Simpsons
For some time now, many fans have been wanting a new edition of Simpsons: Hit & Run, which was first published in 2003. But nothing has been announced so far. A fan is now taking this task into their own hands and has started to develop a remake of the then classic in the Unreal Engine. The first progress made within a few days has now been presented in a video.Recommended editorial content Here you will find external content from [PLATFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations are only displayed if you confirm this by clicking on "Load all external content": Load all external content I consent to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy . External content More on this in our data protection declaration. Developer Reubs has already made a demo of the first mission available to all interested fans via his Patreon profile - but this version was recently removed due to copyright concerns. It is unlikely that the fan project would get approval. It wasn't until the end of July that Simpsons producer Matt Selman commented on the game. Accordingly, a lot of bureaucratic stuff is necessary if a remake of Simpsons: Hit & Run is actually to be initiated. Several companies are currently involved in the original.
Recommended editorial content At this point you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations are only displayed if you confirm this by clicking on "Load all external content": Load all external content I consent to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy . External content More on this in our data protection declaration. Matt Selman also wants a remake of Simpsons: Hit & Run. So the situation is not yet completely hopeless for fans. The development studio of the former makers of Radical Entertainment was closed nine years ago. In general, it's been quite a while since the yellow family received a game for PC and console. The last title was published in 2007 with "The Simpsons - The Game". In 2012 there was a mobile title called The Simpsons: Tapped Out. The title for iOS and Android will continue to be updated. A few months ago we also took a detailed look back at Simpsons: Hit & Run in our retro special.
Exclusive hands-on video: Arcade1Up's Simpsons, X-Men cabinets bring new perks to '90s hits
© Arcade1UpMmmm... retro gaming.
The day has finally come for arcade fans to relive the glory of a button-mash skateboard attack against a giant Krusty the Clown balloon. Arcade1Up's home arcade version of The Simpsons, a remake of Konami's hit 1991 cabinet, is available for preorder today, with units shipping later this year.
The $700 price tag may have some fans shouting '¡Ay, caramba!' But this four-player machine comes with more upgrades than previous generations of Arcade1Up cabinets, including a light-up marquee sign on top, matching stool and a molded coin door design. (Your quarters are spared, as this doesn't require any to play.)
The remake's biggest twists: It has Wi-Fi connectivity to play online with other cabinet owners, no subscription required. And a giant trackball in the center of the controls was added for playing the bonus game, The Simpsons Bowling, also made by Konami. It's being sold at Best Buy, GameStop and Target.
I got to check out an early prototype of the machine at the company's Miami headquarters, along with other new cabinets coming out this year: X-Men, Turtles in Time and Street Fighter II Big Blue, all of which boast a big 'Live' button to jump into online play. The video embedded above includes a close up look at these builds and an interview with Arcade1Up CEO Scott Bachrach about what's potentially the next step for upgrading these retro machines: online chat.
Ever since I first saw Arcade1Up's retro machines in 2018, all I've been thinking about is how cool a Simpsons release would be, so it was trippy to finally get behind the controls. You play as Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa in this beat-em-up, a side-scrolling quest to save Maggie from Smithers and Mr. Burns after there's a mixup with a diamond and her pacifier. Characters fight Mr. Burns' goons in their own styles: Marge swings a vacuum cleaner, Bart attacks with a skateboard, Lisa flings a jump rope. And Homer, well, punches and kicks.
It's basically Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, but in Simpsons form.
The original arcade game came out right as the Fox television series was getting started, so nothing really makes much sense in the storyline. But that mania is also why I got such a kick out of playing it. Live online play wasn't available for me to sample during my visit, unfortunately. And neither was The Simpsons Bowling.
Video: Arcade1Up's Simpsons, X-Men hands on: Playing with 2021's new cabinets (CNET)
Arcade1Up's Simpsons, X-Men hands on: Playing with 2021's new cabinets
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First teased before the E3 2021 gaming event in June, this remake was originally scheduled to go on sale July 15, but the company hit reset to push preorders to Aug. 16.
Arcade1Up's remakes are smaller than their original counterparts, roughly three-fourths the size -- and thus a fraction of the real deal's price. (Scoring an actual Simpsons machine will set you back around $4,000 on eBay.)
Tastemakers, the parent company behind Arcade1Up, has been in the business of remaking popular arcade machines for several years now, selling over 2 million machines with licensed titles including Street Fighter, X-Men, Atari and Pac-Man.
Matching Simpsons in its $700 price is the four-player X-Men cabinet, which Target lists as shipping by Nov. 1. It's loaded with two bonus games: The classic Captain America and the Avengers, as well as The Avengers in Galactic Storm.
The company came out with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles machine in 2019, but this year's Turtles In Time makes the bonus game the focus of the cabinet art and adds online play for both games. It's available for preorder at Best Buy for $650, with shipping expected in October.
Arcade1Up has released several versions of Street Fighter arcade machines, but Street Fighter II Big Blue is the largest model -- designed to mimic large blue editions meant to stand out at the arcade. It's also the first model to get online play, and is available for preorder for $600 at Best Buy.
The design of the Simpsons frame emulates the art of the original. The included matching riser puts the unit at 57.8 inches (148cm) tall, weighing in at roughly 104 pounds. This model includes a 17-inch display and adjustable volume. Arcade1Up's machines do require assembly, but they're pretty simple. I've put together two myself.
Anything Simpsons will of course be popular, but depending on how online play adds to the experience, we'll have to wait to play the final units to determine if it's Arcade1Up's. Best. Game. Ever.