Second Golden Age of Arcade Games

The Second Golden Age of Arcade Games, affectionately named "Golden Age II", or the "Diamond Age", was from 1998-2004 in U-986. Popular Arcade Franchises in this age were Daytona USA, Cyber Troopers, Ridge Racer, Virtua Fighter, Time Crisis and the Gunblade Series of games.

Gunblade: Unlike OTL, Gunblade 2 was called Gunblade LA and featured AI-Driven single seater VTOL Jets in Los Angeles, with the dynamic camera system returning. The game was about Android Terrorists attacking Los Angeles. In 2001, 9/11 is prevented in TTL and Gunblade 3, which is set in New York Again. Is allowed to be released with a Helicopter Gunship style cabinet similar to Gunblade 2's VTOL Cabinet. With a Gun Mounted on it and a working Heads Up Display. The series was very popular, each game in the series grossed $2 Billion in coin revenue. Making Sega $6 Billion.

Cyber Troopers: Of course, this franchise was even more popular than Gunblade in the Arcade, Oratorio Tangram was not as popular as the original Cyber Troopers. But each game made well over $1 Billion, with a side game released alongside Cyber Troopers Mars that grossed $3 Billion. The series was extremely popular and unlike OTL, It was popular not just in Japan but in the Europe and the USA as well. It was a Cockpit View based FPS with Bullet Hell Elements. However the fandom was known to be as bad as OTL's Sonic Fandom, as they brawled with Fox Force Fans. As documented in my article about The Furry Fandom.

Daytona USA: Daytona USA was Sega's most popular franchise of the Golden Age of Arcade Games, the first game is very similar to OTL's Version, and Daytona USA 2 was the same game but had a Sega Saturn II Port with 120 Cars. Eventually it started to get Licensed NASCAR Cars.

Ridge Racer: In U-986, Ridge Racer was seen as Namco's Second Golden Age "Pac Man Killer". The First Game was radically different from the original, with F1 Cars with Canopies that can drift being on the classic "Seaside Route 765" Course, and in the Console Games Ridge Racer would switch to Single Seater Saloons powered by Electricity. Whereas in the arcade games the cars are explicitly said to be "Petrol Powered F1 Cars with Canopies". The Arcade games in the Ridge Racer Franchise were as follows.

Ridge Racer, 1993. Ridge Racer II, 1994. Ridge Racer III, 1996. Ridge Racer IV, 1998. Ridge Racer V, 2000. Ridge Racer VI, 2003.

As a result of the F1 Designs, Ace Driver was cancelled TTL. Also of note were that the games featured a Cockpit View and were viewed as the spiritual successor to "Driver's Eyes".

The Ridge Racer series grossed over $20 Billion in coin-op revenue. And was more successful than it's OTL rival Daytona USA TTL.

Overall the games were well received and made lots of money for Sega and Nintendo Sony Group.