Arcade fans are starting on a high note this year! Arcade1Up has recently announced its upcoming gaming lineup during the CES 2022 event, better known as their pro series. The announcement of the Pro Series included new equipment, such as name brand controls and a grown-up form factor, as well as a throwback to 90s fighter games with the release of Killer Instinct.
Developed by Rare and published by Midway, Killer Instinct is an arcade fighting game that was first released in 1994 and revolving around a giant corporation’s creation of a fighting tournament. The game itself featured a more diverse cast of characters and more complicated gaming mechanics, such as auto-doubles and combo breakers, than other fighter games at the time. It was a critical and commercial success and was eventually released on SNES and Gameboy.
Killer Instinct will start the new Pro Series — a rightful beginning to a brand new year. What will make these enhanced editions different from Arcade1Up's previous original cases are full-size cabinets, 19-inch screens, Happ controls, and online play capabilities. Arcade games have come a long way since the 19080s and 1990s, that’s for sure.
Legacy Edition cabinets were also announced at the event. These editions will contain some of the AAA collections from arcade publishers, including Midway, Bandai Namco, and Atari. Each edition will contain its own set of fourteen games, instead of the original versions' twelve game library, and a new Wi-Fi feature. In other good news, the price does not change from what is charged for the original editions, so technically those extra games and Wi-Fi are a free upgrade.
However, that still means that these systems will remain on the pricey side, with an expected $1,000 USD price point. With better features and enhanced controls, it’s worth a lot more than other arcade cabinets, so perhaps the price tag is justified. These upcoming cabinets will surely continue the success of Arcade1Up, with the company having sold more than 3 million machines in recent years.
For more information on the Pro Series cabinets, fans can check out Arcade1Up's website.
