A new version of School of Ragnarok is out today. This upgrade brings new features and graphics. Lulu and Nono are the two new player partners. They are twin sisters but have opposite behaviors. Lulu wears a black costume and Nono a white one. The training mode is now more simple. It is easier to learn all the moves ans skills. The player can enter the training mode during a fight with 1 credit: the enemy stops for 600 seconds and the player can practice moves and skills. The fight continues after. The new graphics are more detailed and change the player current character appearance. You can watch the trailer here.

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Here it is! Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 5DX is out in Japan today! This new version of Namco's famous racing game offers 8 new cars (including Audi and Dodge models for the first time): Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro, Audi RS4 Avant, BMW M3 CSL, BMW M1, Dodge Viper SRT-10, Dodge Charger SRT8, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT and Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II. A new course has been added: the Hanshin Expressway No. 3-harbor road. It's a course of nearly 20km made of various roads running through the harbor city of Kob (time attack video). There are of course other new features such as new hoods, wings and new wheel models to customize your car as well as a new stamp system; when you battle the ghost of another player, theat player receives a stamp from you. If he choose to run against your ghost in return, you'll receive a "return" stamp. By collecting "return" stamps, you can unlock backgrounds for your garage. New tracks of Yuzo Koshiro are added to the soundtrack: Fascination, Let it Shine, The Race is On and Risky Guy (extracts). No release date for the international version of the game has been announced yet.

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We start our previews of the new machines that you will discover at EAG International 2016 trade show on January 12th with manufacturer Universal Space. Universal Space (also known as UNIS), will present five new machines including three video redemptions. First is Polar Igloo, a machine for 2 players using the Lucky Hit game formula where a ball rolls down a plank with pins to fall in boxes of different value. The originality is a big screen showing animated backdrops and funny animations. There is also Strike Pro Fishing, a fishing simulation for 2 players equipped with a realistic fishing rod mechanism. It's up to you to judge the size of the fish; pull too hard and the line breaks, let it too loose the fish will escape. In Speedy Feet, the player must stomp as quickly as possible on the blinking footprint (there are six of them) to send the dinosaur back to its corresponding geyser. There are 3 levels: lava, ice and rock. In the Rodeo Race redemption game, the player shoots a water stream at targets and a wheel to allow his bull to cross the finish line to win the tickets. There will also be an innovative kiddie ride called Super Big Rig. It teaches children how to drive a truck. The child controls the truck using the steering wheel while the parent can interact with the vehicle through voice commands via a microphone. The popular Pirate's Hook and Safari Ranger games will be presented in 4-player versions and as a brand new 1-player "prize" version. The popular Duo Drive unveiled last year will be once again be there as well as the funny Monkey Shake Down and the well known Panning for Gold where the players must fish for gold nuggets in a small river to win tickets. All these products will be presented on the stand of Instance Automatics (booth #830). On this stand, you will also discover Jurassic War, a bouncy ball video vending machine where the player must shoot balls at on-screen dinosaurs to stop their attacks.

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The madness of the 90s returns in Namur soon!!! It will not be held under a tent on the Esplanade of the Citadel as last year but at Namur Expo! Note the date, it will be on Friday February 12th, 2016. In addition to the best and the worst of the '90s music, many activities are planned for this second Namur edition of God Save The 90's: a bouncy castle, a giant candy dispenser, makeup and '90s hairstyles stand, body painting, fluo deco, a foam cannon, bubble machines, a balloon drop and of course freeplay arcade machines! Arcade Belgium will offer once again a selection of the best original arcade games of the '90s covering all genres. We will be happy to return to Namur Expo, the last time was in the month of September 2014 at the first edition of Retro Made In Asia. God Save The 90's means lots of fun and an happy mood. The atmosphere is unique and you have to attend it at least once. Those not knowing what this is about should check this video shot at the last Liège edition: https://vimeo.com/141264233. Presales will begin on Monday, December 14th at noon (that's tomorrow). Attention, do not miss this appointment because all the previous editions were sold out! Here is the magic link to obtain your tickets: http://godsavethe90s.be/tickets/.

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Tekken 7 update has been announced during the award ceremony of the KING OF IRON FIST TOURNAMENT 2015 finals: its title is Tekken 7 Fated Retribution. Big surprise: the unveiled new character is none other than Akuma from Street Fighter. He will not be just a guest but will have a deep connection with the story of Tekken. Katsuhiro Harada revealed that the man seen with Kazumi in the dojo in Tekken 7 intro was in fact Akuma and not Heihachi as everybody thinks. Tekken 7 Fated Retribution will bring better graphics, new characters, new costumes for all characters and new stages. The KING OF IRON FIST TOURNAMENT 2015 finals was played between KNEE (Japan) and Novi (Korea). Novi won with Dragunov while KNEE used Devil Jin. AO (Japan) finished 3rd with Alisa. You can watch the trailer here.

