For the new deluxe Aliens cabinet it almost looks like they just added a new shell to their current deluxe model but I have not seen this configuration for Paradise Lost before (not that it would help that game out much). It could be that these models are only for Asia but we'll keep an eye out for any of these making it elsewhere.

There are a couple of more Power Boat shots here too, including the ones we have already seen but also a slightly different blue cabinet that has some fencing around it. I'm not sure what the difference between the white and blue cabinets is but I noticed that the blue ones have fencing around them and the white ones don't, so maybe they have different motion abilities? In taking a closer look at it, the white ones may only have the seat move where the blue ones have the seat and monitor move with it. Time will tell I guess, I wonder which one eases the motion sickness feeling.

There are a couple of drumming games here, one may be a new Percussion Master but my Chinese sucks (OK, it's non-existent) so I'm not sure about that. One of the two has you pounding those larger drums that they always play in movies when the scene is supposed to be getting your heart racing. That would be a blast to play next to someone who is playing really hard on a different game nearby but I digress.

And to top it of with the "I'm not sure what the frak it is" category, these two games. One is obviously based on those old wooden marble balancing maze you may or may not have played as a kid (I did a couple of times so am I aging myself here?) but I have no clue what it's called - it has a huge bowling ball sized trackball though and I'd be happy to see it come overseas. And the other one is something called ESP Agent, which looks like it might be a light-gun-esque game but I have no clue (or no frakkin' idea - sorry I just watched a few BSG episodes the other day) what those things hanging off to the side of the cabinet are. The cords are flimsy like Wiimore Nunchuck cords but those black objects almost look like purses. Is it a game where you use ESP to discover what's in someone's purse? Why is it that the JErry character in the background can do an absurdly flexible high kick? I've seen stranger games before but I'll stop making up stuff that it may be until I found out more. There also is a game pictured on the page called Jungle Adventure that has the same setup as one of those games where you throw balls at the screen and for some reason they have flower displays that belong at a wedding reception. It's either a new direction in marketing coin-op games to wedding receptions or someone forgot to order the right display and they went with it anyways.

<- Make sure you cover up the game with the wedding flowers!

[Full collection @ Nippo-Tusho via AM-Net] [Discuss on the Forum]

Overview Part 1

Overview Part 2

Some of the parts that were for sale at the show

Working Tempest

Midway's Flying Turns Mechanical Game

This is just a friendly reminder that the Rochester, NY Game Room Show will be happening this weekend. I have been busy getting ready for the show! I will be there and will have plenty of pictures and video to report back with after the show.

The show will feature a new fleamarket area, games available for purchase and for free play and everything you need for your home gameroom or arcade! 12$ admission at the door (its a cheap price for the amount of games they have to play!).

Visit www.rochestergameroomshow.com for more information.

Coastal Amusements had their new Sea Wolf game on display which received a lot of attention(they also had a number of redemption games there too). They had six units setup that were constantly being played and I could tell why - it is a very fun game. The gameplay is quite simple like a classic game - the only thing I don't like about it is the price tag which I guess in the redemption sector is where they'd like it but for the video sector is a little high. A video of this is coming up in a post later today.

Trio-Tech had their UFO Stomper on display (which I also have a video of) along with their Motion Wave Theater and Jett Rider. UFO Stomper is a lot of fun with many mini-games built into the unit that really can give you a work out. It was fairly popular from what I saw and I wore myself out going through the adventure mode. You might be able to find this at an FEC but for a couple of reasons (size and price) it is impractical for small locations. Great attraction though. I was hoping to see a Wasteland Racer there but it looks like they have dumped it (as it even isn't on their website).

Andamiro had three Pump It Up games setup - all looked quite nice and I saw people playing them everytime I walked past the booth. They also had a fun video redemption game called Hammer 2 where the players use soft mallets to smack video images on the table, sort of like whack-a-mole but more advanced. It was some nice fun for two players.

Beyond that the floor featured many redemption items and a few touchscreen devices, including new tabletPC-like models from Touch Tunes (pictured) and Merit. There also were a number of air hockey tables on the floor, each with some new ideas that mostly involved sound. My brother and I played a couple of games at the Barron Games booth, including a match where you could have four players to a table or each player could "dual-wield" (OK, my term, not theirs) the hockey puck deflectors. It also had a bumper in the middle of the field. I saw another air hockey table(it might have been at the ICE booth) that had a shield in the middle to avoid flying pucks and also used some new ideas with sound. It had been a long time since I had played air hockey, I forgot how fun it could be so I will have to look into one of these for my own arcade.

While it's not a game, I did come across a booth where they were demonstrating some LCD monitors to go into standard arcade cabinets. The monitors were made by Ally Star Technologies in Taiwan and overall I liked the quality of what I saw. They had several sizes of monitors and most on display had a widescreen display ratio and good contrast ratios and options. They make screens from 8.4" in size to 47", each size improving in technical specs (the 47" screen can do 1080p). I am thinking about one of these widescreen displays for my conversion of a cabinet into The Act - the actual model that Cecropia made had an LCD widescreen monitor so I'd like to get something like it.

Finally I did come across one new development in the redemption sector that is interesting. It takes the self-redemption concept to the level of not needing employees at a desk to count tickets and grab prizes for people. Called the Database Prize Center by Smart Industries, the redemption counter is basically transformed into some cabinets where the prizes have the value printed on a sticker - the person feeds their tickets into the machine and it lets them choose what they want (as long as they have the tickets to afford the item). It does essentially replace redemption arcade employees with machines but there are some types of locations that may not want to run a redemption desk or can't do it at all that this is useful for. If it grows (initial reports state that it's already proven to work successfully in a number of different venues) it could become a standard thing in the industry so I thought that it was worth mentioning.

So that was ASI in a nutshell. Today they are having the show open to the public and we'll see how that goes and what people think of the offerings there. I also stopped by The Star Trek Experience at the Hilton hotel - for a Trekkie like myself it was awesome. I even bought a "KHAAANN!" t-shirt which looks great. Stay tuned for some ASI videos!

[Discuss on the Forum]

As previously stated I was able to make it down to ASI 2008 and it was a fun experience - I was able to play a number of games that I have only heard about or seen online. But what was disappointing is that the selection of video games was relatively small compared to what could have been seen and there were almost no new announcements for games to come along later in the year(I could only find one). Still it was fun and it was great to meet up with a few people that I have talked with online before. I was told that Nolan Bushnell showed up very briefly at the show, it's too bad that I didn't get a chance to meet him and at least thank him for giving us Atari.
While I did take a number of pictures and video, for some reason several of the images and a couple of the videos became corrupted so I have less to show. I do apologize for that, it really disappointed me as one of the reasons I went to ASI was to get many pictures and video but this will have to do. I think the problem is the digital camera I have, so next time I'll make sure to have a decent one. Click on the thumbnails for a full view.

I'd also like to thank the AAMA for accommodating my brother and I, they were very nice and friendly and I appreciate the opportunity that they gave me for interviewing both Micheal Rudowicz, president of the AAMA and Frank Cosentino of Namco, which I will be transcribing as time permits (I made a voice recording of the interviews but the audio isn't too great thanks to the ambient noise of the show).

