In this final coverage of the Amusement and Music Operators Association 2008 exhibition in Las Vegas - The Stinger Report looks at the main players and the impact of the trends and media impact of the event, towards evaluating if it still has a part to play in the future of the amusement industry; this coverage soon to be followed by news form Japan of their equally big event. The next section of the coverage of the operator industries premier event in Las Vegas returns to the major players on the show floor:
Andamiro USA Corp
The popular amusement company had the latest of their dancing stage game on booth 'Pump It Up: PRO' (PC Hardware), but departed from the normal Korean and Taiwanese product range with a brand new distribution announcement.
Andamiro USA has bitten the bullet and announced that they will be importing, kit versions of the Examu game, 'Arcana Heart 2' (eX-Board Hardware) to the US mainland. The stylized girl brawling game, offers 2-D graphics but at Hi-Res, offering a compelling and unique title. It was on show in two Japanese (sit-down) NetCity-Low cabinets - the first time in recent years that the American event has had this genre of technology on booth. It is a reflection of the desperate state of the American trade to the fact that they have not been supplying what the players wanted, and their attempts to censor what the operators have available has too backfired.
The importing of a localized version of the Examu (previously Yuki Enterprises) game shows the momentum gaining towards new releases for the operator scene. The new eX-Board architecture was launched at AOU'08 and this will be the first time it has made international landfall. Privately on test at a number of US locations, the player base has been abuzz with the news of its appearance. This mirrors the interest that was caused with the news that Aksys Games would distribute in the States, the Japanese Arc System Works title 'BlazBlue' (Type-X Hardware). Aksys or the Arc game was sadly not seen on the AMOA'08 floor. Andamiro USA is known to be considering other high-profile kits for Japan.
Sources close to the Stinger hinted that there had been some complaints from larger distributors regarding the appearance of these import agreements with independent Japanese factories. How much of this is a concern towards key accounts that had exclusive agreements with the larger distributors being poached, or if this is a sign of envy that new games will split the buying power of key accounts - has yet to be revealed.
Also at the show, STERN Pinball was basking in very strong growth and recent media coverage - the company showed after its launch at Gala 'Spiderman Redemption', the game using a light web for the player to try and save the day. STERN was basking in a new light of innovation and product popularity - sources revealed that major revenue had been achieved by those operating the latest 'Indiana Jones' pinball table. As an example of an industry in transition, pin-table business was hard to beat, though experiencing changing conditions.
Large presences at the show were made by other familiar faces - with Merit Entertainment, ICE and winning the booth size wars JVL. The company had a lot to shout about with the announcement of their 'ENCORE' digital jukebox supporting their conventional touchscreen game terminal business, marking an entry into the jukebox sector. This sector was shaken with the sad news from the exhibition floor that respected Rowe International regional sales manager, Jack Silverest had suffered a massive heart attack at the company booth, dying at the scene - our condolences to all affected.
The innovation in the application of interactive entertainment in the hospitality, retail and event sports arena was illustrated on the Ecast booth at the show. Overlooked by some at the show, the company chose AMOA'08 to present their ground breaking 'Ecast IQ' (PC Hardware) range of 40" wall mounted touchscreen terminals. Offering the popular Ecast digital jukebox network, but now also supporting a highly effective web surfing capability, including placement for venue and brand advertising. A practical realization of what Microsoft had attempted to experiment with on their 'Surface' touchscreen table. Ecast already boasts over 30 million distributed transactions each month through their comprehensive network - their new 'Ecast IQ' brining digital VenderTainment a step closer on the floor of an arcade show!
New Entrants to the Market
Though the conventional amusement manufactures may be showing signs of strain in adapting to market conditions, AMOA'08 welcomed some new start-ups breaking into the 'amusement' market - rather than the vast numbers of new 'attraction' start-ups that will be seen on the floor at IAAPA'08.
Of those that actually took the plunge and took booth space at the show was Friction Game Studio LLC. A one hundred strong development studio has turned to the amusement scene to bring their new development. 'Friction' (PC Hardware) is a light-gun game in the mold of 'Area 51 - hard action blasting with highly destructible environments - building on what has previously been seen with games like 'Time Crisis 4'. Still in an early stage of development, the game is at an 80-to-90 per cent completed state, while the finalization of the arcade cabinetry is still on the drawing board. Suggestions were that the game would be released as a dedicated, though the possibility to populate light-gun cabs in the market was proving a draw. The company is looking for an independent model of business, having yet to decide on using distributors - this marks one of the types of new developments that are shaping amusement.
