Bandai Namco has unveiled the contents of the big update of Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Maxi Boost. First of all the name changes, the game is now called Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Maxi Boost ON. The release is scheduled for 2016. Many new features are planned but the main feature is online play! New mechas will be added. The first two have already been announced: the YG-111 Gundam G-Self piloted by Bellri Zenam and coming from the Gundam Reconguista in G anime series which aired from October 2014 to March 2015 and the ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos piloted by Mikazuki Randy and coming from the Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS anime series which broadcasting started in October 2015. The EX Burst system has been revised with the addition of 3 functions for new strategies: Fighting burst (increases melee attack), Extend burst (avoids critical situations) and Shooting burst (cancels ranged attacks). The courses and the VS. Conquest have been renewed: a new course, the capital Territory of Gundam Reconguista in G, new BGM and a new final boss. Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS. Maxi Boost ON will be on location test at Round 1 Yokohama, Tokyo Gulliver and Namco Nihonbashi Osaka from October 31 to November 1.

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The Paris Games Week will be held at Paris Expo (Porte de Versailles) from October 28th to November 1st. The show opens from 9am to 7pm (except on Sunday where the closure is at 6 pm). This 6th edition will bring together video game fans around many activities dedicated to their passion. They will discover the latest games, 2016 previews and new accessories thanks to manufacturers (Xbox, Nintendo, PlayStation), publishers and developers (Activision, Namco Bandai, Ubisoft...), accessories makers (Big Ben...) and partners (Jeuxvideo.com, Game One...) present at the show. Among the proposed activities are E-sports with the ESWC, the video game World Cup and the ESL Arena where the Tekken 7 World Arcade Championship EU Qualifiers will be played. There is also Paris Games Week Junior totally dedicated to younger players, a space dedicated to games Made in France, an area about jobs in the video game industry to learn about schools and training, the video game library to meet authors, cosplay and an art gallery. A retrogaming zone hosted by the MO5.COM association and Coin-Op Legacy will also be there with console and computer games but also 8 original arcade machines: Pac-Man (1980), Defender (1981), After Burner II (1987), Pang (1989), Point Blank (1994), Super Street Fighter II X: Grand Master Challenge (1994), Super Dodge Ball (1996), Tetris: The Absolute - The Grand Master 2 (2000), as well as Mushihime-sama (2004). A one day ticket costs €16 and €11 for the younger ones (7-18 years).

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Drivers rejoice! Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX Plus were spotted in the basement of Las Vegas amusement arcade in London (on Wardour Street). But these are not the only new games in the place, you will also find among others Taiko no Tatsujin 13 and Pump It Up Prime!! So we finally the chance to play Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity in Europe! Let's get back on its history and why we had little chance to see it land here... The first Initial D 8 location tests took place in January 2014, but already at that time, Patrick Michael, heading the R&D department of Sega Amusements Europe has announced in an interview to Eurogamer that "Initial D games are fantastic but they are not made for the Western market, because the vast majority of local players are casual players who do not like to lose and inevitably, it happens often in a 1 on 1 racing game". This is when we realized that the game would never be released there. It must be said that the latest installment to have been officially released in Europe was Initial D 4... Initial D 8 was released in Japan in July 2014. Then it started to appear in the rest of Asia in September 2014. Despite the launch of an English version of the website, this "export" version of the game is in Japanese language (as it was already the case for export versions of Initial D 5, 6 and 7). In April 2013 (at the time of Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AA X), we proposed to Kenji Arai, the producer of the series, to translate the game into English for Sega. He politely declined, indicating that the sales policy for Europe was not established but that if Sega decided to focus in the future on the European market, he would reconsider the offer. Alas, the recent restructuring at Sega is not going in that direction, favouring the creation of games specifically made for the western market (simpler titles suitable to casual players). The only solution was to import the game to allow the many European fans to enjoy the game. Unfortunately, the game is in Japanese but the save card system works. The other good surprise is obviously Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX Plus! Unlike Initial D, this game is in English. The "Plus" version released in March 2010 added two new cars: the Nissan GT-R (R35) and Skyline GT-R (KPGC10), the Fukuoka Expressway road section, new tuning elements (stickers, neon tube lights and rims) and new music by Yuzo Koshiro! Currently, there are only two Wangan Midnight cabinets but two other machines should arrive next week for 4-player races. Moreover, monthly tournaments are planned! Racers paradise is therefore situated in the basement of Las Vegas arcade in Soho, London! Let's go there and start racing!!!

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Konami Windy II is an arcade cabinet released in 1997. It was the first cabinet to be equipped with both the new JVS harness and a 29" Tri-sync Toshiba screen capable of displaying a VGA signal. Of course, the JVS standard was not yet widely used, so a JAMMA to JVS converter board was included, allowing the usage of the majority of the games available at that time. The Windy II proposed sockets for connecting several cabinets as a standard. With such great features, no doubt it quickly gained in popularity. We talk about it today because 1cc Shirts releases a T-shirt bearing its image. The Gildan brand white pre-shrunk 100% cotton T-shirt features an illustration of the popular machine on the front. The screen displays the Konami logo of the time. Like all 1cc Shirt models, this T-shirt will be produced in limited edition and will not be reissued. You have until Sunday October 25th at midnight EST (6am CET) to order your T-shirt. The price is $33 shipped outside America ($25 within the USA).

