New Online Arcade Tourny's
While lurking through the forums of various sites and following random links, I followed one path that led me to the Global VR homepage. Global VR is one of the last of the great arcade cabinet manufacturers. Their most popular title is the PGA Tour that holds regular tournaments for cash and prizes. The Arcade Craze might be long gone, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a future.
In fact, Global VR is currently offering 1 new online tournament and details on another have leaked out. Need For Speed, EA Games’ best racing franchise is going arcade and Global VR is creating the cabinets and the marketing to allow players to participate in ladder style tournaments. Stat tracking is available online and your car and racing info will be stored on magnetic players cards. In the past, these cards haven’t caught on, but with an existing and succesful franchise already in place, that may change.
The second upcoming online tournament arcade game will be a light gun shooter, but all other details are non-existant. Either one I think I could get into, provided its not a full buck to play.
For more on the state of Arcades today, check out this excellent report at 1up.com.