First off, Namco. As mentioned in the previous post, they have a very small video presence - while they had a large booth, a vast majority of the games there were of a redemption nature that I did not spend much time looking at. However they did have a couple of games that I wanted to see - Maximum Tune 3 (four units which were almost always occupied) and Mario Kart Arcade GP2. They also had a Pac-Man/Galaga unit, a tabletop Pac-Man combo and a Bowl-o-rama machine. I was able to interview Frank Cosenteno of Namco and we had a good discussion about the industry along with some of Namco's plans (I will post a transcript of that interview soon but it will take some time). While he wasn't able to divulge much about their future plans, we did discuss a little bit about Namco's plan to use the Wii in the arcade development scene, Tekken 6 and the possibility of Pac-Man CE coming to arcades. I managed to recover a picture of Wacky Races (which wasn't at the Namco booth but was close by - the lever was removed and replaced with a giant button) but everything else Namco related is lost.

GlobalVR had a large booth showcasing most of their current games - they had 10 NASCAR games hooked up which received a lot of attention, including several standard and deluxe cabinets and two motion cabinets. Playing on that large of a network was quite fun. They also had several Blazing Angels units setup which also received a good deal of attention and praise; a Global Classics cocktail cabinet, two America's Army units and two Paradise Lost (standard) units. I know it's older but it would have been nice to see an Alien: Extermination Deluxe setup at the show. I didn't hear anything about their new NFS: Carbon title or anything about the new Signature Devices titles that were announced earlier this week.

Betson/Raw Thrills also had a large booth on display with several Big Buck Hunter Pro and Big Buck Safari units setup for play. They also had the new tournament edition of BBHPro there which is using some cool ideas for playing online. Big Buck Safari is a lot of fun, I think I like it more than BBH to be honest for it's variety in levels and challenges and some of the new bonus rounds. Many people in the booth had BBS clothes on (including a couple of booth babes). The Big Buck Safari Deluxe still needs some work though - they said that it was only about 60%-70% complete as there are problems with the light guns and the LCD which I could tell - my shots didn't register 80% of the time. Hopefully they iron this out before the final release. Nice cabinet though. They also had several Tokyo Drift cabinets setup and were demonstrating the new Drift kits in some Crusin' World and USA cabinets. They looked pretty nice actually and the price is competitive (between $2200 and $2600) for what you get. They also had a couple of Super Bikes machines and one Konami game, DDR Supernova 2 which didn't get much attention. I was told a little more about more Raw Thrills developments - nothing detailed but there are several teams in the company working on several new games. I hope to hear more soon.

Next up is Sega. In perhaps what is an indication of their recent troubles, Sega didn't have a large presence at ASI - in fact their booth was tucked away and relatively small. As Kevin of the Stinger Report mentioned, they only had two videos there, Primeval Hunt and RaceTV. I enjoyed (and finished) Primeval Hunt and to an extent RaceTV but I could see where it had received some criticism. They also had their Shoot This! Win This! and UFO Catcher video redemption games as well as some new Spongebob SquarePants redemption game setup. We had hoped to see some indication of new developments from Sega such as Sega Rally but to no avail. Unfortunately both the pictures I took of the Sega booth didn't survive, but I do have a video of the booth to make up for it.

Stern Pinball was located next to Raw Thrills and was quite popular as the day went on. They had two Indiana Jones pinball machines with what looked to be the final playfield art ; Shrek pinball, Wheel of Fortune and a few other recent hits of theirs. I was able to briefly meet Gary Stern which was cool and I congratulate him on Indiana Jones pinball - I thought that it was a lot of fun and I had the chance to play it a couple of times. Shrek pinball was also pretty good and I can see them producing more than 250 of those. I did take a video of Indiana Jones pinball being played which I will be posting later today.

iMOtion had their Panzer Elite Action game setup at the Mountain Coin Op booth (which also had the SpongeBob SquarePants Digital pinball table). I talked with them for a little bit and saw a video of a new game they have developed that involves boat racing (this was the only brand new game announced at the show that I know of) called Power Boat. From the brief video I saw of Power Boat it looks really good, it reminds me a little of HydroThunder but it uses motion (and more advanced graphics). Their reps have the right idea - that arcades need different kinds of games that fit more into the simulator experience. I can only hope that soon they'll make a mech based game, which was an idea they seemed open to. We can definently expect to see more from them in the future. If you haven't seen the iGO motion cabinet yet, click here for a cool 3D interactive demo of how the machine works.

More coming up!

[Discuss on the forum]

ASI opened to a greatly reduced show floor and major departures from leading corporations as Namco and Sega see executives move on.

Sega had a vastly reduced presence with only two videos to show: RaceTV's latest build with password, and Primeval Hunt. The latest software release for both - and that was it! Their booth was hard to find off the show floor with no large banners up for display to help attendees locate them.

Namco also had a limited video showing, with no new releases - redemption reigning king on their booth. The operation spoke off the record with The Stinger
Report about the Tekken 6 situation (not shown) and promised an official statement at the end of the show.

Global VR was a example of good video presence, with a large network
line-up of NASCAR, and the new Blazing Angels WWII flyer all getting major coverage in the video desert of the show.

Betson / Raw Thrills another major video winner - crowds flocking to blast the wild animals of Africa on Big Buck Safari - along with the launch of the kit from DRIFT, Raw Thrills rocked the show. Betson did confirm that they were still supporting Konami with one Dance Dance SuperNova2 machine on booth hidden away to one corner.

Andamiro had their latest Pump It Up Pro, and a new screen basher game (more to come on that later).

Finally in this brief run down of the video on the show floor TrioTech had their UFO Stomper, showing off the latest of the mini-games and drawing happy crowds to the physical stomper action.

Big anticipation to the public four hour session on Saturday, rumors thick on what can be expected.

[Discuss on the Forum]

The UK had ATEI, Japan had AOU and now the US is going to have ASI. Known as the Amusement Showcase International, ASI is held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA and in addition to lectures for operators to help them improve their business, we'll also get to see the latest arcade titles that are already on the scene or will be headed to the scene later this year. You might have noticed that over the past few days we've seen more announcements of new games coming along and a lot of that has to do with publishers gearing up for the show.

As a reminder for anyone interested in going, this Saturday the show will open to the public for four hours so everyone can get a chance to come in and check out the new games. They also will be holding two big tournaments "one for the public and one for celebrities – and a raffle benefiting the American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation, for six unbelievable prizes, including the iPhone, a Panasonic Wireless Home Theater System and Global VR’s EA Sports™ Nascar® Racing game."

I only live about 7 hours away from Vegas by car but unfortunately I won't be able to make it this year due to certain financial circumstances. But that won't stop us from reporting any news that we come across that spills out of the show so stay tuned as the week progresses.

