AM Press: Metal Slug 6 announced

November 15, 2005 issue

Last updated on November 8, 2005

Special news

Sega has applied for a provisional disposition against Taito's “Dino King” based on the patent.

The Osaka District Court rejected SNK Playmore's lawsuit.

Overseas

Atlas has decided to sell flippers made by Stern in the US in Japan.

“Pac-Man” was selected as one of the top 100 celebrities by the American newspaper “Variety.”

Domestic

There is also a movement against the “half pipe” being constructed on the roof of “Don Quijote” Roppongi store.

Sega and Banpresto each held exhibitions of new works.

News digest of November 15, 2005 issue

The photo is from the Banpresto New Works Exhibition (Osaka). Above are (from left) GM Kunihisa Yanagishita, General Manager Masatoshi Yoshida, and Deputy General Manager Kazutoshi Yanagita of the Amusement Headquarters. Below is a photo of someone trying out "Kinnikuman Muscle Grand Prix"

Main news from 10 years ago

Britain's new license tax AMLD has been settled on multi-player machines. Taito and Kyocera Multimedia have begun full-scale distribution to the online karaoke service “X-55”. SNK unveiled “Samurai Spirits Zankuro Musouken” at a new exhibition. A memorial service was held for Mr. Akio Nakanishi, who retired from Taito. Capcom has laid off approximately 100 people. (November 15, 1995 issue)

Main news from 20 years ago

The Association of Prefectural Operator Associations (AOU) was established, and Akio Nakanishi was chosen as its first president. NAO disbanded after 4 years and 7 months. The SC Amusement Park Association considered establishing voluntary regulations. Atari Games Inc. has shipped “Gauntlet,” a game for 1 to 4 players that can be played mid-game. Yoshihide Takahata, president of Hidaka Shokai, has passed away. (November 15, 1985 issue)

Copyright ©Amusement Press Inc. 2005 · Game Machine, Amusement Press, and Amusement Communication are registered trademarks. It is illegal to reprint articles in this newspaper without permission or otherwise infringe on Amusement News Agency's intellectual property rights.

[News Digest]

1. Sega announced on November 4th that it had applied to the Tokyo District Court on October 28th for a provisional injunction to suspend the manufacture and sale of Taito's arcade game machine “Dino King Battle”, alleging that the patent for the arcade game machine “Beetle Mushiking” was infringed. Sega's patent relates to a rock-paper-scissors-style computer game, and was applied for in August 2002, published in March 2004, and registered on August 26 of this year (issued on November 2). “Beetle Mushi King” has been a hit since it was shipped in January 2003, and the company has also been shipping a similar “Ancient King Dinosaur King” since September of this year. Taito, which has been promoting dinosaur games, just shipped “Dino King Battle” developed by South Korean company D Gate in October, and said, “There are no facts that would give rise to Sega's complaint, and we would like to assert its legitimacy at the hearing.”

2. On November 2nd, Taito significantly revised down its September interim results to forecast sales of 41 billion yen (previous forecast in April was 45 billion yen), ordinary profit of 1 billion yen (2.2 billion yen), and interim loss of 3.1 billion yen (1 billion yen profit). Game arcade revenue at existing stores was sluggish at 7% compared to the same period of the previous year, commercial sales were not growing, and the planned OEM production of pachislot machines was not possible.As the company became a subsidiary of Square Enix on September 28, the company proceeded with the restructuring of its assets, resulting in an extraordinary loss of 4.184 billion yen (of which 2.0 billion yen was an allowance for doubtful accounts on guarantee deposits). Square Enix, which became the parent company, has also upwardly revised its interim and full-year earnings forecasts (net income only), but it appears that Taito's results will not be affected by Taito's results for the full year as well.

3. It is illegal for Aruze to apply for a provisional disposition against SNK Playmore based on its own patent and to post to that effect on its website immediately before the release of SNK Playmore's first full-scale pachislot machine, "Metal Slug." In a lawsuit in which SNK Playmore was seeking compensation for damages from Aruze, Osaka District Court Presiding Judge Satoshi Yamada issued a ruling on October 31, completely dismissing the lawsuit, stating that the posting of this document itself could not be said to be illegal. Regarding the patent at issue (No. 3056742), the Tokyo District Court ruled on July 7th that Metal Slug did not infringe on the patent. However, the Tokyo District Court's judgment has not been finalized, and the patent was not examined in this case, so the case was simply dismissed.

