Arcade1Up The Fast And The Furious - Coming Soon?!

RetroRalph·video·8m 58s·analyzed·Mar 6, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.024

TL;DR

Arcade1Up rumored to be developing Fast and the Furious cabinet; timing smart but execution uncertain.

Summary

RetroRalph discusses rumors of Arcade1Up developing a Fast and the Furious arcade cabinet, exploring the game's history as Raw Thrills' 2004 arcade title and the licensing story behind its creation. He analyzes the timing with the new Fast and the Furious Arcade game release and upcoming May movie, while expressing skepticism about Arcade1Up's ability to replicate key features like the subwoofer and force feedback steering on budget hardware.

Key Claims

Fast and the Furious was originally developed by Raw Thrills without licensing; Eugene Jarvis's friend at Stern Pinball secured the license, requiring the game to be revised to fit the theme
medium confidence · Jon claims a Stern Pinball employee connection was critical to securing F&F licensing; this is presented as historical context but not independently verified in the content
The original Fast and the Furious arcade game from 2004 is still out on location at various places and Raw Thrills still provides technical support for 19-year-old machines
medium confidence · Jon mentions seeing original machines still in arcades and describes Rudy's experience calling Raw Thrills for support, suggesting ongoing manufacturer support
The original Fast and the Furious game ran on Windows XP embedded with a dedicated graphics card
medium confidence · Jon states technical specifications of the arcade hardware
Arcade1Up's Yamaha speakers are white-label models and not considered high-quality
medium confidence · Jon claims to have seen the actual speakers used in Arcade1Up pinball cabinets and disputes the marketing claim
Arcade1Up's market popularity is declining after initially being a fad, though a core audience remains engaged
low confidence · Jon's personal observation about content reception and community sentiment; acknowledges he hasn't tracked coverage closely

Notable Quotes

“This isn't an official announcement from Arcade1Up, but there was rumors that they're gonna do a Fast and the Furious.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 0:15 — Establishes that this is unconfirmed rumor content, not official news
“Eugene Jarvis, who's the President CEO of Raw Thrills and the main developer on the original Fast and the Furious game for Raw Thrills, had a friend that worked at Stern Pinball. And that friend at Stern Pinball was the one that actually secured the Fast and the Furious licensing.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 0:33 — Key historical anecdote about F&F licensing origin; claims Stern Pinball employee was instrumental
“So there's a lot of stuff coming together which would lead me to the reason why maybe Arcade1Up decided to do this at this point.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 1:40 — Explains reasoning for timing: new F&F Arcade game release + May movie release creates marketing opportunity
“It's going to be interesting to see how they port this game over to play on what would be cheaper, not very powerful single board computer hardware, which is what Arcade1Up uses.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 3:21 — Core skepticism about technical feasibility of porting Windows XP arcade game to Arcade1Up's limited hardware
“I don't feel like Arcade1Up really has ever replicated a good sound system. Even if you look at their pinball line, they used Yamaha speakers...They're not what I would consider good Yamaha speakers.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 5:44 — Specific criticism of Arcade1Up's audio implementation; cites firsthand inspection of hardware

Entities

Arcade1UpcompanyRaw ThrillscompanyStern PinballcompanyEugene JarvispersonJon (RetroRalph)personRudypersonFast and the FuriousgameFast and the Furious Arcadegame

Signals

?
business_signal: Arcade1Up customer complaints and negative reception in recent content; audience fatigue with lack of new offerings
low · Jon states: 'A lot of customer complaints' and 'It seems like the popularity of it is kind of going down...1UP has exhausted a lot of those really, really good titles'
$
market_signal: Arcade1Up Fast and the Furious timing coordinated with Raw Thrills' new arcade release and May film release
medium · Jon analyzes: 'Raw Thrills just released the new Fast and the Furious Arcade game, you've got the movie coming out in May...So from a pure marketing perspective, it's pretty genius'
?
product_concern: Arcade1Up's audio systems not meeting expectations; Yamaha speaker claims disputed
medium · Jon claims: 'I've actually seen what they use. They're like white label Yamaha speakers...They're not what I would consider good Yamaha speakers' and notes lack of subwoofer integration
?
rumor_hype: Unconfirmed rumors of Arcade1Up developing Fast and the Furious cabinet
medium · Jon explicitly states 'This isn't an official announcement from Arcade1Up, but there was rumors that they're gonna do a Fast and the Furious'
~
sentiment_shift: Arcade1Up market popularity declining from initial fad status; core audience engagement remains but declining
low · Jon observes: 'it seems like the popularity of it is kind of going down, like it became a little bit of a fad' and notes exhaustion of popular titles, though acknowledges he hasn't tracked coverage closely