[ASI Website] [Discuss on the Forum]

I am hoping to go to ASI 2008 in Las Vegas here in two weeks but it will depend on how much cash I can spare to go down there. Whether I make it or not it is not important although I would love to go and mingle with people in the industry, check out some of the new games and maybe attend a seminar or two. For those that will be able to attend ASI 2008, it is shaping up to be an excellent show with many competitions planned along with cash prize giveaways. For the full rundown, check out the press release:

Show Planners Ready Special Events For Upcoming ASI

LAS VEGAS — Organizers of the Amusement Showcase International said many special events are planned for the 2008 trade show, which runs from March 27 to 29 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. ASI is owned by the American Amusement Machine Association and produced by William T. Glasgow Inc.

The ASI Big Bar, staged on the show floor, returns this year. It will be open Thursday and Friday evening from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. A new event, the “Name That Tune” game show, is open to all operators and begins at 5:00 PM as part of “Happy Hour on the Show Floor.” To enter, visitors drop their business cards at the door of the Big Bar starting at 4:00 PM; contestants will be randomly selected.

The Coin-Op Olympics, featuring the industry’s newest games and prizes for victorious participants, takes place Saturday, March 29, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on the show floor. In an ASI first, the public will be invited to the competition to try out new games and vie for prizes; admission is $10. Local celebrities will also be on hand, vying to win as much as $5,000 each for their favorite charities. “Opening the show to the public will generate publicity about both ASI and the industry as a whole,” AAMA said.

The Big Raffle, which benefits the American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation and offers prizes of new equipment, will be held in the AAMA booth on Saturday, March 29, at 3:00 PM. Entrants must be present to win. Tickets can be purchased until March 19 at coin-op.org, and will also be sold at AAMA’s booth.

The ASI-International Flipper Pinball Association will host its second annual International Pinball and Video Pinball Tournament. The event will be held onsite, and runs all three days of the show.

The World Pinball Championships, held concurrently with ASI, will take place at the Pinball Hall of Fame from March 28 to 30. Spectators are welcome. Some $13,000 in prizes will be awarded. For more information, visit ifpapinball.com.

AAMCF’s Charity Golf Tournament is Wednesday, March 26. Lunch is at 12:30 PM, followed by a shotgun start an hour later. Prizes ranging from cash to gag gifts will be awarded, and a portion of the proceeds will help support children’s charities.

The Century Club will meet Friday, March 28, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM in room S223 of the Las Vegas Convention Center. All committee members are encouraged to attend.

Additional show information is online at asi-show.com.

[Discuss on the Forum]

The full attendance breakdown follows, with the increase from 2007 shown in brackets:

2/15 (Friday) - 21,249 (+4,519 visitors)
2/16(Saturday) - 17,193 (+6,010 visitors)
Total - 38,442 (+10,529 visitors)

[Arcade Renaissance: AOU 2008 final attendance numbers]

[Discuss on the Forum]

(Image via Famitsu)

AOU 2008 is over now and one thing is certain - there is still plenty of interest in arcades despite the presence of the Nintendo Wii in people's homes. The lines for games were quite long with an expected 120 min. wait for Street Fighter IV and Konami reported wait times with 140 min. and 180 min. with multiple cues. Over 2,000 non-trade visitors stopped by the event (people that were just there to play games) and overall the show was a success. Now we just need to find out which games you can expect to see Japanese arcade companies send overseas.

Also via The Stinger Report and Amusement Japan is a look at the many booth babes that were one the scene to assist attendees to their needs. e3 may no longer be around to bring these girls to the console gaming scene (although there are other shows for them to appear at) but between ATEI and AOU they are plentiful at arcade shows. From pirates (right) to Chun Li to whatever else, help was there.Hit the post break for the collection that is safe for work (unless they have something against Japanese girls in sometimes funky costumes).

Finally if you're looking for a ton of links to various Japanese sites reporting on the event, AM Net has collected practically everything onto one page. The only problem is that you have to deal with lousy internet translators but there are plenty of pictures to browse through on the various sites if that's all you care for.

[Discuss on the Forum]

Just a friendly reminder from us and The Stinger Report that if scenes like the one above means that the arcade scene is totally dead (even in Japan - my guess is Namco probably should have waited to announce their arcade closures until after AOU was done and see how things were going to go) then we must have fallen into a different dimension where dead means "people will wait an hour and a half to play an arcade game". Street Fighter IV isn't the only popular game at the show however, several other games have proven popular including a few other fighters such as BlazBlue, Basara X and Fate: Unlimited Codes. I also have a video from AM NET that shows the latest version of Virtua Fighter 5, that we'll call VF5R.

[Discuss on the Forum]

In our coverage of the arcade goodness at ATEI this year it's easy to overlook the presence of pinball at the show as it has a fairly small footprint, but it was there nonetheless and fortunately Pinball News was there to take a look at the meager but great offerings. Stern was represented through Electrocoin and had two Wheel of Fortune pins and a Spiderman table there; GlobalVR had Ultrapin there as always and Sega had PinAir, which I believe I read about in a Stinger Report sometime back but it was a brief mention at the time. PinAir looks pretty cool - it's a cross between air hockey and pinball, which looks to be a smart combination. Hopefully it goes overseas, assuming that it has tested well.

[Pinball News] [Discuss on the Forum]

(Click on the image above to enlarge)

Japanese arcades might be suffering a little at the moment but that won't cancel the upcoming AOU 2008 show in Japan next week. Thanks to the Stinger Report, here is a mock-up view of what Taito's booth will look like. From this it looks fairly impressive and you can tell there are a number of Viewlix cabinets to the right and what might be a banner for Samurai Spirits. You may also notice the banners for the 30th anniversary of Space Invaders which we brought up just a few posts ago. Expect to see more next week!

[Discuss on the Forum]

The Stinger Report has pointed us to their ATEI review at SPoNG.com which includes some more photos and a nice overall review of what went on at ATEI. As long as an arcade event gets a little more coverage in the mainstream, I'm happy.

Hopefully I'll be able to show up at the next big arcade show  (well after AOU) and that's ASI.
[ATEI article @ SPoNG.com] [Discuss on the Forum]

The Rochester Game Room show is a local buy and sell event of all game room equipment including arcade games and pinball machines. You can also come just to play the games, they have entertainment for everyone. It is located in Rochester, NY. In addition to these items they have pretty much everything else you would want to buy for a home game room, a huge variety of items. They also have a pinball tournament hosted by P3.

I attended last years show and it was very good, it was everything it promised to be and I was not disappointed at all. Last year they had over 325 pinball and arcade games available for play so its quite a sizable show and it is totally worth attending. I will be attending the event this year and I will have full coverage for my readers when the show actually happens. I will also keep you updated with any further details. This year the show will happen in a new location with natural lights so bright overhead lights do not get in the way. This was a complaint of many guests and it has been addressed for this years show. Here are the details known about the show so far:

Date: April 11-13 2008

Location: Rochester Armory

900 East Main Street

Rochester NY 14605

Sign up on their email mailing list via their website to get updates on the show.

Rochester Game Room Show Website

P3 Pinball Tournament at Rochester

We've already heard from Sega and Konami so it was only a short time before Namco threw their hat into the ring of what to expect from them at ATEI.

