JAEPO 2023 marked Japan’s return to an in-person arcade trade show after the COVID-era interruption. The 2021 event was online-only, while the 2022 edition was cancelled as the Japanese amusement industry continued dealing with the pandemic’s effects.
The show ran across Friday and Saturday in Japan, with Saturday open to the public. Some products were reserved for private viewing, so not every announcement was visible to visitors or media. A smaller JAEPO event was also planned for November, although support for that edition was not yet clear.
JAEPO 2023 highlights
Local television coverage offered an early look at several machines presented at the exhibition.
Video coverage from Japan also showed a wider selection of the games on display. The event’s return was particularly notable for operators and enthusiasts following the Japanese market from Australia.
The following round-up covers the most significant games and hardware reported from the show floor.
Bandai Namco Amusement
Maximum Tune 7 and Dead Heat Unleashed
Rumours had suggested that the seventh instalment of Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune might be unveiled at JAEPO. No public reveal appeared, although some titles were reportedly shown privately. The game may still be in development, or the expected announcement may have resulted from a misunderstanding.
One possible source of confusion was Dead Heat Unleashed, which was present at the event.
The Idolm@ster Tours
Bandai Namco’s major rhythm-game announcement was The Idolm@ster Tours, a new arcade entry in a series that began in 2005. Its control system attracted attention, although its music may be more divisive. An official game site is available here.
Taiko no Tatsujin was also represented by Don-chan, additional games and merchandise, although no new build was identified.
Mario Kart and Gundam
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX continued receiving updates in Japan a decade after launch. The online Japanese version made Waluigi and Bowser Jr. available from the beginning and received a new marquee.
Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Versus 2 Overboost was another important Japanese-market release. The series remains one of the country’s strongest-performing arcade properties, despite not receiving a Western release.
Kirby and imported Western games
Bandai Namco also showed the Japanese Kirby redemption game. Its Nintendo character gives it a strong point of difference compared with a similar prize machine using an unlicensed theme.
Bandai Namco Technica displayed imported Western products, including Raw Thrills’ Fast & Furious Arcade and Bandai Namco Amusement America’s Dead Heat Unleashed. Some signage indicated that certain machines were not available for purchase, although determined operators may still find ways to source them.
VR had a notably small presence: King Kong was reported as the only VR product at the show. The Japanese market had shown much stronger interest in arcade VR several years earlier, including Bandai Namco’s Project i-CAN and Mario Kart VR. Concerns include the technology’s space requirements, social isolation and tendency to function as a one-off attraction rather than a repeat-play product.
exA-Arcadia
At the Eikoh booth, exA-Arcadia presented its in-production catalogue and upcoming releases, including Batsugun EXA Label, Donut Dodo Do!, Axel City 2, Shinorubi Pink Label and Arcana Heart 3 Xtend. The display mainly used sit-down cabinets, with several ARC-1 units also present.
The booth drew strong interest from visitors. New announcements were expected during the public Saturday session.
Touhou Scarlet Diablolique Fantastica
Touhou Scarlet Diablolique Fantastica follows Touhou Perfect Sakura Fantastica. It is described as a remaster or remake of the sixth Touhou title, with additional content and further polish. Touhou is a shooting-game series with a particularly large following in Japan.
Daemon Bride exAGAIN
Daemon Bride exAGAIN brings the fighting game to arcades outside Japan for the first time. It was previously mentioned in promotional material but had not received substantial follow-up until this announcement. Team Arcana, also involved with Arcana Heart 3, is developing the project.
Axel City 2 and Donut Dodo Do!
Axel City 2 was finally approaching release, with a spring launch planned at the time of the show. The exA version is a full arcade exclusive and was not planned for consoles.
The JAEPO build of Donut Dodo Do! included changes over the version shown at IAAPA 2022, including the addition of Bella. It also featured an arcade-exclusive stage.
Other exA-Arcadia releases
Dynamite Bomb!! is a new two-dimensional fighting game with 10 characters and full exclusivity to the exA platform. Footage available at the time showed an older build, so it should not be treated as representative of the JAEPO version.
