Kevin Williams

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 […]

In a crowded period over the last few months of the start of the year, the onward rush of 2023 continued with one of the largest shows for the amusement, gaming, gambling, eSports, and online gaming sector – along with European and MENA trade events. This all started at the end of January with the trade association holding their IAAPA FEC Summit – a gathering of those entering the amusement venue business, and the suppliers who support them. It is impossible to accurately cover all these events, and we have gathered a snapshot of leading trends and developments seen across the latest crop of trade gatherings impacting the immersive entertainment landscape. International Casino Expo (ICE) While not heavily covered by the amusement and attractions media for the obvious reasons, the London ICE’23 gathering of casino, online gaming, sports betting (land­based), […]

The realities of the consumer technology scene have been shaken by layoffs and restructuring in recent months. The holding, in Spain, of the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade convention for the smartphone, wearables, app and connected technology market, acted as a unique barometer of the health of the sector – charting the state of the VR, AR and overall XR landscape in general.  MWC’23 is a convention that attracts some 80,000 industry professionals from the technology world, to see over 2,000 exhibitors. And, over the last ten years, it has seen a significant placement of new VR and AR technology. Second to CES at the beginning of the year, MWC has been used to present new platforms and test the temperature of the market to innovation. This year’s event was laden with Wi-fi 7, and 6G investment – this […]

Following on from the first part of our coverage of this aspect of the market, we continue to investigate the crossover between venue-based entertainment and hospitality. Never has the location-based entertainment industry seen such a multitude of new venue openings, seeming to reflect a spike in social entertainment interest from an audience hungry for local-entertainment. In this second part, we look at the wider international dimension, as well as the trends and issues shaping the deployment of technology, along with innovation in this sphere of the market.  US Eatertainment Consuming the Players The amusement and FEC sector saw a major shot in the arm over 2022, with many of the leading entertainment venue chains reporting strong numbers. Dave & Busters’, the “Eatertainment” venue chain, reported store sales rising to 13-percent, slightly lower than expected, but still strong, and with the […]

The continued momentum of changes in the international entertainment scene was reflected in two major trade gatherings during February. Along with the ICE London convention, the amusement industry held one of Japan’s leading trade events – revealing a changing landscape for an industry in transition.  Japan’s Amusement Returns All eyes turned to the Japan Amusement Expo (JAEPO) held in Tokyo in the first weeks of February. After a hiatus of some three years, the Shinky Zhang Messe International Exhibition Center Exhibition Hall 9/10 played host to the JAEPO event organized by the Japan Amusement Industry Association (JAIA). This was a pivotal point for the future of the trade and its supporting association. On the JAEPO’23 show floor there were 41 companies able to attend, and here is a rundown of the key players. SEGA Corporation – The Japanese amusement scene […]

Just one month into the New Year, and the ramifications of tectonic change are reverberating round the tech industry landscape. Major restructuring across all the leading social media, tech and entertainment corporations, with a new focus on how best to apply this technology into the commercial, entertainment and enterprise landscape, are underway. Microsoft Restructures XR Position Now some five-years since the ‘Microsoft 2018 LBE Summit’, held in San Francisco at the Microsoft Reactor venue, and the news greets us that, following the momentous layoff of some 10,000 Microsoft employees, much of the infrastructure purported to be focused on supporting the emerging VR LBE scene undertaken by ‘Windows Mixed Reality’ (WinMR) has been shuttered. The reality of the situation is still be played out, but the sacking of the complete development team at Microsoft’s ‘Mixed Reality ToolKit’ (MRTK) operation, has also […]