A Sega network hack has kept rows of arcade cabinets dark across Japan for a week, according to an official apology from the operator of the country’s main arcade network.
The outage began after the company behind ALL.Net, a service that links arcade machines to online updates, player data and leaderboards, detected unauthorized third-party access to its servers. Services were suspended on November 1, and a notice dated November 2 asked customers for patience while the company investigated and ran safety checks.
What the breach did and did not touch
Sega Fave, the entity responsible for the network, said in its notice that personal information and billing data were not stored on the compromised server. The company did not provide a timeline for full restoration at that point.
The impact has been visible in arcades themselves. Venues served by the network have shown silent black screens where game displays would normally be. The outage has not affected classic offline arcade machines, and rival networks run by Taito and Konami operate separately, leaving their authentication systems untouched.
Bandai Namco titles return first
Although the disruption is widely associated with Sega, the ALL.Net network also supports titles from Bandai Namco. A morning update from ALL.Net on November 3 said Bandai Namco games would gradually resume operation on a trial basis, with online play and card use enabled.
Sega’s own titles remain under maintenance, and their online services are unavailable. The network operator has promised a news bulletin for November 10, a Tuesday, but has not estimated when the Sega side will be fully resolved.
Games affected on the Sega side include Initial D The Arcade, Maimai and CHUNITHM. On the Bandai Namco side, titles such as Taiko no Tatsujin, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX and Gundam Extreme Vs. rely on the same network.
Why one server outage reaches so many cabinets
ALL.Net, short for Amusement Linkage Live Network, was launched by Sega in 2004. It lets arcade games receive automatic updates, log play data, support online matches and power national leaderboards. That central role explains how a single server breach can empty arcade floors of their usual noise and activity without any physical damage to the cabinets themselves.
The trial resumption for Bandai Namco titles marks a partial step back toward normal operation. For Sega’s own arcade lineup, the screens stay dark until the company completes its investigation and safety checks.
