Customer Experience

Amusement Expo packs record attendance to meet post pandemic customer demand

The trade show floor remained buzzing with attendees non-stop, one of the best attended Amusement Expo trade shows ever.

Attendees converge at the Amusement Expo International show. Photo courtesy of AMOA.

March 21, 2022 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Amusement and family entertainment operators anxious to see exciting new games and technologies weren't disappointed at last week's Amusement Expo International show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Operators and facility managers by the thousands prowled the exhibit hall Wednesday following a full day of education seminars that were also well attended. There were 3,278 attendees at the show, more than 1,000 more than in 2021 (2,721) and 165 exhibiting companies compared to last year's 139. according to the American Amusement Machine Association and the Amusement & Music Operators Association, the show's organizers. Exhibit space expanded from 355 to 513.

The trade show floor remained buzzing with attendees non-stop, one of the best attended Amusement Expo trade shows ever.

It's clear that despite a difficult business environment, the amusement industry is anxious to serve a public that is looking for entertainment following two years of pandemic restrictions.

Equipment and technology manufacturers offered a variety of new attractions, including self-serve kiosks, immersive reality, biometric identity verification, mobile payment, cloud based management and more.

Following are trade show highlights, listed in alphabetical order.

Frank Licausi of Amusement Connect and David Rutherford of Gold Cup Bowling Center discuss the paystation kiosk.

Amusement Connect

Amusement Connect presented its newest paystation kiosk that allows players to purchase and reload game cards with cash, credit and mobile payment and to check their balance. The wall mounted "Wally" is 26-by-24 by-7 inches and is designed for smaller spaces than the standalone models.

Add-on accessories for Amusement Connect kiosks include:

A TV mounting bracket with a USB input that allows the operation to loop its own videos or presentations for customers while they purchase game cards.
Customized skins to draw attention to the kiosk.
Dual bill acceptors to prolong the time between collections.

Amusement Connect also provides a game card system that brings business intelligence from an arcade, attractions and redemption into one place.

Heidi Titko presents the custom sports photobooth at the Apple Industries exhibit.

Apple Industries

Apple Industries presented its custom sports photobooth with its new official NHL license which includes all NHL teams.

Customers can print memories of fun game day experiences, including strips for 2- by 6-inch photos or 4- by 16-inch photos. There is room on each print to add a Watermark logo, and the fourth frame logo turns the strip into a souvenir.

The system includes a coupon mode that adds a coupon that prints on every other photo strip.

The monitor screen on the exterior of the photobooth enables advertising photo strips, special events and social media pages.

Mike Lee and Drew Maniscalco show the Bobblehead Baseball game at the Andamiro exhibit.

Andamiro Co. Ltd.

Andamiro Co. Ltd. introduced Bobblehead Baseball, a video redemption game and first licensed title from MLB Players Inc., a subsidiary of the MLB Players Association.

Bobblehead Baseball, 31.5 inches wide by 45.1 inches deep and 96.1 inches tall, pits gamers against the bobble-headed avatars of MLB's biggest stars.

Players include Sergio Romo, Christian Yelich, Hyuin-jin Ryu, Fernando Tatis, Jr., Shohei Otani, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Aroldis Chapman, Cody Belinger, Gerrit Cole, Mookie Betts, Joey Gallo, Jacob deGrom and Jorge Polanco.

An attendee plays Hoops Madness at the Creative Realities exhibit.

Creative Realities

Creative Realities invited attendees to experience Hoops Madness, a VR game that embodies competitive, physically active sports.

Players receive points for consistency, trick shots and game mode bonuses. Features include:

Physics based realistic ball handling.
Match based play.
Numerous game modes.
Custom match set ups,
Immersive environments.
Leaderboards and tournaments.

Tiffany Avery and Justin Hart show the card kiosk at the Embed booth.

Embed Card

Embed Card demonstrated its "Kiosk+" self-service kiosk that has been designed to save room in an entertainment center. The modular kiosk integrates with Baytek and Benchmark redemption systems and features a removable screen and base which are also expandable with add-on modules. Highlights include:

A 400 game card single or dual dispenser, credit and debit card payment integration.
Add-on options include cash and coin payment options
A 27-inch LCD touchscreen display that offers upsell promotions.
Customizable brand skins for the base.

Alex and David Goldman present the IdealOne touchscreen kiosk.

IdealOne

IdealOne, a provider of software for the amusements industry, presented its self-order touchscreen kiosk customers can use to purchase entry tickets, buy and reload game cards and order food.

The kiosks integrate with a retailer's POS suite.

Sales placed on the kiosk load into the central database for sales reports, while food orders are sent directly to the kitchen.

Kiosks offer guests options to purchase park entry tickets or upsell packages.

The company's modules include cashless payment, party booking, online ticketing and more.

An attendee tries his luck at the "Arcade Collection" at the Incredible Technologies exhibit.

Incredible Technologies

Incredible Technologies introduced its "Arcade Collection" game, which includes three of the company's games in one cabinet: "Target Toss Pro," "Silverstrike Bowling" and "PowerPutt Golf."

