This morning Capcom announced that it is going to introduce a new retro fighting game collection based on the fantastic Marvel Vs. Capcom series of games. I'm a huge fan of most things Capcom and this is no exception. The Company has done a fantastic job at bringing out its classic games with new bells and whistles to modern consoles and PCs.
Sure, I probably already have every single game in this collection in my MAME cabinet (shhhhhh), but with an in-depth look at the history of the games including internal documents and never-before-seen artwork, original marquee cards, on-line play, achievements, game save functionality and other stuff this is a Day 1 buy for me on Steam. I'll play the heck out of it on my Steam Deck.
In addition to Steam (PC) the Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection is also coming to Nintendo Switch and Sony Playstation later this year.
I saw an advertisement for the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con earlier today and it got me wondering if Stern Pinball is going to show the World anything new at the event. The 2023 SD Comic-Con marked the first public appearance of Stern Pinball's new (at the time) Venom pinball machine.
Even though the official floor map is not available on the show's website yet, I asked around and Stern will definitely be at this year's event. Despite the fact that Stern Pinball is rumored to have an upcoming cornerstone pinball machine based on the new Disney Plus series X-Men '97, to me it seems a little close to the reveal of the last game for them to show something new at Comic-Con. They certainly will have John Wick machines at the show and the public arcade that they are setting up at the Marriott next to it.
This is pure speculation on my part, but if I was Stern Pinball I would reveal the official Venom line of accessories and topper at the show. The Venom add-ons were already passed by the recently launched JAWS accessories, so they're definitely due. Comic-Con seems like the perfect place to show them off to me.
FLASHBACK: Stern Pinball’s Venom is Now on the Floor at San Diego Comic-Con; First Stream of Game
FLASHBACK: Stern Pinball’s Upcoming Venom Topper Appears to be Based on Venomized Ghost Rider
A picture of Venom on the floor at San Diego Comic-Con 2023:
We have sad news from Georgia, where the state's Lottery Commission, which is in charge of regulating coin operated games, recently changed a law or at least the interpretation of an existing law and began charging the state's freeplay arcade operators per-game licensing fees.
The incredible pinball location, The Pinball Palace, was temporarily shut down by the Lottery Commission yesterday despite being told directly in the past that freeplay arcades do not have to pay licensing fees. Now on top of the 6% sales tax that the Palace already pays on its revenue, the location now has to pay the Georgia State Lottery Commission a $3,500 licensing fee in addition to other fees that total $50 per game...Per Year!
Now one of the largest public pinball locations in the country is going to be forced to pull games off of the floor to afford to stay in business. That's absurd. The laws governing CoinOp and Commercial gaming in many states are absolutely archaic. Someone within the Georgia legislature needs to look into this issue!
The Pinball Palace is a fun, wholesome place that doesn't even sell liquor where families an individuals can go for entertainment. The state of Georgia is treating them very unfairly.
Below is a link to a news story that WGIG radio in Brunswick, Georgia aired on this subject earlier today.
"Notice ! Notice ! Notice !
We will be closed until 7/1/2024 .
The Georgia Lottery has reinterpreted the law regarding free play locations and came in today demanding we cease operation. We have to get a coin operators license. It takes up to 2 weeks. We will abide by the law as we have always. When we opened we were told we were operating correctly. Now it’s different. They can fine us $200,000 and seize our machines.
We will apply for a license immediately but it will only be effective starting 7/1/2024.
Sorry for the inconvenience. It is out of our hands and it sucks.
Thank you for your support!
Kelley Daniel , Owner"
A similar situation happened to Arcadia National Bar in Portland, Maine several years ago. Ultimately, they were able to get the city to reduce its game licensing fees. Fighting the Georgia State Lottery Commission is probably a bigger task. If anyone is a lawyer or operator, particularly one in Georgia, who has any advice on how to appeal or fight these charges, reach out to me at knapparcade@gmail.com and I can put you in touch with Kelley.
The fantastic pinball streamer IE Pinball announced that it is going to stream Barrels of Fun's Labyrinth pinball machine tonight. Knowing how awesome Karl DeAngelo is at pinball, viewers will almost certainly get a look at the game's new Poisoned Peach mode. I have embedded the YouTube link below for anyone who is interested.
While I was away in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to run into two prototype cabinets for Alan-1's upcoming arcade games, Asteroids Recharged and Avian Knights on the floor at Enterrium. These two machines were the 2-Player variants. Avian Knights will have a larger 4-Player version and Asteroids Recharged a 3-Player version as well. The games are scheduled for official release in the Fall of this year.
The Primetime Amusements YouTube channel shared a look at Avian Knights earlier this week. Below is that video and pictures that I took of the prototype cabinets.
The people of Georgia should be raising cane about this infringement of gov't.
Now SFGE is under threat of being cancelled. Big gov't has overstepped again as usual, and ruining the livelihood of small biz owners, and patrons enjoyment as well. This has to stop. What an absolute overstep.