At the JAEPO 2013 trade show held back in March, many exhibitors debuted a wide range of products including Namco, Sega, Taito, and surprise exhibitors Capcom and WAHPLAN - just to name a few. The Arcade Zone was filled with many big name companies and a lot of recognizable titles.
NAMCO Bandai Games showcased on of the biggest booths on the floor, and the big release from them was the 'Mario Kart Arcade GP GX', as Highway exclusively reported prior to the show. It is the third game in the Mario Kart series which first launched about eight years ago and was widely popular. The game features the NAMCAM II, which captures players images (these are customizable for added fun) and are placed above the vehicles in the game - this helps to build the social aspect of arcade gaming.
The Mario Kart is also supported by the four player network configuration for online features and profiles, and the cabinet incorporates the company's contactless card system, the BANA Passport card system (incorporating e-payment via the AiMe feature). The game also features sophisticated player modes and network elements borrowed from other races.
Nintendo excutives were on hand with their Mario mascot to celebrate the launch of this latest edition to the Mario Kart family.
NAMCO also showcased their latest drum music game, 'Taiko No Tatsujin', which is a popular rhythm and music game and displayed new songs and some improved player modes - along with the inclusion of the BANA Passport card system. The company also staked one of the only claims to exhibiting gun games, with the kids game 'Bhutto Burst' - the card based gun game - proudly on display and 'Daisuo Gaburincho DX 1', a gun game based on the popular Power Ranger franchise.
They also featured some prize and medal games, including 'Lucky Marine Theatre Deluxe Sea Story' and 'Spirit Fishing'. Meanwhile, in their international store they had the 'Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4' machine on display, which is also supported by the BANA Passport card system and promoted it's online features such as the International tournament competition and Ghost Mode. Also in the international department was 'Dead Heat Riders', although this was only shown in a non-playable version.
SEGA was another big booth at the show, who brought with them the 'Code of Joker', a sit-down terminal with two screens - a player touch screen and an audience screen - and is supported by the ALL.Net/AiMe platform. Another machine supported by this network was 'Shining Force Cross Elysium Ver. C', which was updated with a new 40-card deck for players to collect. 'Border Break Union Ver. 3.0' is another network game, but this one is a robot combat game with a 10 against 10 network capability.
Other games showcased that inlcuded the ALL.Net P-ras MULTI platform and the AiMe e-payment smart card system were 'Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R', 'Under Defeat HD+', 'Caladrius', and 'Phantom Breaker: Another Code'. Meanwhile, in the medal corner SEGA featured 'Horuka x Toluca' and 'Fist of the North Star: Battle Medal'. In the International department for SEGA was Dream Raiders, but this was also in a non-playable version.
Taito celebrated the 35th anniversary of 'Space Invaders' at this year's show. On display was the hugely popular 'Groove Coaster Arcade', which is a music game based on the iOS game app and combines two unique controllers called 'Boosters', matching rhythm and icons for points. This machine is supported by online functionality from Taito's own tournament network infrastructure, NESiCALive. Other games showcased that are also supported by this network included 'Arcana Heart 3 Love Max' (the latest in the EXAMU brawler series), 'Crimson Clover', and 'CHAOS CODE: New Sign of Catastrophe' (a brawler from F K Digital).
Konami Digital Entertainment exhibited a a very large booth of their own, which included some new titles and a number of re-booted BEMANI franchise games. 'Steel Chronicle Be' is the latest version of their robot shooting network game which is supported by new e-AMUSEMENT PASS smart card system as well.
The BEMANI line included re-developed versions of 'DrumMania' and 'GuitarFreak', by the title of GITADORA (i.e. 'GITADORA: DrumMania' and 'GITADORA: GuitarFreak') with a deluxe (JAM) version to be released. Other titles from the re-booted franchise, which included a new clean, white styling design on all the machines, were 'Beatmania 20 Tricoro', 'DanceEvolution Arcade', 'Miraidagakki-Future Tom Tom' (these last two titles use the licensed Microsoft KINECT as their tracking technology), 'Sound Vortex II - Infinity Infection', and 'DanceDanceRevolution'.
Titles for the younger game lovers from Konami included 'Onekabatoru Retsuden Monster' - a card-based play linked to a cartoon game played ona large vertical video display - and 'Dragon Collection', another card-based game as well. Both titles dispense cards collected and played on the machines.
Capcom and WAHLAP Technology were both surprising appearances at the show, as was Saint-Fun who brought their own bike game, Fast Beat Battle Riders to showcase.
News via
The Stinger Report #877 written by Kevin Williams.
