Arcade News: IAAPA 2022, Ridge Racer and Sega

December 2022 brought a busy mix of arcade and pinball developments, from IAAPA follow-up reports and new location-based games to the preservation of rare motion simulators and previously lost software.

For Australian arcade fans and operators, the stories offer a useful snapshot of the industry: large-scale attractions remain ambitious, rhythm games continue to evolve, and preservationists are still uncovering material from arcade history.

IAAPA 2022: the news that followed the show

IAAPA 2022 attracted almost 37,000 visitors, just below the attendance recorded at the busiest recent edition in 2019, which drew close to 40,000. The event generated more announcements than any single roundup could easily cover.

Almost 37,000 attend IAAPA 2022 provides the official attendance figure, while the manufacturers and exhibitors below published additional show material.

Booth videos: Raw Thrills, Sega Amusements, Bandai Namco Amusements, exA-Arcadia, LAI Games, UNIS, Coastal Amusements, Stern Pinball and American Pinball.
Bandai Namco’s IAAPA 2022 wrap-up also mentioned upcoming titles that were not displayed at the event.
Sega Amusements’ show report summarised its overall results.
New or updated game pages covered NFS Heat Takedown, MotoGP VR, Halo: Fireteam Raven, Donut Dodo Do!, Shinorubi Pink Label, the ARC-1 cabinet, Dead Heat Unleashed, Drone Racing Genesis, Storm Rider 2, Asphalt 9 Legends Arcade VR, Carnival Cups and Carnival Cups Crane.
Adult-themed footage of Hawt Pink Club was also shown, with an adults-only warning.
Minecraft Dungeons Arcade Series 2 software had rolled out, with cards available for the arcade version.

For readers comparing commercial releases with a home setup, RETROCADE’s arcade-machine buying guide explains some of the practical differences between operator equipment and domestic cabinets.

Preserving the last Ridge Racer Full Scale

Namco’s Ridge Racer Full Scale was an enormous 1990s attraction in which players sat inside a full-size Eunos Roadster, an adapted Mazda RX-5, while playing Ridge Racer. It extended the cockpit concept seen in earlier driving games such as Atari’s Hard Drivin’.

The attraction cost $250,000 in 1994 dollars and needed a custom installation. Those barriers meant that very few were sold or placed in arcades; the surviving production total is uncertain, but it may have been fewer than 50 and possibly fewer than 25.

A preservation effort has now focused on the last known Ridge Racer Full Scale. The full account is available in the detailed history of the last Ridge Racer. Its survival underlines why specialist restoration and maintenance matter, whether the project involves a rare attraction or a conventional racing arcade.

Street Fighter 6 Type Arcade heads to Japan

Like Street Fighter 5 Type Arcade, the arcade version of Street Fighter 6 was expected to be primarily available in Japan. Round1USA was considered the most likely major US chain to carry it, while specialist Japanese-focused venues elsewhere might import it.

The title was scheduled to appear at JAEPO 2023 in February. Taito’s official page is available here.

Rhythm Master adds walking to the beat

Virtuix introduced Rhythm Master as a rhythm title for operators already running Omni Arena. Its key feature is the Omni Arena omni-directional treadmill, asking players to walk in time with the music.

The available trailer and gameplay video appeared to show forward walking rather than movement in multiple directions. The game was not captured on video at IAAPA. Taito was also promoting the rhythm game Music Diver.

Lost Michael Jackson footage recovered from Sega’s AS-1

Fans discovered an original master tape connected to Sega’s AS-1 motion simulator and its Michael Jackson-themed experience, Michael Jackson in Scramble Training. The AS-1 was an expensive attraction designed for theme parks and the largest arcades of the early 1990s, making surviving documentation particularly valuable.

The discovery included footage that had not been publicly available. The initial report on the recovered master tape provides background, while additional preservation coverage explores the material in greater depth.

Why home arcade equipment is not commercial arcade equipment

A domestic cabinet can be excellent entertainment, but placing home-oriented products in a paid venue raises different expectations. Visitors to a family entertainment centre generally expect equipment designed for commercial use, rather than low-cost home air-hockey tables, Pop-A-Shot units or home dance pads bought from a general retailer.

That distinction is not about excluding a particular brand. It is about durability, presentation and the standard operators set when customers pay to play. RETROCADE’s arcade machines and arcade repairs resources are useful starting points for home owners considering the equipment and upkeep involved.

Atari recreates the unreleased Akka Arrh

Akka Arrh was an Atari arcade project that never received a full commercial release. Its ROMs were later leaked after an alleged unauthorised burn from a collector’s machine, while Atari SA retained the copyright even though the source code had been lost. Atari SA owns the Atari name and intellectual property from 1972 to 1984, but not the separate Atari Games or Midway catalogue.

The new version is being recreated from scratch by Jeff Minter. The project is not simply the release of a completed arcade game: Atari’s original development process often brought games to testing at an early stage, sometimes around 30 percent complete, before deciding whether to finish them. The modern version was planned for home consoles in 2023, with an arcade release considered unlikely because of its unusual gameplay.

The revival also represented a broader attempt by Atari’s current leadership to repair damage associated with earlier management, including reported failures to properly support contractors and developers. Reworking classic properties and commissioning new interpretations can help the company move beyond relying solely on its retro catalogue. Minter was a fitting choice, having worked with Atari hardware since the 1980s and directly with the company in the 1990s.

LAI Games brings Arcade Legend to Oculus Quest

Known primarily for commercial arcade releases, LAI Games expanded into home entertainment with Arcade Legend. The virtual reality game lets players build and manage a modern arcade, turning the question of what to install into part of the experience.

More arcade and games-industry headlines

Scooby-Doo! Pinball gameplay was published.
Konami announced Japan’s Chase Chase Jokers for 21 December and began testing Gitadora Fuzz-up ahead of its Japanese launch the following year.
exA-Arcadia’s JAEPO 2023 booth was planned to be larger than its IAAPA booth.
A promotional card for Dead Heat from either IAAPA 2012 or 2013 resurfaced.
Five Star Parks & Attractions acquired Craig’s Cruisers venues in Michigan.
Dave & Buster’s reported a return towards pre-COVID performance levels.
Pump It Up received confirmation of its next version.
Sega changed the gun holders on The House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn.
ArcadeUFO relocated to a new space, which had opened by this point.
The Act: An Interactive Comedy was ripped and uploaded online.
GameOn NW launched the Sling Putt attraction.
A UK venue, Flashback Arcade, closed after reporting unsustainable energy costs.
Main Event introduced a family kitchen as part of its food and beverage programme.
Groove Coaster 4 arcade service ended, affecting Round1USA particularly heavily.
Japanese UFO catchers gained an app, while Konami planned to end online service for Baseball Collection the following February.
Netflix continued work on a live-action Dragon’s Lair film starring Ryan Reynolds.
A life-sized Monopoly attraction opened in Saudi Arabia.
Comedian Gallagher died; he had appeared in an arcade game.
In wider games news, the US Federal Trade Commission moved to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Meta faced pressure over its metaverse project, the Atari 50th Anniversary Celebration released on consoles, the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive turned 34, and an unreleased Tengen Genesis game was discovered.
Retailers tightened generous return policies, while shipping-industry research examined how many containers are lost at sea each year.

From giant driving attractions to recovered simulator footage, these developments show how arcade history, commercial hardware and new experiments continue to overlap.