With IAAPA 2024 one month away, arcade operators are beginning to trial games expected to shape the 2025 market. Two particularly different shooters have appeared on location tests: Sega Amusements’ original VR project Alpha Ops VR Strike and Konami’s unexpected redemption release Contra Burst.
Important: Both titles are prototypes seen during beta testing. Their final cabinets, controls and software may change substantially, and either game could still be cancelled if testing does not deliver the required results.
Alpha Ops VR Strike from Sega Amusements
Sega Amusements has explored virtual reality without making it the centre of its arcade portfolio. Its recent VR work includes VR Agent, promoted during the week of this test and co-developed with Hong Kong-based 3MindWave. The same development group also worked with Sega Amusements on Apex Rebels, released earlier in 2024, as well as arcade racers including ATV Slam and Storm Rider 2, plus Wahlap’s Storm Rider 2 sequel.
Alpha Ops VR Strike confirms that Sega Amusements is continuing to investigate VR arcade formats. Early footage showed a test unit at Gravity Max in Stratford, London, while a clearer view later emerged from the new Dave & Buster’s venue in Schaumburg, Illinois. That location had also recently trialled GoldStorm Pirates.
The cabinet’s seats initially suggest a racing game, particularly because Sega Amusements has used similar seating on racers such as Apex Rebels. The theme points elsewhere: this is a motion-equipped VR shooting game in the same broad category as VR Agent. Seated play may also make the experience easier to supervise and safer to operate than a standing VR setup.
The control image provides more detail. Players appear to use a headset and gun arrangement based on the concept seen in VR Agent, although the gun housing has been redesigned. Its shape suggests a lighter, single-handed controller, with an additional action button positioned near the front of the barrel.
Stop buttons mounted in the centre of the seats confirm that the platform includes motion. Operators will therefore have a direct way to halt the moving seats when necessary.
More information may arrive before or during IAAPA 2024, where the prototype is likely to attract further attention. As with any location test, its final specification remains unconfirmed. Readers comparing this format with other home or commercial setups can also browse RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide.
Contra Burst brings Konami back to redemption testing
The second test is less predictable. Contra Burst was spotted at Round1USA’s Puente Hills Mall location, following several recent Konami concept tests in the United States. It is notable because it appears to be Konami’s first non-BEMANI and non-medal arcade project seen there in a long time.
The game is being developed as a conversion for existing Bomberman Arcade cabinets. The available photograph may show a unit during installation rather than the finished presentation, so the completed conversion could look different.
Contra began in arcades but became especially associated with home consoles after the NES version reached a wide audience in the 1980s. The series also received the unusual China-only release Contra Evolution roughly a decade ago, but Konami has otherwise offered little new arcade support for the property.
This version takes the franchise into redemption gaming. Instead of traditional joysticks, the cabinet uses two mounted guns, suggesting a straightforward shooting experience designed around ticket or prize-based play. It is not yet known whether Konami will also test a non-redemption edition, although that would broaden the game’s potential beyond that format.
Will either game reach a wider audience?
Alpha Ops VR Strike appears the more likely of the two to receive an IAAPA showing. Contra Burst is less likely to appear, as Konami does not have an established official arcade presence in the United States and previous Round1USA exclusives have not generally been promoted at the trade show. Showing a game that other operators cannot purchase would offer little commercial value.
A broader return from Konami would be welcome, whether handled directly or through a distribution partner. For operators researching different cabinet categories, RETROCADE’s arcade machines collection and upright arcade range provide useful points of comparison, while VR and redemption formats continue to develop on location.
For now, these remain two very different experiments: Sega Amusements is refining a seated, motion-based VR shooter, while Konami is testing a familiar action brand in a gun-based redemption cabinet. Further location results should clarify whether either prototype progresses to production.
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