Why Arcooda? Arcooda is Experience
Arcooda is……. Experience
From introducing one of the first online website platforms to the amusement industry, to product development with Atari/Midway, to product testing with Tencent, and much more… the Arcooda team strives to push the boundaries of what is possible.
Prior to game releases, we were invited to private viewing events. In this 2000 photo, we are viewing the first sample of Arctic Thunder before it was released to the market. Shortly afterwards, we purchased samples and sent these to Hong Kong and Australia for income testing. In Australia, we generally tested our samples at Melbourne Crown Casino’s Galactic Circus or Barcode.
After testing, we gave feedback on income and updates on what possible changes should be made to the game software before release.
Our company group has sold over 140,000 amusement machines worldwide, including brand new famous factory brands, wholesale used machines, and the Arcooda product range.
Why Arcooda? Arcooda is Coinop
Arcooda is……. Coinop
Is there still a future for Coinop Arcade Games?
Yes, we think so.
The day we started seeing gamers rent rooms to bring their consoles to play each other and “hang out” was the day that solidified our journey to push arcade companies to work with us to change the way coinop arcade is designed, developed and played. After many meetings in Japan, including using paid consultants, our requests were unanswered.
For many years, the arcade industry has been in decline. Since our meetings, it seems the decline has been accelerating. Well before COVID, Sega and Namco and other major industry players in Japan either closed their sales divisions or stopped exporting. It’s the reason why you did not see Street Fighter 5 released in the coin operated foreign market.
Its also why we feel its important new players can enter our market.
In recent times, Arcooda/Highway developed unique IP for gaming/arcade products which were released into Asia and USA and become very successful.
Only a few days ago, Namco withdrew from the USA amusement centre operations selling their businesses to a 3rd party. This follows Sega, who recently sold their Sega Amusements International division in order to reduce costs and to build an organisational structure that can adapt to changes in the market environment.
Arcade operators understand they need products with good returns on investment, as well as game operation support and advice with backup service. Game players need good value for money products where they can interact with other gamers in an old school style (i.e. competing against the person next to you in Street Fighter).
We believe we have the secret sauce.
In 2005, our sister company was invited as guest speaker at the Korean Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association. Together with Sega Japan, Andamiro USA, IGS Taiwan, Norman Lefty/Technical Dream Company, and Smart Industries USA, we all discussed the future of arcade and what was needed to develop a strong industry.
We still have the original presentation documents. Let’s discuss what we recommended to the manufacturers and industry people 16 years ago…
In the early 1990s, an out of order machine in George Street Sydney would still earn $15+ per week as people would not notice the machine turned off or with an “out of order sign” on it. But those days are truly gone as arcade operators must fully understand their customers and create a niche for themselves. Otherwise, they will close down or be bought out by larger operators. It’s the situation that exists right now. Only the strongest can survive.
So why have traditional gamers abandoned arcade centers ?
As we discussed during the 2005 conference, gamers need value for money and an expectation that they will have a better gaming experience in an arcade centre than playing at home. Once this stops happening, players will start staying at home, and its one of the biggest reasons why we believe traditional arcade gaming is dead.
The Generation Gap we mentioned – gaming development comes in waves … arcade, consoles, and now, mobile gaming. So what has the amusement industry done to bring gamers back to arcade centres and why would you visit an arcade centre at the moment?
You need to be a distributor to fully understand how painful (and also rewarding) distribution can be. It’s a partnership between the factory and the distributor to make sure the end user (the arcade machine operator) fully understands the product, promotes the product, teaches the operator, and gives full technical support.
Have distributors done a good job and supported the end user, or, are they operating the equipment and competing directly with your end user’s customer base? Do you have any choice to choose an alternative distributor?
But what happens when the distributor is removed and you are dealing directly with the manufacturer?
In our last discussion of the 2005 conference, we want to explain how history is repeating. Many factories have not listened to the “grass root” operators.
Imagine going into a car dealership and wanting to buy a car. Then, the salesman asks you what you are going to do with the car, where are you going to drive it, and whether you are willing to pay a per mile/kilometre fee for the luxury of owning the car. Oh, and you might need to buy one of the dead stock cars, otherwise they will not sell you the car you want.
This has been arcade ownership in Asia for some time. And worse, if you don’t give the right answers the manufacturer will not sell you the machine. Crazy right?
For game centre and street operators, its been getting very hard to survive because we all rely on the manufacturers for products to put into our stores, pubs, and venues. Most operators are also relying on crane or ticket redemption machines.
Why Arcooda? Arcooda is Unique IP
Arcooda is……. Unique IP
The Arcooda team works countless hours to create leading edge designs, software, and hardware that is completely new to the market.
Before we lost the Williams/Bally license, there was so much more development that we wanted to finish and show you. Head tracking software, touchscreen features, advanced game software, international leader boards and events, and proprietary new software was all being developed to make virtual pinball the best it could be.
We had already lost the Williams/Bally license before we could release the advanced version of our 3D Kinect version of Arcooda Pinball Arcade. We did continue to fund this software until we had stable software which we shared to all Arcooda customers for free. All further development was abandoned.
