In this first of our four part coverage, after touching on the other European event in Germany, we turn to the first of London's two shows and the inaugural 'European Amusement and Gaming Expo (EAG Expo)' run by the Trade for the Trade, looking initially at the crowded show floor and the SEGA booth and a list of their partners.
Main REPORT:
The 2010 season started with a complicated and crowded amusement sector and an equally crowded amusement exhibition calendar; the beginning of the first month of the new decade saw over THREE amusement shows vying for attention. The month started with the 30th anniversary IMA 2010 show (incorporating bowling world) in Dusseldorf, Germany. The importance of the German show was demonstrated by a 220,000 arcade machine investment, following new legislation in 2005, filling some of Germany's 5,000 arcades and 100 casinos. The IMA show, a shadow of its former self, has gone through much transition as has the territory and 2010 marked a turning point, with the event seeing 8,838 visitors, a 7.2 per cent increase in attendance.
But it was the UK and the all important London shows, where the spotlight most intently shone. The Stinger had to rush across the heart of the capital between two major exhibitions, both vying to be the winner of the battle for the future of the amusement trade business. This is the most comprehensive report of the exhibitions, as well as peripheral events split between the EAG show and IGE. And so to the new show: the 'European Amusement and Gaming Expo (EAG Expo)' marked the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA)'s return to organizing its own event following the 2004 sale of its previous International Casino Exhibition (ICE), Betting Show, and Amusement Trade Exhibition International (ATEI) - along with the association trade publication - to Clarion Events in 2004 for £13.5m ($24.505m).
At the end of the non-complete clause signed between BACTA and Clarion, the trade association revealed to a surprised sector on the 26th of January 2009 (days before the 2009 ATEI event) that it had decided to abandon their support of the ATEI / IGE event and were going to go it alone. An association appointee was hired (supported by the departing show manager from ATEI, now in the new company Swan Events) and, after much speculation and faltering steps, the London ExCel center (Royal Docks) was chosen, taking a 13,000 sq.ft., exhibition space in one of the two halls of ExCel (altogether covering 347,136 sq.ft.), with the EAG Expo taking place on the same days as ATEI. By the New Year 125 exhibition spaces representing 180 companies had committed to the show and speculation was high as to what this first show could achieve with questions as to expected attendance, international appeal, and the simple fact whether this place would be a place to do business. Thus the event opened to an expected and excited audience, and the exhibitors were revealed:
SEGA Amusement Europe
The leading UK amusement presence, and a company on a mission, SEGA unveiled their 2010 plans to offer a 'One Stop' destination, and their inaugural presence at the new EAG'10 was a major one: a booth groaning with over 20 new titles from in-house and third party representation. A big play was made of the company's links to EAG in the build-up to the show, with SEGA's magazine advertisement for the show proclaiming "Not at Earls Court!"
From the Japanese parent company the leading video title was the UK debut of 'SEGA Racing Classic', the high-speed driving title based on the previous successful series. Now in a sleek and eye-catching 32" HD display cabinet (with all the features covered in our IAAPA'09 coverage), the machines shown were still in early production variants. It was revealed that a new software update - hot from Japan - had been shipped but sadly TSR was unable to play the latest software update version due to time restraints. The 4-player network version was an element as yet to be seen (the game will only support 4 rather than 8 player connectivity), though the game was being played during the show. The next drivers on show were four of the 'HUMMER STD' cabinet version, and two of the large 'HUMMER DLX' motion cabinet system, both offering intense off-road racing action. Across the vast booth were also previous releases 'Harley Davidson: King of the Road', and 'SEGA Rally 3'; another previously released title exhibited was the shooting title 'Rambo'. Also on the booth was a 'SEGA Rally 2' cabinet, shown as an example of the refurbishment opportunities for old cabinets now available through the extensive servicing operation.