4. On November 7, Konami announced its September interim consolidated financial results (US standards) and announced its transition to a holding company structure. In the interim financial results, sales were 111,870 million yen, down 1.9% from the same period last year, operating income was 7,462 million yen, down 37.0%, and interim profit was 6,964 million yen (1,626 million yen the previous year), supported by 6.3 billion yen gain on sale of Takara shares. By division, sales for digital entertainment, which includes home use, toys, and business use, increased by 2.7% to 66,671 million yen, and operating income increased by 5.3% to 13,048 million yen, but casino gaming machine sales were sluggish, with sales decreasing by 19.9% ​​to 4,727 million yen. For commercial use, “Mahjong Fight Club 4” and “Thrill Drive 3” are doing well, and new titles such as “Baseball Heroes” will be released in the second half.

5. Regarding the transition to a holding company, Konami Sports, a subsidiary, will first merge with Konami Sports Life through a stock exchange at the end of February 2006, changing its name to “Konami Sports & Life” (KSL), and Konami will make it a wholly owned subsidiary through a stock exchange in early March. Furthermore, at the end of March, Konami's home and business use divisions will be separated and a new company, “Konami Digital Entertainment” (KDE, headquartered in Roppongi, Tokyo, president: Fumiaki Tanaka), will be established. The current Konami will become a holding company, and KDE will oversee three divisions: the digital entertainment division, which includes overseas subsidiaries, the KSL division, and the gaming division. Konami says it has a “group management structure that can quickly respond to market changes.”

6. SEGA held an exhibition of new products in early November (Tokyo on the 1st and 2nd and Osaka on the 4th), showing off the Lindbergh board-based “Sci-Fi” (scheduled for April 2006) and “Power Smash 3” (scheduled for next spring), as well as the subsequent “Afterburner Climax” and “Virtua Fighter 5” with videos, as well as a new work for the Atomiswave, “Metal Slug 6” developed by SNK Playmore (scheduled to ship in February). Among them, "Power Smash 3" is expected to be a hit, but even the board kit has an opening price of about 600,000 yen. The multiplayer medal game machine “Ammy Fishing” is set on a 70-inch horizontal screen with a project projected from above, and is an unprecedented type of game where you increase medals with the intention of catching fish.

7. Banpresto held an exhibition of new products in Tokyo on October 25th (Osaka on the 27th), and introduced “Super Dragon Ball Z”, which will ship in December, “Kinnikuman Muscle Grand Prix”, which is scheduled to ship next spring, two TV game titles, and the card battle game machine “NARUTO Ultimate Card Battle”. The first of these, “Kinnikuman Muscle Grand Prix,” is a 2D-style CG fighting game using System 256, which is the first new work being developed for commercial use by home software maker Aki. Unlike "Super Dragon Ball Z," it does not use an IC card, so the price will be lower accordingly. "Nultimate Card Battle" is still in the prototype stage, but demand is already expected.

8. Atlas announced on November 1 that it has acquired exclusive domestic sales rights for Flipper from American Stern Pinball. The company has already released “Simpsons Pinball Party” in Japan since mid-July and “The Sopranos” in late September (OP price 780,000 yen each), and plans to continue selling Stern Flippers. Flippers were popular at game arcades in the United States until the early 1990s, but they have declined since then due to the popularity of TV games, and although there were several manufacturers, Stern is the only one left today. Atlas has decided to supply it because it is particularly popular not only in game halls but also in dart bars and pool bars.

9. A screaming machine is being built on the roof of a building in Roppongi, Tokyo, and local residents are protesting the construction. This is a thrill ride that was developed by Intamin (headquartered in Switzerland) and is the same amusement facility that was first built in May 2004 at the Six Flags Elitch Gardens amusement park in Denver, USA. 12-person boards are driven by linear motors and run repeatedly for about one minute on a 52-meter long U-shaped course (21 meters high) at a maximum speed of about 60 km/h. The seat part also rotates. The facility will be built by Intamin Japan, a Japanese corporation, on the rooftop of Don Quijote's Roppongi store (8 floors) and will be open day and night from late December. Although the construction has received legal permission, including building permits, local residents, including those living in the shopping district, oppose the construction, citing noise and environmental degradation.

10. Weekly Variety, a famous American entertainment magazine, will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with an issue to be released on October 17th, so they have selected and announced the 100 celebrities who have entertained Americans the most over the past 100 years, and it turns out that not only have they chosen a few from animation, such as “Mickey Mouse,” but also the TV game character “Pac-Man.” Regarding “Pac-Man”, it is written, “In 1981, this little yellow guy from Japan ushered us into the age of video games, stirring people up in a frenzy.Pong was the first to hit the market, but with his unchanging smile and endless appetite, Pac-Man possessed a unique personality that captivated game-goers of all ages.”

◎ Since 1974, the industry magazine "Game Machine" has been reporting industry news on commercial amusement machines, including TV game machines, amusement facilities, etc. twice a month, but the print publication was discontinued at the end of June 2002.