"Target Toss Pro" includes both bags and lawn darts. The bags allow the user to call a shot when their bag is sailing in the air. The lawn darts include, besides lawn darts, cricket, poker darts and "501."

The game's "raw talk" provides uncensored, adult commentary, including the infamous Jack "Shooter" Thompson audio that celebrates the player's best and worst lawn dart tosses with exciting, declarative phrases.

"Silver Strike Bowling" includes customizable bowlers and bowling equipment with each game.

"PowerPutt Golf" features 11 unique 18-hole courses, hundreds of tee areas and pin placements, and a variety of clothing options.

Howard Rubin entices attendees with the Skittles Remix Digital Kiosk at the Incredivend exhibit.

Incredivend

Incredivend presented a prototype of its Skittles Remix Digital Kiosk in partnership with Mars Wrigley Confectionery, allowing Skittles lovers to mix and match their favorite flavors.

The machine, 70 inches long by 26 inches deep and 78 inches high, displays eight vertical cannisters that dispense the Skittles into a horizontal chute and enables the customer to mix the different flavors together.

The customer makes their order using a 32-inch touchscreen and pays with cash, credit card or mobile payment.

Lauren Fabbri and Don Harrison present cash handling equipment and identification solutions at the Innovative Technology exhibit.

Innovative Technology

Innovative Technology presented its cash handling equipment and intelligent identification solutions that perform non-intrusive facial analysis for age verification and face recognition for age restricted sales, access control, photo ID verification, face covering detection and targeted advertising.

The ID verification uses local processing to give fast response. The company's algorithms offer a 99.88% accuracy age verification that has been independently certified by the Age Check Certification Scheme.

The age verification can protect children from harm, shield staff from abuse and prevent public nuisance and disorder.

The age verification technology is suitable for self checkouts, attended checkouts, betting terminals redemption terminals and more.

Attendees engage in an Arkadia battle at the Inowize exhibit.

Inowize

Inowize invited attendees to enter Arkadia, the 6-player virtual reality arena offering multi-game sessions where two separate groups can play a different VR game simultaneously instead of waiting for the other group to finish.

Games include:

WingRun, a 1- to 6- player sci-fi themed racer. Players compete for the highest score by sprinting on different race tracks.
Sea Bandits, a 2- to 6-player pirate theme game where players compete for the title of Pirate King.
Raverz, a 2- to 6-player sci-fi game where players move around a battle arena using teleportation platforms and compete for the highest score.
Attek, a 1- to 6-player game where players work together to defeat a robot army.
Winter Break, a 1- to 6-player game where players in a schoolyard engage in a snowball battle to become the winter champion.
Heroik, a 2- to 6-player super hero themed game pitting friends against one another.

Rhonda Politte and Bill Allen present the iTellerPlus software for its self-service kiosk at the Intercard exhibit.

Intercard

Intercard introduced its iTellerPlus software, the latest version of its self-service kiosk platform for arcades.

The company's iTeller Element, a self-service kiosk for family entertainment centers with fewer than 30 games as well as route operators, incorporates iTeller features of into a smaller footprint and adds faster hardware in addition to the company's recently introduced NEMS network-monitoring software.

The iTeller Element features a 15-inch touchscreen, a receipt printer, an EMV pin pad, double lock bill acceptor and enables multiple cards with one transaction.

In addition to the Komuse exhibit, the "Swing & Smash" game was also shown in the Moss Distributing exhibit.

Komuse Co. Ltd./Moss Distributing

Komuse presented its "Swing & Smash" prize redemption game, where the player smashes the hammer using either the right or left hand and wins a prize. The prizes are positioned in the visible slots inside the all-steel cabinet, and are delivered in a chute near the bottom of the cabinet.

The game features eight LED prize displays, lighting and sound effects, an anti-theft tile alarm, and an optional "win every time" prize capsule hopper and an optional mobile monitoring system.

The machine takes up 10.97 square feet and weighs 608 pounds.

Keethan Kitt presents the Solo Café unattended coffee machine at the Kiosoft Technologies LLC exhibit.

KioSoft Technologies LLC

KioSoft, a payment technology provider, presented a new model in its Solo Café line of countertop coffee brewers that come with unattended order and payment. Customers order by scanning a QR code on their mobile app or via the machine's touchscreen interface.

The Solo Café also has a card reader for credit cards, debit cards and mobile wallets.

The Solo Café line includes espresso machines, on-tap draft hot and cold countertop brewers and kegerator draft units. Solo Café units also include robotic arm technology.

Harry Kozlovsky presents the VPOS all-in-one reader at the Nayax exhibit.

Nayax

The Nayax VPOS all-in-one card reader and telemetric device can enable operators to communicate with their consumers more directly and nurture loyalty by taking advantage of the management suite's built-in marketing tools.

Features include the ability to upsell customers at the point of sale beyond just accepting payment.

Operators can also run campaigns like digital punch cards, discounts, sales and happy hours, providing consumer a richer sales experience. The color touchscreen's idle mode can advertise promotional campaigns.

Features also include a technician mode, mobile payment acceptance, remote management, anti-fraud thresholds, instant refunds, multi-vends, voice interaction and EMV certification.

