UltraCade Technologies, Breeders' Cup Limited, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) have released a new, officially licensed arcade game, "Breeders' Cup – Tournament Edition" at the Amusement Showcase International (ASI). The ASI show was attended by nearly 3,300 members of the coin-op industry, which is comprised largely of video game distributors and operators.
"Breeders' Cup - Tournament Edition" is an upright arcade machine that has the ability to link up to 12 machines in a single location. In the game, players can breed, train and race their own Thoroughbred racehorses – all to build up their stables of horses that compete against the computer or players from around the world. The horse and stable information is stored on a proprietary card system that allows players to take their stable of horses wherever they go and play on any "Breeders' Cup -- Tournament Edition" machine.
"Breeders' Cup – Tournament Edition" attracted some of the largest crowds during the show. A large number of visitors to the booth voted the game 'Best Game in Show,' an award that will be announced in next month's issue of the industry magazine, PlayMeter.
"We are overwhelmed by the positive response of 'Breeders' Cup – Tournament Edition' at the ASI show," said David R. Foley, CEO of UltraCade. "We had every major distributor telling us it was by far the best game that they saw, and people were lined up three deep all day long waiting to play. Everyone is signing up to increase their initial orders. The excitement surrounding the launch of our Breeders' Cup game is infectious."
"We're excited about the potential of this game," said Kenneth E. Kirchner, senior vice president of product development for the NTRA."We can move horse racing and the Breeders' Cup into thousands of new locations and create an audience of new racing fans."
The first production runs of the game are beginning, and UltraCade plans to build and ship more than 500 units within the next month. Goals are for at least 2,500 units to be placed domestically this year, with a similar number shipping outside U.S. and Canadian borders.
