Leading the vanguard into the exhibition season and the 60th Anniversary of the Amusement and Music Operators Association proved nothing if not eventful. Brand new releases, brand new companies, and a fire! - all that was missing was a three ring circus! The first part of the Stinger Report condensed the main developments on and off the show floor, as well as some observations on the issues shaping an event hoping to define its importance in the shadow of IAAPA'08.
Main REPORT:
The autumn show season kicked off with AMOA'08 and the trade associations' big gamble!
The 60th anniversary of the AMOA (presented by the Amusement and Music Operators Association) was marketed with a big show in Las Vegas - the last time that this show will be co-located in the foreseeable future with the Fun Expo (presented by the International Association for the Leisure & Entertainment Industry). The trade association worked incredibly hard to address concerns regarding presentation and attendance, calling in many favors to guarantee a strong showing for the industry and event.
Unlike previous years the exhibition organizers intermingled the family entertainment and amusement booths, rather than have dedicated areas. The cynical stated that this was a move to blur the actual exhibition coverage for both events, though the benefits of this move meant that the attended could walk the whole of the show floor without those unsightly dead zones.
The Stinger Report was able to gain a detailed breakdown of those exhibiting and the leading developments of the show floor:
Betson Enterprises
The distributor powerhouse and their associate development studio Raw Thrills ran a large presence at AMOA'08, with one of the largest booths on the show floor - only beaten by JVL. On the booth floor was 'Nickelodeon: Nicktoons Nitro' (PC Hardware), the company had six cabinets on display running the game developed with Chicago Gaming Company and offering younger players a fun racing game with popular characters.
Seen for the first time was the production version of 'Big Buck Safari Online' (PC Hardware); the newest version of the cabinet with the tournament (CoinUP) enabled version of the game that includes a number of play features to support this connected environment, as well as a change to the cabinetry including a IC Card (Player Card) system. Two of the deluxe cabinets were on display again, but like ASI'08 they were production prototypes with promises that they will have final releases by the end of the year. The company had a large showing of CoinUP at the AMOA0'08, with enabled 'Big Buck Hunter Pro' and 'Safari' games; the online tournament architecture the big gun in the arsenal of Raw Thrills, hoping to compete with tournament penetration from Incredible Technologies.
Breaking Stinger News - The growing low profile of the Konami Digital Entertainment (KDE) and Betson relationship in the US - a machine had been snuck away at ASI'08, but that seemed to be that. While AMA'08 was in full swing momentous news was leaked that the hugely anticipated JUBEAT, now re-named 'UBeat' (Proprietary Hardware) for the international market was on Loctest at a secret US SoCal arcade. In fact two machines (patent pending) were installed at a site, and soon YouTube was full of footage of the systems in action and the tremendous reaction to their appearance.
The KDE develop music button gaming using the latest Optimus style buttons on a giant flatscreen marks a major step in the development of unique play interface - and has been speculated to be as big a development as the first 'Dance Dance Revolution' machine. Even before being released fully, at least one similar system has been developed (previously revealed #655, the AmuseWorld developed 'DJ Max Technika' (PC Hardware)). Along as 'UBeat', the Konami Japanese team shipped over from Japan and uncrated at the Loctest, the first appearance of 'Dance Dance Revolution X' (PC Hardware). Players are part of the phenomenal Dance Stage fan-base on the web, going into near frenzy to play the game. The sudden increase in KDE international activities is expected to be seen at Preview'09 and with further US placements - how much this will be controlled wholly by KDE, or through a distributor is yet to be revealed.
Global VR
Things proved real hot at GVR - all jokes aside, a minimal fire took hold of the Global VR booth during the show. Fortunately, no one was injured - for which we are all grateful. No word was given at the time on the cause, though it is suggested to have been an electrical fault due to a power-surge, the first time that the popularity of new releases have been measured in heat!
