So this one came out of left field – Bandai Namco has announced Star Wars Battle Pod, a brand new arcade game.

Featured above, the new arcade cabinet and game is based off previous P.O.D. based arcade cabinets/games, which have proven wildly popular in Japan, although they’ve never made their way outside of the country, officially.

The new arcade cabinet uses that P.O.D. system that was also used for those wicked awesome Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield cabinets, however it marks a return to the original Star Wars trilogy.

Examples were given like piloting an X-Wing in the famous Battle of Yavin, which makes up one of its five stages. You can also pilot the Millennium Falcon through the insides of the Death Star II, or ride in a Snowspeeder on the planet Hoth. Finally, the last two levels encapsulate the Speederbike on Endor, and the Tie Advanced Ship in Vader’s Revenge.

Here’s the best part – Star Wars Battle Pod is launching in the United States next January. A Japanese and or European release has not been confirmed.