Among other first time UK video appearances was 'Tetris Giant'; the unique puzzle game based on the legendary property offered some fun on the booth. Next to this was a video presentation of a game in development. The appearance of 'Let's Go Island: Lost on the Island of Tropics' had been rumoured over the last few weeks (and covered briefly in the IAAPA'09 SEGA coverage). The game shown on the video resembled the layout of the 1991 shooting action game 'Rail Chase' with a pneumatic motion base. The game, the official sequel to the LindBergh-powered 2006 release 'Let's Go Jungle: Lost on the Island of Spice', has a release date of Q4-2010 according to the hints being dropped by some sources close to SEGA.
The importance of Redemption to the Japanese subsidiary was underlined by the SEGA Prizes Europe division's exhibition in their part of the booth. The company showed the new IP licensed titles 'Sonic Sports - Air Hockey' and 'Sonic Sports - Basketball', games building on the Sonic the Hedgehog mascot, as SEGA attempts to strengthen its market recognition with the core audience. SEGA Prize Europe also showed the latest developments gathering momentum. The company showed the latest 'UFO Catcher', themed with the Hello Kitty IP and merchandising. This was supported by the inclusion of the new 'tease-tec' software to the system range. With a dedicated attraction mode and enhancement to encourage business to the machine, SEGA Europe are now finally applying many of the elements that drives UFO Catcher business in Japan. Hello Kitty proved a popular brand on the SEGA booth with a Cogan kiddie ride decked out to meet the occasion.
Breaking Stinger News - The importance of the prize vending game for SEGA was also demonstrated by reports of a loctest in a Japanese SEGA facility of 'UFO Balance Catcher'. This offers a unique approach to controlling the prize experience, the player shifting his weight to control the grab in the cabinet. One question that will have to be asked is how much SEGA's R&D are borrowing from the Nintendo Wii Balance Board, or is the Taiwanese TecWay 'Happy Balance Ball' the impetus to this game concept?
Returning to Redemption and SEGA showed off their 'Pigs Might Fly' video ticket game. This title, developed by Gamewax, is part of an impressive range of titles developed by the UK based game developer. An amazing six different games graced the EAG show floor from Gamewax, marking a major growth in the presence of original new designs in the sector. Continuing around the SEGA booth and a sizeable third party representation was recorded - with SEGA now acting as sales agent for a number of the latest amusement releases - in the form of a reference key on the availability of the products in each territory including a comprehensive sales catalogue.
TrioTech Amusement - The Canadian amusement and attraction developer took a prominent space on the SEGA booth, with the company undertaking major developments in the TrioTech arena following the involvement of a new investor and chairman. Riders queued during the show to take up the 'XD Theater' offer of a popular multi dimension and multi-sensory experience. At the show the company had an 8 seat system (though the number is easily configurable), with a 10 film catalogue. The company has installed more than 60 systems worldwide, with shopping malls impressed by the ROI they can generate in high traffic locations, and SEGA has already worked with TrioTech to place systems in UK shopping venues. Continuing the development of the passive ride experience for amusement application, the company also had their 'Typhoon' 2-rider experience on display, with six films to choose from. However in the interactive scene the big development was the latest production prototype of the hybrid development from the 'UFO Stomper' concept. Now with the new name of 'Stomper DLX', this compact system projects the image onto the playing floor; the latest prototype includes a redemption element and 10 games. The final system will also include the capacity for 4-network linkable systems.
Andamiro - Marking a debut appearance on the SEGA booth, now sharing the distribution in the UK with UDC, SEGA is now the new distributor in the majority of the EU territories (with the exception of Russia and North Africa). Thus SEGA had on their booth the latest Redemption titles from the Korean company including 'All Aboard' and 'Winners Cube'. As for the latest videos, 'Pump It Up: NX Absolute' now falls under the control of SEGA. The 42" Plasma display version of the system sees the NXA model for 2009 come with 31 new songs, along with a new "hidden" reward system to encourage player motivation and aerobic exercise. Additionally, if you have access to a broadband Internet connection, the game can be hooked up to the net for real-time worldwide player rankings. NXA also provides two data readings based on calorie burnout rate and Oxygen Intake rate (VO2) when logging out. This way players can enjoy a healthier and more proactive game/lifestyle. NXA offers the player a range of over 870 dance routines, including 200 brand new dances, for more than 170 songs, with up to 6 difficulty levels for each song. Additionally, USB Key users can save previous songs, accumulate miles to unlock the higher stages, and also reinforce continue features.