Stefan Blabstreiter presents the Cadillac 2 game at the Primero exhibit.

Primero

Primero introduced its Cadillac 2, a skill based redemption game that comes with a "Ticket2Pay" ticket-in-ticket-out feature that increases repeat play. The "Ticket2Pay" also makes transferring funds easier from one machine to another, and provides for more reliable accounting.

Cadillac 2 features five jackpot games:

"Graveyard Treasure" challenges players to cross five levels of a cemetery to reach the free spins round.
"Stop & Go" is a scratch-and-win game that always has a winner.
"Moonlight Dragon" features exploding firecrackers offering a "mystical firecracker bonus" or five free spins with two extra pay lines and more free spins.
"Full Throttle" lets players test racing skills to win the bonus race and five free spins.
"Lucky 7 Classic" offers up to five "wild games" where the third reel remains "wild."

Attendees enjoy "King Kong of Skull Island" at the Betson Enterprises exhibit.

Raw Thrills/Betson Enterprises

Raw Thrills offered attendees the chance to experience "King Kong of Skull Island," a cinematic virtual reality adventure featuring three interactive action packed episodes which was on display at the Betson Enterprises exhibit.

Players use their hands to naturally interact with King Kong's world and experience VR graphics and three-dimensional visual effects using HP supercomputers.

The AirRide motion system and the AirForce air jet system offer fast speed and special effects, while players stay safe with protective face masks and wipe dispensers built into the cabinet.

The system offers both 55-inch and 43-inch LED HD showcase monitors.

Ezequiel Mochkovsky presents the self-serve kiosk at the Sacoa Cashless System exhibit.

Sacoa Cashless System

Sacoa Cashless System presented its self-serve kiosk that provides playcard analysis, card sale and recharge, card balance, payment acceptance and integrates with customer relationship management software.

The kiosk has a camera that takes the customer's picture to verify their identity.

Users can purchase multiple cards in a single transaction.

Multi-lingual, the kiosk can offer passports and other entitlement sales at amusement park gates, and accepts both cash and credit card payments.

It can also present slide shows and animations when inactive.

Mike Hester shows the Texas Skill Plus game.

Skill Game USA LLC

Skill Game USA LLC displayed its Texas Skill Plus, a skill based game that offers a win with every play. A court has authorized the game for distribution and operation in Texas, according to the company.

Each game features four jackpots — mini, minor, major and "big daddy" — that increase with play, along with a larger prize pay. There is always a "big winner" before the jackpot reaches its maximum size.

Attendees enjoy the free-roam VR arena from Spree Interactive.

Spree Interactive

Spree Interactive allowed attendees to engage in its multi-player, free-roam virtual reality arena that transports them into fantasy worlds to play together in groups of six to 10.

The arena uses all-in-one VR head mounted displays that immerse players in the game immediately, eliminating the need for backpacks, maintenance and long turnover times.

The games are intuitive, requiring little instruction.

Family friendly games include: Firefighter, Fruit Splash, Anteater, Jump A Cheese, Granny's Alien Invasion and Dynablaster.

Games also include VR Laster Tag, VR Bumper Cars and Cyber Blaster.

Scott Heit presents the Tigapo terminal at the Nayax exhibit.

Tigapo

Tigapo, a cloud-based management system for amusement locations that provides location management and real-time business intelligence tools, presented a self-serve kiosk that allows players to order their prize, prompting the employees to prepare the order and notify the players when ready for pickup. The kiosk also offers customers bonus credits to extend their play time.

The location's data can be stored online and managed remotely, removing the need for servers and related hardware onsite.

The kiosk also allows players to pay at the kiosk and top up directly to a bracelet or a tag.

The company leverages Nayax's payment infrastructure, technical support, logistics infrastructure and development resources to improve its offerings for the amusement industry.

John Newberry and Ed Chermak present the Harmony ATM and jukebox at the Venco Business Solutions exhibit.

Venco Business Solutions

Venco Business Solutions introduced its Harmony "Music & Money" combination, an ATM and jukebox.

The Genmega G2500 ATM sits inside a 28-inch by 84-inch by 20-inch cabinet that features a Fusion Jukebox.

The jukebox, compatible with wired or wireless broadband, features dual 2-channel amplifiers with integrated power supply, a 10.5-inch touchscreen, two bill acceptors with 300 note stackers and a removable, snap-in component backplane.

The Genmega G2500 ATM features an 8-inch LCD screen, a camera system, a 1,000-note removable cassette, an electronic lock, an EMV card reader, a 2-inch wide printer and ADA compliant voice guided transactions.

Attendees enjoy the "V2" fully automated, virtual reality game at the Vrsenal exhibit.

Vrsenal

Vrsenal invited attendees to engage in its "V2" fully automated, virtual reality games that allow free movement of the entire body in a 32-square-foot space.

The games come with two HTC Vive Pro commercial grade headsets, VR ready PCs with Intel Core i7 processors, solid-state drives and Nvidia RTX graphics cards.

The platform integrates with all major credit card readers and credit card systems, and uses a cable retraction and management system to protect VR equipment during down times.

The games use themes from the larger game developers, such as Star Wars.

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