Topics

Arcade1Up cabinet lineup and rumorsprimaryFast and the Furious franchise arcade gamesprimaryTechnical challenges of porting arcade games to budget hardwareprimaryArcade1Up market position and customer sentimentsecondaryRaw Thrills arcade game development historysecondaryArcade audio systems and subwoofer implementationsecondaryFast and the Furious film franchise release timingmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.45)— Jon is cautiously optimistic about the timing and concept but skeptical about Arcade1Up's execution capability. He respects the original game but expresses doubt about hardware limitations and Arcade1Up's recent track record with customer satisfaction. Overall tone is analytical and speculative rather than enthusiastic.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.027

Hey guys, welcome back! Alright, in today's video, we're gonna have a little bit of a flash from the past. We're gonna actually talk a little bit about Arcade 1-Up. I know, I have not talked about them in a long time, but honestly, they haven't really done anything that's interesting to me up until this point. Now, this isn't an official announcement from Arcade 1-Up, but there was rumors that they're gonna do a Fast and the Furious. Now, what's interesting about that game is this was Raw Thrills' first game 19 years ago. That game was actually not called Fast and the Furious, It was called like Hot Cars Street Racing or something like that. And they didn't have a license for Fast and the Furious. So Eugene Jarvis, who's the president CEO of Raw Thrills and the main developer on the original Fast and the Furious game for Raw Thrills, had a friend that worked at Stern Pinball. And that friend at Stern Pinball was the one that actually secured the Fast and the Furious licensing. And at that point, they scrambled to actually revise the game to fit the Fast and the Furious theme. 2004, Fast and the Furious is the game that came out. But if it wasn't for Eugene's friend, I don't know if it would have come to fruition. And what's interesting is they've sold a lot of games under the Fast and Furious moniker, and they've made a lot of money doing so, and they've been really successful games. Those games include Fast and the Furious, Fast and the Furious Drift, Supercars, and then they just released Fast and the Furious Arcade, which is a brand new, really cool, over-the-top concept. It's got two main screens that sit on top of each other, like two really large screens. it's fully immersive it has motion and a whole bunch of really cool stuff as a matter of fact what's really neat is Lucky Strike which is an arcade they have around the country the location in Chicago actually has the biggest largest installation of the new Fast and the Furious game so there's a lot of stuff coming together which would lead me to the reason why maybe Arcade 1-Up decided to do this at this point although the movie's coming out in May and I'm not so sure this game is coming out from Arcade 1-Up that soon but it would make sense to try to release it at that time frame because you have raw thrills just released the new fast and the furious arcade game you've got the movie coming out in May it actually got pushed it was supposed to be April and now it's May and then this announcement or you know this leak of arcade one of fast and the furious so I found it I find it really interesting the other thing that I thought was kind of cool is that there a Wii version of the original Fast and the Furious game but it not called Fast and the Furious As a matter of fact all of the media assets that would actually make it a Fast and the Furious game have been removed So that game under the Nintendo Wii is actually just called Cruisin'. If you ever wanted to experience the Fast and the Furious original arcade game that Raw Thrills did and you don't have access to it in an arcade, you could just play the Wii version, which is kind of interesting. It's pretty much the exact same game. Now, I hear a lot of like, oh, it's just a clone of the Cruisin' games. So keep in mind, the lead developer on the original Cruisin' games is Eugene Jarvis. So it would make sense that Fast and the Furious would feel a little bit like maybe an older Cruisin' game. To me, it's a spiritual successor to Cruisin' Exotica. But it's not really fair to say it's a clone. I don't think it's a clone. There's some unique gameplay elements to it. Obviously, it's skinned a completely different way. But I do think it's unique enough to stand on its own. and it does feel like a progression from Cruisin' Exotica. The graphics are better and things like that. The thing that was interesting about the game is it plays on a Windows XP. It's like a Windows XP embedded, whatever that version of like, that streamlined version of Windows, it played under that. It does have a dedicated graphics card. It's going to be interesting to see how they port this game over to play on what would be cheaper, not very powerful single board computer hardware, which is what Arcade 1UP uses. So it'll be interesting to see if they can pull it off and make it look good or at least be identical to the arcade release. but I really like this game. You know, am I gonna buy the arcade one-up one? No, I actually used to own an original Fast and the Furious, got it for like $250 at auction, and it was broken when I got it. It needed, I think it was literally like the hard drive cable was unplugged, and I think there was a problem with the video card, the way it was seated. I reseated it, plugged in the hard drive, and off I went, and it was working just fine. I played it for a while. I really do