The arcade version of Groove Coaster will no longer get new songs and content additions after November 2022. Taito made the announcement via the game’s website and YouTube video. The long-running rhythm arcade game will still have its online features available as the company shifts its focus to other platform releases.
Taito cited hard drive space limitations as the primary reason behind this decision. It had considered suggestions from users, such as producing a new cabinet version or installing a larger hard drive. But the company ultimately concluded that there is a limit in keeping the same game running for a long time after nine years have passed since the initial arcade version launched in 2013.
Taito will release the last four songs for the arcade version of Groove Coaster throughout November 2022 on a weekly basis. It also teased that these songs will have a very high difficulty, with the last one “Got a over score?” set to become the hardest ‘final boss.’
- November 2, 2022 – “PUPA” by Morimori Atsushi
- November 9, 2022 – “FREEDOM DiVE↓” by xi
- November 16, 2022 – “Music Plot Type X” by Cosio
- November 23, 2022 – “Got a over score?” by E.G.G. vs MASAKI
Despite the cessation of new content updates, Taito will still retain the online connectivity and services for Groove Coaster 4MAX: Diamond Galaxy — the latest arcade version — for the foreseeable future. It will also consider re-running past time-limited events that added exclusive content.
Masaki Mori, one of the composers behind “Got a over Score?” added that the company will continue to add new content for Groove Coaster games on other platforms, such as the Nintendo Switch’s Wai Wai Party.
Groove Coaster is available on arcades, PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS devices.
