Welcome to an ultra-rare Leap Day edition of Newsbytes. As a note, I am working on a post about an unreleased Atari Games title called Bounty Hunter, which should be an interesting read to those who like game design, game history and prototypes. I’m aiming to have that up Monday morning…or maybe tomorrow depending on what happens with my schedule.
Until then:
GDC 2020 Canceled Due To Virus Fears
A few weeks ago it was revealed that I was organizing an arcade for the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. It was going to have official participation from Raw Thrills, Sega Amusements, American Pinball and Glitchbit. But unfortunately as the COVID-19 virus has spread from Wuhan, China to various other countries around the world, this has been having a negative impact on economies and big events. The latest cancellation is of GDC 2020, which had to make the tough decision to cancel/postpone the event after several major companies pulled out over viral fears. As it is, I’ll be looking to get an arcade in place for GDC 2021 – just as long as there isn’t another unique situation like this.
Speaking of this virus panic, I’m curious to know if any operators out there have been seeing a negative effect on their business? For players, have you been changing your plans on visiting a venue? For my place, I’ve been more proactive than usual in wiping controls down with Lysol wipes, keeping hand sanitizer stocked and always making sure to wash my hands (properly). Haven’t worn a face mask and haven’t seen anyone doing so yet, but this week I experienced one of the slowest days I’ve seen in years (but today being Saturday has been steadily busy). In Japan they’ve been taking “defensive measures” too, although things have been a bit more serious

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