Kevin Williams

The expanding international leisure entertainment sector sees the latest station on the caravan route, with Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Along with Middle East and North American (MENA) business, we also cover the developments in the eSports and Competitive Gaming sector.   Middle East Entertainment Sunshine A very crowded first half of 2023 saw many international entertainment exhibitions. March had seen the Dubai Entertainment Amusement and Leisure Exhibition (DEAL), and the Principality was about to see the gathering of Saudi amusement and attraction investment – the Saudi Entertainment and Amusement (SEA’23) Expo at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center. The event was held in conjunction with the SLS Expo (focused on immersive audio and lighting).  The need for a dedicated trade event for this region was underlined by the announcement of the explosion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) investment […]

The “XR” (extreme/extended reality) phase of development in the sector took center stage during May and June. XR is being seen as the natural progression of the immersive tech scene – being championed against that of VR. XR has the ability to offer both a complete virtual environment, and one that superimposes virtual elements over real-world imagery. This is achieved with either optical “See-Through” via glasses, or video “Pass-Through” via cameras – this encapsulates the aspirations of both VR and AR. While many also use the term MR (Mixed Reality) to describe the application, the overarching term of XR seems to have become the new popular descriptor.  The Battleground for XR The Augmented World Expo (AWE) USA 2023 took place at the end of May, entering June at the Santa Clara convention center in California. The event was celebrating its […]

Continuing the ever-expanding coverage of the Social Entertainment emergence in the out-of-home sector, and we cover the only wholly focused event on the sector, along with charting further industry developments in our exclusive coverage of the scene. Competitive Socialising 2023: Gathering  The second Competitive Socialising 2023 (ComSoc’23) event took place in London at the end of May, held in South London’s ‘The Lighthouse’ theater. Under the tagline “the power of play”, the leading lights of the trade came together, sharing observations on this growing market sector. This is a market appearing on many investors’ and operators’ radar and feeding this growing event.  Competitive Socializing was abbreviated to the term #ComSoc for the event – whether this will catch on as a term is unknown, the same way that the attempt to use the term #Socialtainment as an abbreviation has fallen […]

We have recently covered the explosion in investment in ‘Competitive Socializing’, ‘Family Entertainment Centers’ (FEC), and ‘Urban Entertainment’ properties. Many of these sites are seeing their embryonic rise from UK-based developers. In our previous coverage, we focused on the country’s capital as the incubator of this rise. But in this third part, we look at the growth beyond London across the country, thanks to new investment. Northern Exposure The monopoly of London opening new social entertainment venues has been broken, as new venues percolate outside of the metropolis. The Gravity Active Entertainment group announced plans to open ‘Gravity Liverpool’ before the end of the year. This £10m investment is part of the new entertainment venue within the new Liverpool ONE area. Once again, this mixed entertainment venue is placed within a previously closed Debenhams department store in the city and […]

The constantly evolving amusement landscape is reflected by one of the largest trade gatherings in China. As the territory grows towards leading the taste and trends, The Stinger Report is lucky to be one of the few to receive exclusive access to the event’s leading elements. China’s Big Amusement Event Taking place in May, the 19th Asia Amusement & Attractions Expo (AAA) 2023 was held in the province Guangzhou. Known by many as the largest amusement exhibition in the territory, the show has become a vital Chinese linchpin for the amusement trade internationally. It expected to attract some 20,000 industry professionals to see the over-1,000 exhibitors across the eight-halls of the China Import & Export Fair Complex. This was part of the World Culture & Tourism Industry Expo 2023, comprising attractions, digital sport, and VR/AR.  It is always impossible to […]

While many had attempted to write off the cinema and amusement trade during the worst of the Global Lockdown, the reality of the situation was revealed in Las Vegas and Indianapolis, with two major events that acted as a perfect lens to review the success of the industries as April came to an end. Cinema Entertainment Development The importance of the cinema sector was reflected at the annual trade event, with CinemaCon 2023 taking place at the Caesars Palace casino resort, located both on the ballroom show floor and also in numerous private hotel suites dotted across the property and neighbouring Las Vegas hotels. This was a pivotal year for the sector, having been reported as dead by mainstream media during the Global Health Crisis, and the reality of the sector was only revealed at the show. The cinema trade […]

The reality of technology trends to generate serious revenue has been placed under the microscope in recent months, as the “Crypto and Techno Winters” are felt through layoffs and business restructuring. There are a number of these elements that touch the entertainment scene, which we will now investigate. Competitive Gaming Under Pressure Concerns regarding the rigidity of the eSports sector have been in serious doubt as the sector seemed to be in freefall with the closure of teams and the abandonment of event operators. What has been seen as one of the most important impacts in the sector came with the news that Counter Logic Gaming (CLG), one of the largest eSports communities, was linked to rumors that many of its employees had been laid off. This news came just as owner Madison Square Garden Sports (MSG) was in the […]

The Out-of-Home Entertainment industry is a barometer of many trending technologies and applications. While the media is only just waking up to the opportunities and concerns of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), the application of this and the other aspects of “Big Data” has already been felt in the entertainment sector, as we chart now.  Understanding the Language While many people are more familiar with the term Artificial Intelligence (AI), the reality of the revolution we are seeing explode into the public domain is regarding AI research that has achieved “Artificial General Intelligence” (AGI) – the ability of specialized programming to achieve intellectual tasks, surpassing the capabilities of humans trying to achieve the same. And just to make the definition process even more complicated, social media giant Meta has championed adoption of their own interpretation, with “Generative Artificial Intelligence” (GAI) tool […]

The big gathering for the North American amusement trade charted both the post-global lockdown landscape, and the evolution of the amusement and entertainment scene. After a busy few weeks, with European, Indian, and Dubai amusement trade events and summits, there was a chance for the industry to shine in Las Vegas. Amusement Expo International 2023 (AEI’23) The trade event, that now represents an eclectic mix of what the organizers listed as Amusements, Music, Games & ATMs, Billiard & Home Leisure, Virtual Reality, Bulk Vending, Laser Tag, and Professional Service Providers & Suppliers, supported four-co-located trade events in one – for the first time. The varied mix of disparate trade sectors had been combined through the AAMA and AMOA, along with for the twenty years with the National Bulk Vending Association (NVBA), and with the Laser Tag Convention. Also, for the […]

The momentum continues, as the amusement and attraction industry travels to growing markets. The latest trade convention rushes from India (IAAPI), and touches down in Dubai, for one of the first major industry events of the 2023 calendar for the region. Big DEAL for MENA Market  Following a cluster of international events, we rush to the UAE to attend the Dubai Entertainment Attraction & Leisure (DEAL’23) exhibition, reflecting the importance of the Middle East and North African (MENA) market. DEAL’23 gathered some 300 exhibitors to the event at the Dubai World Trade Center convention venue. This marked the 29th year of operation, stated by organizers International Expo-Consults (IEC). The show got off to a big start with a VIP representation, and ribbon cutting, supported by a collection of the leading distributors and developers gathered to promote the massive opportunities in […]