Konami's 1987 pool game Rack'em Up is coming to modern consoles

Hamster Corporation is adding Konami's 1987 billiards game Rack'em Up to its Arcade Archives lineup on June 11. The game is launching across two generations of hardware. It will be available on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, alongside the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2.

Rack'em Up (released as The Hustler in Japan) is a straightforward simulation of pocket billiards. Players can choose between standard Nineball or Rotation rules. In Nineball, the goal is to pocket the balls in numerical order. The game ends when the nine ball sinks. Rotation pool follows a similar sequential targeting system but awards points based on the number printed on each sunk ball.

The mechanics rely on a dedicated shot select interface. Players use an overhead perspective to line up their angle. A separate menu allows for precise adjustments to spin and cue elevation. Before committing to a shot, players can switch to a simulated 3D view. This alternate camera angle drops down to table level to check the exact positioning of the cue ball relative to the object balls. It is a clever trick for 1987 arcade hardware and helps compensate for the lack of depth perception in the standard top-down view.

A step up from Video Hustler

Konami made an earlier attempt at arcade pool in 1981 with Video Hustler. That game was primitive even for its time, but it laid the groundwork for the physics math used in later titles. Rack'em Up arrived six years later with a massive visual overhaul. The pixel art includes detailed character portraits and cutscenes of a player preparing a shot in a smoky bar setting. The ESRB rated this new release E for Everyone but included a content warning for alcohol and tobacco references due to these specific background details.

The arcade original was built on Konami's Battlantis hardware. It found a decent audience in late-80s arcades because pool translates naturally to a joystick and two buttons. Microsoft previously revived the game in 2010 for its short-lived Game Room service on the Xbox 360. It has been largely inaccessible on console storefronts since that platform shut down over a decade ago. Hamster Corporation produced this new port under a direct license from Konami Digital Entertainment.

Two tiers of archives

Hamster is splitting this release across its two current product lines. The standard Arcade Archives version for PlayStation 4 and Switch costs $7.99. The Arcade Archives 2 version for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2 costs $9.99. The current-generation version includes updated online leaderboards and a dedicated Time Attack mode. Anyone who buys the last-generation version can upgrade to the current-generation release for $2.99 on the same platform family. Both versions include the standard Hamster emulation options. Players can adjust difficulty dip switches and apply CRT display filters.

Sports games from the late 1980s occupy a strange space in retro gaming. They lack the immediate flash of a scrolling shooter or a beat 'em up. They also get replaced quickly as newer hardware allows for more realistic physics. Because of this, they often get overlooked in modern collections. Rack'em Up is a reminder that developers were already figuring out the core geometry of digital billiards decades before games like Virtual Pool made the jump to true 3D polygons. The spin mechanics and cue elevation controls here are surprisingly close to what modern pool simulators still use today.