SpongeBob Soccer Stars unites iconic cartoon character and sport in one exciting arcade game
Players will try it once and get hooked.
“What happens when you take the world’s most popular sport and add one of the world’s most popular cartoon characters?” observed Andamiro USA Corp. president sales Drew Maniscalco. “You get Andamiro’s new SpongeBob Soccer Stars. This arcade game has the ‘it factor.’ Amusement customers will get hooked after playing it once.”
“As a factory, we look for games that players will want to play over and over again. SpongeBob Soccer is that game” — Drew Maniscalco, Andamiro USA president of sales and marketing
SpongeBob Soccer employs the same lever-driven launching mechanism used in Andamiro’s Baseball Pro series, which was inspired by the mechanical “pitch-and-bat” arcade machines of the 1950s. The new baseball machines have been operating reliably for more than year, and Andamiro expects equally dependable performance for its SpongeBob Soccer Stars game.
“As we proved with Baseball Pro, players love to be in control of the action,” Maniscalco said. “With Baseball Pro, it’s the bat. In our soccer application, it’s SpongeBob kicking the ball. As a factory, we look for games that players will want to play over and over again. SpongeBob Soccer is that game.”
In the single-player game, users take on the role of SpongeBob. Gameplay is simple, intuitive and appealing to all ages. Players pull the lever back and time its release when the ball rolls down the delivery track. With SpongeBob as the offensive kicker, or attacking player, it made sense for Andamiro’s designers to put Squidward in the goal, and the ill-tempered Bikini Bottom inhabitant’s six arms make for a great goalie. The object of the game is to score as many goals as possible in a given time (30 seconds is the default). Score seven goals, and the gameplay enters a 15-second bonus round; if a player gets 15 goals, they win the big bonus. A scoreboard displays goals, time and tickets won, while a second display on the playfield keeps track of bonus data.
SpongeBob Soccer measures 34″ W. x 40.2″ D. x 90.1″ H. It supports coin, banknote and swipe-card mechs, as well as ticket dispensers. Nickelodeon-approved voices complement the sound package and a colorful cabinet design.
SpongeBob Soccer Stars is Andamiro’s third amusement machine title adapted from the animated TV series “SpongeBob SquarePants” and factory’s fourth Nickelodeon license. As of 2015, the TV franchise has made $12 billion in merchandising revenue. New York City-based Nickelodeon, or Nick, is a basic cable and satellite television network launched in 1977 and owned by media giant Viacom. Its content is mainly aimed at kids. As of July 2015, Nickelodeon was available to almost 94 million pay television households in the U.S.
