Important: QB Throwdown was photographed during a location test. Bay Tek Entertainment may still change the game substantially, or decide not to release it.
A trademark filing discovered last year revealed Bay Tek’s plans for a game called QB Throwdown. The title did not appear at IAAPA 2022, and its status remained uncertain until photographs surfaced showing the machine operating in testing.
The test venue was not identified. Bay Tek commonly tests arcade products in Wisconsin, its home state, although testing in Illinois may also occur occasionally.
A football-themed ball-toss game
As its name suggests, QB Throwdown uses American football as its theme. If it reaches production, it would be one of the more recent arcade games built around the sport, following Football Frenzy VR from VRStudios.
The machine combines physical throwing with an on-screen video component. Its presentation suggests a quarterback-style challenge, although the action is likely to be considerably faster and more compact than a real football play.
The cabinet appears designed for two players and is likely aimed at the ticket-redemption market. That multiplayer format places it alongside games such as Blox Breaker and Zombie Smasher from Adrenaline Amusements.
The available photographs do not confirm whether the footballs contain RFID tags, so that feature remains unverified.
A substantial cabinet with projected graphics
The second view shows a fairly large cabinet, standing approximately as tall as ICE’s Monopoly Roll-N-Go. The supplied footballs also appear close to regulation football size.
Rather than placing a conventional display behind the target area, the machine uses an HD projector. Bay Tek used a similar approach in its first version of Connect4Hoops, and projection makes practical sense here: repeatedly throwing a full-size football, particularly one with a pointed shape, directly at a screen would create obvious durability problems even with protective plexiglass.
What happens next?
QB Throwdown remained a test piece when these images were taken, so its final cabinet, gameplay and release status were not confirmed. It may appear at Amusement Expo in late March, but that was only a possibility at the time.
For more coverage of new machines and industry developments, visit the RETROCADE Arcade Blog. Readers considering a similar machine for home or commercial use can also compare arcade machines, explore upright arcades, or review the arcade machine buying guide.
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