IAAPA Attractions Expo 2015 Wrap Up

IAAPA Attractions Expo 2015 Wrap Up

The IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Fla., showcased a huge line up of new products, arcade machines and educational programmes to inspire visitors, and attracted its’ largest crowd in the association’s history.

More than 32,900 industry professionals from 120 countries attended the show, with more than 21,000 buyers in the crowd! The show also included 1,066 companies who displayed new products; 13,400 people who participated in 114 education programs; 1,260 participants who met and shared ideas at the opening reception; and participants raised approximately $150,000 for Give Kids the World through the golf tournament, motorcycle ride, fun run and walk, and individual and corporate donations.

According to IAAPA officials, "More than 21,000 buyers, including attractions industry owners, presidents, general managers, directors, and managers joined with designers and innovators to announce new products, test the latest technologies, discuss trends and hot topics, taste new food and beverage options, and learn from leading experts. The IAAPA Attractions Expo is the largest conference and trade show for the $39.5 billion global attractions industry."

The extensive education program, which began with the Rookies & Newcomers sessions, ran all week and covered topics such as building group sales, trends in games and merchandise, training programs, and attractions for FECs. Presenters included Play Meter’s contributing writers: Amber Collier of Boomer's, Jerry Merola of Amusement Entertainment Management, and Dorothy Lewis of Family Entertainment Group.

A big congratulation must go out to Firestone Financial LLC, who celebrated their 50th anniversary at Club 39 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel during the show. David Cohen, President and CEO of Firestone, said, in part, "I am so proud of our team and what we have accomplished. I am also thankful and humbled by the support of our customers and friends that have stood by our side to help us achieve this incredible milestone. Your dedication, support, and loyalty are why we are here tonight."

The 2015 IAAPA was jam-packed with plenty of events, celebrations and presentations for visitors to enjoy. Not to mention, the show displayed a massive line up of amusement and arcade machines, attractions, dark rides, and plenty of VR and interactive attractions:


INCREDIBLE TECHNOLOGIES

IT brought a range of video redemption arcade machines to the show, including the brand new Tickle Monsters game that will be available in both a Standard and Deluxe version. This unique touch screen game is designed to meet the growing demand from FECs. Players simply tickle the cute furry monster to win tickets - the more the monster laughs, the more tickets the players will win! The IT booth also included LoonyTIX (shipping now) and MixMatch (orders being taken now).


UNIS

UNIS debuted their highly anticipated 6D theatre, Galactic Force, which is a motion simulator that takes players on an adventure to an unexplored planet! The 8 seat ride uses wind and water effects, surround sound, and responsive blasters to create a highly immersive experience. They also had their popular ride, Bandit Express on show.


COAST TO COAST

C2C introduced a brand new ticket crane last week, titled Ticket Tank. The company has seen some substantial success with ticket cranes and Ticket Tank seeks to continue on with that success. It is available in a 38” or smaller 24” version, allowing the crane to fit into a wider variety of locations. Ticket Tank handles a wide variety of ticket bundles, loops or rolls, and comes with a vibrant graphics package. "Our Ticket Tank is very aggressively priced and looks even better in person. Please stop by our booth or let me send you a video of this great crane," said "Jimmy Chaps" Chapman from Coast to Coast.

The company also showed off a new candy claw, Sweet Stuff, as a revamped version of their Candy Street machine. The new cabinet is brighter with a brand new cabinet design to catch the eye of players.
Coast to Coast's John Maurer describes it in comparison to their new Fun Zone crane: "Much like Fun Zone, we wanted to bring our customers a brighter and more eye-catching style. We found from talking with our customers that in some locations they needed a crane that 'jumped out' a bit more so we went to the drawing board to design Sweet Stuff."

"Sweet Stuff has a great looking graphic package that will appeal to all ages. It will fit into any type of location. Add a side box to this crane and you will see collections like you have never seen before," said Jimmy Chaps, Coast to Coast sales rep.


JERSEY JACK

Jersey Jack Pinball showcased the highly anticipated The Hobbit Pinball, as well as the 75th Anniversary Wizard of Oz Pinball and two Standard Wizard of Oz Pinball machines. One of the standard WOZ machines showed off the company's latest innovation, Pindemption(tm), which enables operators to make money on location with commercial pinball machines. Pindemption(tm) system allows any Wizard of Oz Pinball owners to transform their pinball machine into a virtual swipe card or physical ticket-awarding redemption game. It features different styles of play (time-based instead of ball-based), a simplified rule set, and the presentation of tickets won instead of points earned. The features was put in test locations for over eight months in 2014, and the same eight months in 2015, and the results showed that with Pindemption(tm) game revenue was up by 192 percent.


ICE

ICE showcased four highly anticipated games at the IAAPA show, including exciting licensed games, including Zombie Snatchers, Angry Bird, Pink Panther Jewel Heist and Ghostbusters!