From the press release it is obvious that redemption is quite important to Namco, and they will be showing off a number of new redemption titles including games with titles like 'Barber Cut', 'Battle Forge', 'Hollywood Reels', 'NFL 2 minute challenge', '3-in-a-row', and 'Crazy Typhoon'. From the looks of it, the redemption titles will outnumber the video selection but that doesn't mean that there won't be little to look forward to on that front.

Namco will of course be showing off the popular Maximum Tune 3, Time Crisis 4 and the highly anticipated Tekken 6 (which when I was talking with my local distributor today apparently still has no set release date here in the States). But Raw Thrills' will finally be demonstrating one of their new 2008 titles - 'Safari' which is "an African-themed shooting game modelled on the proven Big Buck Hunter phenomenon." This is the first time Raw Thrills' will be debuting a title outside of the US. Whether this is one of the titles that Specular Interactive was working on or not remains to be seen but at least it's not another Fast and Furious game. There is no word in the press release if they will be showing off Wacky Races but we'll know soon enough.

[Via CoinOPToday.com] [Discuss on the Forum]

Hit the break for the press release.

Namco Bandai Games ‘power portfolio’ gets 2008 boost

On the eve of ATEI 2008, Namco Bandai Games has announced a number of new additions to its Fun Factory line-up with over a dozen new products making their world or European debuts at the London show on stands U2340/U2334.

The European distributor – which holds key exclusive distribution rights for some of the best marques in the business including Namco Bandai Games, Benchmark Games, Betson, Fantasy Entertainment, ICE, IMotion!, PopNoggins, Raw Thrills, Universal Space, Yubis and 5 Star Redemption, as well as its own collection of Brent Sales-branded games – is aiming to build on huge successes recorded across several product sectors over the past 12 months.

Prize merchandising is one of the company’s key growth areas with skill-based vending games and ticket redemption being spearheaded by the well received introductions of Clena-Flex, Japan’s current leader in the prize vending field, Sweet Land Premia and Deal or No Deal. Joining them for the first time at ATEI are: Barber Cut, a two-player prize vendor of crane-sized proportions; Battle Forge, a redemption game that turns coin/token firing into a virtual video world; Hollywood Reels, a new coin roll-down redemption game; NFL 2 minute challenge, an American football-themed adaptation of ICE’s popular basketball redemption game NBA Hoops; 3-in-a-row, a new spin on the traditional alley roller; and Tickets to Prizes, an all-in solution designed to help operators introduce redemption into their estates. Crazy Typhoon makes its world debut at ATEI. This single-player game, themed on coins spiralling down a funnel to land on prize areas, has been designed specifically for the European market by Namco Bandai’s Japanese development team and is available in both coin-in/coin-out and ticket redemption formats throughout Europe.

The company’s line of photo-imaging booths, which currently includes Fantasy Entertainment’s Foto Cube and Portrait to Anywhere, is being expanded to incorporate the brand new Pop Noggins, a booth which places photographed faces onto singing and dancing cartoon characters – all dispensed to the customer via DVD.

Videogames, remain the company’s hallmark as Namco Bandai Games’ Maximum Tune 3 continues its reign as the highest income earning driver and Time Crisis 4 heads the field in video shooting cash box whilst Raw Thrills enjoys its current status as the world’s biggest selling brand of coin-op video. New for 2008 is BNG’s Tekken 6, the latest instalment in the ultra popular combat video series, and Raw Thrills’ Safari, an African-themed shooting game modelled on the proven Big Buck Hunter phenomenon. The Illinois-based games developers have combined with Namco Bandai Games to stage its launch at ATEI 2008, marking the first time a Raw Thrills game has made its debut outside of the United States.

Highlighting its ‘Fun Factory’ status as a total supplier of family entertainment games, the company will also feature a brand new range of kiddie rides on its ATEI stand.

At this years Amusement Showcase International 2008 event (March 27th-29th in Las Vegas, NV) they are going to attempt something that they never have done before - allowing the public to take a glimpse at the show (if only for a brief time). According to the press release:

...the show will be open to the public by special invitation only and for a limited time March 29, noon to 4 p.m., in Hall S1 of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

On top of this the AAMA is sponsoring a couple of tournaments - one for the public and the other for a Celebrity Charity Event. Both are intended to bring more positive coverage to the coin-op industry. Which games the competition will be held on depends on what is offered by the different exhibitors but either way it sounds like a lot of fun.

[Via Play Meter Magazine] [Discuss on the Forum]

The Stinger Report has released the first part of their IAAPA coverage and it is loaded with information pertaining to arcades and what the future holds for our industry. Certainly this is shaping up to be the best year we’ll see in amusement this decade. The report itself is quite long so I’ll work on slimming it down to something managable for this post.

——————————————————————————-

Sega Amusement USA - Had two booths, demonstrated Primeval Hunt (90% complete), Sega RaceTV (80% complete), 2 Initial D4 cabinets, and two of Sega's mid-sized attractions OutRun 2 Special Attraction and Let's Go Jungle Special. For Redemption they had UFO Catcher, their plush line and Pirate's Revenge, a new game developed by a developer called TecWay along with IGS. Edit:‘Pirates Revenge' is developed by IGS and distributed by Universal Space (UNIS) [no word why TecWay had it on their booth!!?] TecWay also was demonstrating a redemption game targeted towards kids called Ghost Hunter. They also showed a BeMani game called Drummer Championship, a game called Revenger a game that had players pounding cartoon characters with a mallet to corresponding clues.

GlobalVR - Demonstrated some of their latest releases including a linked NASCAR, America's Army and Aliens: Extermination. Otherwise they did not show anything new but attracted large crowds.

IMON - demonstrated a new version of their Panzer Elite Tank title running on the motion based iGO hardware that includes network support and an external screen so people passing by could see what is going on. This version is already available from some distributors.

SimuLine - the creators of Sega's Cycraft showed of MiniRide 2, which runs a series of special motion ride films based on the unique hanging motion system. They also announced the development of another simulator title called Race Car of Tomorrow: Today.

Incredible Technologies - no new games shown, their standard titles were shown as well as a new cabinet style.

Merit Entertainment - The makers of popular touch screen coin-op games demonstrated their new Firefly platform which is based on Tablet PC technology.

Namco America - Demonstrated their highly anticipated fighter, Tekken 6. Namco is testing the waters with the game in the US, which uses a HDD, IC Cards and the same style cabinet as seen in Japan (a sitdown cabinet with an HD monitor). It remains to be seen how the expensive hardware will do in arcades, especially if the PS3 version comes out soon afterwards. In addition to this Namco showed off their titles that are currently on the market including Maximum Tune 3, Mario Kart GP 2, Pac-Man 25th Anniversary and Taito's Chase HQ 2. They also are working on a redemption title called Family Bowl 2.

AndaMiro - Showed off DDR's major competitive title, Pump It Up NX2: Next Xenesis.

Trio Tech Amusement - demonstrated the very popular UFO Stomper that we at AH have show in a few posts. It uses two projectors mounted in the roof of the system. TrioTech is working on other titles to play on the platform.

Betson: Showed off the latest version of Big Buck Hunter Pro that includes innovative online play via the 'Coin-Up' system.