The company had a big booth with a big presence for the launch of their new title 'Need for Speed: CARBON' (PC Hardware). The sleek design and color scheme for the driver using modified 'NASCAR Racing' Deluxe and Standard cabinets, the game building on the popular street car action. The company also confirmed that the game would be supported by a motion deluxe version using the popular Tsunami hardware. Also on display was the latest version of the circuit racer. 'NASCAR Racing Update' (PC Hardware), including new circuits and special cars from the NASCAR family. Global VR hopes to continue the momentum achieved by this popular racer – especially as the market becomes crowded with driving titles. The booth also contained previously launched successes such as 'Alien: EXTERMINATION', 'Blazing Angels' and the classic Global VR game system.
Both 'Need for Speed CARBON' and the 'NASCAR Racing' update showed the example of kit development being prevalent throughout the amusement sector - the updating of the number of 'Need for Speed' machines in the field; a battleground has opened-up towards getting operators to come-up-to-the-plate and support the latest games.
TrioTech Amusement
An unusual situation this year saw the sharing of the Global VR booth with Canadian manufacturer TrioTech. Some sources indicated that the GVR and TrioTech conjoined power usage may have overloaded the system - but this had yet to be confirmed. The company booth was dominated by the 'UFO Stomper' (PC Hardware) cabinet, and by a set-up regarding the companies 4D theatre business. Regarding new releases, the interesting fact that the company had chosen the coming IAAPA'08 to launch their new amusement title, rather than the trade event!
SEGA Amusement USA
Hoping to dust off poor performance and managerial reshuffling, SEGA showed a prominent placement at this years' AMOA. A slender booth presented those buyers with a new methodology to get them to put their hand in the pocket. The big title was 'RAMBO' (LindBergh Hardware), the deluxe machine was now shown to the trade alongside the proposed standard machine. An updated version of the 'Ghost Squad' cabinet was redressed for the 'RAMBO' game, and in a surprise, a sub $7,000 standard cabinet using a small screen and House of the Dead 4 guns was presented. The next big placement was 'SEGA Rally 3' (Europa-R Hardware), the popular deluxe motion cabinet was shown next to the first appearance of the standard cabinet - this system again specially developed for the price conscious operator base, and though not similar to what is being proposed for the European market, the US standard system, it was a previous driver cab (rumored to be 'RaceTV') redressed for the European rally game, the version on display still an early version.
Another big surprise appearance at the show was the 2-player sports shooting game 'SEGA Clay Challenge' (PC Hardware); the strategy by SEGA USA was to release a conversion new game for the 2003 Sammy AtomisWave hardware. In particular, they are hoping to build on the popularity of the 'Sports Shooting USA', and 'Extreme Hunting' titles; SEGA hopes to repopulate these cabinets still running in the field. The new game was shown in prototype format with two cabinets - one of which was a redressed Primeval Hunt system. The 60 per cent prototype gun game offered a bar and club - as well as an FEC style shooter for the safe Green PAS market. This game is an example of territorial development encouraged by the sales team to best support their operator base that is struggling to survive. Why 2003 architecture is being supported gives a glimpse on how the majority of operators are intransigent to buy.
The other machine populating the much larger than in previous shows SEGA booth, was a SimuLine 'Mini Rider II' - making its amusement trade debut, following its launch at IAAPA'07 (SimuLine planning a major presence of their own at this years IAAPA'08). The company also showed the updated version of 'Shoot This! Win This' SWP game. A total software update to address complaints when shown at ASI'08 was on display, hoping to re-launch interest in this European developed title.
NOTE - Our friends over at the Arcade Heroes website did sterling work in covering the trade show, and also getting some interesting observations of the new releases - including footage on YouTube. The AH team managed to nail down a SEGA rep and asked him some questions about the new releases. Regarding past development, the SEGA Japan satellite terminal title 'Sanguozhi War 3' (CHIHIRO Hardware) was mentioned. The game had been spied on test back in 2007 at GameWorks Chicago by the Stinger, and in a chat with a GW employee had found out to be a major success at the venue with plans for a US release. The SEGA rep now revealed that this had never been the case and that the issue of no US translation was the reason for the abandonment of plans.