Arcana Heart 3 Xtend was set to Event Mode at the show, preventing one-player play, while Team Arcana attended the exhibition. Batsugun EXA Label, a new remaster, was publicly playable for the first time and attracted fans, including one visitor who brought a Saturn port disc.
Konami
Konami’s JAEPO presence remained focused primarily on Japan, with Bemani competitions and medal games alongside its new software. The Bemani Pro League was part of the show’s tournament activity.
The Konami Arcade Championship finals were scheduled for the next JAEPO event in November, supporting plans for a smaller return show.
Eldora Crown Eternal Labyrinth
Eldora Crown Eternal Labyrinth is a Japanese arcade RPG featuring cards that place elements in dungeons and a dungeon-creation mode. This style of deeper arcade role-playing game remains far more common in Japan than in Western venues.
Mahjong Fight Girl and QuizKnock Stadium
Mahjong Fight Girl appears to offer a more approachable version of the mahjong arcade format, a genre rarely seen in Western arcades.
QuizKnock Stadium continues Konami’s support for arcade quiz games, another category that has largely disappeared outside Japan.
Sega
Sega returned to the show with a booth focused mainly on Japanese preferences. A collaboration space promoted the Hatsune Miku Project Sekai mobile game through existing arcade titles such as Chunithm.
UFO Catcher 10 and Eiketsu Taisen
UFO Catcher 10 introduced a more minimal crane-machine design. Sega also staged a tournament for the trading-card strategy game Eiketsu Taisen, won by a Bandai Namco Amusement representative.
Sega’s rhythm games
Maimai, Chunithm and Ongeki received a prominent showcase through Sega’s regular livestream, with appearances including composer and performer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi.
Taito
Taito’s return to the trade-show spotlight was one of JAEPO 2023’s notable developments. The company presented several new and returning products after a quieter period.
Street Fighter 6 Type Arcade
Street Fighter 6 Type Arcade appeared to use Taito’s Type X4 hardware. The platform is effectively a PC, although performance can vary with the installed graphics configuration. Reports also noted that the USB board for home controllers adds a frame of input lag to both the standard controls and connected gamepads. The demonstration was designed to make the game easier for newcomers to approach.
Space Invaders Gigamax
Space Invaders Gigamax expands the classic formula to support up to 10 players simultaneously, giving Taito a large-scale multiplayer attraction.
Music Diver and redemption games
Music Diver, Taito’s latest rhythm game, was shown despite being associated with a Round1 exclusive arrangement. Its appearance may have been intended to promote the title to the public on the show’s second day.
Candy Panic Plus and Candy River added to the redemption presence at the exhibition. Taito also demonstrated new content for its MXR room and displayed a coin-flattening machine that could turn a coin into a Space Invaders souvenir.
Arcade hardware and international products
Sanwa JLX lever
Sanwa introduced the JLX joystick lever as a successor to the JLF series. The company also displayed a gold-coloured stick.
Kurimoto tap unit
Kurimoto demonstrated a tactile “tap unit” trigger designed to let users feel the texture of items within software. It was connected to a phone application at the show, although its future use in arcade games remained to be seen.
Quick Shot arrives in Japan as Top Gun
Safari Games presented the Chinese light-gun game Quick Shot in Japan under the name Top Gun. The title had already been available in Western markets, first reaching the UK and Europe before the United States. The redemption function may need to be disabled for Japanese operation, while the metal gun and its strong feedback received positive attention.
What JAEPO 2023 says about the Japanese arcade market
JAEPO 2023 was smaller than earlier editions, but its return still offered an encouraging sign after the long interruption. Bandai Namco and exA-Arcadia supplied much of the new-game momentum, while rhythm, prize and Japanese-market formats remained especially visible.
For Australian operators and home enthusiasts, the show also highlighted the importance of cabinet format, controls and serviceability. Our arcade-machine buying guide explains the practical questions to consider, while arcade parts can help with joystick and button upgrades. Explore racing arcades for driving cabinets or browse the RETROCADE arcade blog for more industry coverage.
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