Breaking Stinger News - Just as we were covering Andamiro's increased visibility on the international scene (especially at this UK event), news broke that the USA president of some 10 years, responsible for much of the drive to re-establish the Korean company's international presence, had left the company with immediate effect. Other than initial comments that he had left to set up a new start-up company called Pipeline Games in the redemption and skill game sector, there has been no word on this major development, breaking as it did only days before the US amusement operation's biggest exhibition.
Innovative Concepts in Entertainment (ICE) - Another major appearance under the SEGA sales wing saw ICE take up a major slice of the floor space at SEGA (Brent / Namco will continue to handle sales for the UK market, while SEGA Europe will handle the sales for most other European countries). The latest developments from the American powerhouse proved worth watching. 'Rok 'n' Bloks' is a 42" vertical screen redemption title using an innovative interface: through game physics players must stack a pile of boxes, carefully balancing them higher and higher to win tickets. This innovative and compelling game was developed by Play Mechnix, another amusement developer that had a number of amusement products on display at the London show.
Other original redemption releases on display included 'Robin Hood', which has players shoot arrows at various moving targets, finally emulating William Tell by using their crossbow to shoot an apple off a character's head in order to win the amassed tickets. This 32" LCD screen game proved a popular presentation among players of all ages and represented another of the comprehensive Gamewax development titles. (The game will be reminiscent to some of the 2001 Nova Production game 'Pharoah's Gold'.) ICE's considerable product range was also represented by the ball throwing 'Go Ballistic', a 47" screen plastic ball screen game, as well as 'Photo Finish', the ball rolling horse racing video game developed by Brady and licensed by ICE. Meanwhile, other redemption releases included 'Big Win Super Spin' and 'Hattrick' (shown for the first time by SEGA).
Pan Amusement - Taking pride of place at the SEGA booth, the UK-based company's range included its shooting gallery, with both 'The Sideshow' and 'Hillbilly Shoot-Out' on show. This range of coin-operated amusement shooting gallery machines offers a compelling new opportunity to venues of all sizes.
Fantasy Entertainment - The big signings continued with an announcement, days before the show and effective immediately, that SEGA Amusements Europe would represent US-based Fantasy Entertainment's full product portfolio throughout their territory of the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Placed on booth at the show were their latest photo booths, 'BlabaBooth' and 'Foldin' Fotos', while the company also exhibited the new 'Foto Game Zone' cabinet, which includes activities and puzzles with the photo-booth system.
Quasimoto Interactive - The company came again to London - though this time at EAG with SEGA - and showed its latest selection of software on the Xbox 360 version of the 'Game Gate' system. Now with a library of over 300 fully approved game titles, QI hope the support and direction of SEGA will help to further establish this consumer game cross over platform.
Other third party amusement developers represented this year by SEGA included IGS / Saint-Fun, who showed their 'Monkey Paradise' button-pounder, and Fusence, who came to EAG with their 'Van Gogh Workroom' portrait sketch photo booth - dispensing postcard, keyring and portrait representations. While others, including Sting International and Games Concept (who also had a booth of their own), offered an impressive if not bewildering selection of new products, it did seem that, rather than shrinking, the new amusement model is looking to diversity as a major element in drawing an audience back to the fun.
SimuLine - One of the exhibitors at EAG'10 that normally exhibit on the SEGA booth, Korean SimuLine, decided to take on the separate representation of their products. Though the company still has a close relationship with SEGA, it also wants to be able to show its own work. The EAG booth had two 'AquaRace Extreme' cabinets with 46" displays and high-speed water racer game software by Bitster. The company placed an 'X Rider' system next to these, and this 4-seater version of the 6DOF, 3D/4D theater attracted some sizeable queue lines, eager to try out the experience on offer.
News Story with thanks to Kevin Williams. Please visit
www.thestingerreport.com for others.