It is sad to see that new game opportunities were thrown away so blatantly by the old management - sources speak of resentment by the previous management to testing expensive 'big' Japanese systems such as this satellite terminal title, and it proved embarrassing that the system proved a hit with the players! This wasted opportunity will come back to haunt SEGA USA, but under new management hopes are high, with an eye on new releases to be shown at JAMMA'08 making their way to the US for 2009.
Incredible Technologies
From a large booth presence, the equal to Betson (that they now share their new 'mutual' distribution agreement with), and the company pushed the brand new 'pedestal' low-profile cabinet, seen at the recent distributors meeting and marked the biggest deployment of LCD cabinets in a frontline product. The system separates the screen and the player control system, and sources said that IT were thinking of supporting operator's own flat-screen monitor, allowing a flexibility to use other displays and keep the price down - how this will work in practice is yet to be seen.
The pedestal design was shown on booth running the new release 'Golden Tee Golf 2009' (PC Hardware), 'Golden Tee Golf Unplugged'(PC Hardware), 'Silver Strike Bowling 2009' (PC Hardware) (now with tournament capability), and another new release 'Power Putt Golf' (PC Hardware) as well as the previously launched 'Toss Pro: BAGS' (PC Hardware). A talking point regarding the new 'Golden Tee Golf 2009' was the implementation of the YouTube upload feature for connected machines. The proposal is that 'great shots' will have the offer of being uploaded to the popular video networking site, as well as the ability of the players own account to have access to the video. This is a major development in the circulating of arcade coverage into the social network environment and though missed by many, could prove a major draw to the game.
Breaking Stinger News - Continuing to prove the incredible draw of their tournament infrastructure, the IT operation organized another phenomenally successful nail-biter of a championship. The official '2008 Golden Tee World Championship' saw the all concurring US team, going up against the World Team. Both individual player and team games took place at the Las Vegas hotel. Full details on the highly competitive competition are available from the website, with celebrations going on long into the night. It was observed by many that attended; if only the rest of the amusement trade could garner the same enthusiasm for their products!
Namco America
Many rumors had been circling regarding Bandai Namco Gaming's amusement presence in the US. Most of these rumors seem to be based on the low profile presences of the company at recent events. AMOA'08 was no different, with the smallest booth seen for the company in recent years - one third the size of the SEGA booth.
The only new product on the booth not seen at ASI'08 was 'Hip Hop Scotch', launched at Gala. The non-appearance of the software update for 'Maximum Tune', or any other new video amusement titles, added more smoke to the rumor mill. However a Namco representative was adamant that the company had major plans for IAAPA'08 and will also be releasing over six new titles at ATEI'09. A major question has to be why a major AMOA association member and supporter would have a booth at the trades' event that was one-fifth the size of the one they will have at IAAPA'08.
Breaking Stinger News - In order to allay some comments about the validity of Namco America's amusement future, it was revealed a few days after AMOA'08 that Namco American Inc., (NAI) will be starting a new division to be called 'Product Strategy Department'. The previous senior vice president of sales and marketing will now head this department, tasked with the creation and promotion of new products for the worldwide amusement market. This will be the first time that NAI US development will be actively sold beyond the United States, and reflects the recent management changes that saw UK executives working closely with the US to shape business development.
Sources close to Namco Bandai Games in Japan said that this move, along with future announcements of new releases and business structure in the UK (expected at Preview'09), will see a tenfold increase in new amusement product releases, and a more market centric development policy. The most important part of this move is that Bandai's executives have given Namco's satellite operation the autonomy to produce its own products and reverse the restrictions previously placed on 'home-grown' content.
In further news a well placed source, questioned about the coming Namco Bandai presence at JAMMA'08 made a interesting statement that there was serious plans to consider changing the Namco America decision not to distribute the new software up-date of 'Tekken 6'(to be launched in Japan) in the States and even Europe. The news has to be treated with some skepticism due to the possibility that news of this kind could be an attempt to deflect interest on new brawlers on the scene and the possible news of 'Street Fighter IV' receiving official international placement.
News Story with thanks to Kevin Williams. Please visit
www.thestingerreport.com for others.
