Welcome to our first Newsbytes for Fall 2026. This is the series of posts where we curate the smaller bits and bytes of news that perhaps don\u2019t warrant a full-blown post on the main page. We don\u2019t have a ton to share for this edition, as most arcade happenings outside the trade shows have slowed back down to a trickle, but as always we have cobbled some stories together so that we could have at least one for this month. Onto the news:<\/p>\n
Demon Slayer Nichirin Battle Slash Reaches US For Testing<\/h3>\n
While I was in the middle of discussing IAAPA Expo Europe, news came along that the Demon Slayer arcade game that Konami recently launched in Japan had popped up on test here in the US<\/a>. Temporarily located at the Round1USA Puente Hills Mall location,\u00a0 this was not quite expected after anecdotal reports said that the game was not performing well in Japan. Granted, from what I\u2019ve seen of it, it\u2019s rather simplified like a videmption game, so perhaps it will do better here. There is certainly an audience for it, given how well the most recent Demon Slayer movie did in theaters.<\/p>\n According to site friend and contributor Jdevy who got to play it today, there are three game modes, one of which (\u201cUlt\u201d) ended quite fast, whereas the Team Battle Mode was more satisfying. Per JDevy on how that played: \u201cYou assemble a team with your dispensed cards. You attack by stopping a slot machine style wheel with the katana joystick and get attack damage against the team based on what you land in. When the enemy attacks, you parry by swinging the joystick at attack symbols that go into your crosshair symbols.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n JDevy also said: \u201cThe modular size is really nice for smaller locations. The space it was in was where a smaller four player chibi crane was at. I can see this doing well at R1 and locations with a focus on otaku culture\/Japanese games. Simple gameplay alongside gacha elements.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps we\u2019ll see this one at IAAPA when we find out what Konami\u2019s US plans are for 2027. We\u2019ll have to wait and see.<\/p>\n It has been a while since we had an unreleased game to discuss, and this flew under my radar until now as this video was posted to YouTube nine months ago. Aside from the video, there is little known about it<\/a>, as South Gate is not a company I\u2019d ever heard of, and there are no arcade games under their name. So, if anyone knows anything, comment below; whoever did this had some money to burn to capture all of these scenes, which would have involved a lot of helicopter flight work, but that is likely why this went unreleased.<\/p>\n Not only did they have to develop all of that for the game, then they\u2019d need to create the hardware and the cabinet, then get that out into distribution at a time where the market was collapsing. The game itself reminds me of Mylstar\u2019s Us Vs. Them<\/em><\/a>, as there\u2019s a similar premise of the Earth being under attack, although this lacks all of the character actors and scenes that UvT had which made it interesting with a personality.<\/p>\n![\"Demon](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arcadeheroes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DemonSlayer-test.jpg?resize=800%2C1067&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"Demon](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arcadeheroes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DslayerJS.jpg?resize=800%2C1067&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nCED Arcade Game Discovery \u2013 LAZON<\/h3>\n