The rumor mill regarding the fate of Tastemakers’ Arcade1Up has been swirling for months, and now, following news of a potential closure, Basic Fun! has confirmed that it’s assuming control of the Arcade1Up brand following the debut of its own Arcade Classics Home Arcade range this fall.
The following message was shared via the Arcade1Up Facebook page this afternoon:
“We want to address a few questions we’ve seen circulating about the Arcade1Up product lines.
Basic Fun! has acquired select assets of Arcade1Up and intends to support, to the best of our ability, the Home Arcade category and existing Arcade1Up products currently in the market.
This asset acquisition reflects our ongoing commitment to expanding our presence in the home arcade space, supporting current Arcade1Up titles and products alongside our own existing arcade offerings.
We’ll have more to share in the new year and look forward to continuing to serve the arcade fan community. Game On!”
Basic Fun! has been a player in the gaming space for several years, most recently raising the bar with its range of home arcade products. Notably, several people who worked on Arcade1Up products were enlisted to work on the Basic Fun! range.
Meanwhile, Tastemakers, which launched the home arcade resurgence in 2018, has been plagued with misfortune in recent years amid executive turnover, IP disputes with licensors (including recent legal scuffles with Atari and Coleco), and an increasingly jaded community of gaming enthusiasts.
Still, Arcade1Up has some big hits in its portfolio, including the Infinity Game Table, a connected platform for digital board games and puzzles, and the at-home Claw Machine, which is back at Costco this season with a special edition adorned with SpongeBob SquarePants graphics.
Stay tuned to The Toy Book for the latest developments in the weeks ahead.
