How I Met Your Sonic

An arcade with sega cabinets? shock and awe, sir, shock AND awe

 

I remember seeing this deodorant commercial with Danica Patrick racing some kids at an arcade game, and in the back of the picture at the end I clearly saw a Sega Super GT twin cabinet.

 

Hmm..
Step 1. Become a writer for a TV Show
Step 2. Write "Scene Four : Int. Arcade"
Step 3. Make Scene four last 17 pages.
Step 4. Wait for crew to build decent arcade for scene.
Step 5. Between takes, play Sega games!!!

\o/yeay\o/

 

I was almost surprised to see Virtua Racing, given that it's a reasonably recent TV show. That said, Sega still keeps spares for the arcade game.

 

Speaking of odd sega sightings, I've played a SegaSonic the Hedgehog in real life at Coney Island in this crazy run-down but still epic arcade called Faber's Fascination - it was in the back, complete with "This is not legal outside of japan" messages. It was entirely in japan, but had a replaced coin mechanism. It was pretty awesome.

 

I have like only ever seen a VR cabinet like once in real life. I had to play it. It was pretty cool but I think the controls were broken.

 

I've played one at some place called SegaWorld 3 years ago, unfortunately the place was for sale.

 

The cabinet wasn't particularly rare in the game's heyday, but then it was released in 1992. Maybe I'm showing my age here? Most of the VR machines on the market would have made way for Daytona USA after a while, as it was more graphically advanced and absolutely cleaned up in terms of takings.

 

I was surprised that people actually care about this still.

Polybius is probably one of the most fascinating stories I've ever read. I have an abo of a retro-gaming magazine and in some issue of 2005/6 they hade a HUGE article about polybius and also it was on the cover picture, where the programmer (or thats how that guy calls himself) wrote stuff on an internet forum or something (I can't find the issue anymore) and sent an emulated version of the game saying "I warned you. Don't play this" and the whole "letter" was in a depressive mood.

 

To tell the truth, IMO Polybius' side effects(amnesia, suicidal thoughts) are just a hoax. There has been no actual 'real' ROMs or such, all of it has just been hoaxed etc.

Apparently there is some interview with one of the people involved with the games: http://bitparade.co.uk/modules/articles/article.php?id=21

Some of the article:

 

Sega actually used to Sponsor the formula 1 team Williams, so the Williams team used to have a Sonic image on the side of the car. I don't know if it's news to anyone, but its main reason behind Sonic being there, apparently as a tyre make. It's also most likely the reason behind games like Sonic Drift.
The teams rivals, McLaren, also used to display a squashed Sonic when they would win races.

 

My favorite part of that sponsorship:

 

Im pretty sure SegaWorld has been dead for more than 3 years. Infact, I think I went to The Trocadero while in London to see if it was still there about three years ago and it was already replaced with 'FunLand'. I have heard that there was another SegaWorld somewhere in London that was like a basement arcade kind of thing, but it has since become a Game outlet.
To be honest, it wouldn't compare to the old SegaWorld... Did anyone else go there? I was about 8 when I went and it was so awesome, and yes, it had SegaSonic Arcade cabinets and I got to play it for a little while.

 

It wasn't it London, it was in a city(or town) not far from Bournemouth . Only other thing I can say is that it was not far from a Cinema. And yeah, it would have been 4 years now because it was late 2004 when I went there. It was somewhere near