Photo: Akihabaranews
Some people are concerned about the future of the arcade industry. Frankly, I worry about little else. From the mid-nineties, it was threatened by the arrival of powerful new consoles able to provide gamers with stunning (at the time. Sort of) 3D graphics in the comfort of their own homes. The industry fought back, however, by basing its business around big novelty cabinets which offered physical experiences unreproducable on home systems. But then Wii came along and stabbed that business model in the guts, too; Namco has blamed Nintendo's machine for the closure of arcades across Japan.
At this year's AOU (Arcade Operator's Union) exhibition in Tokyo, however, Konami seems to have come up with a new solution to combat the slow lingering death of the coin-op: really silly concepts likely to amuse school boys. Byon Byon Action Arcade is a 'telescopic fist simulator' in which players use a plastic fist to punch enemies in a variety of mini-games. It's sort of a cross between those old robot wrestling games and the popular 'whack-a-mole' archetype. Akihabaranews.com has some footage of the game in action. After you've watched this, you'll understand why telescopic fist simulation is the great white hope of the arcade fraternity.
Also at AOU - Capcom was giving lucky journalists hands-on time with Street Fighter IV. The game will apparently beta test at the Capcom Plaza in Tokyo at the end of Feb, with a full release following in July. And fighting fans could also get their twisted fingers on King of Fighters XII, the latest in SNK's series of hardcore 2D beat-'em-ups.
Street Fighter vs King of Fighters - it's like the 21st century never happened.
