Toy Producer Basic Fun! Inc. Purchases Assets Of Arcade1Up

On December 12th, it seemed that arcade cabinet manufacturer Arcade1Up, known for their reproduction of classic coin-op games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, NBA Jam, and Pac-Man, was set to cease operations. the cause were due to potential plans to file for bankruptcy and licensing disputes. That Friday was set to be most employee's last day.

December 16th, four days later, news broke on Arcade1Up's official Facebook page that they will be selling select assets to Basic Fun! Inc.

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!”

Along with the production and redistribution of toys and goods from Tonka, Lite Brite, Care Bears, and K'Nex, Basic Fun! also has their hands in the home arcade market. They produce those arcade handhelds customers may regularly see in Target. Basic Fun! themselves battled bankruptcy, filing for Chapter 11 and restructuring in 2024, following a four month battle in the courts.

While they enjoyed a successful stint, and capitalizing on game preservation and nostalgia, Arcade1Up has seen their share of problems with the community. Namely criticisms of their cheap quality (low end hardware with buttons and joysticks), power failures, button mapping, and more than questionable and inconsistent customer service. Basic Fun! themselves saw a recent controversy over the quality of the launch of their WrestleFest cabinet due to licensing issues. The cabinet was released without letting customers know beforehand that characters were absent from the final product.

This news may serve as a relief to some, but the wording of "existing" arcade offerings could be bleak when it comes to any future hopes or new releases. Will they acquire the rights to some games like Spyhunter, Frogger, or renew licenses? Time will tell.

SOURCE: Reddit, Arcade1up Facebook page