Reminder: Sega Japan’s Arcade Games Are Totally Insane

Sure, you don’t go to arcades anymore, but maybe you would if they had some of the wacky games Sega plans to release in Japan this year. Here are three of my favorites from a private show that Sega held over the weekend, as spotted by Japanese site 4Gamer.

Pictured above is Star Horse 2: Final Destination. There isn’t much detail other than some screenshots of the game in action, but it looks to be a pretty in-depth form of virtual on-track betting, with player using personal screens to manage their careers. No solid word on how much this costs, but one commenter at Arcade Heroes says he heard an estimate of $1.5 million.

Another pricey arcade game from Sega is Heat Up Hockey, an air hockey table that uses augmented reality to enhance the game, with power-ups and bonus stages. Shaggy at Arcade Heroes says he’s heard estimates of $20,000 for one of these tables.

Finally, there’s Sega Card Gen MLB 2010. It’s not as elaborate as the other games — that’s probably why last year’s model has turned up in a test run at one Gameworks location stateside — but I like the concept. Players collect their own cards, of which there are 400, and arrange their line-up by inserting those cards into the cabinet. After that, it’s baseball as usual. I would’ve flipped out if they had this back in my card-collecting childhood days.

Given the high price of these set-ups, and the difficulty arcades are having in the United States, don’t count on playing any of these Sega games unless you’re going to be in Japan later this year. [4Gamer via Arcade Heroes]