enjoy the game. It is a good game, but it is interesting that that's the one that arcade one-up decided to go with. Now, they did sell a bunch of the units. Now for me, I wasn't nostalgic for Fast and the Furious because I was way out of the arcade by 2004. So for me, it wasn't really, you know, something I can go, oh man, I can't wait to go play this or whatever. But it is a very fun racing game. And if you are a fan of the Cruisin' series, I think you probably enjoy it Actually matter of fact the original Fast and the Furious game is still out on location at various places I seen it It still out there So not only can you play the newer ones Supercars and Drift and then the brand new one the old ones are still out there and ticking which was interesting because you can still to this day call Raw Thrills if you have an original Fast and the Furious, and they'll actually help you through problems. When I sold mine, I sold it to Rudy, and then it had another issue with it, and he called Raw Thrills and they helped him right through it. So, I mean, Roth Reels is still backing and supporting games that, you know, are from 2004, which would be 19 years ago. So that's totally crazy. But anyways, I think it's interesting news. It's definitely worth reporting on. Will they be able to pull it off? I don't know. I'm not the buyer for those anymore. But if you're a fan of racing games, I don't think you'd be disappointed with it. But I understand you might be like, I want Daytona USA or I want something I'm more nostalgic for, Rush Rock or something like that. And I totally get that. But I do think part of it is smart on Arcade 1UP's part because there's all this hype around Fast and the Furious with the new game and then the movie. So it kind of makes sense. The timing is good. So from a pure marketing perspective, it's pretty genius. But if it comes out way late, I don't know if they'll hit the mark because if the movie comes out in May, hopefully their release is somehow timed with that. Now, the thing is the game had some very unique features like it had a subwoofer. It was really like a powerful sound system in that. So that's going to be interesting because I don't feel like Arcade 1-Up really has ever replicated a good sound system. I mean, even if you look at their pro line, they used Yamaha speakers. I've actually seen what they use. They're like white label Yamaha speakers. They're not what I would consider good Yamaha speakers. So calling it a Yamaha speaker, it's almost like, who cares? Because I've seen it. It's not great. And then, you know, they never really incorporated a subwoofer into it. But part of that gameplay is the, like, excitement that the sound system provides. and then the steering wheel has an amazing force feedback, which would be synonymous with other midway games prior to it, and then anything after that, you know, Antonio Cruz and Blast, all those games have great force feedback in the steering wheel. So, I don't know. You know you're making concessions when you buy arcade one-ups, so maybe the user base will be totally fine with it, but it'll be interesting to see how they do. So anyways, I just thought this was all really interesting information. If you want to check out this game, and you have a Nintendo Wii or the Dolphin emulator or something then you certainly can go check out the game called Cruisin It is very cool It basically the same game so if you want to enjoy it that way I sure you could find a Fast and the Furious somewhere but what you really want to play is the brand new Fast and the Furious arcade game. It's very, very cool. It was at IAAPA. I think it was featured or showcased earlier than that, too. There's a really cool, a couple of really cool gameplay videos of it. That looks very, very fun, and it has a lot of the elements that Cruisin' Blast had in it, but you got to remember like Eugene Jarvis was the lead developer so a lot of his influence continues to be seen in any of the racing games that Raw Thrills puts out there. Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this video I know it was short but I didn't really have a lot to say other than what I just told you and I think it's interesting we'll see what they do maybe maybe it will be awesome and people will be super stoked but there are definitely elements of that cabinet that may be hard to replicate at home in my opinion. But anyways that's it for this video if you enjoyed it consider subscribing to the channel. I want to hear what you think about this. Is this something that you think they'll do well? Will they mess it up? I haven't really had a good track record lately. They've been messing up a lot of stuff. I don't look at these videos frequently, but when I do, it kind of seems like there's a lot of negativity or they haven't been doing so well. A lot of customer complaints. So I don't know what the overall feeling is around Arcade 1Up. It seems like the popularity of it is kind of going down, like it became a little bit of a fad. although the core audience, the ones that are watching all these videos all the time, seem to be still somewhat engaged. But I think they're waiting for something new. And 1UP has exhausted a lot of those really, really good titles that people wanted in the first place. Now there's tons of great arcade games, but you have to remember, arcade 1UP needs to sell to a mass audience. So if they don't think thousands and thousands and thousands of people are going to play a game, they're not going to manufacture that game. So, we'll see. It's going to be interesting, to say the least. hopefully you guys enjoyed the video and we will see you on the next one