Official Show Report: GTI Expo 2005 Sets New Records
The twelfth edition of GTI Expo set new records with buyers from over 60 countries and regions attending the event, and a total of 115 operators presenting an exceptional sale of over 2,000 new products and 900 booths. The GTI Expo took place at Taipei World Trade Centre, Halls B, C, and D from 8 – 10 July, 2005, and cemented its influence, importance and name as the largest gaming expo in the Pan Pacific Area. The event not only opened up a door between the Asian countries and the world, it also created mutual business opportunities for operators from Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan and the rest of the world.
GTI Expo, hosted by Taiwan Slot Magazine and Game Time International, enjoyed its twelfth year in 2005 with dramatic growth in the number of booths, participating operators, and its scale. The original plan only covered Halls B and C of the Taipei World Trade Center, but Hall D was added at the last minute to accommodate the numerous operators waiting to fill the vacancies. In addition to the Taiwanese operators, which formed the mass majority on the show, operators from countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Malaysia were also in attendance. A solid collection of products were presented at this year's expo, including slot machines, pachinslots, crane machines, gift machines, redemption/novelties machines, table sports, kiddie rides, coin pushers, large-scale entertainment machines, video pokers, video fruit/reel machines, pinball machines, and various spare parts. There were 27 first-comers to GTI, while certain operators were not able to participate due to the lack of vacant booths.
According to exhibitor surveys, over 90% of the participating operators would consider returning next year, predicting an expansion in size for GTI Expo 2006. The outstanding products and prices found at the show attracted overseas buyers from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Chili, Canada, Columbia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macao, China, Malaysia, Republic of Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Philippine, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, United States, Guatemala and Uruguay.
The Digital Entertainment section sponsored by Taiwan's Institute for Informational Industry, or III, was a focal point on the GTI Expo this year. In order to work hand in hand with the government in promoting the digital content industry and to improve the image of the electronic gaming industry, III selected products that were both healthy and entertaining from the first digital entertainment machine evaluation. These machines were displayed at the Digital Entertainment section, and the winning machines would be the designated machines for the National Digital Entertainment competition. This move was a gesture of government determination to support the gaming machine industry.
Honorable guests gathered at the opening and unveiled the industry's future
The 3-day event was open to professional operators and guests for free and to the public aged 12 and above with admission fees on the last day. More then ten honorable guests attended the inauguration ceremony on the morning of the first day, including Wang Jin-Ping, President of the Legislative Yuan, Legislator Lin Yu-Fang, Shen Rong-Jin, Deputy Chief of Industrial Development Bureau, Du Zi-jun, Head of MOEI Department of Commerce.
The inauguration ceremony launched at ten o'clock in the morning with an opening speech from Chen Hwei Chung, Director-General of Taiwan Amusement Machine Association. "The GTI Expo with a history of 12 years can always attract attention from many of the local and international buyers, and it is a declaration of the Taiwanese industry's achievement in developing and manufacturing electronic games," said Chen, "However, the domestic demand has always been inactive due to government restrictions. Consequently, the operators are held back when trying to work on the exporting market. We hope that the event this year can show the government officials and the public how much the Taiwanese industry has devoted and accomplished."
Another event highlight on the opening day was the "2005 International Conference for Digital Entertainment Industry" in the afternoon. The event combined technology and culture to create a new moving paradise. To encourage the industry to combine with the other creative cultural industries in order to bring up more operational patterns and increase industry revenue, III invited the head of the Team Namja from Namco of Japan to deliver a speech at the conference. It was a great opportunity to learn from the success of the Japanese industry, and it was also a chance to aspire to future cooperation and to bring new turning points to our domestic digital entertainment industry.
Digital theme section presented brand new models
The primary goal of GTI EXPO was to provide a business platform for the Taiwanese electronic gaming operators to demonstrate their machines and parts to the local and foreign buyers. Sports type machines, such as basketball machines, hip-hop dancing machines, and Initial D, gathered the crowds. Car racing games related to the summer theater hit Initial D have always been the all-time favorite for large machines, and the Taiwanese operators added tracks that are familiar to the Chinese community to make the games more friendly and approachable. Games such as Initial D, Speed Mania, Speedy Kid, The Fast and The Furious and Top Driver allowed players to enjoy the excitement of speed within a short period of time.
