Commentary

Photobooths strike back!

With growing interest from Generation Z, new photo capture technology has has revived the photobooth market.

Photo: Vending Times.

February 7, 2022 by Kevin Williams

In a society that seems glued to its smartphones every waking moment, we see the development of smartphones with the most mega-pixel cameras ever fielded in history, and already now offering multiple lens near 3D image capture capabilities. How can the humble photobooth hope to survive?

Well, that is a perfect example of the making of assumptions without the right information. There is a growing interest in the physical picture capture medium, and Generation Z has proven to be a major component in shaping the photo capture market.

Along with this, new technology has taken the next generation of capture far beyond just a few snaps. The facility of the future will be dealing more than ever in digital items and imagery.

Photo sticker's growth

The photo sticker business in Japan, called "Purikura," first exploded onto the market in 1995, with the first machines from Atlas/Sega called Print Club. These were machines that resembled enlarged photobooths able to accommodate more than one user, capturing images that could be manipulated slightly and then printed onto adessive paper.

The question now is: How much of an audience with access to the latest smartphones, enabled with cameras, still popularizes photo sticker machines at dedicated venues across the country?

FuRyu is one of the largest providers of such machines, offering licensed content, including images of pop celebrities and advanced touchscreen image manipulation from their hardware. A recent interview revealed that Generation Z women are the focus of business. This generation still heavily frequents the photo sticker machines and are the core focus of design, licensing and development. This is a business valued in 2012 at $219 million in Japan.

GenZers on board

The new generation of machines embrace the Zoomers' predilection for the latest social media apps, such as Instagram and Snapchat, with their own sophisticated image processing apps.

These latest machines now support full cloud services, with the user able to download images created on the machines. But it was revealed that it is the "physicality" — the having an actual picture/sticker (called "Puri" locally) — that still draws the attention.

The photos taken on the machines are created in such a way that they are being "secondarily processed" by users on these other apps, and the photo sticker machine is being used as a mini photo studio.

The latest machines support this functionality by offering high image quality. The machines are able to accommodate two sessions at a time and incorporate a touchscreen for image processing.

The format of the images vended has also been customized to support the social media preferred formatting of images and sent to the appropriate social networking service.

America takes notice

While it has been some time since the U.S. amusement trade was awash with the popularity of photo sticker machines, there had been a resurgence of the platform in America and other western territories before the ravishes of the global lockdown.

In California, a photo sticker resurgence was witnessed with FuRyu exporting several of its latest units, specially redeveloped for the needs of the western audience.

Several venues are embracing the platform to appeal to their clientele as a unique and eye-catching secondary revenue generator. This latest generation of machines are called "PuriBooths."

Not all operators of these westernized machines are amusement related, however, with a strong "retailtainment" focus. In amusement, however, the Round1 chain of U.S. properties has found great success with the hardware.

Dave & Buster's was one of the first at their Hollywood location to place a number of the new PuriBooths.

Photo capture's evolution

Beyond the sticker, photo capture in a more traditional western garb has also continued to grow into the changed audience mix. The use of physical image capturing machines, vending a "takeaway," has mushroomed with the more adult centric social entertainment culture.

Many food-and-fun facilities depend on a photobooth offering in their mix. Some entertainment venues are even creating dedicated photobooth areas themed accordingly, as seen at TOCA Social.

Manufacturers such as Digital Center have stylized their product lines, incorporating the latest features and customization elements. The company's latest system, the Eclipse and new Duplo photobooths, offer an eye-catching LED display over the body, drawing attention, with the image of the last user splashed across it — acting as a digital signpost.

And, in an unusual twist, the company has developed a selfie "photo mask" system, allowing the guest to capture their image or create custom face masks.

Apple Industries steps forward

Another industry leader in the entertainment image capture market is Apple Industries, and its Face Place photo booth range. This builds off the success of its Face Place Photo Studio platform that offered an interactive group photo capture system with vibrant lighting and styling.

The company has also offered a more unique vended offering for the user through the Marvel Adventure Lab photobooth. Another highly eye-catching platform, but this time promoting its partnership with the movie and comic book property. The interactive booth allows the guest to turn their captured images into comic book art, offering a highly unique takeaway for the guest.

The ability to offer photo capture for live events has also grown a profitable business. Even during the heights of lockdown, the photobooth application was still alive, with companies such as The Photobooth Guys offering platforms for corporate events and conferences by creating its virtual photo booth.

This is an app that supports mobile devices and can be used to capture images and gifs for the virtual event scene, creating online images with virtual backdrops to share with attendees and friends. It can also generate a cloud gallery of images from the event, which can also be turned into a virtual mosaic with physical copies.

Consumer market on the move

The popularity of the photobooth experiences has drawn interest from the consumer sector. Tastemakers LLC, the owners of the mini-retro cabinet manufacturer Arcade1Up, recently released its own inspired consumer photobooth.

Called the WF Tastemakers Polaroid At-Home Instant Photo Booth, the system employs a cut down photo capture system, mimicking the commercial platform, but in a package that can be hung on a wall.

Sold through Amazon, the system is loaded with special paper and acts like the conventional system, but can also load the captured and edited images to a SD card.

The popularity of this system has been immense, with in the first week of availability, a popular YouTuber's video on the system generated more than 7.6 million views and 1.3 million likes. Yet again, the nostalgia for the amusement experience is generating viral interest.

Next phase: 'experience capture'

One aspect for the future of the venue and resort business is the next phase for photo capture called "experience capture."

We look towards the capturing of video and picture from the guests' visit to our facility without their interaction. No need to go into a booth, no need to hold up their smartphone, no need to have staff walking the site and taking candid snaps. Rather, through new machine learning technology, there now exists the ability to capture the guest's movement through the site through facial recognition.

Still in its infancy of application, the facial recognition system has the ability to capture the guest's movement through the park and be programmed in such a way to capture the best sequences and happy moments with the group or party.

At the end of the visit, the guest will be presented with the opportunity to view the captured experiences and add them to their park purchases. Several major corporations are about to release versions of the "experience capture" platform, incorporated into existing or specialist image systems located on property.

The major theme parks are seeing this as an essential addition to maximizing the guests' experience at the venue.

While this capture technology offers a glimpse of the strange new world technology brings to the entertainment experience, it also ushers in a new way for the entertainment experience to be maximized — especially as guests strive to capture the fleeting moments of happiness.

(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.)

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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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