Newsbytes: PlayX4 2026; Pump It Up Phoenix 2; Dance Dance Revolution Stomp; More

Welcome to this month’s edition of Newsbytes, the series of posts here at Arcade Heroes that covers byte-sized pieces of news from around the worlds of arcades and pinball. We have a raft of stories on rhythm games in particular today (centered on South Korea’s PlayX4 2026 show), as well as a bit on the next big pinball releases by Stern and Jersey Jack, so let’s catch up with everything that has been happening there recently.

Also, we hope you’ve been enjoying the new look of the site. There are still a few things that we’re trying to adjust in the process, but we’ll get to a solid point soon. I was hoping to have a new feature rolling out today, but needs more testing before it’s ready-ready, so hang tight there.

PlayX4 2026

One of the more unusual shows with an arcade presence out there is South Korea’s PlayX4, which celebrates all of the country’s game industries each May. That means alongside console and PC developers, it inevitably features a good contingent of their arcade manufacturers, including Andamiro, Komuse, and Uniana. The last of those usually is the one with the most to show for themselves at these events, and they did not disappoint this year, bringing several of Konami’s current wares, a few UNIS titles (oddly not the newer ones), and Maimai DX, among others.

The most notable among those is the first pre-release look at Konami’s new Jubeat cabinets outside of Japan. It makes sense that they would do this, as the game has apparently always been pretty popular out in South Korea, though when/if it will appear out West is not widely known yet. It won’t be surprising to see it offered alongside the other titles Konami have been selling to some locations in the US, but we will have to wait and see there.

Pump It Up Phoenix 2

One of the other new games shown off at PlayX4 deserves its own heading, as it was revealed there and is certain to be coming over here soon. We had heard back at Amusement Expo 2026 in March that Pump It Up Phoenix 2 was imminent from Andamiro, and their latest update to their long-running dance game is now almost here, with a preview playable out in South Korea. The overall look certainly turns up the green quotient (a color scheme interestingly seen in a lot of Konami rhythm game updates recently too), and adds the usual batch of new songs.

Andamiro have published the opening video for the new version here. This is set to release next month and from what had been indicated in Vegas, they will debut it to the US industry at Bowl Expo 2026:

Dance Dance Revolution Stomp

Still on the rhythm game tip (but now moving out of South Korea), one of the stories that grabbed the most attention last year was Konami’s sudden testing of a Dance Dance Revolution ticket redemption piece by the name of Stomp Arrows at Round1USA. Twelve months on, and this is now hitting R1USA locations under a slightly different guise. As well as losing Arrows from the name, the cabinet has been revised, with some TikTok-looking marquee graphics and a new twin player design, instead of the single booth-like one it had before. Other than that, the game itself looks relatively similar to before from this video. Will it release to other arcades? Who knows:

Jersey Jack Teases Next Game Again

Now to pinball, where there has been a lot more teasing for Jersey Jack’s next big game. For some weeks now this has been all but confirmed to be Sonic the Hedgehog, but JJP are still keeping their powder dry, besides proving the additional rumors about how it will mark Steve Ritchie’s return on design. It is going to be fully unveiled next month, though exactly when remains unclear. Jdevy in the Arcade Heroes Discord server made the good point that it could be announced out of nowhere on one of Sega’s own Sonic Central livestreams, which would be a great immediate way to get non-pinball eyes on the release. Whichever way it happens, all will be revealed soon…

Transformers Gameplay Premiere

After their full reveal of the game earlier this week, Stern have been showing off more of Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye on their first gameplay premiere for the title. Along those lines, several media personalities, including our friends Retro Ralph & PinballNews.com, have posted footage of the game. One nice aspect to this is that the code is further along than the alpha state that most Stern games usually ship with, which makes for a much better initial impression and experience.

Reviewing AAA 2026 On The LBX Collective

Last week saw our yearly three day coverage of the Asia Amusement & Attractions (AAA Expo) out in Guangzhou, China, but it does not end there as our Arcade Corner feature on The LBX Collective’s weekly show has also now covered the event. This includes several photos that didn’t make the cut in our posts, as we didn’t want them to go on forever (plus it saves on storage space), so give it a look at 20:50 here if you’re interested:

On top of that Kevin Williams sent us a photo album that features some repeats, and a lot of eyebrow raising clones and bootlegs. There was some VR there too, as certain companies like Movie Power and FunInVR haven’t thrown in the towel quite yet. That said, it’s still down from where it had been, and with Meta quietly axing VR development, I’m not sure it’s poised for a sudden comeback. Never say never though.

Headlines

SPONSORED LINK: TouchMagix Highlights For SpaceWarp 66 / Mega Blaster / Pickleball Toss – All Available Now

How Did You Celebrate Pac-Man’s 45th Birthday This Week?

Sega Amusements International Hold Their Annual Kick-Off Meeting – These usually feature new game proposals

Big Names From Sega Amusements Have Also Been In Japan Recently

Have Experience Directing Arcade Games? Apply For Sega Japan

Marvelous Also Hiring Experienced New Arcade Game UI Designers

Price Increase For exA-Arcadia Hardware & Games In Japan From June 1st – Fortunately it won’t be as high out West

The Latest Build For Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game On exA Is At MomoCon In Atlanta

Game Center Fantasia Tests Two exA Titles (Chaos Code + Breaker’s Revenge)

“VR Strike” (Without The Alpha Ops) Is Testing In Japan Again

Sega Japan Tests New “Korokoro Kurukuru Pii-Chans” Medal Game

Bandai Namco Testing “Tekipaki Kitchen” And Goldfish Scoop Medal Game

Solid FY2026 For Bandai Namco In Amusement Business Performance

Square Enix (Taito) Post Good March 2026 Amusement Earnings Too

Wahlap Now Has An English Page Up For Their Demon Hunter 1892 Shooter

Muse Dash 2 Gets A Tabletop Arcade Cabinet Version At Bitsummit 2026

Possibly The Best Mod For A Pinball Machine In Existence

Pinball Historian & Aficionado Gordon Hasse Has Passed Away – RIP

Want 1 Hour Of Arcade Sounds To Fall Asleep To? Here You Go

[Home Headlines] 

Sega Finally Starts Teasing The New Crazy Taxi Game Again

Sega Rally-Influenced DS Game Pitch Prototype Unearthed

M2 Cancels Ubusuna From Ikaruga Creator Hiroshi Iuchi

Nintendo Brings Us Star Fox 64… Now For The 4th Time – While I’d still go for an arcade version of Star Fox, I’d prefer they do something new in the series instead of retelling the same thing over and over

The Legend Of Zelda Movie Is Currently Slated For April 30th, 2027 – It’s already changed so wouldn’t be surprised if it changes again

PandaMonium Reviews’ 8 Hour Long Digital Pictures History

The Video Game History Museum Has Added 100 CDs Of Content From Gamepro Magazine

Atari Releases Bubsy 4D To All Platforms – I played a demo of it and so far, it’s doing a good job of removing the stink of Bubsy 3D from memory

A Port Of Amstar’s Phoenix Is Coming To The Atari 7800

Digital Board Game Green Land Is Gracing The Atari Lynx – Carcassonne vibes

An Arcade Port Of Vindicators For The Lynx Looks Like It Was Close To Finished

That’s it for this Newsbytes; which of today’s stories (e.g. PlayX4 2026) interest you most?

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