Commentary
Amusement exhibits highlight new games, cashless technology
Exhibits at reviving trade shows offer a wealth of new titles and a focus on cashless technology.
October 18, 2021 by Kevin Williams
After a year and a half of lockdown, physical trade shows are reviving. The largest to date was the Amusement Expo International in Las Vegas in July, featuring a wealth of new titles worth reviewing and a focus on cashless technology.
Betson Enterprises, with one of the largest booths on the show floor, presented "Raw Thrills" and had the lion's share of new titles. Taking the top billing were two examples of "Minecraft: Dungeons Arcade," the amusement recreation of one of the most populous video games of all time and offering a continuation of the unique card collection feature.
The company also showed the production release version of "King Kong of Skull Island VR." While the production prototype was seen at AEI '20, the version being shipped addresses issues with headset restraints and motion, with strong earning numbers being touted for the first shipped units.
On the cashless front, the company demonstrated the Goldfinger PDS card reader, offering an RFID-card enabled platform that supports a touchscreen management system, which the company is representing as a master distributor.
LAI Games brought its latest selection of amusement pieces, including the two-player version of redemption game "Pearl Fishery" — and space was given to the most populous VR amusement piece, "Virtual Rabbids." One of the big developments on the booth was the debut of and AMOA Innovator Award win for "Angry Birds Coin Cash" — the self-contained, tower-building coin-pusher is based on the internationally successful IP. The game has been launched across the Dave & Buster's chain.
Home games enter the fray
Innovative Concepts in Entertainment showed a selection of the company's previously seen redemption and prize systems along with the latest in its new "Home Game" line of products, a range of games aimed at consumer use, a growing trend from other manufacturers such as Stern Pinball Inc. and Bandai Namco.
Baytek Entertainment brought its large "Rock the Rim" video hoops game with a 55-inch screen and extensive external LED theming, offering three game modes.
Axes flying everywhere
One of the largest machines on the show floor was Baytek Entertainment's new "Axe Master," a physical throwing game riding the popularity of axe throwing, in a more amusement-controlled (darts-like) setting, with a dedicated enclosure and scoring. The game is fresh from its timed exclusive for Dave & Buster's — now available for purchase.
Axe throwing also entered the mixed reality scene with a new product from Lastertron. The new "Axe Throwing Experience" takes the basic concept and adds the latest laser projection mapping technology to emphasize the social entertainment elements. The unique lane-style construction mirrors a bowling approach to the experience and includes LED illuminated accent lighting and an attract mode.
The Lasertron axe throwing proprietary software offers a seamless package to operate, including a touchscreen interface to select from the many game styles offered, while a large scoreboard displays players' photos. The system supports smartphone registration and electronic waiver support.
Incredible Technologies presented the latest in its golfing series, with "Golden Tee PGA Tour Golf." The sleek design cabinet and omission of a coin-mech favoring e-payment support underlined the juxtaposition of the amusement title more at home in the hospitality and bar sector. The popularity of the connected championship element of the platform is establishing its longevity, as an early originator of competition seen now through e-sports.
Also at the booth was the previously released "indy" style video amusement, "Retro Raccoons." Developed independently by Glitchbit and represented by IT, the game has gone through some minor tweaking from the original drinking game originally called "Tipsy Raccoons" — now the production release for sale is the four-player mini-game, with a distinctive drinks holder cabinet for younger players. The system comprises 40 such mini-game experiences for team action. As seen with Golden Tee, this game cabinet did not have a coin-box, but just a bill collector, or an ability to be used as free play, illustrating the hospitality focus.
New American exhibitors
This show marked the first official appearance to the American trade from exA-Arcadia, now with a North American representative of the Japanese operation. On display were the new dedicated two-player and four-player cabinets co-designed with Fun Company. The dedicated cabinets sport 4K 55-inch displays, and joystick and button panels, in a sleek design cabinet. The system presented an impressive roster of over 16 games on display within the cabinets through a unique game loading feature, and 50 further titles are in development.
Amusement Source International, representing the Chinese manufacturer Wahlap Technologies in North America, presented titles such as the two-player shooter enclosure "Monster Eye 2" and the VR racer "Overtake VR." Wahlap's latest new release, "Jet Blaster," will be represented in North America by Sega Amusement International.
Minigolf.io, a newcomer, brought along its active floor mini-golf platform, offering a changeable floor system that can change the shape and undulation of the play space via specially developed technology. This is a system that players can control via a special mobile app. The system came to the show looking to find buyers and establish the system in venues looking to jump on the mini-golf popularity train, and it managed to turn many heads.
Cashless makes a splash
The importance of cashless systems was a major influence on the exhibitor lineup at the show.
Making its first appearance at the amusement trade event was Nayax Ltd., represented on the show floor following its acquisition of Tigapo — the operation was pushing its entry into the FEC and amusement scene, offering a powerful card reader platform through its cloud-based management system.
Embed drew a lot of attention with its mobile wallet system supporting Google and Apple Pay platforms.
Intercard offered its iReader Impulse card reader platform — a unique platform accepting credit cards along with the player cards.
Semnox Solutions and Sacoa Cashless Systems showed card systems promoting a card reader system supporting both RFID and NFC applications.
American Changer showed its cashless card system for amusement deployment which, using a RFID, can work with card and smartphone apps.
KioSoft Technologies and Amusement Connect presented an online connected amusement machine operation. The companies' SmartMech RFID card readers and their SlideMech cashless systems are all supported by mobile connect systems to allow real-time facility operation from a smartphone.
Smart Industries demonstrated a new mobile collection app on its platform.
Along with the card and payment management systems, there were also customer relationship management platforms and software architectures. These were represented by the likes of Smart Software, while Hownd and Party Center Software, presenting their online and mobile approaches, also need to be supported by strong social media and connected marketing and promotion.
(Editor's note: Extracts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published by KWP and its director, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive out-of-home entertainment news service covering the immersive frontier and beyond.)
About Kevin Williams
Along with advisory positions with other entrants into the market he is founder and publisher of the Stinger Report, “a-must-read” e-zine for those working or investing in the amusement, attractions and entertainment industry. He is a prolific writer and provides regular news columns for main trade publications. He also travels the globe as a keynote speaker, moderator and panelist at numerous industry conferences and events. Author of “The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities,” the only book on this aspect of the market, with the second edition scheduled for a 2023 release.
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Stern Pinball, Inc. USA
Stern Pinball, Inc. is a global lifestyle brand based on the iconic and outrageously fun modern American game of pinball
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