Finally according to the Stinger Report:

"Most of the interesting products on the show floor came from major (long-established) amusement manufacturers. However, two notable new developments from start-up developers proved a pleasant surprise, proving there is still interest in new concepts:

SlamBots – Two-Player coin-operated robot combat game, using technology familiar from the redemption car driving market, this new concept builds on an interest for robots in amusement.

Aerr-Ball – Best described as an air based foosball style game, the innovative design and compelling game experience will prove to be a big hit for the first manufacturer that licenses the hardware."

We'll see if we can get some pictures of some of the more interesting games mentioned. Hit the post break for the full Stinger Report.

[The Stinger Report] [Discuss on the Forum]

1. TITLE “Florida Cruising – IAAPA’07 Return! Part 1.” (#599)

Stinger REPORT Skinny!

(15/11/07) The 89th IAAPA Attraction Expo returns to Orlando, for a move welcomed by the attractions industry after last year’s weak Atlanta-based show. The Stinger’s first part of an intensive three-part report on this monstrous event offers a close look at the amusement-heavy display, including developments at US factory satellites, developments from the Taiwanese and Korean amusement scene, and the impact of convergence in the distribution sector – and some groundbreaking new concepts.

Main REPORT:

The Stinger team found themselves in sunny Orlando at the 89th Annual International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Attractions Expo. This show is the trade association’s major bash for the theme park, attractions and amusement (leisure entertainment) sector and the Mecca for the international Out-of-Home leisure entertainment industry.

Founded in 1918, IAAPA now represents over 4,500 members (including facilities, and suppliers across 90 countries) – an industry with 300 million guests entertained on US attractions each year. This year’s event was proposing to attract 25,000 amusement industry professionals, over 500,000 net square feet exhibition floor space with 1,100 exhibitors. In the end the preliminary estimate of actual visitation was an amazing 27,000 attendees.

The Stinger managed to traverse the whole of the vast show floor, as well as sit down with a number of the influential executives who are shaping the visitor attraction and entertainment scene.

- AMUSEMENT

Amusement has become a major component of the IAAPA event in recent years, though it has to be correctly placed in the coin-operated attraction element, with more conventional amusement only finding space in the show because it is worth it. The AAMA trade association has established a successful area for trade members to gather, though amusement also littered other areas of the show floor. Those systems found throughout are listed here.

SEGA Amusement USA (1) –The corporation had actually two booths at either ends of the exhibition hall, offering two different messages. The first booth in the arcade area offered a more conventional presentation – surprisingly, the booth did not have any actual SEGA signage, an omission that was questioned by many.

The booth included games that did not make AMOA’07, but did make Preview’08 - ‘Primeval Hunt’ (LindBergh) was shown 90% complete, with the majority of the game features operational. It’s an impressive shooting experience, but more information to the players on how to operate the touchscreen steering is essential to shine. The new driver ‘SEGA RaceTV’ (LindBergh Hardware) was shown in an 80% complete version to gauge interest by operators to the new driver racing into a crowded field. Other entrants include Sega’s own ’Initial D 4’ (LindBergh), two examples of this cabinet were also on booth. The larger Mid-Sized amusement pieces were represented with ‘OutRun 2 Special Attraction’ (LindBergh) and the ’Let’s Go Jungle Special Attraction’ (LindBergh) system.

Further into the booth, SEGA had their ‘UFO Catcher’ and full plush range on display. The Tecway / IGS-developed ‘Pirates Revenge’ (PC Hardware) redemption game was also on the booth; Tecway officials had limited information on the scope of the partnership with SEGA, and if they would be acting as exclusive distributor.

Informed sources who spoke on a “not for attribution” basis stated that SEGA’s future presence in the amusement sector would be seeing major changes. A strong contingent of UK and US executives made the trip to IAAPA (larger than attended AMOA’07). There was talk of news from the Japanese parents following their Private Show 2007 Autumn on business activities and the final size of their international sales presence, but this was not available off the show floor.

Breaking Stinger News – A matter of days before the IAAPA presentation, SEGA Japan held their ‘Private Show 2007 Autumn’. In previous years these events offered a mixed bag of releases; but this year this show seemed to fixate on a particular genre. Certain titles previously seen in pre-production, appeared here as videos in full production launches. These were ‘Derby Owners Club 2008: Feel the Rush’ (LindBergh), ‘MJ4’ (LindBergh), and the Japanese ancient battle game ‘Sangokushi War 3’ (CHIHIRO). The new medal game series was represented by ‘SNC Ver.2’ (LindBergh) and ‘UNO the Medal’; the company placing Satellite Terminal (ST) gaming in a prominent location (the Stinger covering this sector in a special feature soon).

Global VR – The American powerhouse came to IAAPA making an all-out effort be crowned king of video amusement developers. The company had the full configuration range of their ‘EA Sports NASCAR Racing’ (PC Hardware), with the standard, the deluxe and the new full motion special cabinet. The machines were in link-up mode and made for a very crowded booth full of players during the show; the incredible price point on the cabinet configuration fuelling a lot of interest. Also on the booth, the attractions industry got to see ‘Americas Army’ (PC Hardware) and ‘Alien Extermination’ (PC Hardware).

IMON – The American division of the Taiwanese motion-simulation manufacturer chose IAAPA’07 to launch the latest software version of the ‘iGO’ (PC Hardware) motion hardware package. Running the popular Panzer tank action consumer game experience – this latest version offers for the first time networked tank combat. The new version allows fast-paced action with the players working as a team to race to the next level of action. On display at the event was also a modified version of the hardware platform that included a repeat screen – developed for an operator; the addition has proven so popular that it is being included in the latest designs.

The small motion system market has gained moment since the days of the Tsumo platform. IAAPA saw the launch of a new two-person, low-cost passive simulator. This one comes from SimuLine – the company famous for their Cycraft arcade-simulator for SEGA. The new product, ‘Mini Ride 2’, runs a series of special motion ride films based on the unique hanging motion system. The Korean company is launching the simulator through their relationship with key distributors at a competitive price point. The company was also involved in an announcement to develop the Total Reality Racing ‘Race Car of Tomorrow, Today’ (RCOT), a project receiving R&D funding for the US Army.

Incredible Technologies – An appearance at IAAPA has become a regular occurrence for IT, having read the writing on the wall before many in the amusement sector and focusing on the wider sector of opportunities. The golf, bowling and Bag range of titles were on display – the company attempting to build momentum in their latest releases. Across the booth and spare parts operation Happ Suzko had a sleek design for a new cabinet they will be selling for the BAGS and Golden Tee range of products, the home application of the games becoming as important as the Hospitality and Amusement.

Merit Entertainment – Another corporation benefiting from the popular traffic generated in the amusement association corridor, the company showed its latest version of touchscreen bar-top platforms with game software updates. One new system on the booth was the prototype of the ‘Firefly’ (PC Tablet) system. The use of PC Tablet technology in the Hospitality / Amusement sector is in the preliminary stage. A Merit executive confirmed that though the software transition from bar-top to Tablet was simplistic and 90% complete the actual final external design, docking interface, Card / Bill acceptor and proximity cut-off firmware all need to be nailed down. Merit expects have a workable production prototype presentation next year (just in time for ASI’08).

