Bushnell's new venture

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8017909/site/newsweek/

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This week he will announce a new venture—by his count, the 24th in 33 years. The uWink Media Bistro restaurantchain (strike one: the name) will have screens at every table and bar stool, each piping videogames, media content and interactive menus to a young-adult dining crowd which will, he's convinced, use the shared-gaming experience as a chance to compete, relax and mingle.

Imagine a Chuck E. Cheese for grown-ups—with booze and Caesar salads instead of balloons and singing animatrons. Bushnell has built "party tables" where six customers can play each other in the same game, and tournaments where diners in any of the restaurants in the chain can compete against each other in a single contest such as Texas Hold 'Em. Bushnell says he will open the first restaurant this fall in Los Angeles.

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I don't see this taking off but who knows.

If the games are interactive (meaning: competitive), then it might work. Alot of people goto BW-3 strictly to play thier trivia or QB1 games.

But if it just some touchscreen, knock-off puzzle games at each table ... then whats the point?

If this works it could be the alternative market videogame publishers are clamouring for (movie theatres for videogames). I don't think it will work.

I doubt this will go anywhere either. Somehow Gameworks has managed to stay afloat in most markets, along with Dave and Busters, so who know's, maybe they'll pull it off.
Either way, it sure would be great to play some old school cocktail table games, or even the two sided Joust pinball, but I doubt that's what they have in mind.

I remember reading about one of Bushnell's other semi-recent (10 years) endeavors.
..he had some new gimmick or technology that was supposed to woo girls into the world of videogaming. After the initial press release - never heard another word about it.

(btw, playing simultaneous 2-player Joust pinball and getting the multiball Egg Wave was one of the raddest arcade experiences ever! Evar@!!)

Even radder than the Streetfighter pinball machine where you had to beat up a car with pinballs?

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

Even radder than the Streetfighter pinball machine where you had to beat up a car with pinballs?

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Whoa!!, no shit??!
I never saw that one.

Damn, I miss pinball.
:cry:

It was enclosed in a little space with flippers below the playing field. The car would visibly crush a little after each hit.

Pinball isn't dead (but it might as well be)

EDIT: picture added. You can sort of see it in the middle.

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Originally Posted by Revoltor

Pinball isn't dead (but it might as well be)

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I don't know, has there even been a new Pinball machine released in the past year or 2?

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It was enclosed in a little space with flippers below the playing field. The car would visibly crush a little after each hit.

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Yeah, that sounds pretty cool, but I've seen the ol' "mini-stage below-the-table" plenty of times before.

this is what I'm talkin' about: phatness

They don't mention it there, but the multiball has like a dozen balls bangin around, and of course you're trying to shoot them back and forth between the players sides as well. Hot stuff.

a little bit back on topic,
"Hey, let's meet a uWink tonight."
Is that where all the hip kids are going to be hangin in a few years?

That pinball machine...
Awesome.

I've seen the Joust machine before. It's nutty like the Pacman pinball machine that's one part arcade cab and one part pinball machine.

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I don't know, has there even been a new Pinball machine released in the past year or 2?

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Plenty (sort of). As we speak there is one company out there still making machines:
http://www.sternpinball.com/

I've played about 7 or so of their machines and the Simpsons one was probably the best. The rest are fairly generic looking and stiff-feeling. Pretty dissapointing stuff (at least I can win free credits fairly easy on them)