Why Arcooda? Arcooda is Game Never Over
Arcooda is…….Game Never Over
We believe we have the most powerful gaming cabinets on the market. Arcooda’s new series of machines support current market technologies/games, PLUS, Arcooda developed software, hardware and games.
As cloud base gaming expands further, gamers have endless game options with over 450,000 games to choose from. Connect your Steam, XBOX, PlayStation, Amazon, Epic, Android, Apple, Origin, Ubisoft and other accounts though your Arcooda machines for the true meaning of……..
Game Never Over TM
Play your favourite slots on Touch Wizard Arcade Machine
Play your favourite Pinball Apps on the Touch Wizard Arcade Machine
Why Arcooda? Arcooda Is Innovation
Why Arcooda?
Highway Racing LCD Driving Cabinet Prototype
Through Highway Group, We Have Brought Many CRT/LCD Candy Cabinets into Worldwide Markets
Through Highway Group, We Have Brought Many CRT/LCD Candy Cabinets into Worldwide Markets
Highway has been selling wholesale Japanese arcade joystick cabinets into Europe, USA and Australia for over 25 years. If you own an original CRT/LCD candy cabinet in Australia, chances are that the machine originated from Highway.
Namco Cyber Lead cabinets being sold to the home market into Australia by Highway Entertainment in 2003.
This month, Highway plans to ship container of Neo Candy to France, New Astro City to USA, and Vewlix L/F/DIA to Australia.
However, these machines are designed for commercial users who have experience in arcade operations. Many people had a hard time going from a 15khz JAMMA game board to a Taito X2 JVS system, or, repairing their cabinets. Arcade game boards are expensive, and, as the time from arcade to home release became smaller (or not at all…), a better home gaming system was needed.
We wanted to design all-in-one arcade machines that offered the best of both home and arcade gaming.
We designed the Game Wizard Series.
But how did the Game Wizard project start….
Why Was Arcooda Born?
Why Was Arcooda Born?
Arcooda is part of the Highway Group, an Australian company that has its DNA based in the amusement and arcade industry. But, so many problems the amusement industry was experiencing, we had a fresh vision on what gaming should be, and how to solve these problems for gamers, operators and distributors. It’s the reason why Arcooda was born.
For industry people, you will understand the pain of being an amusement centre or street operator. For years, we feel the industry has kept going in the wrong direction, and opportunities completely missed. More about our coinop dreams later.
Highway introduced Street Fighter 4 arcade and Tekken 6 into the European market. This was the first time these games were shown into Europe and our trade show products went immediately into Funland Trocadero Centre in the UK.
The next release of Street Fighter 5 and Tekken 7 were exclusively online, subscription/paid model products.
However, many top performing arcade products are never seen outside of Japan….
Thank You & Updates Coming – May 2021
We know that you have been waiting for updates from Arcooda for such a very long time, and we will begin to show you our work and vision over this next period.
But before we start, we would like to acknowledge the very loyal and tremendous support we have received from our customers over the many years. We feel tremendous frustration and disappointment that for a variety of reasons we have not been able to ship you our machines.
We would like to acknowledge the dedicated team of both ex staff and current team members who have incredible pride in their work, often working in their own time full of commitment.
Many of our partners/suppliers are still with us. Without their belief in us, many of the project would have never been able to have been started.
We plan to have a month of updates, starting with Game Wizard, and later, our vision for pinball – something we believe will revolutionise the way pinball is played, designed, developed and manufactured.
Thank you for being a part of our family.
Get Rare Williams & Bally Tables Today with Arcooda Pinball Arcade
Developed in partnership with FarSight Studios, the Arcooda Pinball Arcade software provides your favourite The Pinball Arcade games with cabinet support (among other exciting features). With Arcooda Pinball Arcade, users can play pinball games on full sized video pinball machines with full backglass and DMD support. With 3D Kinect support and 4 camera angles to choose from, users have a variety of viewing options to perfect their playing experience.
Arcooda Pinball Arcade comes in three different versions; the Steam Cabinet Support, Standalone Arcooda Pinball Arcade Software and Arcooda Pinball Arcade software specifically for the Arcooda Video Pinball Cabinet. The Steam Cabinet Support provides users with the above features, as long as they already own The Pinball Arcade tables themselves. However, if they don’t already own the tables you can purchase the Standalone Arcooda Pinball Arcade Software and receive 76 The Pinball Arcade games including fan-favourites such as The Addams Family, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Twilight Zone, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For Arcooda Video Pinball Users, Arcooda Pinball Arcade has a dedicated version. Including all the above features and the 76 games, the dedicated cabinet version also includes advanced features such as touch screen and regular play, and coil, LED lighting and shaker functions to create an interactive and engaging experience for players. These unique features bring a realist feel to your pinball games, bringing you into the game and making your digital tables feel like traditional machines.
Since the loss of the Williams & Bally license by FarSight in 2018, Arcooda Pinball Arcade has become the only place to still collect lost tables such as F-14, Elvira & The Party Monsters, Dr Who: Master of Time, Pin-Bot and so many more. However, this also means that unfortunately the product has become a limited-edition product, and once it is sold out it will be gone for good.