A number of touchscreen systems were on display at IAAPA – the Canadian VirtuaPlay showed their latest version of the ‘Intevo’ (PC Hardware) – Internet bar-top system. The company has been gradually improving and refining the platform, and had a version of the child based version on display. JVL also came to IAAPA with a selection of their Retro and conventional systems – those guests leaving the Orlando area by plane would have been able to see the installation of JVL terminals within the airport and a new style of entertainment package.

Namco America – The US division of the Japanese powerhouse – the Bandai Namco brand flew high from the company’s booth. Namco chose to use the Orlando event to launch an 80% complete version of what will be 2008’s major amusement and consumer release, ‘Tekken 6’ (PS3 Hardware). The game was a momentous appearance, though squirreled away, and missed (or dismissed) by those operators that populated the show. The list of firsts that the hi-tech brawler represents includes – the first HDD amusement cabinet – the first PlayStation 3 arcade variant – and the first use of Japanese arcade ‘Nori Cabinet’ in North America.

Namco executives who spoke to TSR were using the launch to gauge serious operator interest in bringing over what will be a very expensive and difficult game genre. Many will remember the big revenues they made out of the last Tekken title – but this latest version will be under pressure from the imminent release of the consumer PlayStation 3 release, and the use of complicated IC Cards and Japanese style cabinetry. Namco poured cold water on speculation that T6 would be available as a kit. This will be a HDD only game, supporting a powerful hardware environment. This reasoning means that Namco USA is still testing the waters, attempting to learn how popular the game would be beyond the hardcore player base.

Breaking Stinger News – TSR was one of the first news outlets to break the first USA appearance of the Tekken franchise at IAAPA. Soon after, the Internet got very busy with player forum activities focusing on this news, with YouTube videos posted and detailed evaluations of the 80% version. Namco executives have worked hard to support player interest, with the FAQ for the last game written by a Namco America technical staff member. How much this will force SEGA USA’s hand to launch ‘Virtua Fighter 5’ (LindBergh) to compete – offering a cheaper high profile brawler -- is unknown, though this omission will prove telling in player commitment.

Back at IAAPA, Namco gave a major potion of their booth to the driver – ‘Maximum Tune 3’ (System 256). The game in a four-machine configuration was similar to the cabinet setup seen at Preview’08 and AMOA’07. It proved popular during the show. Namco executives said once they get operators to test the setup, the operators never look back. The price of the four-machine configuration is giving stiff competition to the vast driving lineup in the market. Also on the booth, Namco placed ‘Mario Karts: Arcade GP 2’ (TriForce) offering a simple impulse player for all ages. While a twin version of the Taito driver ‘Chase H.Q. 2’ (Type-X+) was also placed on the show booth, there was no information on the current structure of the Taito Namco America distribution relationship. It’s a matter of curiosity, especially with changes to be announced from Banpresto, Taito and Bandai Namco in the coming weeks.

Namco America has achieved more autonomy to develop their own games than any other Namco satellite amusement operation. Along with the ‘Bowl-O-Rama’ (PC Hardware) game title, the pleasantly designed bar-top ‘Pac-Man 25th Anniversary Edition’ (Proprietary Hardware) was seen following its AMOA’07 release. Namco executives were keen to promote the machine, originally only seen as a Rec-Room consumer system, the new amusement version with a Bill acceptor was an amazing piece of retro development.

Breaking Stinger Report –Namco Bandai Games America on Nov. 21 announced legal action against USA company Eagle Distributing. It was stated that a lawsuit had been filed due to Eagle’s violation of NBG Intellectual Properties – especially the Pac-Man brand. Papers were still be evaluated at the time of going to the wire – but Stinger sources suggested that the games the company distribute including the ‘Garagantugame’ and ‘Classicade’ systems, have been running multiple classic games – and in their arcade version have impacted Namco America sales of their own classic systems. This is the latest instance of legal action against those accused of sailing fast-and-loose with IP from the retro scene.

Retuning to the Namco IAAPA booth – in conversation with Namco America, TSR was given a glimpse of the hard work behind the scenes that Namco’s R&D in the USA undertake to create a series of new releases specific to their territories needs. The latest children redemption video game ‘Family Bowl 2’ (PC Hardware) was on display, developed by Universal Space for Namco, the concept was based on a Namco property and via extensive negotiation hopes to be as popular as its predecessor in the market.

Breaking Stinger News – As was leaked in our Preview’08 coverage, Bandai Namco was about to announce far-reaching management and operational changes. The first of these was officially confirmed with the announcement that Bandai’s division Banpresto, which has split its operation between amusement titles and home console, was part of a stock buy-up. The division will now focus wholly on amusement titles. Its efforts will be absorbed wholly into Bandai Namco Games, into BNG’s own game division. This will be the first of a number of new divisions that will be retained by Bandai Namco including Bandai Visuals and Bandai Networks.

Banpresto’s assimilation into the group will also see Namco take control of the amusement venues ‘Pleasure Cast’ and ‘Hana Yashiki’ in Japan. These will be combined with the 400+ Namco amusement facility division. What will happen to the amusement titles in development is unknown at this point, but speculation is that they will automatically be sold exclusively through Namco subsidiaries. However if this will mean international sales was yet to be revealed. The Banpresto operation is the leading supplier of the popular GunDam franchise from Bandai into the amusement scene. These organizational changes could mean a wider deployment of GunDam, including the unique simulator system.

Returning to IAAPA’07, beyond the amusement trade’s own specific floor zone of developers, the exhibit floor also included booths by many other amusement manufacturers. IAAPA 2007 also included one of the largest gathering of Asian amusement developers at a US event, with some surprising developments

Tecway Development – The Taiwanese coin-operated machine developer has been a major player in the Korean and Taiwan market, and some of their original developments have made international landfall. Tecway sees this year as their time to break into the international circuit. The company had their ‘Pirates Revenge’ (PC Hardware) on the SEGA booth, and also on their own, the pirate game offering a compelling redemption package. Another child-based video amusement title was ‘Ghost Hunter’ (PC Hardware) – a machinegun shooter set in various cartoon-style haunted locations. Another redemption product showed the maturing of the development resources from this territory.

A strong BeMani-style title on the company’s booth was ‘Drummer Championship’ (PC Hardware) – a popular and compelling game building off of the success of previous IGS drum based games in the American scene. Another unusual game was ‘Revenger’ (PC Hardware), a game that had players pounding cartoon characters with a mallet to corresponding clues. The company also had a selection of their kiddie rides at the booth. One that stood out was an interactive tank game called ‘Funny Tank’ (PC Hardware). The simplistic tank ride hid one of the best tank simulator games seen since the iGO system – a compelling game that seemed of a higher sophistication than the normal kiddie ride.

Universal Space Amusement – How important the Taiwan and Korean amusement development scene is to filling the stocking of a number of the amusement developers was also illustrated by UNS. The booth at IAAPA was shared with IGS representation, the company’s making a strong showing. It was interesting to see games that were on other manufacturers’ booths that were from UNS. ‘Pirates Revenge’ (PC Hardware) was on the Tecway and SEGA booth – though there was still some confusion on what was owned by whom with IGS’ name on the box. Other new releases included ‘Battle Force’ (PC Hardware) – a unique redemption game using physical tokens that the player shoots at a screen. Game play had elements similar to the Coastal Amusements ‘Sea Wolf’ game. One of the final big shows from the company was ‘Family Bowl 2’ (PC Hardware), straight from the Namco booth.