The music genre derived from Taiko: Drum Master continued to dominate the market. The Taiwanese operators increased the difficulty level and added local music to help this hand-coordinating music games closer to the Taiwanese taste. Meanwhile, the Korean Andamiro also hosted its tryout in Taiwan for the first PIU World Cup Hip-hop Dancing.
Basketball machines are the most popular games on the streets, which was the case on the show as well. They took up the majority of the machines, and new rules such as linking games and swinging baskets have been added to increase the excitement.
The Taiwanese government had designed a special area, which was the most eye-catching section, in order to build a sound environment for the digital entertainment industry, to encourage the operators to create more digital entertainment opportunities, to bring digital entertainment into the public's daily recreation, and to inspire operators to research and innovate. The government not only intended to advocate the healthy industry image but also hoped to create more business opportunities for the operators. Taiwan's Institute for Informational Industry designed the Digital Entertainment section and encouraged the public to take parts in the digital entertainment. The section displayed various outstanding machines selected by the host to provide virtual adventure, including the first 6 degree-of¬-freedom simulator IMON Cruiser combined with the X-Star racing game developed by Taiwanese operators.
Plenty of new models for buyers to try out
There were more first-time participating operators this year, including Jumbo Technology, IBASE Technology, Team Chiao International, Q-LIT Technology, Atouch Technologies, Gambinet Precision Industrial, La-Young International. Various original machines with exciting sounds and lights effects turned the expo into a bustling carnival.
A. Music dance machines
This type of machines relies on the combination of machine interface and music to play the games. Players are able to practice their response to music rhythms as the game proceeds. Games under this category include dart machine of Spectrum from Mida-Medalist, The Fast and The Furious and Target Force from Lido Technology, Percussion Master Special from IGS, 4 players in line available and Boxing King from CT-Tech Electronic, Strong Puncher from Entropy, Rock 3.5 Fever Max from Saint-Fun International, Field Hero from Tecway, and Tempo Kiddo and remote racing from Saint-Fun International.
B. Carnival
Products such as Super Mashimaro from Andamiro, Froggie Jump from Idea Design Company, and Hippo Park from Universal Space Amusement are games that emphasise on digital technologies for interaction with players. On the side of the basketball machines, the fashion of the dancing music with running lights, adjustable game time, and the excitement of competing with another player by connecting the machines ensured basketball was the constant star of the show. These machines included Street Basketball from Saint-Fun International, Swing Basket from Feiloli Electronic, Slam N Jam from Paco Amusement, Crazy Shoot from I-Cing International Enterprise and Hot Shot from Paokai Electronic Enterprise.
C. 3D VR
The 3D VR machines were the major demo at the section. Players experienced simulated adventure through the use of digital technology and electronic machinery technology combined with digital content. Its technology had the leading status to be the pioneer of the industry. IMON Cruiser, developed by Internet Motion Navigator Corp., demonstrated with X-Star, a race car developed by a Taiwanese operator, to simulate races on major Taiwanese highways. Internet Motion Navigator explained that, technologies that combined sports and virtual reality would be applied to entertainment, rehabilitation, and education purposes. These technologies could take away the boring experience while increasing product value at the same time. They are expected to create an opportunity for upgrading the Taiwanese exercise equipment industry.
D. Adult gaming machines
1. Roulette: products included Diamond Roulette 8P from Hwei Chung Electronic, Lucky Roulette from Micro Sova, Q-Lit Roulette from Q-Lit Technology.
2. Fruit, reel, slot, casino, and Super 8 games: these games are considered the main GTI members every year. The products included Magic Castle from ACE, Dream 7 from Global Games, Cretaceous from Bigigo, Diamond Night Club from Wee-Chi Electronics, Bonus Party from Sang Ho, Western Storm and Pirate's Glory from Paokai Electronic, Royal Eagle 2 from Subsino, Olympian games and HAWAI from Astro, Super Combo from Game Master System (GMS), and Tarzan III from IGS.