Another exhibitor was Aerr Technologies - regular readers to the Stinger will be aware of our coverage of this new concept when it was launched at IAAPA'08. The company - with their new partners - made their first appearance to the amusement trade with a production prototype of their 'Jet Ball' system. The pneumatic football style game offers a compelling next-generation take on the popular concept - jets of air blowing the ball into the oppositions' goal; the two player system caught the eye. Sources close to the Stinger revealed that the machine had recently received a very impressive test on site at a Dave & Busters location, and was moving towards a major marketing drive to establish initial orders.
Not exhibiting, but still bringing a working version of their new game, were SnowRunner Productions. The company has developed 'Get Outta My Face!' (PC Hardware). It is a compelling but simple game, suitable for all ages and harking back to the classic days of game play in arcade titles. The company came away from the AMOA shows having learnt a lot, and met some interesting people. In contact with the Stinger Report, the company founder confirmed that they will be making an announcement concerning distribution of the final production game in the next few weeks.
Also on the show floor, Stinger sources counted at least another three new Start-Up video amusement developers, either visiting the show for the first time to gain a grounding in the business, or attending to finalize distribution and representation agreements with current industry players. It is momentous news that so many investors still feel that there is life in the amusement sector - though it will not make the trade associations happy to hear that none felt that membership to the associations was worth considering!
Breaking Stinger News - Just as we went to the wire, we learned of yet another new entrant into the amusement sector. For the first time we have the appearance of an Indian manufacturer. With the new release 'Dance Challenge' (PC Hardware), FXLab Studios hopes to release a dance stage style game for the younger audience, the first music rhythm game to include Tollywood tunes (Tollywood refers to the Telugu film industry in India), with over 40 tracks available - the system developed as a compact kiosk style product. Founded in 2004, the company has developed online and conventional PC titles, this marking their first move into amusement.
..And Finally
Though the two shows exhibitors were intermixed with each other, Fun Expo still supported the element dedicated to family and location-based entertainment industry, having a crucial role towards bringing its IALEI members together for a series of detailed conference seminars. With topics ranging from Risk Management, New Products Showcase and Trends, the IALEI-sponsored 'Fun Academy' proved a valuable draw for those wanting the real deal on the best way to build in the current climate. An aspect of the AMOA'08 event this year, along with its co-location with Fun Expo, was the presence of the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show. No news at this moment if the Gift Show or the final AMOA event saw additional attendance, or if next years Fun Expo-less event will continue the co-location?
What this could all mean:
Those that attended the AMOA'08 event came away in a positive mood - feeling that much of the doom-and-gloom that had been generated by the ASI'08 show had been put to bed with a swath of new products. There was, however, a shadow hanging over attendance, compared against last years claimed buyers registered numbers of 1,400 (4,000 total attendance) attendance - the organizers claimed 1,360 (3,000 total attendance) for this year. This is in comparison to the IALEI reporting that Fun Expo generated over 1,150 reported attendance against last year's 1,700.
The AMOA exhibitors' total of 120 was down from 153 last year, matched by Fun Expo's 81 against 2007's 119. Compared to a 20 per cent downturn in the majority of major exhibition attendance across the globe, the AMOA team felt vindicated in this years show. However this could not stifle the comments in the bars off-the-show-floor regarding actual orders taken, size of those booths that came, and how much the trade association had had to call in favors to avoid a depressed ASI-style attendance?
Breaking Stinger News - It was not only AMOA that felt the pinch of a slow uptake to exhibitions - the Hungarian GAMEXPO in Budapest at the same time saw an incredibly slow attendance on the first day, that only picked up slightly for the remaining two days of the three day show. Though some suggested that the market could not bare a three day show, more observed that the Hungarian market transition from gaming to an amusement mode (more video's and casino systems) was not reflected in the event and so suffered.
News Story with thanks to Kevin Williams. Please visit
www.thestingerreport.com for others.