The Zombie Snatchers is a new 4 player zombie-themed, push-n-win prize game where players are challenged to use zombie arms to push prizes on the rotating playfield into their respective holes; if they are successful they win the prize.

Angry Birds is an interactive adaptation of one of the most popular mobile games of all times. It takes the popular digital game and makes it tangible by adding a rubber ball that can be shot from the slingshot at the front of the game, which hits the 55" vertical touchscreen monitor at the back of the game to knock down structures.

ICE continues its popular licenses with The Pink Panther Jewel Heist, a ticket redemption game that brings the famous animated series into the arcade. The player is challenged to snatch the jewels from the top floor and race down the 100 floor building, avoiding Inspector Clouseau and other obstacles while collecting coins. The farther the player gets and the longer they last, the more tickets they are awarded.
Their last game, Ghostbusters, is one of their most anticipated releases due to the iconic nature of the license. Ghostbusters is an inviting 2-player, electro-mechanical ball shooting cabinet with eight movie sequences followed by the final StayPuft Marshmallow Man bonus game! The game is organised to release alongside the 2016 movie.


COASTAL AMUSEMENTS

Coastal Amusements have a number of exciting new cabinets as well, including The Balloon Game and Frog Around – the new 65” HD LED cabinets! This new 65” style cabinet has also been adopted into the Sub way Surfer and Temple Run 2 cabinets. Sharpshooter also showed off a redesigned cabinet!
The company also debuted The Simpsons Donut Dazem a fully licensed 21st Century Fox cabinet, manufactured by Harry Levy Amusements for exclusive distribution. It’s a 6 player pusher with a skill option, allowing players the chance to win a jackpot. It comes with fully licensed artwork and an awesome audio package.


BOB’S SPACE RACERS

Bob's Space Racers had a huge line up of games for IAAPA this year. Among BSR's FEC games, like Water Gun Fun, Water Gun Blast, Jumpin' Monkeys, Gear It Up and Stinky Feet, is a new spin on their classic Whac-A-Mole.
"We've been building group games for years and decided it was high time to bring these popular games to the ever-growing indoor entertainment market. All of our FEC games bring a true attraction draw to these locations, and without the need of an attendant." Added his sales vet Ron Malinowski: "I wish these games were available when I was running the Bally arcades years ago. They promote group player competition and are all designed and built to be long term fixtures wherever they're placed," he added.


VALLEY DYNAMO

Valley Dynamo featured The Black Hole table which uses an overhead score bar, and on each side is an LCD screen that shows scoring in front of animations and shows “instant replay” events using the camera located under the score bar. This table also has wind effects that blow at the loser at the end of the game! The Black Hole table has proven to be hugely popular in a wide variety of locations.

RAW THRILLS AND BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT

The two companies teamed up and announced earlier this year a collaborative effort in the form of Galaga Assault, which was on show last week. This takes the popular Galaga game and turns it into a revenue-earning ticket redemption machine. The two also teamed up to create the World’s Largest Pac-Man And Friends machine for visitors to enjoy!

BNE also had on show the Point Blank X, we reported on earlier this year, Star Wars Battle Pod machine, Time Crisis 5 Standard, Ace Angler, Whack ‘Em Funky Gatros, and Pac-Man Air Hockey.


RILIX

Rilix presented a new virtual reality simulator pod called the Rilix Coaster. It's a compact and light 2 seat simulator machine, which is easy to install and maintain. Using computer hardware and a vibration feedback engine, the experience in the Rilix Coaster is realistic and highly immersive. It has 18 different tracks and new tracks are constantly being added (free of cost), and uses a multi-platform system, supporting Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and OS VR - so you are not stuck in 2015 technologyand players will always have new scenarios to enjoy each time they come back. You get the best VR simulation at a fraction of the cost of the bigger and more complex products available in the market.


SALLY CORP

Sally Corp presented a thrilling new dark ride that interactive technology and artistry that sucks players into the world of ‘The Walking Dead’, based on the popular television series watched in 123 countries. Players will test their skills in battle againsts “Walkers” in the post-apocalyptic, as players attempt to stay alive and ensure the survival of the human race. Photo-realistic 3D media displays visuals on massive projection screens and is blended seamlessly with fully realized practical sets, scenery and animatronics in this unique attraction. Story and game play are balanced perfectly to create a scary, fun and exciting adventure for all theme park visitors.


STERN PINBALL

Stern had a number of great games including KISS, WWE Wrestlemania, The Walking Dead, and the highly anticipated The Game of Thrones pinball machines.


SEGA

Sega showed off a number of their new product releases that have been announced over the course of this year, including Sonic Dash Extreme, Storm Racer G Deluxe, Luigi Mansion Arcade, Let's Go Safari, Showdown, and they were also showing their Nintendo license machine Mario vs Sonic: Rio 2016 Olympic Games.


Dates for the IAAPA expo in 2016 are November 14-18. For more information, visit www.iaapa.org.

Images via Intergame, IAAPA, and company channels