Bandai Namco Games and Capcom jointly announced yesterday that a collaboration deal regarding amusement business was signed by the two companies. The goal of this partnership is maximize games sales, share resources and information and work on common new projects. Their first joint product will be a Mario Party themed redemption game. This is not the first time that Bandai Namco Games uses Nintendo's popular character already seen in both Mario Kart Arcade GP. Capcom also works with Nintendo since some games like Tatsunoko VS Capcom are powered by a Wii based hardware. Scheduled for Autumn 2009 in Japan, Mario Party will offer a wide range of mini games and will accept up to 16 players.

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Lately, redemption machines gained more space in the amusement industry. As for all new trends, the lack of experience and information in this field prevents operators to reach the best income this kind of machines can provide. To address this problem, KWP Limited (editor of the popular "Stinger Report") will start publishing tomorrow a newsletter named the "Redemption Report". This one will regularly offer precious information such as the latest news, charts of the best machines, but also many tips and advices to make the right choice and boost your income. The "Redemption Report" will not only cover tickets machines but also token (pushers) and skill games as well as prize vending machines. As a consultancy company, KWP Limited is well known for its clear vision of the market and the accuracy of both its analysis and advices. You can subscribe to the "Redemption Report" for free through the official website: www.theredemptionreport.com.

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Today Namco launches it's newest street-racing game: Nirin. But this time, players ride bikes. There are 5 different ones (Naked, Super Sports, Big Scooter, American et Super Motard), each with its own characteristic: speed, acceleration, handling and turbo boost. Night races take place on five urban courses with different difficulty levels. Accelerating boosts can be built up by banking the bike left or right. There are several play modes: Single Race (challenging rival teams and beating the boss to win a free game), Time Attack and VS Battle (offers up to four players head-to-head). Nirin is powered by System ES1 and features a 42” hi-res deluxe LCD screen.

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Bandai Namco's new shooting game Razing Storm is available in Europe! In this futuristic shooter made by developers of the Time Crisis series, you are a SCAR (Strategic Combat And Rescue) squad member fighting your way through South America to bring down a terrorist organization. The year is 2030 so you'll have to cope with giant war machines amongst usual enemies. This title associates efficiency and originality. Efficiency thanks to the featured pedal system which made the success of Time Crisis, guns with recoil effect, 60" monitor, 5.1 DTS sound system and originality with the totally destructible scenery, sequences with alternate gameplay and above all: introduction of artificial intelligence! It means that enemies will behave differently for each new game. So no more movements pattern memorizing possible! Weapons include but are not limited to machine gun, cluster and rocket-launcher. As you can see, all ingredients are there for mass destruction! This teaser video should convince you of this. The other strong point is that this game runs on Namco's new System 357. It offers impressive graphics which are much better than what is usually seen in arcade games these days. Very enjoyable and technically awesome, this is the best shooting game on the market today. Razing Storm is a sure bet that will stand the test of time!!! Contact your local Namco distributor to order this machine, you won't regret it!
Manufacturer: Bandai Namco. Size: 164(w)x179(d)x233(h). Weight: 385Kg.

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Banpresto just unveiled the next update to its latest title. The name is Mobile Suit Gundam - Senjo no Kizuna "Kitty no Densetsu Edition". This is a special edition of Mobile Suit Gundam - Senjo no Kizuna featuring guest appearance of Hello Kitty! Kunio Okawara (mecha designer of the many Gundam series) himself imagined the "mecha-kitty". Available this summer in Japan as an online update, this version will add a bonus stage set in the world of Hello Kitty and special weapons such as the flower cannon... Players will have to meet certain criterias in order to unlock this extra content. A small Hello Kitty face will appear on title screen of cabinets where it is available. Exclusive Mecha Hello Kitty action figures will hit the stores at the same time. This is an April fool!

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We spoke about it in our ATEI 2009 report, Sega low-cost kits are now available. The two titles are Sega Bass Fishing Challenge and Sega Clay Challenge that can be bought in full kit suiting all cabinets or in update kit for Atomiswave games like Extreme Hunting 1 and 2, Ranger Mission and Sport Shooting USA. Sega Bass Fishing Challenge has an interesting option: it is possible to add a printer in order to distribute a ticket with the player result which can be personalized by the operator. The ticket can be exchanged against a price. Ideal to encourage competition between trackball fishermen…

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Amusement Trade Exhibition International 65th edition closed one month ago. Despite a smaller exhibition surface, it was a very successful show thanks to the quality and number of new showcased products. Moreover, the show attracted more visitors than last year. For more details about the show and our buy recommandations, see our report.

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It's with surprise and regret that we learn about the death of Martin Dempsey caused by an heart attack. He was 57. As an independent freelance journalist, he was involved in amusement industry since 1975. He created the Fair Play magazine in 1985 followed by Coin-Op News in 1992. Beside offering consultancy and editing monthly journal Coin-Op News Europe, he was also Secretary of the IGAA (Irish Gaming & Amusement Association) and organized Irish trade show AmEx. AmEx's 30^th edition will take place from Monday 3^th to Wednesday 4^th of March at the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin. Despite Martin's unexpected departure, the event will occur as planned. Our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

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After CSI, another famous TV series gets its pinball: 24! Stern's latest pinball designed by Steve Ritchie (Terminator 3, Elvis, Spider-Man, ...) and programmed by Dwight Sullivan starts shipping this month. This table features among other gadgets: hidden terrorists, an explosive safe house, a full of balls suitcase and specially recorded voice samples by actress Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe in the series). "24" pinball can be ordered from your local Stern distributor. Other tables still in production at Stern are Batman, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Family Guy, Indiana Jones, Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man and Wheel of Fortune. The Simpsons Pinball Party will be the next re-released title. We remind pinball lovers about Glenn Pellis' Flipperen website where you can find all locations in Belgium with pinballs in operation.

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Since the 20^th of January 2009, English company Electrocoin becomes Konami's master distributor for Europe, Russia, Middle East and Africa. First affected titles are GTI Club Supermini Festa!, Guitar Hero Arcade, Castlevania - The Arcade, Dance Dance Revolution X, Byon Byon and UBeat. Electrocoin replaces Avranches Automatic which was manufacturing and exclusively wholesaling Konami amusement products in Europe since 2003. Despite loosing its exclusivity, Avranches Automatic will continue to sell future games by Konami. Beside distribution, Electrocoin is also in charge of aftersale service through its Cardiff based subsidiary "Electrocoin Aftersales and Service". These companies contact details can be found in our distributors index.

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