3. Dice machines: products included Dancing Six, Lucky 3, and Big or Small from GMS, and Lucky Dice from Micro Sova.
4. Keno and multi-player bingo: this type of machines not only presented unique looks and special effects; the picture quality was even more outstanding. These products included Deluxe Bingo Drawing Machine from Bingotimes Tech, Big & Mall from Global Games, the patented multi-functional bingo drawer and the ultimate bingo drawer from Homer Technology, Happy Zoo from IAM, Bingo Show from Andamiro, the mechanical bingo drawer system and bingo machines from Jumbo Technology, 007 Bingo from Bigigo, and Bingo Parade from Lon Sheng Enterprise.
5. Mario slot machines: the rich sound and light effect and the linking feature initiated another wave for Mario slot machines. The products included New Leopard Legend (新豹中豹) from Kao Ti Electronic, Capricorn from San Jyi Hung Entertainment, Bonus Devil Bull from Kau Yue Electronic, Mario Bingo Machine from JT-Comatz Trading, Hola Roulette from Frolicker Electronic, Perrito and Turbo Caverinhas from The Programe Electronics, the two new products King Poker and Spider-Mario from Youal-Jifh Electronics, and Soccer 2006 from Excellence Games Enterprise. The last item presented the latest soccer style to entice players.
6. Video poker: all companies brought out their best machines to attract buyers from Europe and America. These high quality machines included Poker's Wild and X-Poker from IAM, Super Star, Macao 21, Baccarat 2005 from Kao Ti Electronic, Poker Fight Club from Wai Lee Video Amusement, Poker King and Extra Draw III from IGS, Free Deal Twin Jokers from Feng Chieh Electronic, Golden Coast from Lidu Technology, Poker 103 from Astro, King Poker from The Programe Electronics, and Lucky Poker from Micro Sova.
7. Coin pusher machines: no more boring game screens, Kash Kong from Keaon Corp allowed players to gain extra points through the small games on the screen. Other market-oriented products of this type included Rave Party from Le Chi Electronic, Namco's Phantom Ship and Casino Winner retailed by Saint-Fun.
8. Baccarat: products under this category included Real Baccarat from Subsino, Baccarat Game from Le Chi Electronic, Baccarat Ball from GMS, and New Baccarat from Jumbo Technology.
9. Others: regarding large entertainment machines, the products included Fierce Warrior from Sheng Far Electron, Lucky Dogs from Mico Sova, Robot Casio from Taiwan Fulgent Ent., Caribbean Treasure from Subsino, Golden Black Jack BJ and Bingo Parade from Lon Sheng Enterprise, Speeding Planet from Ray Long Enterprise, Pirate King from Taiwan Yuanmei, SIC-BO and Mahjong Ball from Jumbo Technology, Western 21 from CYE Company, Red Dog from Subsino, the large linking horse racing game ACE Net Ascot from the Korean company ACE A&G, and Bingo Show from Andamiro. On the other hand, the small entertainment machines included The Lord of The Dragon from Micro Sova, Screen Horse Racing Game from the Korean company DJ Entertainment, and F1 2005 from the Malaysian company Cosmic Hitec Sdn Bhd.
E. Kiddie rides
Kiddie rides have always been widely accepted by adults and kids, and the latest invention of digital technology made it possible to add story lines through the built-in small screen. The displayed products included Santa Deer, Ocean Discovery, Able Sailor from Subsino; and Wild Animal Train, Kiddie Mini Shovel and Walking Animal machines (Bunny, Sheep and Giraffe) PICTURED from Feng Yung Cheng.
F. Video games
Video games created their entertainment elements with sounds and videos. The recent development in the interactive interface had made multi-functional interface possible and added more entertainment value to the machines. These products included TV Game series from Tesso Technology, Spectral VS Generation, EZ Touch Deluxe Edition from IGS, Target Force and Arch Shade from Lidu Technology, Racing Club from Shian You Ent', Psychic Fox from Team Chiao International, Ghost Land from Ideal Design, TV game consoles and Action Fun which is combined with sports such as ping pong and tennis by Dai-Hann/Song Yung.
