Arcade games featuring Nintendo IPs

[nocturnal YL]

This is about the newer arcade games published by SEGA Interactive, Capcom and BANDAI NAMCO Amusement featuring Nintendo IPs.

Back in 2003, F-ZERO AX made the news for being an unusual example of a Nintendo-themed arcade game. But there were quite a lot of other examples since then. The nature of arcade games means that such news is often neglected, which I think is because (1) they're rarely found outside of amusement centers, themselves being a rare sight outside of major cities, and (2) Nintendo IPs just don't feel like they belong to the arcade, which is often a place of showcasing skills.

Now here's the question: Where can we find information regarding such arcade machines? This list isn't complete, nor is this. This is a better list but covers only Mario games. And here's a Kirby-themed coin pusher from ATLUS (gameplay).

I'm quite surprised to see a lack of coverage on this.

From just the above, here's a comprehensive list, counting only video game-based arcade games that aren't coin pushers or childrens' rides:

Game	Release date (JP)	Publisher	Platform
F-ZERO AX	June 2003	SEGA	Triforce
Mario Kart Arcade GP	Dec 2005	NAMCO	Triforce
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2	Mar 2007	BANDAI NAMCO	Triforce
Rhythm Heaven	20 Sep 2007	SEGA	NAOMI
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX	25 Jul 2013	BANDAI NAMCO	SYSTEM ES3
Luigi's Mansion Arcade	19 Jun 2015	Capcom	Nu
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition	Feb 2016	SEGA	Nu
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR	14 Jul 2017	BANDAI NAMCO	*

(*As with all VR games, this game is operated by the game manufacturer's amusement outlets and is not available for general sale)

With the exception of the Mario Kart Arcade GP series, the arcade games are all based on another consumer game, although F-ZERO AX was developed concurrently with F-ZERO GX.

I don't know if there's anything else I missed. Like I said, it's not exactly an easy list to make.

EDIT: The posts below mentioned Cruis'n Blast. Cruis'n is an unusual case in that it's a newer arcade game series that is the sole Nintendo-related arcade series at its time, newer than the classic arcades but older than F-ZERO GX. The 2017 release of Cruis'n Blast feels more like an extension to this line, but it definitely counts as a modern arcade game featuring a Nintendo IP.

The Cruis'n arcade games, including the older ones for comparison, are as follows:

Game	Release date (NA)	Publisher	Platform
Cruis'n USA	Nov 1994	Nintendo	Midway V Unit
Cruis'n World	Nov 1996	Midway Games	Midway V Unit
Cruis'n Exotica	1999	Midway Games	Midway Zeus II
Cruis'n Blast	Jan 2017	Raw Thrills	Custom, PC-based

EDIT END


Related: Capcom has made a lot of coin pushers based on the various Mario and Donkey Kong games, as listed in the Mario Wiki page. I don't know if there are other, non-Mario ones.

Game	Release date (JP)	Base game
Super Mario Fushigi no Janjan Land スーパーマリオ　不思議のジャンジャンランド	2003	Super Mario Advance 4
Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party スーパーマリオ　不思議のころころパーティ	Sep 2004	Mario Party 5
Donkey Kong: Jungle Fever ドンキーコング　ジャングルフィーバー	Sep 2005	Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2 スーパーマリオ　不思議のころころパーティ2	Oct 2005	Mario Party 5
Donkey Kong: Banana Kingdom ドンキーコング　バナナキングダム	Nov 2006	Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher マリオパーティ　ふしぎのコロコロキャッチャー	May 2009	Mario Party 8
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coin World * New スーパーマリオブラザーズ Wii コインワールド	Apr 2011	New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Mario Party Kurukuru Carnival マリオパーティ　くるくる！カーニバル	Jul 2012	Mario Party 8
Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher 2 マリオパーティ　ふしぎのコロコロキャッチャー2	2013	Mario Party 8
Mario Party Fushigi no Challenge World * マリオパーティ　不思議のチャレンジワールド	2 Aug 2016	Mario Party 9

* Electronic game without a physical coin pusher. I count them as coin pushers here because of the game mechanic.

[Nester the Lark]

I was actually thinking about this myself a little while back. It does seem like there are a good handful of "Nintendo" arcade games, even tho Nintendo doesn't make them themselves. I wonder if Fry keeps up on this at all.

Not sure if Cruis'n Blast counts, since Nintendo didn't actually create or develop any of the games, but they do own the IP, and it's prominently displayed on the cabinet. (It is cool to see it in the arcade.)

[nocturnal YL]

The siuation of Cruis'n Blast reminds me of Jupiter's Picross games, where Nintendo owns the name but otherwise doesn't have much to do with the games' contents. I'd say it counts; it is an arcade game featuring a Nintendo IP (even though Nintendo doesn't actively maintain it) developed and published by a third party.

[Leon]

Nintendo's logo is plastered all over the Cruis'n cabinet, so I would certainly include it.

[Evie ❤✿]

@nocturnal YL: I've had some similar thoughts about documenting these to you recently. There seems to be a lot more of these main ones than some sites have online, and I found the same Super Mario Wiki category as well. I created a small list here, but there is no research there that wasn't already found on the Internet and paraphrased. I imagine if there are arcade specific magazines these might give more information. ✿

[nocturnal YL]

This list is interesting. I think what we call arcade games should really be subdivided into smaller categories, as those children's amusement machines, rides, coin pushers and arcade video games are really all different categories of amusement machines.

Information on categories other than arcade video games are especially difficult to find, as there aren't many people who are interested in documenting those. And given how the distributors themselves don't (publicly) keep such records, I'm doubtful we're ever going to fully verify that we have a complete listing.

I missed out the Pokémon ones, because tracking those is a different thing from tracking Nintendo IP-based games.

[Evie ❤✿]

Apr 20, 2019 11:27:24 GMT -5 nocturnal YL said:

This list is interesting. I think what we call arcade games should really be subdivided into smaller categories, as those children's amusement machines, rides, coin pushers and arcade video games are really all different categories of amusement machines.

Information on categories other than arcade video games are especially difficult to find, as there aren't many people who are interested in documenting those. And given how the distributors themselves don't (publicly) keep such records, I'm doubtful we're ever going to fully verify that we have a complete listing.

I missed out the Pokémon ones, because tracking those is a different thing from tracking Nintendo IP-based games.

The list is now updated (slightly), and categorised better ^^, but wasn't too sure how to do it still. I'm going to do a little research to see if some of the less popular Nintendo franchises (in comparison to the stereotypical big players Mario, Pokémon, Zelda) have amusement machines such as these already documented by dedicated fans. I haven't researched The Legend of Zelda amusement machines yet so that's next for the list.

Edit: No luck with Zelda yet, but so far found a Kirby medal machine (by Atlus in 2007, it seems(?)). Oh... hmm, there also seems to be an '06 one. www.jamma.or.jp/history/pdf/history_2000_01.pdf www.arcade-history.com/?n=hoshi-no-kirby-kirakira-medal-land-medarookie&page=detail&id=39051 I'm fascinated now so I'm going to keep at it, and excited what that arcade-history website might have hiding. ✿

[nocturnal YL]

Interesting find on the Kirby machines. I actually mentioned the 2007 one in the top post (because it was also mentioned in the Japanese version of the Wii game, Kirby Dream Collection), but the 2006 one is new to me. This further shows how difficult it is to verify completeness of such lists.

Actually, some entries of your list are completely new to me, even among the traditional video game arcade machines. I never knew they had the classics (DK, DKJr, MB) in 2004, for example. Found a video on this.