well, that was fast. When Twin Galaxies announced it'd stripped Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell's high scores from its forums yesterday, the gaming record-keeping outfit said it'd notified Guinness World Records of such. Today, Kotaku reports that Guinness will strip all of Mitchell's forged video game high scores including entries for Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong Jr. from its ledger as well.
'Dragon Quest VR' brings giant virtual slimes to Japan's arcades
What do you mean you haven't ever played Dragon Quest? One of few JPRGs to have gone toe-to-toe with Final Fantasy and lived to tell the angsty tale, the series is still huge in Japan, even if the games have struggled to amass similar fanbases elsewhere. (Something that its Minecraft-esque spin-off has been trying to fix.)
Play Atari's 'Centipede' on a tiny, authentic arcade cabinet
There's something special to playing a vintage arcade cabinet, but it's usually impractical to own one. It's no mean feat to lug a gigantic machine into your home, and you'll probably have to restore it to recapture its glory. Atari and New Wave Toys think they have a better idea. They've partnered on Replicade X Centipede, a 1/6th-scale cabinet replica that lets you play (what else?) Centipede in an authentic-looking system that won't chew up tons of space in your den. The 3.5-inch LCD won't recreate the experience you get with an old-school CRT screen, but everything else is surprisingly close. It's made of metal and wood, the art is sourced directly from Atari's vaults, and you even steer the game using a tiny trackball.
Twitch starts its retro 'Starcade' marathon on August 28th
Twitch has nailed down the start of its Starcade marathon... and unlike many of its other marathons, it won't just involve playing episodes back to back. It'll stream the arcade-themed game show on Shout! Factory's channel starting August 28th at 2PM ET. The focus is on playing all 123 episodes digitized from the source tapes, but there's a modern twist: Geek & Sundry host and streaming veteran Erika Ishii will introduce games and provide context. You shouldn't be lost if you're too young to have played the games outside of an emulator.
Atari taps Jeff Minter to resurrect classic coin-op ‘Tempest’
As seen in this 1981 commercial, Tempest was one of Atari's flagship coin-operated arcade games. But unlike Space Command or Centipede, Tempest sent players down geometrically fractal tunnels in an advanced -- and vibrantly psychedelic -- semi-3D adventure. Atari thinks it's high time this title was revived for current consoles, and it's tapped celebrated game designer Jeff Minter to do the job.
Mario Kart is drifting into a Japanese VR arcade
Few things in life are as uniquely stressful as pulling into first place in Mario Kart, only to hear a Blue Shell hurtling at you from behind. There's no escape -- all you can do is close your eyes and accept your inevitable defeat. That experience is going to get infinitely more dreadful for players who visit the VR Zone in Shinjuku, Japan: Bandai Namco has developed a version of Mario Kart for the HTC Vive, complete with the tiny pseudo-cars for players to plop down into.
Bring out your inner 'Calvin and Hobbes' at Alt.Ctrl.GDC
Ah, the Alt.Ctrl.GDC booth. It's the real reason thousands of people flock to downtown San Francisco every year, under the guise of attending panels, networking and showing off their work at the annual Game Developers Conference. Alt.Ctrl.GDC is a collection of games that use experimental controls -- that means no keyboards, no mice and no gamepads. Instead, the booth is filled with things like laser harps, spaceship control panels, giant inflatable dark rooms, DIY bookcases, record players, furry cat hats, cardboard boxes and waist-high, carpeted treadmills.
Arcade cabinet brings wind, smell and bugs to VR
Koei Tecmo Wave, the company best known for the Dynasty Warriors game series, has unveiled an arcade cabinet that adds all-new sensations to virtual reality. The "VR Sense" enclosure is a "multifunction 3D seat" that brings movement, aroma, touch, wind, heat, cold, rain and mist to VR, the company says. It seems it's not meant for the home, however, but as a "pay-per-use" machine, designed to liberate you from your cash at arcades or other facilities.
Gaming TV show 'Starcade' is making a comeback
Veteran gamers will have more than a few fond memories of Starcade, the first video game-oriented TV show. Well, it's about to come roaring back: Shout Factory has bought the rights to create a reboot of the series. It's too early to say how they'll modernize the format, but the early '80s original had a mix of game-specific trivia questions and competitive play -- we'd expect something in that vein. The new team is working with the original production company and creators, too, so it's not just a token nod to a familiar name.
'Altered Beast' and 'Streets of Rage' coming to film and TV
Sonic the Hedgehog has apparently opened the floodgates on Sega adaptations. Sega Group's production arm is teaming with Fear the Walking Dead producer Circle of Confusion on adaptations of '80s and '90s classics Altered Beast and Streets of Rage, according to Variety. Beat 'em up game Streets of Rage pits your rogue cop against big city crime boss Mr. X, while sidescroller Beast features a resurrected Greek Warrior that transforms into powerful werecritters after defeating a suite of villains.