Andamiro USA – An example of a company from the Asian sector establishing a prominent foothold in the international scene. At IAAPA the company showed their range of interesting redemption systems, but in the video amusement sector it is the success of their Dancing Stage style products that have rocked the market. They had on booth ‘Pump It Up NX2: Next Xenesis’ (PC Hardware), the latest contender for the music gaming crown. Betson Konami claims they will retake the throne with the new Dance Dance Revolution system, but they will have a hard struggle against the popular Andamiro title.

LAI Games – The well known manufacturer of the popular Stacker Prize vending game and other innovative products did not disappointed those visiting their Booth. Out of the number of high Quality games on display such as ‘Stacker & Super Strike Bowling’, LAI also showed a ‘TimeBuster Prize’ vendor, a game that has been reportedly tested in US locations with results that equal Stackers performance. A new Kids Ticket Redemption game, ‘Chuckle the Clown’, developed for FEC locations catering for the 3-6 year old was an instant hit with Operators who brought their kids to LAI’s booth. ‘Little Master Piece’ (PC hardware) is another innovative game that lets Kids draw images on a touch screen and then printout their painting in stunning colors, ready to frame with the artist’s name and the date of their work, the printout frame can also be location customized with Company logo and location details.

American Alpha – The developer and distributor came to IAAPA with a suite of new titles – as seen at ASI’07 and Open Day the children’s bowling game ‘Go Go Strike’ (PC Hardware) was shown – also the children’s shoot-em-up ‘Pirate Pete’ (PC Hardware) both developed by Paoki Electronics. The company also had a number of "kiddie-redemption" games, giving another example of the new areas of development existing in amusement.

TrioTech Amusement - Sitting on the fine line between amusement and attraction, the Canadian corporation had one of the most influential exhibitions in its history. The main push was the launch of the ‘UFO Stomper’ (PC Hardware) video amusement product. As previously leaked in the Stinger, the system uses a Interactive Floor technology (see coverage in Stinger #596) – with children (of all ages) playing a series of 10 mini-games in one, two, three and even four player action, (the four-player game has the players in each corner in an intense experience).

The 70% complete game system uses a special twin-projection, top-down display (to negate shadows), with the players’ movements on the surface registered by a unique under-floor interface. The machine had a redemption dispenser and with the large UFO roof made a unique and compelling platform. In an early package there was concern that the machine only charged for one player in two player games, and that the height restrictions of some venues may play a part in the final platform design – but these were minor concerns about what is widely expected to be a popular machine.

In fact, ‘UFO Stomper’ was hailed by many as the video amusement game of the show. Prominent sales executives of the major amusement factories visited the booth, leading to high-level agreements to test the game, with an eye towards possible distribution deals. Stinger representatives were able to speak with the TrioTech executive team, which confirmed that they were working on a suite of games for the system. They also confirmed that the completed system would be launched officially at ATEI’08, and that they would take their own booth for the second year running. The use of Interactive Floor technology caused some interest regarding patents – though TrioTech as always had worked hard on a completely unique presentation of the application, one that is fully owned by the Canadian powerhouse.

Beyond the amusement projects (with ‘Ballistics’ and the ‘Mad Wave’ units on booth), TrioTech has continued to develop their 3D – 4D theatre business. The company’s ‘The Adventures of Jett & Jin 3D’ motion ride film has now been licensed in two versions for distribution on non-TrioTech theatre systems by the leading film distributor nWave (see a report on their booth at IAAPA’07). TrioTech are still feeling their way in the sector, having installed a number of mid-sized attractions, though still no news of their aspirations for the mobile version of the XD theatre.

The importance of the distributor was still self-evident at IAAPA, though the actual separation between operator, manufacturer and developer seems very blurred.

H. Betti Industries – The Betson operation was represented at IAAPA with a big booth – the games fell into two categories, those developed by Betti affiliates and partners and those to be distributed by Betson. Raw Thrills had the full selection of their ‘Fast and the Furious’ range with SuperBike and Drift, (the company offering an Instant Rebate on the driver at the show). The Play Mechanics division showed the ‘Big Buck Hunter Pro – Online’ (PC Hardware) system running the ‘Coin-Up’ tournament environment and league system. The Stinger spoke with Betson executives about the success of their Big Buck Coin-Up version. Betson revealed strong interest with tavern owners happy with the capital sales generated from the league version – Betson is working on promotion through liquor companies to jointly promote using the tournament element of the game.

Most of this was seen at AMOA’07, but there were some changes. Further back in the booth a Deluxe Edition machine had been shipped of the Konami horror shooter ‘Silent Hill: The Arcade’ (Proprietary Hardware). (A standard upright version had been shown at the earlier AMOA Expo.) The bringing of a full (Japanese) cabinet did justice to the atmospheric blaster, and it was thought the sub-standard converted standard cabinets shown at the amusement show had been abandoned on Konami’s request. Konami also had their ‘Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2’ (Proprietary Hardware) – the availability for operators to get their hands on the Konami releases represented by Betson – the BeMani game under stiff competition from Andamiro in the US.

Side Note – PlayMechanix was also represented on the Laser Star Amusements booth, having developed the redemption attraction shooting game ‘Doc’s Interactive Shootout’ (PC Hardware) that took the usual lightgun animatronics shooter and created a video alternative for different venue sizes. PlayMechanix, in its role as a keen third party developer, was also represented on the Global VR booth, having developed the ‘Aliens Extermination‘(PC Hardware) shooter before being merged with Raw Thrills.

Coastal Amusements – The influential redemption and midway manufacturer wowed IAAPA with what many said was the redemption video game of the show. On booth for the first time the company showed ‘Sea Wolf’ (PC Hardware), a 2007 video game re-development that harkens back to the Midway 1976 original. This new took the original periscope submarine B&W game brings it into the 21st Century. A new sitdown system with (with subwoofers in the bench seat), plus a periscope control linked to 3D graphics on a flatscreen, created a wow with operators. Compelling content with redemption was what many operators are looking for, the only cloud on the horizon being sticker- shock from the machine’s high price. The appearance of this game at the ATEI’08 event will be an interesting chance to see if this popularity is transatlantic, and how much of the interest is operator nostalgia or a serious money-generating opportunity.

Brady Distributing – The prominent American operation had a strong showing at the show. A major part of the booth was dominated by the two-person passive simulator from UK-based FX Simulation, and an animated Tecway Dinosaur. FX Simulation having created a suite of films and a simulator package for amusement venue application – Brady is the exclusive distributor. The company also brought to IAAPA’07 some unique amusement pieces from Korea. Previously mentioned in our AOU’07 coverage, the game ‘Pang Pang Paradise’ (PC Hardware), developed by Interpark Games, offers a fast and fun plastic ball-throwing game, the players having to hit opponents on a interactive screen (reminiscent of the Konami ball-throwing game). Next to this was ‘YoYo Baseball’ (PC Hardware) from Vogos, another Korean based company (PC Hardware) – a motion tracking baseball game with the player swinging a special bat; The ball literally floats up and down on air in the strike zone allowing the batter time to hit the ball into the target area for their score. It has an accumulating Jackpot feature for those good enough to tackle the high score. Brady is in a position to test these machines into the market where their Asian manufacturers would find it daunting.