G. Crane/Prize machines
The probability and skill dominated crane/prize machines could always attract customers with their cute content or exquisite prizes. The new toy capsule trend could also be found on the event this year. The wide product selections included Dream Elfin gift machine from Fu Chiang Electronics, QQ vending machine from Tommy Bear, Egg-Switching machine and Shank and Switch Eggs Machine from Sheng Far Electron, Super Claw crane machine from Yi Eel Shang Enterprise, Twin Puzzle from Paokai Electronic, The Giant from Feiloli, the new crane machines, Rolling funny, and two models of Mini Funny prize machines from Guan Shing Enterprise, crane machines of various sizes from Sierra Electronic, Magic Box from Professional Electronic, Cigarette vending machine and Space Risk from CYE, Tricks in Palm auto sale amusement machine from Shain You Ent', Gold Roulette gift machine from Kwang Yi Technology and Noah's Ark vending machine from Dai-Hann/Song Yung.
H. Photo sticker machines
The youngsters are becoming more aware of their own images and are interested in self-photo stickers or stamps. The photo sticker machines were born in response to such trends. These machines were displayed at the Digital Entertainment section this year, the majority of which were products of fotoshow Technology.
I. Pinball bingo
These creative and fun machines included Top 7 from Paokai Electronic, Party Pinball, March, Bingo Star from Sheng Yang Electronic, Oriental Star from Youal-Jifh Electronic, Space Soccer from Excellence Games Enterprise, Bingo Fruit, Partido de Fubol from Fu Chiang Electronics, Shinny Pearl from Da Cheng Electronic, Bingo Vacation from Keaon Corp., Fantasy World bingo game, 168 Bingo from Kwang Yi Technology, Soccer Series and SDI Bingo from The Programe Electronics, and the fruit, gift machines from Idea Design.
J. Pachinko/Pachinslot
JT-Comatz Trading and Nippo Tusho showcased products such as Star War, Oyamato, Neo Powerful, and Gamera that received numerous customer inquiries.
K. Parts and accessories
These products, ranging from cabinets, wire harnesses, push buttons, to chaises, have always been the major exported goods from Taiwan. Many of the exhibiting operators designated special areas to display parts and accessories. Products included Paokai coin changer, Dai-Hann/Song Yung F568 coin mechanism, Subsino Smart Book, IBASE embedded PC boards, Saint-Fun Card Dispenser, the bill acceptors by ICT and JCM, Zii counters, GeneralTouch touchscreens, Yi Ming cam locks and keylock switches, Hua Yeang power line filters, Hwai I LCD monitors/displays, converters, and chassis, Shang Yang motors and coin counting machines, Win Lenk Automation sensors, Hsiu Hao CRT tester, Game Plus PCB for 3D gamble game Hit Box 2, Coinsolve CPU coin selector, Ying Tchin switching power supply, and Chiang Tang power supply.
The companies displaying cabinets included New Sun Yu Enterprise, Wee Chin Electric, Gambinet Precision Industrial and Las Vegas Cabinets. Han Sen Electronics, Will Join Entertainment, and Jyuee Ang Ltd. were also famous for their parts. De Wei Enterprise, La-Young Industrial, Supreme Exim Corp, Atouch Technologies, Power Tiger, Chi Long Electronic, and Yatta Lunta Deshi Kaisha offered various accessories on the show.
L. Others
These products offered different types of choice, including Dazzling Chromospheres from Ming Feng Tech-Knowledge Inc, gifts and stuffed animals from Cheing Chen Fun, various tokens from Chyh Yuan Enterprise, stuffed animals from Cartoon House Ltd., number-guessing websites by Gitein Networking Entertainment, and the Enumerative card from Haw Li Ke.
Overall performance satisfactory, yet minor defects call for pending improvement
Most of the operators expressed their satisfaction in the GTI Magazine poll; however, some minor issues are still worthy of discussion for improvement next year. First, regarding the dates and the number of booths, booths were hard to get due to the extremely high sign-up rate. As a result, not every company had a fair chance to participate in the show. There was also room to improve towards the overall location design, moving flows, and the date. "The operators this year were more attentive than ever," said President Johnson Chou, "but the site arrangement, especially the location choice, was not as orderly as expected because of the tight schedule. To accommodate the operators, an early planning action should have been taken. The space shortage was expected. The primary mission should focus on earlier advertisement in order to bring more buyers and to lift GTI Expo to the international level."