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On October 21, 2015 Marty McFly arrives in the future and on 23 October, he participates to the Marty Welcome Party! From 9PM until 6AM on the following day, join Marty at the Brussels Event Brewery for partying to the sound of the '80s, '90s and 2000s. There is something for everyone. Many surprises are planned including the presence of Marty and the mythical DeLorean! But there will also be cosplays, backdrops recalling the movies, giant screens and gifts. The party line-up includes all kinds of DJ: DJ KDR ('80), AKRO (Starflam), DJ Zwalla ('90) and DJ Monkey Foks (2000'). Arcade Belgium will be part of the event with 10 arcade machines equipped with games covering the years 80, 90 and 2000. Presale tickets cost €13 and €18 on-site. VIP tickets are also available in limited amount in presale. They cost €40 and provide access to the VIP bar and catering as well as a VIP photoshoot with the DeLorean. Two completely free shuttles will be present all night to take you from a parking downtown to the party and bring you back to your car.

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Square Enix announced Gunslinger Stratos 3 today. The game will be based on Gunslinger Stratos 2 but there will be three new characters and new stages. New characters silhouettes and voice actors have been unveiled: Argo voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Kathy voiced by Natsumi Hioka and Ban voiced by YÅ« Kobayashi. The game will be present at the Stratos Festival Special Night Party that will be held at the Tokyo Dome City Hall on November 20. Voice actors will be there and there will be many Gunslinger Stratos gifts to get.

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Sega Amusements Europe becomes Sega Amusements International, a subdivision of Sega Interactive. This name change is only the facade of a major reorganization at Sega Sammy Holdings. Sega Japan will now focus on the Japanese and Asian markets, offering greater autonomy to Sega Amusements for the development of the brand across the world. Practically, arcade games for the European and American markets will be developed by teams based in England and in the United States. They will be headed by Shinichi Ogasawara (Rail Chase 2, Gunblade NY, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Maze of the Kings, Let's Go Jungle and Transformers Human Alliance) who will reside in the UK. Although autonomous, Sega Amusements International can count on the full support of Sega Japan. The headquarters of the company remains based in London and Paul Williams, the current COO of Sega Amusements, becomes CEO of the new entity. If we can now forget about official European release of games like Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity and maimai ORANGE PLUS, we can trust them to develop titles that will make good income in our region. As a reminder, Sega games are distributed in Belgium by Red Sun Systems.

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Get ready for the next battle! Bandai Namco announced the Tekken 7 World Arcade Championship EU Qualifiers that will take place on October 29 at Paris Games Week (the French video game convention that will be held at Paris Expo - Porte de Versailles from October 28th to November 1st). There will be a €1500 cash prize to share among winners as well as tickets for the Tekken World Tournament in Japan in December! Best Tekken players will compete to try to win 10 million Yen and the World Champion title. Qualifications will take place at the ESL Arena stand, there are 4 entries left, 12 finalists are already qualified. Those are the 5 European top players and 7 players qualified through several European tournaments (Tekken World in Spain, Ultimate Tournament in France, Red Fight District in the Netherlands and Poznan Arena in Poland). The tournament will be played on the arcade verison of Tekken 7 with the ability to use MadCatz fightsticks. The finals will be broadcast live on Twitch.

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The shmup.com community organizes a big shoot'em up festival on October 10th! The event takes place at the Coin-op Legacy associative arcade in Vitry-sur-Seine, France. Participants will have access to more than 50 arcade machines set to freeplay including 25 shoot'em ups such as Sagaia and Xevious but also 3D shoots like After Burner II, Space Harrier and Thunder Blade. And of course, impossible to talk about shmups without mentioning the masters of the genre and they are featured in the event name; Cave Carnival! As such, fifteen games by the developer will be featured including Dondonpachi Saidaioujou, Mushihimesama Futari Black Label, Akai Katana, Ibara Kuro, Muchi Muchi Pork, Guwange Blue Label and Dangun Feveron. There will also be live superplays of ESP Ra.De. and Progear no Arashi by Mld and Yami9999 as well as a competition on a Cave shmup with prizes to boot. The evening starts at 6pm and ends at 2am. Nobody will starve during the evening thanks to homemade snacks prepared by Kitchen Sucré Salé that will be sold on site. Registration is done via the form available on the Coin-op Legacy website, the entry fee is €15,00 in presale and €20,00 at the door. Attention: access is limited to 90 people! You can win a free entry ticket by taking part in the undergoing Dangun Feveron contest organised by shmup.com.

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Good news! A new arcade has just opened its doors in the heart of London! It must be said that the English capital had become a little bleak since the closure of the Funland. The Vega joins Namco Funscape and Las Vegas as places to visit for arcade game fans (not mentioning The Heart Of Gaming which is a bit away from the city centre). The offer is composed of mostly rhythm and fighting games with the following titles: beatmania IIDX 18 Resort Anthem, BlazBlue Continuum Shift, DanceDanceRevolution X3 VS 2ndMIX, pop'n music 20 fantasia, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion and Tetris The Grand Master 3 - Terror Instinct. Managed by fans of arcade games, the Vega aspires to become the new gathering place for the London Bemani community. Daily meetups of music game players are organized for this purpose from November 19th to 22nd (1pm-4pm). The Vega arcade is installed in the basement of the Vegas casino, located at number 9 on Islington High Street, less than 50m from Angel tube station (Northern line). The concept seems very similar to what happens in the basement of Las Vegas in Soho. Anyway, it's all profit for players who are offered a wider choice of games! Hopefully that unlike Las Vegas, they resist the temptation of hosting console games on timer in arcade cabinets. Vega is open on weekdays from 9.30am to 11.30pm and on weekends from 10am to 11.30pm. We wish much success to the Vega team. Be sure to visit the place if you go to London!

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