Brady also showed, to much excitement, their new ‘Photo Finish’ which is a three player roll down with a large flat screen. This simplifies and reduces the size of the very successful horse racing roll downs. This piece was one of the best received at the show.

The creative application of new technology into the amusement sector was best illustrated by the development of Color Separation Overlay (CSO – also known as Blue Screen or Chromeakey) technology. This facilitates the creation of booths that allow the player’s head to be superimposed over an animated character(s) that dance to the music of various tracks. The first system to be deployed with this hardware was from Korean developer K-River Entertainment, and jointly developed for application with amusement distributor Brady. The ‘Let Me Dance’ experience has taken some time to get right, being previewed in 2006, but is only now being fielded – but has proven its earning capability.

Let Me Dance, has had a difficult birth, especially in the need for Brady and K-River to get licenses for the use of music properties featured in the game, and creating a reliable and compelling vending booth system. The machine’s completion comes just as the market for this type of systems becomes crowded with new hopefuls.

It is always amazing how one idea will appear on a number of developer’s booths. This year’s most emulated idea was the CSO technology. Systems comprised EuroLink Design’s ‘Dance Heads’, on another there was the ‘Pop Noggins’, on a forth there was the ‘Boogie Boddies’, and on a fifth there was the ‘Videoke Star’. The majority of these systems used a CSO system, with music and dancing Avatars on a screen with a recorded takeaway. Some of these systems were just free-standing attractions used similarly to the park photo attractions, but a number of these systems (such as Dance Heads) were deployed in special coin-operated booths. The ‘Dance Heads Recording’ (PC Hardware) system was brand new prototype (the paint still wet on the show model) – the company claiming the system as “the hottest New coin Operated interactive video booth!”

The question is – with all these similar technologies will we find ourselves in the middle of patent disputes? A second possible legal danger for these systems is the ownership of the music used. As mentioned, Brady has spent considerable time and money to ensure the legal usage of the music. The danger is that improper usage of music could see the wrath of the music industry fall upon developers for violating IP rights, Questions to a number of developers regarding the ownership of intellectual properties received no answers, but will be sure to be addressed in the coming weeks.

…Finally, New Amusement Innovation

Most of the interesting products on the show floor came from major (long-established) amusement manufacturers. However, two notable new developments from start-up developers proved a pleasant surprise, proving there is still interest in new concepts:

SlamBots – Two-Payer coin-operated robot combat game, using technology familiar from the redemption car driving market, this new concept builds on an interest for robots in amusement.

Aerr-Ball – Best described as an air based foosball style game, the innovative design and compelling game experience will prove to be a big hit for the first manufacturer that licenses the hardware.

The Stinger’s second part of the IAAPA’07 coverage – looks at the application in the Attraction sector on the show floor.

[Via Barcade.com]

Barcade has posted two articles on their experience at this year's IAAPA event. There are some descriptions of games we've discussed here including the new Sea Wolf, TrioTech's UFO Stomper, Sega's RaceTV and what makes it interesting and Sega's Primeval Hunt. So far everything I have read about Primeval Hunt gives it a thumbs up, I can't wait to try it out myself. For the full reports, hit the links below.

[Barcade IAAPA Report Part I] [IAAPA Report Part II] [Discuss on the Forum]

(Click on any image to enlarge, pictures via Dengeki Online)

For as private as this is supposed to be, with the internet nothing is hidden really but that is good for us so we can catch a glimpse of the Sega Private Fall Show 2007 in Japan. Dengeki Online has a number of pictures of the event today so let's take a look at what was offered:

Derby Owners Club 2008 - slated for Q1 2008

Sanguozhi War 3

MJ4 (Networked Mahjong) - Slated for February 2008

Sega Network Gaming Club - slated for February 2008

UNO - slated for April 2008

[Via The Stinger Report and Dengeki Online] [Discuss on the Forum]

(Click on the flyer to enlarge)

It seems like everywhere has an annual arcade expo except for where I live. That will have to change once I get my arcade open. The latest expo I have learned about is the 6th annual Houston Arcade Expo, taking place this November 30th & 1st of December (Friday and Saturday). On Friday it is only going from 6PM-2AM, Saturday is 10AM-2AM for $15/day or $25 for a weekend pass. It will take place at the Houston Grand Plaza Hotel and they are going to have 150 games available to play, including video games and pins, mostly great classics. If you live in the area, this will certainly be a blast to go and participate in as it will also include prizes (cash and door), a game raffle and contests.

[Houston Area Arcade Group - Arcade Expo site] [Discuss on the Forum]

[Insert Credit - Preview 04 via The Stinger Report] [Discuss on the Forum]

UPDATE: In addition to that, here are some higher quality shots from the same person.

Also here is a video of SegaRaceTV by the same user (via Arcade Renaissance for this one)

[Discuss on the Forum]

GlobalVR - GVR was represented by their European distributor Cosmic Video Amusement. Here was a first look at GVR's EA NASCAR Racing. The deluxe cabinet was at the show and provided "intense and compelling graphics and action." Nascar will go on test in the UK soon, with special featuers such as "drafting", making for a great two-player racing title.

America's Army was also available, we posted impressions on the game recently and Stinger reports that the game provides a "unique experience that could be placed in bars as well as conventional amusement locations."

Aliens : Extermination Deluxe and Paradise Lost were also at the show and both games have proved to be popular games in the market. With recent price reductions on all GVR games, the company has caused a stir in the amusement industry .

Taito -Being represented by distributor Electrocoin, Taito was represented on the floor with their latest racer, Chase HQ 2. For the first time the deluxe cabinet was shown, along with two other versions of the game. It looks great and offers something a little different as well.

Incredible Technologies - Electrocoin alsohad some games on hand from IT, including Silver Strike Bowling , Golden Tee Live 2008 and the aptly named 'Bags' game.

Also from the Stinger:

The event boded well for ATEI in January, though there is expected to be some more big surprise with Tekken 6, a brand new racing game and a selection of hardcore titles from Konami (absent from Preview this year). For more detail on what was at Preview we would recommend reading our The Stinger Report coverage at the end of the month.

We'll be sure to cover that as well.

Our thoughts - It looks like 2008 is shaping up to be a good year for arcades as well although it is concerning about the genre crowding that is occurring. Games like Primeval Hunt look like a good start (as was 2Spicy, which seems as though it won't appear here in the States), as does that Panzer Simulator game. But for the industry to continue its stride and to become more competitive against the console market, we'll need more new ideas of experiences that just aren't as fun at home - while maintaining reasonable prices of course. Thanks again to The Stinger Report for the coverage.

[The Stinger Report] [Discuss on the Forum]