Kevin Williams

This marks the fourth-part of our International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA’22) convention coverage. Reporting on the major trends shaping the investment of immersive technology into the amusement and attractions scene, and we have “VR Kiosks”. The development of the “unattended” VR amusement platforms continued apace, with several examples on display, having gathered momentum over the last few months as a popular platform for amusement deployment.  Along with examples on the Creative Works booth (representing the VAR Live and VRstudios platforms), the VRsenal booth showed their new slimline ‘Monolith’ platform. Gone was the VR headset retention system, and it now offers a new sturdy headset cable which the company has specially developed in cooperation with HTC, towards surviving the abuse of amusement deployment without the expensive retention system, as with previous designs. The company is also looking to […]

This marks the Fifth-part of our International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA’22) convention coverage. Another major trend has been “Free-roaming VR” experiences were a serious trend on the show floor, along with the Creative Works ‘LimitlessVR’ there were several other examples being presented. Springboard VR an operation of Vertigo Games, presented their library of content in support of free-roaming platforms, as well as for VR arcades. The company working in partnership with ?? the manufacturers of the enclosure, had installed on their booth a free-roam enclosure running their titles, including a first chance to try the newly launched ‘After the Fall: LB VR Edition’ – the all new full-body 4-player VR adventure, running on the HTC Focus 3, and availability exclusively rolled out across Springboard locations worldwide (as part of their free-roam library of titles). The demonstration proving […]

In one of the most crowded months for coverage of the sector, November and the beginning of December saw several important trade events and major developments across the entertainment sector. This first-part of our extensive coverage starts with the big trade convention in Orlando that has shaped the global market. IAAPA Orlando 2022 For many who had held back from last year’s event due to lingering post-pandemic conditions, this year’s 104th International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA’22) convention was a very important show. Held at its long-term home of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, this event represented the first full show not fully in the shadow of the Global Health Crisis and saw many exhibitors working hard to promote new products – with the trends clearly on display.  Starting off, the “Immersive Attractions & Dark […]

The international media has been fixated on the upsurge of interest in terms such as “the Metaverse” – preaching a new religion of virtual commerce and immersive experiences. Many of these developments have been linked, in many cases, to blockchain activity, as well as the need to experience these environments only in virtual reality. This latest Stinger Report takes a snapshot of these developments, and the implications for the future.  Metaverse Falling into Focus The reality of the immersive VR environments being proposed took a hit from continuing criticism. As with the World Wide Web’s aspirations to metamorphosize into the Information Superhighway that would materialize back in the day – only to becoming the open Internet we know today. The dreams of a walled garden for immersive commerce, as a replacement to the internet, has been labelled “Web3” and some […]

The UK saw the last of the major gatherings for the amusement trade before the big events in Orlando and the coming IAAPA Expo. Along with this, great developments in the leisure and social entertainment scene, with several new venue openings and new trends being charted in the scene. Autumn CoinOp Show (ACOS) Over 20 leading UK-based amusement, redemption and services companies gathered at the ibis London Earls Court Hotel ballroom, to present to executives and operators from the bar and pub, casino, seaside arcade, FEC, and Adult Gaming Center (AGC) scenes in a preview of the market. Only a matter of weeks after IAAPA-EMEA’22 and just before the IAAPA Orlando events, the ACOS’22 event offered a chance for UK sales business to be solidified, and those in the trade unable to attend the international offering to have a preview […]

Rundown of trade and entertainment developments that took place after IAAPA-EMEA’22, and the rush to promote the latest developments and licensing opportunities in the digital landscape continued apace. Along with the Tokyo gaming convention, we see the licensing sector in Europe show its attraction colours and much more.   Tokyo Game Show 2022 (TGS’22) The Japanese major consumer gaming event took pride of place in the territory, coming to terms with physical events once again, and the leading consumer game studios and console hardware manufacturers invested heavily on major publicity, promotion, and spectacle. A return to physical events seemed popular with the gaming audience, though active COVID measures were very much in evidence. One of those who took the event as a starting gun for their latest investment into the VR space was SONY Interactive Entertainment (SIE). The company had, […]

A cluster of interesting international trade events took place before the big end-of-year conventions. These offered a snapshot at the investment recommencing into the entertainment and leisure space, as the build-up for the fall season took hold. We also reveal some interesting new aspects and trends that are beginning to impact the sector. Wet and Wild! The 42nd annual World Waterpark Association Symposium & Trade Show (WWA’22), held in Las Vegas, is pivotal event for the waterpark and resort sector of the industry – while much has been consolidated over the years into IAAPA, the WWA is 100-percent focused on the water attraction and entertainment scene. The need to stay relevant was shaping the show floor, as the thinking of the trade gathered.  As reported in our IAAPA-EMEA’22 coverage, the appearance of “VR Waterplay” in floor rides, attractions and special […]

The conclusion of our coverage of Europe’s biggest amusement, attractions, and entertainment expo, along with details of developments impacting the international scene. In this fifth part we look at the Bowling Scene and LBE developments at home and the UAE, Contactless ePayment, and the final conclusions from the show’s fallout.  IAAPA Expo Europe 2022 (IAAPA-EMEA’22) Bowling & Social Entertainment Bowling was represented at IAAPA-EMEA’22 in one of the largest showings at a UK event, with representation from Brunswick Bowling and QubicaAMF, as well as IMPLY Bowling and Switch International. The appearance of string bowling machines on several booths showed the versatility of the hardware for venues of all sizes. The move to competitive socializing can trace its roots to bowling and league and tournament play, but recently bowling venues in Europe and the UK have seen increased investment and inclusion […]

The next expansive coverage of Europe’s biggest amusement, attractions, and entertainment expo, along with details of developments impacting the international scene. In this fourth part we look at Machine Learning and Drone investment in the sector and developments in the crossover from amusement to social entertainment. IAAPA Expo Europe 2022 (IAAPA-EMEA’22) Machine Learning The growing appearance of “Autonomous Robots & Drones” in the attraction scene continued with the growth of drone-based entertainment, and in the deployment of robotic delivery in retail, hospitality, and food, with the appearance of robotic food preparation and cocktails. Along with our previous coverage on trackless “Autonomous Ride-Vehicles”. This was illustrated by IAAPA-EMEA’22 exhibitor Drone Interactive – the company has built on their original concept and created the new ‘Arcadrone evo’, offering three variants of the original drone gaming experience. Operators can now select between the […]

Bringing the latest coverage of the entertainment landscape and while America may have abandoned their physical consumer game event (for now), the European equivalent proves a massive success, and gives a glimpse at the changing consumer game landscape. Meanwhile, at the same time, we have more developments in social and attraction venue markets with further acquisitions and merger developments.  European Consumer Gaming Festival Success The end of August saw the holding of Gamescom – the German consumer gaming expo – returning to a physical event after three-years, in Cologne, Germany. The event attracted 265,000 visitors over the days of the convention, with some 1,100 exhibitors. This was down from the 373,000 attracted to the last physical show in 2019, but was still seen as a major successful gathering for the sector. The show was not just a chance for consumer […]