October has delivered a busy run of arcade and pinball news, with BuckFest 2025, regional trade shows, location tests and major events in the United States and Japan all competing for attention. IAAPA 2025 is also only one month away, so here is a concise look at the latest developments.
BuckFest 2025 crowns a new Big Buck Hunter champion
The first BuckFest, incorporating the 18th Big Buck Hunter World Championships, took place at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Texas, one week ago. The event combined live music with a substantial selection of Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix machines.
Visitors could play first-, second- and third-generation Big Buck Hunter cabinets, alongside Top Gun, NBA Superstars, Angry Birds Boom, Minecraft and Halo. The first day of the world championship was streamed online:
The second-day broadcast followed the tournament through its conclusion. Jordan Classen won the overall Big Buck Hunter title and the $25,000 first prize. Federico Read finished second with $12,500, while Kattey Pass won the ladies division.
There was less substantial news for players waiting on premium content for Big Buck Hunter Reloaded. The announced addition is a Mountain Goat arriving in spring 2026, selected through a community vote, accompanied by several bonuses. With the franchise now marking its 25th anniversary and Reloaded available as a home release, a larger celebration might have been expected. The platform’s annual-update approach, similar to Golden Tee, may mean a more significant change is still several years away.
Trade show news from Thailand and Japan
October sits between the major September and November trade-show periods, but smaller amusement events are still providing useful glimpses of upcoming equipment. At TAAPE, the Thailand Amusement & Attraction Parks Expo in Bangkok, many exhibitors were from China.
UNIS attended with newer titles including Spin City and Jump Master. Joint Fun also displayed products seen at other Asian events, including Saga of Knight, Buggy Empire and Running Ostrich DX. These games have not yet gained substantial Western representation, apart from some smaller European distributors, although IAAPA could change that.
Attention is now turning to Japan’s Amusement Expo in November. Bandai Namco Experience has announced a booth centred on Wangan Midnight Speed Ignition, alongside the newly revealed One Piece Dawn Strike puncher and the first One Piece-themed pusher medal game. Whether either attraction travels beyond Japan remains uncertain, with the puncher appearing particularly unlikely to receive a wider release.
Bandai Namco will also show its original rhythm game Penlalive and the children’s cooking title Tekipaki Kitchen, which quietly appeared on test last year. Not listed are Biohazard RE:2/Resident Evil 2 Arcade, still at an early stage, and Bike Dash Delivery, the bike-based food-delivery game tested sporadically in Eastern and Western markets since 2023. Its absence may indicate cancellation, although a Western-only surprise remains possible. Magi Blast is also missing from the announced line-up.
Sega Japan’s first Amusement Expo announcements focus on StarHorse Party, which recently returned to testing, and UFO Catcher exhibits. More Sega content is expected to be announced.
For readers comparing new cabinets with a home setup, RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog and Arcade Machine Buying Guide provide useful context.
PRGE and Pinball Expo 2025
Pinball Expo began in Schaumburg, Illinois, during the same week that Portland Retro Game Expo was held in Oregon. The events overlapped, but footage from Pinball Expo still showed a strong turnout and plenty of activity.
Two new attractions made their event debuts across both shows. Stern’s Star Wars: Fall of the Empire was the pinball highlight, with a clear flow that appeared more approachable to newcomers than Stern’s 2018 Star Wars table.
On the arcade side, Alan-1’s cabinet version of Gravitar Recharged appeared at both events. Portland also featured newer machines such as Halo Fireteam Raven and DanceRush, plus Eftsith Software’s indie dungeon crawler Unfathom.
A large multiplayer San Francisco Rush 2049 installation stood near a Maximum Tune 3DX+ setup. A tour of the show floor provides a closer look at the arrangement.
Orbit Games’ Whirl-O-Ball was another success at Pinball Expo, recording close to 4,000 plays. Joe from Indie Arcade Wave finished first in the competition held for the game. American Pinball shared some video of it on Instagram, where younger visitors appeared to enjoy the attraction. Pinball News also published an extensive collection of interviews, panels and show-floor videos.
Pinball fans planning a home installation can also explore RETROCADE’s virtual pinball machines.
Konami expands its location testing
Konami has been particularly active this year following the reopening of its United States amusement sales operation and a restructuring of its arcade division. Several new location tests have now appeared in quick succession.
Super Punch Mania was tested in Japan last month before moving to the United States. The US version places greater emphasis on ticket redemption and uses more prominent lighting. Konami’s US arcade product manager Kwang Jae Lee shared a view of the test machine.
A US Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pusher was also tested last month, while Konami’s ball-toss attraction Gashaaaan! and a new Bleach-themed pusher are receiving R1US location tests at the flagship Puente Hills Mall site. Gashaaaan! has also appeared in testing in Japan.
The Bleach machine places considerable emphasis on card vending and plays clips from the anime. Together with the announced One Piece pusher at Amusement Expo, it reflects a growing interest in licensed character-based pusher attractions. It remains unknown whether any of these games will appear at IAAPA through a Konami-associated exhibitor.
Remembering Paul Williams
Sega Amusements International has confirmed that former CEO and longtime director Paul Williams died on Wednesday, only weeks after stepping down. He had reportedly been ill for at least a year but continued working until his condition became more serious.
Williams died peacefully on Tuesday morning with his family. He assisted with arcade industry reporting on many occasions, including coverage of the recent US release of Maimai DX. His professional contribution and support will be missed by colleagues across the industry. A photograph from InterGame is available here.
More arcade and pinball headlines
- Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of Dead or Alive and the Ninja Gaiden revival, has died aged 58.
- Older people in Japan are using Taiko No Tatsujin for social connection and care prevention.
- Vanguard Princess R begins shipping.
- Taito reveals a Darius-inspired reception-room mural.
- Penlalive receives another unannounced test.
- A compact SP Monster Eye 3 cabinet is tested in Japan.
- Konami releases a new Mahjong Fight Club version.
- Konami updates Quiz Magic Academy.
- Pump It Up Phoenix 2024 updates to version 2.11.
- Team Play reveals a Ghostbusters wheel for IAAPA.
- IAAPA 2025 is one month away.
Home and retro gaming headlines
- Atari announces the Intellivision Sprint game console.
- Rave Racer receives an anniversary event, prompting questions about a possible port.
- Fighting Vipers receives a 30th-anniversary album.
- M2 teases a mystery announcement featuring the number three.
- Psikyo ends sales of its titles on Steam.
For Australian arcade enthusiasts, the next major checkpoint is IAAPA, where location-tested attractions and regional show announcements may receive their first wider industry exposure.
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