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MÚSECA is the newest rhythm game in the BEMANI series from Konami. It is out since yesterday. The control panel features 4 buttons and there is also a pedal. The buttons rotate at 360 degrees and the player must perform specific actions such as hit, charge, spin and kick when the falling on-screen object hits the mark at the bottom of the screen. There are 3 ranks for the action: critical, near and error. Each character (named Grafica) has special abilities to help the player. Music are composed by artists such as GUMI, 40mP, Last Note,... You can watch the trailer introducing the gameplay here.

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Taiko no Tatsujin: White Ver. is available in Japan today. The new cabinet decorations are white. All data of the Murasaki version are of course transferred. As usual there are new songs including well-known artists and animes: Sekai no Owari, Sword Art Online, One Piece, Yo-Kai Watch,... A collaboration with Love Live! (the multimedia project of idols from ASCII Media Works) will start on 25 December, however, two songs are already available: Angelic Angel and Snow halation. For the first time, Bandai Namco will sell official drumsticks for the arcade game: original MyBachi drumsticks. They will be on sale in selected Namco game centers until February 14 and may be used in official tournaments.

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The successor of maimai ORANGE Plus hits Japanese game centers today. This is maimai PINK, all cabinets have been redecorated in pink, the new color of the game. Sega has added nice new features to the game: the first play is free, "Friend Fever" mode allows multiplayer and the ranking system changed: it goes from F to SSS, so far it was from D to SS. And of course, new songs are available: Yo-Kai Watch, Himōto! Umaru-chan, School Days...

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This month, 1ccShirts celebrates Video System! This company established in Kyoto in 1984 by Koji Furukawa began by creating mahjong games (including the Final Romance series) and puzzles like Alexey Pajitnov's Hatris and Welltris and the arcade adaptation of Pipe Dream. Video System also produced the Karate Blazers beat'em all, the Ta-o Taido fighting game and the F-1 Grand Prix, F-1 Grand Prix Part II and Lethal Crash Race racing games. They are also responsible of Power Spikes volleyball game and its infamous sequel Power Spikes II on MVS. A game so bad that many of the cartridges were converted at the factory into Puzzle Bobble cartridges. Later, they made the MVS breakout game Pop'n Bounce. But Video System is best known for its famous series of 4 shoot'em ups titled Sonic Wings (known is Europe as Aero Fighters). The developers of the first Sonic Wings video game left Video System shortly after the game release to found Psikyo. Their latest arcade game was Quiz & Variety Sukusuku Inufuku released in September 1998. The company closed its doors in 2001. The T-shirt proposed by 1cc Shirts is a red Gildan branded T-shirt with the Video System logo on the front subtitled with the catch phrase "Dream. Fantastic Play" in Japanese language. You have until Sunday, December 27th to place your order. The price is $25 including shipping to the USA and $33 for the rest of the world.

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ad news: the famous Akedo arcade in Lille will close its doors on Sunday December 20th, 2015. Opened in February 2013, the offer of machines has continuously grown with titles like ReRave Plus, In The Groove 3, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, Rhythm Tengoku and Alien Extermination as well as many classics such as Super Street Fighter II X, The King of Fighters'98, Metal Slug 3, Puzzle Bobble and ESP Ra.De. The atmosphere is great and the place is often crowded. In fact, the only problem is the lack of space. The lease ending in January 2016, Akedo is forced to move. For over a year, they are looking to expand while staying in the city of Lille. Despite a strong case and positive results, access to all the interesting places were refused by reluctant landlords. The reasons for their refusal are the same as usual: "Is this stuff still popular?", "It's full of thugs.", "Isn't it a bit outdated?". As you can see, the landlords have in mind the vision of the old European arcades (which have either closed down or turned into mini casinos a long time ago). This is all the more damaging because the young entrepreneur opening an arcade has a model more like a Japanese game center in mind. Regarding profitability concerns, video games have never been as popular as now and the retro gaming trend provoked a nostalgia shock bringing the public back to the arcades which have become very rare. There's a clear lack of supply to meet demand. We had the same joke when a bank has refused us a loan for the purchase of a warehouse to host our arcade machines. Someone had first accepted the loan and then she went on vacation, one of his colleagues then refused the loan at the last minute, saying that the bank "would have nothing to do with the casino business". This forced us to find another bank in an emergency. We got a loan in the evening but at a less favorable rate. The general lack of knowledge of the subject is the main barrier to the return of arcade games in the European urban landscape. And everyone is losing; players, young entrepreneurs who want to live of their passion and the general population as arcade games contribute to ambient happiness. These landlords probably prefer that their building houses yet another clothing store. The Akedo arcade will close Sunday December 20th, 2015. Will the closure be final? Yes, if they do not find another premise in Lille. In that case, it will be the end of the city's sole arcade. So if you know people working in real estate in this city, it's time to give them a call! Note that the arcade closing does not affect Arcade Nord, Akedo's arcade machine sales activity. Sales are suspended at the moment because of the restoration work surplus due to a large quantity of orders. Sales will resume in January whatever happens. Meanwhile, thank you for spreading the word about this story to cause recognition of this activity among the people of power.

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