Second, the tight schedule resulted in the unfinished decorating work in few booths. The participating operators also considered the local and overseas advertisement inadequate. Given more advertisement and more buyers, GTI Expo would in fact be a grand event for the Pan Pacific electronic gaming industry. "GTI Expo should consider putting more advertisement on the local media to send out the message," said Tu Bing-Jun, Business Manager of Hua Yeang Industrial. Lastly, "GTI Expo was still not an international event," said Liao Liang-Bin, VP of IBASE Technology, "and if the host wishes to head towards the global direction, more efforts and thoughts should be put into planning. Invite more overseas companies. Only then could GTI Expo be considered an international event."
Breaking the local market barrier and expanding the exporting territory
Many of the international gambling companies have used GTI Expo as the means of promoting their products, meaning they have set their eyes on the Taiwanese and the Asian markets and are ready to be the first to enter the market after arcades are reopened and the casinos legalized in Pong Hu Island. The later stage of the gaming business, naming the arcade business, has been held back because of local government restrictions. Due to the same reason, the high-profiting educational gaming machines are not able to establish a strong stand. "If the slow legislation process could catch up to the fast-moving operators and allow both local and overseas markets to grow, operators will benefit from it in developing, manufacturing, and marketing products," said Zhan Rue-Bin, "if the legislation speed could not keep up to the industry, it would be even more difficult for the association and the operators to promote the industry. We hope to work from the legislation and the executive departments to cultivate the local market. Share profits with smaller operators and in return raise their ability to compete on the market."
The Industrial Development Bureau in Taiwan has included gaming machines into its support program for the digital entertainment industry, and it is ready to nourish this once-glorious industry. The Digital Entertainment section was a successful first shot, and the following plans involve breaking the local government individual provisions and establishing a healthy attitude towards the gaming machines. Operators can then have a solid position in expanding the local market. Taiwan's Institute for Informational Industry indicated that, gaming machines were the most potential industry in the digital entertainment sector. The domestic digital entertainment equipment industry is estimated to produce 4 billion of revenue, which is still far from the 13.2 billion dollars from the international market. There is still room to grow in the future. The Taiwanese gaming machine industry used to reach over tens of billions but the market withered due to many municipal regulatory restrictions that stopped the operators from expanding.
Despite the efforts put down by the gaming operators in the local market, the legal restrictions still obstructs further progress. Now that the Industrial Development Bureau has assumed responsibility for the industry, it has been trying to help the operators in the market. The intention is good, but the future might still be full of challenges if the local governments and the public do not change the old attitude that relates electronic gaming to gambling.
The excellent performance preludes the splendor next year
With all the public relation work put in by the GTI Expo, and the active participation from operators to the overseas events, Taiwanese business has built a path to the world with many partners and alliances. The annual GTI EXPO allows these buyers and partners to gather in Taipei to strengthen the mutual relations and to promote new products for marketing. The host indicated that this event and its growing exhibition power has attracted many of the foreign companies to visit and purchase their products, and it is also the best place for the industry to collect information, to explore the new inventions, and to inquire about future business opportunities. Such a platform is not only a place to meet directly with the companies from around the world but also the place to create more mutual business opportunities for operators from Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and other countries.
In the twelfth year of GTI Expo, the gaming operators also performed well with the advancement in electronic technology and the increasing popularity with the digital entertainment. Following Astro, operators including M-etel Co., Ltd, IGS, Micro Sova are on their way to become OTC companies. It is obvious that, judging from the move of going into the capital market from the electronic gaming industry, the electronic gaming operators will be leading the future entertainment business.
GTI Expo has been able to meet the buyers' need with a wide selection of quality products at competitive prices; consequently, the show has earned rave reviews and attraction on the global market. The growing size of the show has been pushing forward the business benefits, making the event not only something the Taiwanese operators will never miss, but also a magnet that draws operators from the neighboring countries. It results in the competitive recruiting process every year that all booths are taken upon opening. Many of the operators are not be able to participate as a result.
In spite of how undesirable the current Taiwanese gaming regulations are and how competitive the exporting markets are, the operators have shown their strength with their actions and their positions on the global market. Taiwanese operators and their products will remain an important part on the world electronic gaming industry, while GTI Expo continues to promote industry upgrade and to fight for more exporting opportunities. After the successful event this year, the expo next year from July 7 to 9 at Zone B and C of the Taipei World Trade Centre is expected to be a grand festival.
SOURCE: GTI official show report, 2005.
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